Italo-Disco on the freeway around Christmastime

Maurizio e Dandolo: Natale In Tangenziale / Highway Dub
(Mirella Records, MIR001, Italy/The Netherlands, 2023)

There haven't been many Italo-disco Christmas singles. But in 2023, the duo of Maurizio e Dandolo added a 7" to the Italo-disco discography. Maurizio e Dandolo are Italian producers and DJs Cosimo Mandorino and Marcello Giordani. Cosimo Mandorino is not only a producer and DJ, but also a record collector with, as his biography says, an almost archaeological passion for record crate digging. I feel a connection right away. Mandorino was also one of the founders of the Slow Motion Project in 2005, a project that led to Slow Motion Records and several sublabels. He has released music as Cosmo and Malkuth, many of them in collaboration with Francisco (Francesco de Bellis), and is part of the disco/funk duo CH.OP. (Channel Operators), with Raffaele Arcella being the other half of the duo. CH.OP. released their debut full-length 'Fantasy' earlier this year. Marcello Giordani is a DJ and producer who started his career in 1992, is the founder of Italo Deviance Records and has released music as Arredo, DJ M.G., Italo Deviance, Marcello Jordany and Marcelo. He is also part of several duos: Areavip (with Francesco Mantovani), Life Of Marvin, Marvin & Guy (both with Alessandro Parlatore) and Supersonic Lovers (with Luca Roccatagliati).

Natale In Tangenziale' ('Christmas On The Freeway') is the first release by the two Italian producers as Maurizio e Dandolo. They wrote and arranged the song together, but as Cosmo is listed as executive producer and he provided both lead vocals and keyboards, he seems to be the man in charge. The song is mixed by Arcella, his partner in CH.OP., who also remixed the song into a five-minute instrumental dub version on the B-side under the name Whodamanny. Monica Sanova sings backing vocals, while Peter Columbo plays electric guitar on the original version of the song.

'Natale In Tangenziale' starts with some church bells, but after that it's the typical 1980s Italo disco keyboard sound that takes over. In the song, Cosmo sings about how his girlfriend left a day early to go home from Bologna to Cerignola, without really explaining to him why she had to leave a day early. He's not looking forward to the traffic on the highway to Cerignola (he calls it a 'traffico d'inferno', which doesn't need to be translated; it probably sounds familiar to anyone who's experienced Italian traffic), but the thought of the 'paradiso' he'll find together with his girlfriend makes it all worthwhile. Unfortunately, the 'paradiso' turns out to be the 'inferno'. He runs out of gas and parks near a motel. And guess who he sees there, kissing a man, in a car (a sedan to be exact)... his girlfriend. So no happy Christmas for Maurizio and Dandolo.

The single was released on Mirella Records, in two versions - one for Italian distribution and one for distribution in the Netherlands. The record comes with a white Christmas tree car hanger/air freshener, just like the one that is on the front cover. It has the name Maurizio e Dandalo printed on one side and Mirella's name on the other.

Listen to both songs of the single on Bandcamp:


You can also order the single through Bandcamp