cosmic disco

The tradition & historical record

In music, the terms Afro/cosmic disco, the cosmic sound, free-style sound, and combinations thereof (Afro, cosmic Afro, Afro-cosmic, Afro-freestyle, etc., as well as Afro-funky and later Afro house) are used somewhat interchangeably to describe various forms of synthesizer-heavy and/or African-influenced dance music and methods of DJing that were originally developed and promoted by a small number of DJs in certain discothèques of Northern Italy from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s. The terms slow-motion disco and Elettronica Meccanica are also associated with the genre. Italian DJs Tosi Brandi Claudio and Daniele Baldelli both independently claim to have invented the genre and mixing style. ¹

The Afro/cosmic mixing style is freeform in that it allows for short hip-hop style transforms as well as long, beat-matched segues; it sometimes incorporates added percussion and effects; and it permits major speed variations to force songs into a 90–110 BPM range. Baldelli would also play 45 RPM records at 33 and vice versa. The cosmic sound included a very diverse range of musical styles, from electro and funk to jazz fusion and Brazilian music. Peter Shapiro described Baldelli's music as a "combination of spaced-out rock and tribal percussion." One genre that was usually not part of this mix was Italo disco, which Baldelli believes was generally too mainstream and commercial. In a 2005 feature on Daniele Baldelli, one of the style's founding DJs, music journalist Daniel Wang describes Baldelli's style as "psychedelic, churning, hypnotic." ¹

The sound is psychedelic, churning, hypnotic — not at all frenetic or purely electronic. Metallic klangs glide over a slowed-down afro-percussion track. A train noise over a beat is mixed continuously with a funky guitar riff and then with a synthesizer composition (Jean-Michel Jarre?). Flangers and equalizer effects are applied, not like the overexcited tantrums of a modern DJ, but rather methodically and with deep feeling, changing the texture of entire passages, as if we are gently passing from a radio show through a train tunnel back to a great concert hall. In the interview, Baldelli emphasizes playing diverse selections of classical, African and Brazilian folk, and synth-pop at improper speeds, mixed with effects and drum machines: ¹

To explain to you what I was doing... ¹

"Cosmic", "cosmic disco", or "the cosmic sound" derives from Cosmic Club; referring to the sound of that venue. As such, the term is principally associated with Baldelli, who makes a claim to its invention. "Afro" is Loda's term for 1. his selections from African-influenced disco, soul, funk and jazz fusion genres; 2. his selections of alternative and experimental dance music that typically comprised the first hour of his sets; 3. his general mixing style; and 4. a 1982–1984 series of his mixtapes. In recent interviews, he has suggested a preference for the term "freestyle" rather than Afro, and he makes a distinction between cosmic and his style, claiming that cosmic music is the sound of mid-1980s and later pretenders, is a misnomer popular only outside of Italy, and isn't even a real genre. Baldelli claims that during his military service around 1984, there was a "guest" DJ who became famous playing Baldelli's selections at Cosmic Club. Baldelli's protégé, Claudio 'TBC' Tosi Brandi, performed at Cosmic Club around that time, as did Beppe Loda. Loda counters that no one person invented the genre and style of mixing; he says he coined the term Afro in 1979 to collectively refer to the eclectic, African-influenced music that he and other Northern Italian DJs were playing at the time, and later applied it to the integration of Baldelli's electronic style with his own. The liner notes of a mid-2000s Cosmic Club tribute album featuring Baldelli uses both Afro and cosmic in reference to the music. The term "afro-cosmic" was also used by one music journalist in 2006 to describe the late-1960s/early-1970s music of saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. ¹

In 1983, after hearing the music in Italy, Austrian DJ Enne and Stefan Egger brought it to the club Galaxy in Innsbruck, Austria, and at some point introduced it to German audiences while on tour. Beginning in 1987, Egger started mixing it with more straightforward, slightly faster (but still relatively slow) dance records of the day. His style, once dubbed "Eben cosmic music" by Hannes Alshut & Rob Neureiter, remains popular in Austria and Southern Germany to the present day. Regular gatherings of Afro/cosmic enthusiasts have occurred in Germany, Austria and Italy since the music's early days. Afroraduno, the first such gathering of Afroraduni, took place in Gambara, Brescia (Italy) in 1983. ¹

Afro/Cosmic music has been associated with iconic disco clubs in Lombardy (Northern Italy) and had relevant impact on the sub-culture of teenagers and young adults until the early 2010s. Primastella – Fara Olivana con Sola (BG) – Italy Dylan – Coccaglio (BS) – Italy Tam-Tam – Carobbio degli Angeli (BG) – Italy Sabbie Mobili – Chignolo d'Isola (BG) – Italy ¹

Daniele Baldelli – COSMIC: The Original 1979–1984 2-CD compilation + book Daniele Baldelli presents Baia degli Angeli 1977–1978 compilation + book Daniele Baldelli presents Baia degli Angeli 1977–1978 vol. 2 compilation + book Elaste vol. 1 – Slow Motion Disco: Originals from the Cosmic Era, compiled by DJ Mooner compilation Typhoon: Portrait of the Electronic Years compilation by Beppe Loda Roberto-Lodola-Mondo Blu-TheGoldenYears compilation mixed by Roberto Lodola Roberto-Lodola-Mondo Blu-TheGoldenYears 2 compilation mixed by Roberto Lodola Roberto-Lodola-Mondo Blu-TheGoldenYears 3 compilation mixed by Roberto Lodola ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Afro/cosmic music”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

cosmic disco is genre of disco, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²