Miami Club Space's after-hours resident DJ Ivano Bellini has made a name for himself on several fronts within the industry, most notably counting among his party people audience such celebs as Jamie Foxx, U2, Prince, and others. So given that he's also the chief of SFP Records, Bellini's released a kick-ass mix entitled The Gryphon Session on the said label.
The record begins with the monotone thumper of Funky Junction & A. Reale's "Welcome to the Gryphon", which sets the high energy level but doesn't go far melody-wise. Bellini wisely only lets this track have its four minutes before the next cut, which will accurate define the rest of the mix.
When the electro bassline of "Insatiable" kicks in followed by Katherine Ellis' diva belting, you know that this will not be a boring repetitive thumpfest record. Martin H and Oliver Klein kick out an old school techno jam next, complete with the sultry female intercom vocal babbling breathily about "Walking down with cocaine," followed by the Depeche Mode-flavored "Lonely Child" by Slok and closing the strong set is Paul Harris' electro "Breath you in." The next track gets back to the repetitive feel of the opening track but is followed by Tapedrive's "Shining Star" which uses the aforementioned monotone structure to tease and build to a anthemic synth line that's well worth the wait. From this point on Bellini only gets off vision maybe once, giving us 6 more great tracks that consistently both keeps up the energy and ear candy melodies. Just be assured that if you want a solid tech house record, Ivano Bellini's Gryphon Session is the one to get!
