GALATHEA – Galathea

GALATHEA
Galathea

GALATHEA is the new project created by DJ Massimo Napoli, and the title of his first album.

Galathea comes from Greek mythology. She is one of fifty ‘nereids’ – nymphs of the sea, daughters of Nereo and Doride. Such an image points the way to the atmosphere that pervades this new production: dub sounds, spiritual sounds and African settings.

Whilst seeming to be a mixture of ideas, the album conceals a strong personality that establishes Napoli as a creative force. This creativity stems from a focused attitude to club culture with an emphasis on electronic dub which then evolves into a myriad of influences and styles that makes Galathea a unique listening experience.

Mediterranean culture, Afro, cinematic melodies, jazz, spiritual sounds and hypnotic settings lead the listener into an unconscious escape. Galathea’s ten superbly mixed tracks succeed in demonstrating how a skillful production that uses fluidity and a mixture of genres can naturally evolve into a dream–like journey.

SUNSET DUB* – Composed in collaboration with musician producer Salvo Dub, with a dynamic and percussive first section followed by minimal dub and electronica.

SIMETO – Asian influences merge with jazz. The delicate sitar fits perfectly with dub sounds, like the river’s ripples gently flowing towards the sea. Simeto (Symaithos in ancient Greek) is a name derived from a river that flows into the Ionian Sea from the slopes of Etna.

THIS IS AFRICAN JAZZ* – The sounds of the Savannah inspired the development of this track and takes the listener on an intense and spiritual journey accompanied by African dub and percussive sounds.

SPIRITUAL WIND – The essence of spiritual jazz music can be heard on the central 5/4 rhythm, the deep double bass line and the operatically informed voice.

DUNE – From Africa to the Caribbean, the dividing line is narrow: ‘Dune’ references Cuban and Puerto Rican culture. But the atmosphere that distinguishes this track is the interplay between Latin rhythms and dub sounds.

AFRIQUE – The melodic line and the rhythmic Nigerian Afro-funk blends with the dub sounds; the result is a song that’s innovative, heavily loaded and powerful, but also a fine listening experience.

BLACK SANDS – An Afro dub jazz composition enriched by dub sounds and African instruments accompanying a poignant and intense vocal performance.

SIRENS – This could be called the ‘song of the sirens’. An ethereal and percussive track enhanced by the sound of the sea, sea birds and the haunting sirens’ voices.

SCIROCCO – The warm and hypnotic atmosphere of this song with Asian hues is reminiscent of the Shurhùq or midday wind – a warm wind that blows from the southeast over the Mediterranean Sea. The result is an explosive mix of musical cultures with the addition of dub spiritual sounds.

KARMA BLUES – An Afro blues track with real impact. The presence of kora and reggae singing perfectly colours the recording, rendering the composition delicate and atmospheric.

AMANECER* – Meaning in Spanish the appearance of daylight, as though it were a sweet soundtrack that welcomes the sun, while the strings accompany the sound of the sea and the singing of sea birds.

* CD-only tracks