Digital Zandoli Vol. 1 + 2

06/11/2017Heavenly Sweetness Drops Part 2 Of 1980s/90s West Indies Zouk & Synth Funk Series
 

"That's Zouk," my friend exclaimed, when I played the first track off of "Digital Zandoli Vol. 1", a stunning, dancefloor-oriented compilation of 13 disco, boogie and [yes] Zouk tracks recorded in the French West Indies of the 1980s and released by Parisian imprint Heavenly Sweetness in 2016.

Curated by Julien Achard of Digger's Digest and Nico Skliris (formerly Superfly Records), the release "reveals a broader spectrum to the otherwise poorly defined genre" (Vinyl Factory) with sun-filled, laid-back and body-moving grooves by artists the likes of O.R.E.A., Pierre-Edouard Décimus, Acayouman, Meliza and many more, merging "traditional and other rhythmic genres (funk, disco, afro-beat, Latin, Brazilian ...) with new instruments such as synthesizers and drum machines in the creative process".

Volume 2 of the acclaimed compilation, aka "Digital Zandoli 2: Funky Zouk Spectrum 1984 – 1993" just dropped in October and is an absolute blast from the past. Listen to Nico Skliris' Volume 1 mixtape in the SoundCloud player above or "Pina Colada Coco Loco" by Joyeux de Cocotier below. Big tunes!

AUTHOR: Lev Nordstrom