Island Dreams by Aura Safari

Red hot Italian DJ and production collective Aura Safari is back with a second full-length album, Island Dreams. It lands on Hell Yeah Recordings on September 15th and is another live and sun-kissed odyssey through balmy Mediterranean evenings, gorgeous sundown sessions and funky analogue grooves.

Andrea Moretti, Lorenzo Lavoratori, Daniele Melloni, Nicholas Iammatteo, Lorenzo Francioli, Ruggero Bonucci and Nicola Pitassio are Aura Safari, and between them, they play drums, percussion, bass, keys, and guitar. They contributed to the first volume of the Buena Onda compilation in 2020 on this label, a year after serving up a debut album on London's Church Records. Since then they have become ever more entrenched in their local scene in Perugia. They are skilled musicians and instrumentalists with an effortlessly charming sound inspired by having grown up attending the Umbria Jazz Festival and spending winters keeping warm at the legendary Red Zone Club, while these days and host their own Tropical Climax parties each month in the town centre.

Aura Safari are also deep-digging music collectors who have extensive and far-reaching tastes. When cooking up their sounds they draw on everything from Afro to Italo, house to disco, 80s boogie to world music, jazz and Balearic beats. This new album shows that once more across four sides of vinyl that sweep you up and transport you to somewhere idyllic.

The title track kicks off with steamy Mediterranean grooves embellished with lush Rhodes chords and sprinkles of cosmic magic. 'Sur Mon Balconnet' then slips into dubbed-out disco territory with 80s synths and leggy drums while 'Riserva Naturale' is a new-age jazz house sound with majestic lead synths and heart-melting chords that speak of a sunset dance on the beach. 'Onda' has squelchy boogie bass with hip-swinging drums, 'Wave Riding' is a lo-fi funk excursion with hints of West Coast Californian swagger and 'Magic Malbe' is loose-limbed Balearica with clear blue skies and blissed-out chords.

'Dancing in the Moonlight' featuring legendary Zeke Manyika has all the vibrant feelings of bubblegum pop with Afro vocals and steel drum sounds next to rich xylophone sounds. There is plenty of heat and exotic charm to the proto-Afro house of 'Tropical Climax' and as well as dub versions of 'Sur Mon Balconnet' and 'Dancing in the Moonlight' come the scuffed-up Dam-Funk style beats and boogie of 'Disco Mantra' before closer 'Patagonia' shuts down with elastic drums and bass and playful synth leads that send you home wanting more.

Island Dreams is a tropical escape to a rich world of fusion sounds that look back to go forwards. It's a feel-good record to accompany hot nights and lazy afternoons, cocktails at dusk and dancing till dawn.

more about Aura Safari:

www.dreamchimney.com/interviews/Aura-Safari/

soundcloud.com/the-dream-chimney/mix-of-the-week-497-aura-safari

www.dirtydiscoradio.com/journey-through-aura-safaris-musical-odyssey-discover-the-10-tracks-that-shaped-their-island-dreams/

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Island Dreams Remixes
https://aurasafari.bandcamp.com/album/island-dreams-remixes-bandcamp-exclusive

Tracklist

1.	Island Dreams	5:10

2.	Sur Mon Balconnet	5:52

3.	Riserva Naturale	4:04

4.	Onda	5:53

5.	Wave Riding	6:37

6.	Magic Malbe	6:01

7.	Dancing in the moonlight (ft. Zeke Manyika)	7:14

8.	Tropical Climax	5:59

9.	Sur Mon Balconnet (Soca Dub)	4:50

10.	Disco Mantra	5:14

11.	Dancing in the Moonlight (Special Afro Dub)	6:12

12.	Patagonia	6:09

Credits

released September 15, 2023

All tracks written by N. Iammatteo, L. Lavoratori, A. Moretti, D. Melloni, L. Francioli, R. Bonucci, Nicola Pitassio

Keyboard, Synthesizer: Lorenzo Francioli 
Electric Guitar: Ruggero Bonucci 
Vocals on “Dancing in the Moonlight”: Zeke Manyika 
Drums on “Sur Mon Balconnet (dub)”: Nicola Pitassio 
Produced by Aura Safari

Mastered with Love by Calm at 9 O’Clock Studio
Artwork by FJD

Published by E.M.G.
P&D by Prime Direct Distribution
C+P2023 Hell Yeah Recordings

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