Agosta. Agosta.

Label: Space Echo Records – SELP803
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: Italy
Released: Apr 8, 2022

Roberto Agosta, or just Agosta as he likes to be called, is a Sicilian DJ and producer from Catania active all along the eastern coast of Sicily, a place that proved to be a soulful place and a training ground for a long career, making him an excellent music selector and a reference point in the spread of alternative music.

A soundtrack music enthusiast since he was a child, now a vinyl ‘serial gatherer’, Agosta has always put his vast knowledge at the service of a very personal sound that sums many different music styles and contaminations, simple and profound but straightforward and direct at the same time.

Agosta’s eponymous album, released on LP, CD and digital formats, was conceived during the Covid-19 lockdown, thanks to the precious collaboration of friend DJ and producer Massimo Napoli aka Galathea, with whom Roberto has already started another project called AN-AN that will produce a new record for Space Echo at the end of 2022.

This record highlights a typical chill-out aesthetic, thanks to its trip-hop and ambient rhythms and atmospheres, while a deeper exploration reveals the psychedelic essence of the entire work, a daring and exciting journey in the most primitive Sicily, and the energy that sustains all of its ten tracks.

Much of their author and his lifestyle - mainly based on meditation, the search for spiritual elevation, the relationship with nature and the regaining of contact with those particular places and with the people who live there - is revealed by those tracks that constitute a soundtrack for this spiritual but also extremely physical journey.

The song titles are, in fact, intrinsically linked to Roberto’s real life: the Gorna and Ilice mountains at the foot of Etna, the Carricante vineyard and its excellent wine, Unna, Three Chestnuts, Varanni, Don Alfio, Lady G. Each of them represents a pleasant and dreamlike narration and the escape from the complex dynamics of a city like Catania, among echoes of the most dreamy Pink Floyd, the softer side of ’70s krautrock, but also the Massive Attack and Tricky’s Bristol scene.

There’s also an excellent choice of synthesizers and overdubbed guitars, thanks to the talent of the multifaceted musician and producer Salvo Bruno Dub, and of Manuela Amalfitano, Loredana Poidomani and Deran Obika’s voices.

Agosta is an introspective, deep work with a cinematic vocation, perfectly rooted in the territory where it took shape, among sunny landscapes, lush with vegetation but also deserted and arid lands. From Sicily to the cosmos... enjoy!

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Roberto Agosta was born in Catania in May 1963, the last son in a family with many children. From an early age he participated in the collective listening sessions that his older brothers - music and politics enthusiasts - and his neighborhood friends, in turn, used to set up. From there was born his passion for ’70s prog, rock and psychedelia, as well as the desire to organize parties and musical happenings in underground clubs and garages transformed, if necessary, into real venues.

At the age of 20 he began to work - without ever abandoning music - in the fashion field; in Catania, he started a commercial activity with the opening of clothing concept stores - “music and fashion were natural consequences that represented my professional growth”, says Roberto. His work experiences have often led him to finance musical projects, sponsoring artists and local realities of the new generation, also through the organization of events.

Among his many experiences, in the early nineties he actively participated in the artistic growth of the first ‘alternative’ disco bar and club in Catania, called “Krasnapolski”, playing hip-hop, ambient and trip-hop music when Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky or labels like Wall Of Sound and Ninjatune were moving their first steps. As he explains, “it was a fantastic and creative period for the city, new sounds were being heard and places suitable for them were born; I’ve always preferred small realities instead of large discos to spread music, places where you can breathe a certain intimacy, where I can express myself and feel comfortable.

In the last decade, with his longtime friends, Massimo Napoli (Galathea), Giacomo Cottone and Salvo Borrelli, he’s founded the Nero Espresso collective, organizing evenings especially dedicated to black music, with permanent residence at “Mercati Generali”, a place that hosts events important international guests such as Dele Sosimi and Fred Wesley.

2022 marks the beginning of a new era and adventure with Space Echo.

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produced and conceived by Roberto Agosta
music performed and arranged by Salvo Bruno Dub
vocals on “Cellars” by Manuela Amalfitano
vocals on “Millstone” by Derane Obika
vocals on “Carricante” by Loredana Poidomani
guitar on “Cellars” by Riccardo Onori

all tracks written by Roberto Agosta

recorded in Nicolosi (CT), Italy, at Dub Studio
sound engineer Salvo Bruno Dub

mixed by Marco Olivi

mastering by Giovanni Versari at La Maestà Studio

artwork and layout by Eugenio Crippa