Lounge
friendly mix of lite-jazz, light entertainment and euro-pop. (Out now
on Elefant Records.)
Madrid indie label
Elefant Records are on a roll at the moment. Hot on the heels of The
Magic Theatre's second album comes another winning release. Cosmos
is the second long player from Italian septet Fitness Forever. With a
name like that you might think their music would be the perfect
soundtrack for a strenuous gym workout but it's anything but. Instead
it's a sophisticated, lounge-friendly mix of lite jazz, light
entertainment and euro-pop. More smartly tailored mohair suit and
patent leather shoes than lycra and headbands.
Sweeping in from the
Mediterranean (Naples to be exact) is a warm front of sunny,
orchestral pop which gently shifts from chintzy euro-pop, through
jazz-infused swings and orchestral sweeps, into beach-friendly
Tropicalia. With a cappucino at your side it's the perfect soundtrack
for flicking through vintage copies of Vogue or Nova magazine. Add to
this the album's all Italian vocals and true-to-period nod to bygone
light entertainment and you get an idea of the record's charm.
Much like David
Axelrod's early '70s output, the album is immensely sample-worthy,
though with a less serious and weighty feel. Alongside Axelrod, the
album's other musical touchstone is another musical great, the no
less talented, sadly deceased Ronnie Hazelhurst. This thread of retro
light entertainment runs right through the album. Despite the all
Italian vocals, many of the tracks could be the theme tune to some
short-lived and long-lost, vaguely melancholic US sitcom from the mid
'70s economic lull. You know that two girls struggling in the big
apple kind of vibe.
Cosmos has a
unique appeal that just about steers clear of kitsch and manages to
be both retro and modernist, nobody else is making music quite like
Fitness Forever.
Click here for more on
Fitness Forever.
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