Cyphon Recordings continue their deep dive into the rich heritage of UK and Detroit electronic sounds with their second label release, this time from Danny Was A Drag King label boss DJ Rocca.

Active since the 90s, the Italian producer is a dedicated explorer of the Italo Disco-inspired sounds native to his home. He’s been plotting his sonic journey for decades, making pit stops at labels across Europe including Rekids,Toy Tonics, Slow Motion, Rotten City Records and Roam Recordings. On top of his solo outings, collaboration has played a big role in his production journey to date. He’s worked with artists like Howie B, Jazzanova and Zed Bias, as well as joining forces on ongoing projects with fellow Italian stalwart Daniele Baldelli and Dimitri From Paris, the latter under the name Erodiscotique.

Now back on his solo pursuits for Cyphon, Rocca proves he’s still very much at the top of his game. The four cuts on ‘Code 041’ explore all shades of electro, from raw, old school machine funk to futuristic cosmic sounds. It’s electro done the Rocca way.

The title track sets the tone. An eerie bass line crawls along, providing a bed for reflective pads to glide and mysterious synth sounds and echoing vocal samples to ricochet above. ‘No Gym’ greets us next, bringing that Italo flair Rocca’s mastered so well. It’s the most vibrant track on the release, matching colourful pinging synths and tropical-tinged melodies with a signature driving acid bass line.

On the flip, ‘The Bigger Lake’ takes the EP in a different direction, on a trip through dark glistening pads, tittering percussion and sub aquatic bass before the dusty breaks and moody, jazzy keys of ‘Omega’ bring the release to a close. Mirroring Cyphon’s label ethos, Rocca showcases the best of the past and present of a timeless sound.


DJ Feedback:

Hammer / Feel My Bicep - This is sounding absolutely great! x

Laurent Garnier - Twisted funkyness… Great stuff

Pattn / Fabric Resident - These are quality productions, sounding crisp. Really like the No Gym track.

Josh Cheon / Dark Entries - loving the first track!

Cormac / Polari Records - enjoying the no gym track

Justin Cudmore / The Bunker NYC - I am liking this release! I'd love to play this.

REES / CWPT - Big lover of this one!

Ryan Clover / Homage NYC - Sound a bit too lo-fi for my tastes when it comes to electro.

Ngoni Egan / United Identities - Really solid release. Love the Omega track. The pads are lovely in it! Arrangement and journey of the track is great :) More

A1 – Detox
A2 - Tropicale 17
B1 - Tropicale 17 (Chicken Lips Malfunction)

Whiskey Pickle returns with yet another 12" of eclectic leftfield deepness, this time around from prolific Italian producer DJ Rocca.

The first cut off the record 'Detox' is reminiscent of the early 80’s electronic sound with nice mellow synths and a clever breakbeat. The next track is the title cut 'Tropicale 17' a lovely arpeggiated bell laden jam that sounds something like Kraftwerk lost in the Japanese wilderness.

Side B is dedicated to the epic twelve plus minute 'Chicken Lips Malfunction' Chicken Lips remix of 'Tropicale 17'. This is the jam that got those fowl fellas (Andy Meecham & Dean Meredith) back in the studio and boy was it worth it! More

After taking us on a drug chug at the start of the year DJ Rocca serves up 2 tracks for the next EDSC Release. Lets Go Party kicks things off.... stabby chords, Roland percussion, catchy vocal shots, bass-line and massive E'd up breakdowns make this a must have slate for your box. Th remix comes in the form of an Italo banger from a fave of the El Diablo's cartel - Brioski who goes straight for the heart of the dance floor and rips it right out. Slumber slows the pace down a bit sounding like something from a late 70's Italian horror movie...pulsating chords & echoey piano reminiscent of Claudio Simonetti & John Carpenter. El Diablo's Social Club remix stays in the same vein making making sparse use of the eerie piano whilst adding a chuggy bassline, heavy arps and some extra guitars courtesy of Crazy P's Tim Davies.
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