Loda counters that no one person invented the genre and style of mixing he says he coined the term Afro in 1979 to collectively refer to the eclectic, African-influenced music that he and other Northern Italian DJs were playing at the time, and later applied it to the integration of Baldelli’s electronic style with his own. Baldelli's protégé, Claudio ‘TBC’ Tosi Brandi, performed at Cosmic Club around that time, as did Beppe Loda. īaldelli claims that during his military service around 1984, there was a “guest” DJ who became famous playing Baldelli’s selections at Cosmic Club. In recent interviews, he has suggested a preference for the term "freestyle" rather than Afro, and he makes a distinction between cosmic and his style, claiming that cosmic music is the sound of mid-1980s and later pretenders, is a misnomer popular only outside of Italy, and isn’t even a real genre. his selections of alternative and experimental dance music that typically comprised the first hour of his sets 3. his selections from African-influenced disco, soul, funk and jazz fusion genres 2. As such, the term is principally associated with Baldelli, who makes a claim to its invention. "Cosmic", "cosmic disco", or "the cosmic sound" derives from Cosmic Club referring to the sound of that venue. It has also been cited as an influence on some later Italian house songs, such as Sueño Latino. Daniele Baldelli, Interview in Discopia #3 Ĭosmic music has been cited as a "touchstone" for contemporary "space disco" artists like Lindstrøm collaborator Prins Thomas and Andy Meecham of Chicken Lips. I would also use synthesizer effects on the voices of Miriam Makeba, Jorge Ben, or Fela Kuti, or I would play the Oriental melodies of Ofra Haza or Sheila Chandra with the electronic sounds of the German label SKY. I would play a Brazilian batucada and mix it with a song by Kraftwerk. I might mix 20 African songs on top of a Korg electronic drums ( machine) rhythm pattern. Or, I would mix T-Connection with a song by Moebius and Rodelius, adding the hypnotic-tribal Izitso album of Cat Stevens, and then Lee Ritenour, but also Depeche Mode at 33 instead of 45, or a reggae voice by Yellowman at 45 instead of 33. To explain to you what I was doing… For example, I used to play bolero by Ravel, and on top of this I would play an African song by Africa Djola, or maybe an electronic tune by Steve Reich, with which I would mix a Malinké chant from New Guinea(sic). In the interview, Baldelli emphasizes playing diverse selections of classical, African and Brazilian folk, and synth-pop at improper speeds, mixed with effects and drum machines:
Daniel Wang, Daniele Baldelli interview in Discopia #3 Flangers and equalizer effects are applied, not like the overexcited tantrums of a modern DJ, but rather methodically and with deep feeling, changing the texture of entire passages, as if we are gently passing from a radio show through a train tunnel back to a great concert hall. A train noise over a beat is mixed continuously with a funky guitar riff and then with a synthesizer composition ( Jean-Michel Jarre?). Metallic klangs glide over a slowed-down afro-percussion track. The sound is psychedelic, churning, hypnotic - not at all frenetic or purely electronic. In a 2005 feature on Daniele Baldelli, one of the style's founding DJs, music journalist Daniel Wang describes Baldelli's style as “psychedelic, churning, hypnotic.” Peter Shapiro described Baldelli's music as a "combination of spaced-out rock and tribal percussion." One genre that was usually not part of this mix was Italo disco, which Baldelli believes was generally too mainstream and commercial.
The cosmic sound included a very diverse range of musical styles, from electro and funk to jazz fusion and Brazilian music. Baldelli would also play 45 RPM records at 33 and vice versa. The Afro/cosmic mixing style is freeform in that it allows for short hip-hop style transforms as well as long, beat-matched segues it sometimes incorporates added percussion and effects and it permits major speed variations to force songs into a 90–110 BPM range.