luck of...

As I'm sure most of you know, Luciano has a new record coming out in December, titled Tribute to the Sun. I've been listening to it for the past couple of days, and can honestly speak to its greatness as an album— though it contains elements that will be familiar to anyone initiated into the Cadenza sound, it also has a fresh and brilliant sonic palette. On top of all that, it is perhaps the first danceable full-length that Luciano has ever created, eschewing the tool-kit sound of No Model No Tool and the more esoteric Blind Behaviour. Certainly will be considered one of the best full-lengths of the year by many, and for good reason.

And no, I'm not giving any of it away. Wait a few months, friends.

In the meantime, though, I've been digging through Luciano's back catalogue, going from the cold heat of "Octogonal" to the trancey shimmer of "Amelie on Ice." The Switzerland-based producer is also well-known as a master of the remix and the edit, and for this reason, I'm sharing two of my favorite examples of this work with you today.

First, we have Luciano's remix of Salif Keita, the Malian afro-pop master known as the Golden Voice of Africa. "Yamore" was originally a collaborative track with the fado/morna doyenne Cesaria Evora, and might just be one of the saddest songs written in the past ten years. Watch and listen below.



Luciano turns this lament into a twelve-minute long workout, keeping the melancholy tone intact whilst adding pounding kicks, stretching the strings into hallucinogenic dubby echoes, and providing a breakdown that is one of his best. Gorgeous stuff.

Salif Keita- Yamore (Luciano Remix)

Next, we have the re-edit of Nina Simone's take on "Sinnerman," which takes the tune's piano line, loops it, and stretches it for thirteen minutes.



Furthermore, the most wailing parts of Simone's vocalizings are isolated and brought to the fore, allowing for another intense, kick-heavy hypnotism that is bound to cause as many tears as dancefloor antics. Quite something.

Nina Simone- Sinnerman (Luciano Re-Edit)

Tomorrow, some old school stylings.