Italy

West Hill Music is a new sub-label from Periodica Records dedicated exclusively to productions curated by Mystic Jungle and conceived at West Hill Studio in Napoli, a longstanding creative hub active for more than a decade.The project aims to reclaim and reimagine the language of mid-1980s music, drawing from both American and European New Wave through a personal filter that freely and instinctively blends elements of Italo Disco, Rock and Funk. The two tracks, moving within a dance-not-dance dimension, stand as a manifesto of this sonic synthesis and a further step in defining the aesthetic vision of the producer. On "Chasing Light", the collaboration with Igor Sekulovic continues, with the guitarist also appearing here as co-writer of the track, weaving together tense guitars, driving disco-rock bass-lines and slapback reggae-style vocals. "Under Pressure", on the other side, unfolds as a late-night electronic suite: minimal, aseptic and hypnotically repetitive.

Cosmo Dance is the artistic alias of Cosimo Mandorino, an Italian producer and DJ who has been active in the electronic music scene for more than twenty years, as well as the founder of the label Mirella. Produced and finalized in Napoli during a series of short stays, and developed with the contribution of Raffaele Arcella and Dario di Pace, "Cosmo-logic" unfolds within a parallel, plausible, and dystopian universe where humans and machines coexist in constant tension and perpetual conflict. A musical narrative shaped by rebellious computers, wars between binary systems, and universal unified languages, the record stands as a manifesto to the early era of Italo-Disco, while remaining deeply infused with influences from cosmic disco and stripped-down electronic funk. The tracks make extensive use of mechanical rhythms, voice modulators, vocoders, and analog effects, exploring sonic territories forged through iconic instruments such as the Korg MS-20.

Following the underground cult success of Mystical Funk, Gerardo Frisina returns to the 7” format with a new double-sider aimed at dancefloors, collectors, and selectors with a taste for cinematic funk. A record that feels as though it emerged from a lost Afro-funk session, where cosmic funk and Afro-Latin grooves are filtered through a distinctly modern electronic sensibility.On the A-side, “Duala”, inspired by the African city of Douala, pays tribute to Afro-funk in its most visionary era, evoking the unmistakable sound made famous by the great Manu Dibango. The track opens into a dense and hypnotic electronic funk journey: pulsating basslines, fluid guitars, psychedelic synthesizers, and a rhythmic tension that recalls the golden age of Afro-funk. A nocturnal voyage through rare groove and cinematic atmospheres, with the groove constantly remaining at the heart of the composition.On the B-side, “Lindeza” is a tribute to the beauty and richness of Brazilian musical culture. A track that shifts perspective while keeping the temperature high: elegant, percussion-driven electronics with a Latin spirit, flowing at around 110 BPM. Warm and magnetic, the piece carries all the hallmarks of Gerardo Frisina’s sound, where futuristic jazz, tropical funk, batucada, and club culture meet in a refined production designed equally for deep listening and the dancefloor.

Nicola Conte and Nico Lahs’ Tema Due project finally comes to full realization in a double LP entitled “Universo Astratto”, adding a wealth of new musical shades and ideas to the two EPs released on Schema Records in 2025. The album represents not only the natural evolution of their artistic dialogue, but also a statement of intent in terms of sound. Fans of the most sophisticated and refined club music, elevated by the fusion of exquisite electronica with spiritual jazz (it is no coincidence that the opening track evokes the baseline of “A Love Supreme”), African-American rhythms and tribal percussion, will be thrilled by this complex and multi-layered album, which unveils new hidden details upon each listen. A meticulous selection of exceptional musicians contributes in a distinctive and significant way to broadening the scope of the project: Giovanni Guidi, Pietro Lussu, and Dario Bassolino on keyboards, Gabriel Prado and Abdissa Assefa on percussion, Magnus Lindgren on wind instruments and Hammond organ, and Pasquale Calò on saxophone. On vocals we have Lalin St. Juste, Siya Makuzeni, Nina Miranda - for what is probably the best track on the album, “Share Your Love” - and Toco - for a new and previously unreleased version of the track “Macumba de Oxalà” featured on the first EP. In “Universo Astratto”, Tema Due’s vision is finally fulfilled: a world of ancestral grooves, cosmic jazz, and electronic music conceived for clubs as a type of “active experience” in which one is transcended by music. This record is an invitation—to move, to feel, to elevate—and a manifesto for those who see the dance floor not just as a location, but as a shared experience of awareness and rhythm.