Tigerbalm - Tokyo Business (Daniele Baldelli & Marco Dionigi Remix)

Buy, Download, Stream - https://fanlink.to/internationallovea...

Since its release in November, Rose Robinson’s first album as Tigerbalm, International Love Affair, has received plenty of plaudits from critics and listeners alike. We’re not surprised, because the album’s unique, retro-futurist blend of global grooves, indigenous instrumentation, female vocals, heavy percussion and nods to a variety of past, present and future dancefloor styles is a bold and brilliant statement from the London-based DJ, producer and multi-instrumentalist.

Given Robinson’s own roots in club culture – before turning her hand to production as part of now dormant duo Earthboogie, she was (and remains) a popular DJ in her home city and far beyond – it seems fitting that the album has been given a dancefloor-focused makeover.

After completing the album in early 2022, Robinson reached out to producers whose work she loves – some friends, others like-minded individuals – and asked them to deliver reworks of cuts from the set. The Result is the brilliant International Love Affair Remixes collection, which lands in May 2023 on vinyl (2LP) and digital formats – the latter with a clutch of additional mixes not featured on wax.

Fittingly, the showcased remixes touch on a variety of styles (all frequently found in Robinson’s record bag), but all make extensive use of International Love Affair’s original instrumentation. The results are frequently stunning, from Le Rubrique’s Clavinet-heavy ‘dirty boogie’ rub of the Brazilian-tinged ‘Bahia Escapita’ (which also boasts vocals from a very special secret guest), and Isaac Soto’s pleasingly spaced-out, mind-altering mix of ‘La Brisa’ (where creepy, echo-laden instrumentation, dubbed-out chants and rolling tribal percussion catch the year), to the percussive deep house warmth of Session Victim’s album-opening re-wire of ‘Cocktail D’Amore’ and Tulshi’s woozy, tech-tinged, early morning house revision of ‘Tokyo Business’.

Robinson’s love of Italy’s Afro-cosmic, psychedelic nu-disco and 21st century jazz-funk scenes led her to the door of a quartet of inspired artists from the Mediterranean nation. Legends Daniele Baldelli and Marco Dionigi deliver a squelchy, warming, sunrise-ready take on ‘Tokyo Business’ that’s arguably best described as “cosmic ethno-disco”, while Leng regulars Mushroom Projects brilliantly re-imagine ‘Cocktail D’Amore’ is an ultra-atmospheric, undeniably immersive mid-tempo soundscape full of psychedelic noises, tropical touches and rolling tribal drums. As for Napoli-based Mystic Jungle’s ‘Desert Mix’ of ‘Cosmic Camel’, we’ll let you work out how best to describe it – jaunty jazz-funk pop with all-new soul vocals is the best we can do!

The fun continues elsewhere across the album, with Chico Mann’s deliciously sparse, groovy dub disco-goes-proto-house re-imagining of ‘Cosmic Camel’ and Trepanado’s thick-set, bass-heavy sprint through ‘Riad De Lister’ naturally hitting the spot.

Robinson’s friend Andy Meecham also dons his Emperor Machine alias to remix the latter track, turning in a trio of pleasingly epic reworks that recall the spaced-out proto-house sparseness of his work with Dean Meredith as Chicken Lips. His vocal take features on the vinyl version, with two bonus instrumental mixes (think New York proto-house dubs from the mid-80s, and you’re close) featuring on the digital edition alongside atmospheric, off-kilter peak-time takes on ‘Tokyo Business’ by Bustin’ Loose and Inca Jones.

It all adds up to an inspired set of alternate versions and remixes that add even more dancefloor weight and pressure to Robinson’s original Tigerbalm tracks. In other words, as remix albums go it’s defiantly on-point.