Various

𝙈𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙄𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙙𝙖𝙝𝙩𝙯𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙉𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙨𝙞𝙭 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙤. 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚-𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙩𝙝-𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙮 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 “𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩-𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙬” 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚, 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙣, 𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚. 𝙁𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄𝙡𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧-𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩-𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙢𝙞𝙭𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤 𝘼 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞, 𝘽𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙩𝙚, 𝙃𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙚’𝙨 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨.

It seems a fitting time, then, for Spacetalk to unleash Night City Life II, a second deep dive into Ilan’s distinctive, neon-lit sound world – a place where European synth-pop rarities, Italo-dance treats, dancefloor-focused post-boogie instrumentals soundtrack strolls around shuttered skyscrapers, dockside housing estates and wharf-side warehouse conversions.

In the six years that have passed since the release of Night City Life, Ilan has uncovered many more rarities, private-press gems and slept-on treats, with 14 of these featuring on the dusty-fingered crate-digger’s sublime sequel. As with its predecessor, much effort has been made to track down the artists behind the synth-heavy songs on show, with the vinyl edition featuring extended liner notes where some tell the story of their track in detail.

Dive deeper into the collection and more under-appreciated musical masterpieces make their presence felt. There’s Sicilian musician Claudio D’Ignoti’s lesser-known boogie-era single ‘Anche Per Noi’, where rubbery bass guitar, Nile Rodgers style disco guitar licks and spacey synths dominate the sound space, Lena’s fashion circuit-inspired, early Pet Shop Boys-esque ‘Embrasse-Moi (Strumentale)’ – one that members of Milan’s Paninaro movement would surely have enjoyed – and a sublime, spaced-out and effects laden dancefloor dub of ‘Rescue Me (Imagination)’ by Jimmy D, a genuinely sought-after jam originally released on a now impossible-to-find seven-inch single. Offering another genuinely distinctive, carefully curated collection of lesser-known musical treats, Night City Life II is another essential, immersive and synthesizer-powered journey through Ilan’s unique sonic world.