Schema Records presents “Riviera”, the new album by Toco, one of the Milan-based label’s top artists with over 100 million digital streams, is finally released on 19 April 2024. “Riviera” pays tribute to the places where Toco grew up, and is the aesthetic synthesis of Toco’s varied songwriting, able to create true musical mosaics that mix pop lightness, poetic lyricism, desire, joy and pain. Mainly inspired by the tradition of samba and bossa nova, and contaminated with jazz, funk, pop and rock, the album alternates light and shadow in a balanced chiaroscuro enriched by friend and musical partner Stefano “S-Tone Inc.” Tirone’s production.

Anticipated by a series of singles that outlined its various facets and musical influences, Toco’s new album “Riviera” is finally released on 19 April 2024; ten years have passed since “Memoria”, filled with various collaborations and dedicated to this record itself, carefully curated in production and arrangements down to the smallest detail; this has been made possible thanks also to the presence of a large lineup of guests, including Toco’s labelmate Gianluca Petrella for the first time ever.
The album’s title is a tribute to two places very dear to Toco: Riviera is the neighborhood in São Paulo where he spent his childhood, while Riviera Ligure is where he lived for a long time in Italy: two opposite shores and cultures that turned out to be fundamental in the artist’s formation.
“Riviera” is the aesthetic synthesis of Toco’s varied songwriting, able to create true musical mosaics that mix pop lightness, poetic lyricism, desire, joy and pain. Mainly inspired by the tradition of samba and bossa nova, and contaminated with jazz, funk, pop and rock, the al¬bum alternates light and shadow in a balanced chiaroscuro enriched by friend and musical partner Stefano “S-Tone Inc.” Tirone’s production. This collaboration further consolidates the duo’s fellowship that brush¬es magical sonorities on the different themes delivered.
An excellent comeback!

A1 - Clube
A2 - As Vezes
A3 - Carnaval Primeiro
A4 - Coragem
A5 - Noite Secreta
A6 - Vento Doce
B1 - Alma de Turista
B2 - Luz Da Bahia
B3 - Golpe Fatal
B4 - Mar
B5 - Lágrima
B6 - Domingo

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Currently at work on new compositions that will give shape to a new album scheduled for the fall of 2024, Gerardo Frisina delights our ears with a 45rpm containing two unreleased tracks representing a brief funk digression within his musical journey without, of course, affecting his unmistakable style.
“Mystical Funk” and “Spaced Out” skilfully mix “modern funk” elements with electronic influences, creating a unique sonic experience. In both cases, one of the surprising features is the hypnotic, incessant groove, capable of drawing the listener into a sound universe full of cosmic percussion and atmospheres, enhanced by Dennis Coffey-style guitars and by a Deodato-like Fender piano.
Once again Gerardo hits the mark: the production is masterful, with a clear attention to details and those typical arrangements that reflect the overall quality of the sound with delicate power.

A - Mystical Funk
B - Spaced Out

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Originally released in 2006, this album sold more that 300.000 copies.
It is now reissued by Schema Records in a new special edition, consisting of a 2-LP set, blue transparent colored vinyl enclosed in a gatefold sleeve

Everything about this incredible album, that hit like a bolt from the blue at the time, has already been said. Mario’s deep and warm voice recalls the great soul and rhythm’n’blues music interpreters. Many will think of a black singer, while Mario comes from the town of Catania, Sicily. “Handful of Soul” ranges between jazz and soul, resulting in a very enticing music release, whose sound swings from smooth vocal melodies to rhythmic tracks to dance to. The singer and the producers successfully managed to find out songs that wouldn’t change the nature of Mario’s voice, that could highlight the deepness of his tone, yet in the same time would still be able to represent the artistic direction and the music lead followed by Schema Records.

The love for r’n’b and soul, the styles of music mostly appreciated by Mario, brought him to listen to a certain music repertoire, in particular some of the most representative related artists (Earth, Wind & Fire, Donny Hathaway. Billy Paul, Luther Vandross, Lou Rawls, Aretha Franklin, Eryka Badu, Will Dowing...).

The songs on this record have been played by trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso and his High Five Quintet, a strong all-star ensemble with an excellent interplay that involves some of the best musicians in today’s Italian jazz scene: Daniele Scannapieco on tenor sax, Luca Mannutza, Pietro Ciancaglini and Lorenzo Tucci, respectively on piano, double bass and drums, forming a solid rhythm section. Mannutza and Ciancaglini were also in charge of the arrangements. High Five are able to play Jazz in an instinctive way; they perfectly adjusted to this production in a natural way, making this album a very pleasant listening.

A1 - A Child Runs Free
A2 - No Mercy For Me
A3 - Slow Hot Wind
B1 - This Is What You Are
B2 - I Can’t Keep From Cryin’ Sometimes
C1 - Rio De Janeiro Blue
C2 - A Handful Of Soul
C3 - On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)
D1 - Never Die
D2 - Gig
D3 - No Trouble On The Mountain

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“Leão Leonardo” and “Guajiru”, here gathered in an exclusive 7-inch record, represent the first two steps in a journey that will lead to the Spring 2024 release of the new album by Toco, a Brazilian singer-songwriter with a unique sensibility and taste.
“Leão Leonardo” is a very heartfelt and engaging song that constitutes a homage to a childhood friend, a tribute to a deep and everlasting bond, as well as a return to a place very dear to Toco: the Guarapiranga water reservoir near São Paulo in Brazil; it is mainly inspired by two great samba jazz masters, Jorge Ben and João Donato. “Guajiru”, a classic samba-rock track inspired by Orlandivo’s swing and Jorge Ben’s sensuality, explores the more romantic side of Toco’s multifaceted style and tells of a fleeting summer love in northeastern Brazil, where the indigenous fishing village of Guajiru, on the coast of the state of Ceará, is located.
As the whole new album, both “Leão Leonardo” and “Guajiru” have been recorded at Schema Records’ Blue Spirit studios and produced by Stefano “S-Tone Inc.” Tirone, who skillfully captured the spirit of these tracks and elaborated the essence and energy of their songwriting. Both of them see Toco’s alluring voice masterfully surrounded by an ensemble of exceptional musicians: Donatinho (keyboards), Tuca Milan (percussion), Ramiro Levy (guitars), Edu Hebling (bass), Mauro Martins (drums), Priscila Ribas (vocals), Gianluca Petrella (trombone), Mirco Rubegni (trumpet) and Marquinho Baboo (percussion).
This 45rpm is therefore a tasty appetiser for an album that we expect to be unique, just like Toco’s style!

A - Leão Leonardo
B - Guajiru

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After reuniting Cosmic Renaissance and releasing the album “Universal Language” (SCLP/CD513) in 2022, Gianluca Petrella returns to the future jazz scene 2023 as a protagonist with a new five-track LP, “Universal Message”, again on Schema Records label, keeping the wind section of the original record unchanged. Among the most versatile musicians around today, Gianluca here evolves his style into new forms of futurism afro-jazz with three revisitations in electronic-jazz dance key of “Universal Language” and “Connection”, as well as two previously unreleased tunes, the title-track and “Mutation”, for a final result that is greater than the sum of its parts. And there is no better description of this music than a complete and total immersion in its sonic waves!

A1 - Universal Language - Revisited
A2 - Connection - Revisited
A3 - Mutation
B1 - Universal Language - Instrumental Revisited
B2 - Universal Message

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Gianluca Petrella is one of the most internationally renowned Italian musician, composer and producer who leads the music collective Cosmic Renaissance.

Cosmic Renaissance’s aim is to write and play music that actually starts from jazz and reaches new heights and music genres, in the name of unity, discovery, connection, understanding and other beautiful things that make us human. Try to imagine all this into music, and you’ll have an idea of how “Universal Language” really sounds!

Tracklist:
A1 - Universal Language
A2 - Wonder
A3 - Comes from the Ground
A4 - Natsu
B1 - Nomads
B2 - Ancient Jazz
B3 - Unknown Dimension
B4 - Connection

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This is the second in the 12” EP releases series featuring reinterpretations of tracks taken from the People Need People album, Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella’s brilliant collaborative jazz dance album released in 2021.

After Joe Claussell’s fantastic work on “Inner Light” on the previous 12”, the same song gets here a further interpretation by the great Anthony Nicholson, one of the most respected producers and key characters in the tribal / afrocentric house scene, with more than 30 years of experience in the field.

We also asked DJ Spinna to put his artistry on “New World Shuffle” and the result is uplifting: Bridgette Amofah’s original vocals shine over a sunny house groove full of keys and moog lushy layers, in a distinctive ‘Spinna feel’. Yet another meaningful perspective on the “People Need People” original release, which will soon receive another significant treatment by none less than Tall Black Guy, Andrés and Fred P! Stay tuned!

TRACKLIST:

A. New World Shuffle (DJ Spinna Galactic Soul Remix)
B. Inner Light (Anthony Nicholson Miquifaye Remix)

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With seven releases - including this one - on Schema Records and three - considering also the Cosmorama project - on Milano 2000, Stefano Tirone has tightened his collaboration with the Edizioni Ishtar group. He is today one of the label’s most popular artists, with more than 300.000 monthly listeners and millions of plays of his acclaimed hits on Spotify – more than 3 million overall for his recent digital singles “Blow My Mind” and “No Meio Do Samba”.

His previous full-length Body & Soul shows influences from the early ’90s British acid jazz scene and his deep love for the ’70s soul, Brazilian and jazz music that constitute the basic foundations of S-Tone Inc. Here, instead of asking other artists to remix his tracks, Stefano has decided to do that himself, reworking in a nu-disco key the entire “Body & Soul” record, herein named “The Disco Experience”.

The title and the graphic layout take us to a period in time between late ’70s and early ’80s when the artist as a teenager, completely absorbed by the sound of disco music, used to go to clubs and discotheques to listen and dance to those unmistakable sonic frequencies. In those years the American DJ Larry Levan and the Italian Mozart and Baldelli used to play their music in front of crowded disco halls, while record labels such as Prelude and Solar set the standards with artists such as D-Train, Sharon Redd, Whispers, Shalamar and their soulful vocals combined to strong basslines, funky guitars and uptempo rhythms.

This is how “Body & Soul - The Disco Experience” was born, as a homage to the music that Stefano used to immerse in during those adventurous years, with a few exceptions: “No Meio Do Samba”, a tribute to the house sound of Frankie Knuckles in the early ’90s, and the two downbeat tracks “Flying Away”, with its essential R&B arrangement, and “Midnight Sun”, that keeps its cinematic mood but with a more funky attitude. “Odoya” is the only track remixed by The Invisible Session in a minimal spacey disco arrangement that fits perfectly with the overall sound of the album.

Tracklist:

A1 - Body and Soul (Remix)
A2 - Pra Voce (Extended Remix) feat. Toco
A3 - In The Name Of Love (Extended Remix) feat. Laura Fedele
A4 - Blow My Mind (Remix) feat. Afra Kane
A5 - Flying Away (Remix) feat. Afra Kane
B1 - Rosa Da Ribeira (Extended Remix) feat. Toco
B2 - Got To) Move On (Remix) feat. Afra Kane
B3 - No Meio Do Samba (Remix) feat. Toco
B4 - Odoya (The Invisible Session Remix) feat. Toco
B5 - Midnight Sun (Remix)

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Edizioni Ishtar and Schema Records proudly celebrate the 15th anniversary of one of their most
successful releases and artists (more than 30 million streams and 300 thousand monthly listeners on Spotify)
with the first ever vinyl edition of Toco’s Outro Lugar. Produced by S-Tone Inc., this record includes fanfavourite
tracks “Outro Lugar”, “Samba Noir" and most of all “Guarapiranga”, which was chosen for the
soundtrack of “Silver Linings Playbook”, a film that awarded Jennifer Lawrence an Academy Award prize as
best actress in a leading role in 2013. The strings at the beginning of the title-track have also been sampled
by PinkPantheress for her song “Nineteen”, out of her latest album “To Hell With It”.
Outro Lugar hasn’t aged a bit during all these years, for various reasons; first of all it benefits from the
outstanding contribution of bossa nova pioneer and inspiration source Roberto Menescal, who played
guitar in every track. Most of the album was recorded in Rio De Janeiro at Menescal’s studio, with the
participation of some of the best ‘carioca’ musicians, especially double-bass player Adriano Giffoni and
pianist Adriano Souza. All these elements gave the album exactly the taste requested by the artist and the
producer: inspired from the past yet, through thorough attention, aimed at a sound at the same time fresh
and modern, slightly electronic, filled with grooves perfectly blending into acoustic instruments. The second
part of the recording was carried out in Milan, with some of the best musicians in the Milanese jazz scene.
The album also sees the contribution of Rosalia De Souza, singing in several tracks and standing out in
“Bom Motivo” especially. French chanteuse Coralie Clément appears in “Contradição”, her own piece here
re-interpreted by Toco.
Outro Lugar is an album for any kinds of Brazilian music lovers that showed the world what Toco
was capable of: a refined and cultured musician, a gifted performer of a warm and smooth voice able to
awaken the emotions of the most sensitive listeners.

TRACKLIST:

A1. Outro Lugar
A2. Litoral
A3. Zum Zum
A4. Assuntos Banais
A5. Bom Motivo (Feat. Rosalia DeSouza)
A6. Simples
B1. Samba Noir
B2. Barracão
B3. Voz de Lapa
B4. Guarapiranga
B5. Contradição (Feat. Coralie Clément)

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Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella’s 2021 brilliant collaborative jazz dance album People Need People channelled a vision of togetherness and used the universal language of music to elevate our spirit during these trying times. This vision can’t be more relevant today and the album’s legacy is kept alive with the same spirit of collaboration that distinguished the project.

“Inner Light” - featuring Raashan Ahmad on vocals - is the first song from the album chosen for a series of reinterpretations of the project that will be released throughout 2022. Joaquin Joe Claussell needs no introduction, the Body & Soul founder and Sacred Rhythm label honcho is a true legend and purveyor of spirituality – a cosmic messenger that brings us two versions of “Inner Light”; his work here is not to be solely intended as a remix but, as the title suggests, delivers two new proper versions of the original song.

This EP is the first in a trilogy of 12” releases that will also feature further reinterpretations of tracks taken from the “People Need People” album, by none less than Anthony Nicholson, DJ Spinna and Tall Black Guy!

A - Inner Light - Joaquin Joe Claussell Sacred Rhythm (Cosmic Arts Version)
B - Inner Light - Joaquin Joe Claussell Sacred Rhythm (Cosmic Arts Dub Version)

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“(Got To) Move On / Rosa Da Ribeira” continues the series of edits and remixes from Stefano Tirone aka S-Tone Inc.’s latest studio album, Body & Soul (2020, SCCD/LP493); this 7” is also a preview of the forthcoming release of a project named “Body & Soul - The Disco Experience” where Stefano, with the help of some of his faithful collaborators, reinvents and transforms into a new ‘disco-groove boogie’ dress the entire Body & Soul LP.

Both songs here combine nu-disco with late ’70s funk / soul / dance, Stefano’s first real ‘musical love’: a way therefore to underline his unconditional passion for the music that represented his youth and, at the same time, the awareness of the inevitability of the modern times we live in.

“Got To (Move On)” is an up-tempo song with a leading pulsating bass that sees the participation of Afra Kane, a Nigerian singer who has lived in Italy, England and Switzerland, and who gives ‘black’ shades to the songs with her splendid voice.

“Rosa Da Ribeira”, sung by Toco with the additional backing vocals of Priardi Ribas, Luzia Dvorek and Gui Hargreaves, shows off an exotic touch given by the Brazilian melodies and the Portuguese lyrics, and is further enriched by Gilberto Tarocco’s baritone sax and Randy Freeman’s trombone.

A - (Got To) Move On (feat. Afra Kane) - Remix
B - Rosa Da Ribeira (feat. Toco) - Remix

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