Daniele Baldelli

In the late 1970s and early ‘80s pioneering Italian DJ Daniele Baldelli helped establish the club genre sometimes called afro (or cosmic disco, or afro/cosmic). Baldelli’s style of DJing was built on mixing African and Brazilian dance music with synth pop, reggae, folk, funk, avant garde music, drum machines, and effects for a psychedelic, highly danceable synthesis. Originally popular in northern Italy, afro/cosmic spread to Austria, Germany, and elsewhere. Among the DJs associated with the sound (including Beppe Loda), Baldelli boasts the most releases. The retrospective COSMIC: THE ORIGINAL 1979-1984 is one of the most comprehensive and satisfying collections of the DJ’s output.