Wilfred, an Italian painter and percussionist born in Istanbul in the 1940s, seems to have had a taste for exotic sounds from an early age, and was above all deeply influenced by Brazilian music. In 1978, so enamored with Brazil was he that, together with fellow Italian group Expo 80, he released "Viva Brasil" (also a somewhat rare record), an album that could be called a hymn to Brazilian music. Then in the 1980s he gathered members from Argentina and Rome and finally formed WILFRED PERCUSSION. #A1 (sample_1) is a cover of Milton Nascimento's "Cravo E Canela," struck at a superb balance of prog, fusion and jazz, with lovely trumpet and guitar solo sections. #A2 is a cover of Hermeto Pascoal's "Uri," staying quite close to the original and full of affection for it. Our pick is "Ragazza Dell'Est" (sample_2), a covered and rearranged Italian pop classic: the original is a ballad with a melancholy melody, yet here the accent parts come in with zippy synth flourishes — weepy dancefloor disco funk! A gem that works just as well played straight through as it does in a DJ set. (Original Japanese text by AYAM)