Emotional Rescue returns to the “Afro-Cosmic” scene. Initially emanating out of Italy’s Danielle Baldelli’s ground-breaking DJing, an influence and smorgasbord of African, funk, electro, space rock, Brazilian, jazz and dub, mixed in a unique, freestyle way.

Joined and expanded on by other DJ’s, such as Mozart and Beppe Loda, home-grown producers soon started making their own version of the music, adding percussion, samples, and effects, spreading across Italy and into Northern Europe.

This mélange of music, a sound of slowed afro-percussion, tropical flavours, elements of ethnic-folk, flighty wood instruments, trance overtures, shamanic voices and more were pieced together via heavy sample use in an early hip hop mastermix style.

Bokaye’s Ethno Groove is a classic of this sound. Released on Giuseppe “Pippo” Landro’s legendary New Music International label out of Milan, this self-penned track sat beside the burgeoning house and techno he was releasing as electronic dance music swept the country.

With a background in bands and releasing music, from late 60s rock, 70s pop and on in to 80s funk, soul and dance, Landro was perfectly placed as he literally lived the music.

Merging funk, disco, hip hop and the ‘Balearic beat’ with syncopated analogue beats and live percussion Ethno Groove was initially released in 1990 to acclaim – offering a choice of Afro-Mixes – so much so, it was revisited in 1994 with 3 further mixes, this time with bumpin’ house versions to fit the increasing takeover of club music.

Presented here are 2 versions from each EP. First the ‘Original Mix’, the perfect standard bearer of the post-Cosmic sound, a 100-bpm astral-stomp that has become a sought-after classic of those digging the Afro-sound in to the renewed interest in all things Trance, before the ‘New Age Of Boyake Mix’ takes the Arabic / North African chants, flutes and wraps them around 4/4 beat. Still keeping the tempo low and slung, the heavy percussive, pushing sitar to the fore alongside melancholic synth.

The B side kicks harder, the ‘Double Beat Explosion Mix’ the true house music remake. Released on the 2nd EP in 1994, Flute, sample snippets of the original vocal and a laidback NYC hit hat driven groove makes this a real Italian “Paradise” House remix.

Finally, the ‘Tribal Mix’, returns to the original EP for a slight twist on the original, to many this could be a dub mix. Bringing the focus of the drums and sitar, the mix is acts as DJ tool for the most skilled or welcome additional for all. “Boyake Boyake Boyake oooo”.