Piaggio Soul Combination Soultimate

(Italian mod collective unveils floorfilling third album!
The collective’s third opus, the straightforwardly titled Soultimate, their debut for Area Pirata, was produced by writer, musician and sometime Blow Up club DJ Andy Lewis (Paul Weller, Fay Hallam) with the dancefloor in mind. Presented as a gatefold double 12″ 45rpm set, featuring four sides of all original stompers, Soultimate is custom-made for soul DJs and the allnighter scene around the world!)Italian mod collective unveils floorfilling third album.

The Piaggio Soul Combination is a musical collective hailing from Pisa, Tuscany, where long-standing mod Marco ‘Piaggio’ Piaggesi combined the best singers and musicians of the local Latin-soul scene.
Mixing Italian, American and Caribbean musicians, the band builds solid polyrhythms, adding upon this foundation tasty basslines and groove-laden guitars. A tight-as-hell horn-section and a fat organ sound complete the picture, offering a boiling pot of soul grooves, up-tempos, latin-Jazz movers and what you could call Northern Soul.

Their first vinyl LP, Italian Boogaloo , released by SanAntonio42, came out in March 2017, and was well received by critics and audience. A second full-length, This Is The Piaggio Soul Combination , followed in January 2019 through IRMA records. This led them to appear on various national TV shows and to be selected for the Sanremo Rock Festival, held in Italy’s most important theatre, The Ariston. In 2020, they began their collaboration with Arkansas-bred Lakeetra Knowles, who slid gracefully into the lead vocal role.

The collective’s third opus, the straightforwardly titled Soultimate , their debut for Area Pirata, was produced by writer, musician and sometime Blow Up club DJ Andy Lewis (Paul Weller, Fay Hallam) with the dancefloor in mind. Presented as a gatefold double 12” 45rpm set, featuring four sides of all original stompers, Soultimate is custom-made for soul DJs and the allnighter scene around the world.

Soultimate is preceded by the single/video ‘Hang On’

The current line-up is: Lakeetra Knowles (lead vocals), Marco Piaggesi (lead & backing vocals, organ, piano, mellotron), Michele Malasoma (drums & timbales), Gio Renzo Baccelli (percussion), Saverio Grasselli (guitar), Michelangelo Pardini (bass), Andrea Milano (alto sax), Manuel Vanni & Cesare Errico (tenor sax), Gaspare Vinto (baritone sax).

Tracklisting
1.Hang On, 2. Scooter Runnin’, 3. Do It, 4. Hard Times State Of Mind, 5. Se Llama Boogaloo, 6, I Can’t Believe It’s Over, 7. Hitman, 8. Borderline Breakaway, 9. No Longer, 10. Newly Born Love, 11. Blind Man, 12. The Facts Of Life, 13. Dome Slow, 14. By Then (I’ll Be Gone)

Bertrand Tappaz – Chronique 2021 – 17/01/2022 – VOIX DE GARAGE GRENOBLE

3ème album pour ce collectif Mod italien dont je n’avais jamais entendu parlé…

Bon cette pochette et ce patronyme vous donnent une idée de vers là où on va!

Du Rhythm & Blues fait pour danser!

De la Soul, de la Northern Soul, du Funk, un peu d’Exotica, quelques rythmes latino car l’orientation claire de cet album c’est les dancefloors!

Cela dit il s’écoute parfaitement à la maison, tant c’est une collection impressionnante de chansons magnifiquement écrite, interprétées avec ardeur par Lakeetra Knowles (qui elle vient d’Arkensas) dont la voix sait être velouté ou feuler quand la musique le nécessite!

Et tout ceci est magnifiquement mit en son par le producteur Andy Lewis (Paul Weller, Fay Hallam… rien que ça !) qui est parfait pour ce genre d’album car il est également parfois DJ au Blow Up club!

Tout ça c’est ce qu’on appel une combinaison gagnante !!!

Cet hiver est glacial : mais cet album est ultra CHAUD !!!!