Released: 2017
SCEP 478 | EAN: 8018344114781 | 
Buy EP 12"
“Handful of Soul”, Mario Biondi’s debut album – triple platinum at the time – and to this day still by far his greatest success, was released in the Fall of 2006: a bolt from the blue that immediately reached the top positions of the charts. To celebrate ten years of his recording career, the Sicilian singer has come back last November with a new project: “Best of Soul”, a 2-CD set that combines songs spanning throughout his entire discography and seven unreleased tracks produced by Schema Records.
Since the very beginning, Mario’s songs proved to be a perfect material for an electro / dance / dub rework, and “Stay with Me”, the first single from “Best of Soul”, is no exception: in fact, the A-side of this 12-inch EP is covered by two different versions of that song produced by Luca Trevisi a.k.a. LTJ Xperience, legendary DJ and producer, active since the 80’s in the central Italy clubbing scene and today one of the greatest names in the electronic music scene.
On the flip side, the original version of “Stay with Me” is accompanied by another unreleased track, “Never Stop Dreaming”, also coming from the recording sessions of “Best of Soul”; it perfectly fits Mario Biondi’s unique style: a music background suspended between soul and rhythm’n’blues, in support of a warm, deep voice, carrying its distinctive and instantly recognizable tone.
This EP is therefore a must for both fans of Mario, as it contains the only ‘physical version’ of the song “Never Stop Dreaming”, and for any dancefloor DJ, who’ll find outstanding material for their mixes in LTJ Xperience’s work.
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“Handful of Soul”, l’album d’esordio di Mario Biondi – triplo disco di platino all’epoca – e ad oggi ancora di gran lunga il suo più grande successo, fu pubblicato nell’autunno del 2006: un fulmine a ciel sereno finito immediatamente in cima alle classifiche di vendita. A celebrazione dei dieci anni di carriera discografica del cantante siciliano, Mario Biondi è tornato sulle scene lo scorso novembre con un nuovo progetto: un doppio CD, “Best of Soul”, che unisce brani già editi a ben sette inediti prodotti da Schema Records.
I brani cantati da Mario si sono rivelati materiale perfetto per delle rielaborazioni in chiave electro / dance / dub sin dall’inizio e “Stay with Me”, primo singolo estratto da “Best of Soul”, non fa eccezione: lo troviamo infatti in questo EP 12” in due diverse versioni – entrambe sul lato A – realizzate da Luca Trevisi a.k.a. LTJ Xperience, storico DJ e produttore attivo sin dagli anni ’80 all’interno della scena clubbing emiliana e oggi imprescindibile punto di riferimento.
Sul lato B invece, la versione originale di “Stay with Me” è accompagnata da un ulteriore inedito, “Never Stop Dreaming”, anch’esso proveniente dalle sessioni di registrazione di “Best of Soul” e in perfetto stile Mario Biondi: un tappeto musicale sospeso tra soul e rhythm’n’blues, e una voce calda e profonda, dal timbro unico e immediatamente riconoscibile.
Questo EP risulta dunque imperdibile sia per i fan di Mario, in quanto unica versione ‘fisica’ del brano “Never Stop Dreaming”, sia per i DJ dancefloor, che nel lavoro di LTJ Xperience troveranno materiale perfetto per i propri mix.
CREDITS
“Stay With Me” written by Ermanno PrincipeMario Biondi – vocal
Luca Mannutza – piano
Michele Bianchi – guitar
Federico Malaman – electric bass
Teppo Mäkynen – drums
Pierpaolo Bisogno – percussion and vibraphone
Fabrizio Bosso – trumpet solo
Fabio Buonarota – trumpet
Marco Scipione – tenor saxophone
Gianluca Petrella – trombone
Marco Evans, Sewit Jacob Villa and
Joyce Elaine Yuille – backing vocals
Orchestra Aurelia Macovei – strings
“Never Stop Dreaming” written by Rahma Hafsi, Luciano Cantone and Marco Olivi
Mario Biondi – vocal
Luca Mannutza – piano
Michele Bianchi – guitar
Federico Malaman – electric bass
Teppo Mäkynen – drums
Pierpaolo Bisogno – percussion and vibraphone
Rahma Hafsi – vocalism
Marco Evans, Sewit Jacob Villa and Joyce Elaine Yuille – backing vocals
Orchestra Aurelia Macovei – strings
Arrangements by Nicolò Fragile
A1 & A2 produced by Luca Trevisi for LTJ Xperience
B1 & B2 produced by Luciano Cantone Publishing by Edizioni Ishtar snc