Fausto Messina - Caravan EP

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  • Maybe you haven't heard of Fausto Messina. In his native Italy, though, he's well known for throwing parties, as well as his DJ sets at places like Jesolo near Venice, where he held a residence for eight years. Considering all of this nocturnal mischief, especially in the balmy Adriatic, it makes sense that he would produce such Latin-inflected and squarely danceable music. But he's been learning as well as partying, and these three distinct edits of "Jesa" and "Circus" with fellow Italian Vicente (not their first collaboration) are solid and classy. A muted, hazy trumpet repeats over the original of "Jesa," cyclically building and building over a loose, chattering mix of light and wooden rhythmic sounds. It drops out and holds for a good minute, and then thumps back in with both gusto and a joyful fanfare which seems to herald a night of debauchery. "Circus" reminds of "Shades of Jae" by Moodymann—the dancey bits that is—with a little piano motif tinkling playfully about, and the continual dropping in and out of the upfront, pushy and acoustic drumbeat. The swing version of "Jesa" means he's really going swing, as in prohibition-era jazz swing. It's translated into 21st century dance with a boompty kick, and the fact that it's built around loops. Mr Scruff would be proud, and rightly so. A weird little voice repeats the word "bock" at the beginning of each eight-beat pattern on the re-edit, a nice touch which gives it tons of groove. In fact, it's probably the grooviest on here (sorry, vinyl shoppers), and illustrates the fact that although nothing massively life-changing, this EP succeeds in what it sets out to do, which is producing laidback but thumping party music by combining a jazzy, purist edge with loads of motion.
  • Tracklist
      A Jesa B1 Circus feat. Vicente B2 Jesa (Swing Mix) Digital: Jesa (Fausto's Cologne Mix)
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