Italian born Federico Costantini is now a close member of the Hell Yeah family having released a number of EPs and a couple of little classics on the label before now. Here, for the first time, he steps out with a full-length album project that really showcases his style across nine great tracks. As a regular spinner in Rome best parties, Luminodisco knows how to work a dancefloor in style and does so again with the tracks here, which will appeal to fans of everything from house to disco to feel good beats. He’s also half of Studio22 with Francisco (Jolly Music) releases on Edizioni Mondo and generally always impresses with his unhinged sense of sound.
Opening up this LP is the title track ‘Understory: bird calls’, humid jungle ambiance and rising synths make for a great bit of evocative musical imagery that places you somewhere hot immediately.
‘La Mission’ is next and is a serious slow-mo groove awash with elastic chords, stretched vocals and prickly percussion. ‘The Pirates’ then offers a playful disco jam with clipped vox and lively chord stabs, ‘Welcome’ then suspends listeners amongst celestial chords and baby sounds before Equipe gets freaky with bendy bass, blurts of synth and all sorts of beautifully odd sounds and samples that are charming and curious in equal measure.
Continuing to prove he uses totally different sound sources and textures than anyone else, ‘Da Simonetti’ chugs along on the laziest of drums as sun kissed synths radiate from the core. ‘Zenigata’ is a more dancefloor-aligned track with rising arpeggios, twinkling melodies and stirring, emotive synths. ‘Lavori Forzati’ is a soupy, gooey number with cosmic ripples and deep space energy permeating throughout and the album closes with the upbeat and authentic disco jam that is ‘Oh Mary’.
This album has many tricks up its sleeve but always manages to sound like nothing else as well as making you feel good in its presence. It’s moving both physically and emotionally and really takes you on a unique trip.
