Sicilian producer Galathea releases sophomore album ‘Sacred Love’
Two years after the release of his self-titled debut album, DJ-producer Massimo Napoli aka Galathea presents Sacred Love, in which he once again avails himself of the collaboration of his friend, producer and bass player Salvo Dub, as well as a combo of respected musicians: singer Kadi Koulibaly – originally from Burkina Faso – who already featured on the first album, Giulia La Rosa, author of the lyrics and vocals of the title track, pianist Mario Pappalardo, percussionist Sergio Spitaleri and drummer Luciano Cantone.
Sacred Love is definitely a more mature, intense and profound journey than the previous album, and progresses with a magical, dreamlike and spiritual atmosphere that draws from African rhythms and beats and blends them with spiritual jazz sounds that have evolved in the West.
The album guides the listener along a path of multi-ethnic contaminations: “Divinité”, “Ouaga” and “Koloko” see singer Kadi touch on the sacredness and mysticism of the African continent. In “Divinité”, the spoken word of French poet Diego Hernandez tackles the themes of faith, life and the relationship with one’s ‘self’, with references to French chanson productions, in which Kadi‘s spiritual song conjures images of the Sahara, as it intersects and expands into cosmic space.
The title track, “Sacred Love feat. Giulia La Rosa”, was the first single extracted from the album, and was also released on 7″ in two versions, The tune is an Afro-American gospel with an afrobeat rhythm, vaguely reminiscent of Nina Simone‘s “See-Line Woman”.
North Africa is represented in “Equator”, while we climb further north to the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with “Medican Blues”, to finally land in Stromboli with the deep jazz of “Ginostra”, which references the village of the marvelous island in the Aeolian archipelago.
Then we have the Cuban track “Caminito”, a sort of cha-cha with a romantic piano melody (à la Chucho Valdez) well performed by maestro Mario Pappalardo; and then again “Eos”, strongly Balearic with a Brazilian mood; “Impression”, a dreamy journey of impact; “Sirens”, already present on the first album and here reworked in a new spiritual-ambient version produced by Agosta.
Sacred Love is an original and musically borderless album, which expands a certain African sacred culture and naturally blends afrobeat, jazz and blues atmospheres with the Balearic sounds of Mediterranean culture.
‘Sacred Love’ out on LP / Digitally on January 19th 2024 via Space Echo
