Having recently signing to the new Californica Based label Sleep Walk Sounds, North Western Italian Soul-Funk band West Riviera also announced the release their self- titled debut album. Here at Backseat Mafia we have the pleasure of streaming the album a day before the official release.
The 5-piece perfectly blend soul, funk, jazz with a distinct Italian on their impressive debut offering features the groovy single ‘Curtis Coorey‘, featuring the B3 organ legend Adam Scone (Stone Cash Players and Parlor Greens) and also Parlor Greens guitarist Jimmy James.
Drummer Nicola Arecco comments:
“This record is the result of a continuous exchange — between who we are and what we love. A bridge built from the Ligurian coast to the American soundscape that shaped us. A conversation between deep devotion to soul music and the taste, atmosphere, and melodic instinct of our homeland.
Can soul-funk be made in Italy? Can it come from the Riviera di Ponente? Our answer is yes — but only if every ingredient is strong: the fascination with America, the countless hours spent listening to Black American music, the melodic tradition that runs through Italian song, and a love for focaccia that equals our love for groove.
The album’s artwork captures the essence of this movement. The cover shows a fisherman in Celle Ligure, standing on the rocks, hand-throwing a net into the sea. On the back cover, the moment before: the body tensed, the net still in hand. Action and intention. Rhythm and release.
West Riviera is our name, our home, and our sound.
This is just the beginning.”
See the stream here
West Riviera’s new album is out May 9th via Sleep Walk Sounds. Pre-order the limited 12” Vinyl at http://sleepwalksounds.com
https://sleepwalksounds.bandcamp.com/album/west-riviera
The band formed in 2023 by musicians from the same scene – already members of other groups – and they made their live debut in July, on the stage of the Riviera Jazz & Blues Festival opening for the Seattle-based band True Loves, led by the acclaimed soul/funk guitar hero Jimmy James. In October of ’23 West Riviera took a flight to the United States and hit the road for a tour organized by Bryant Moore, bassist for True Loves, in the Pacific North West Area.
