Album of the Week: Welcome to Paradise II

Young Marco’s idea of paradise is not some image of a beach, palm trees or an exotic location, but rather a sound. It’s the sound of what he calls Italian Dream House between 89-93 and in his second instalment of “Welcome to Paradise”, he compiles some of the best examples of this style of music yet again for our listening pleasure. Tropical sonic landscapes, featuring percussive melodies interlaced with House beat arrangements and sinewy synths that disappear in the ether as soon as they touch your ear, cultivate a mood across the double LP compilation that speaks to something close to our hearts at Jæger. With an emphasis on melody and harmony and a beat that evokes the origins of House music, “Welcome to Paradise” is playful yet majestic, and never pretentious about its origins. Some might draw parallels to Balearic Beat, but this is close as we’ll get to the origins of House music from the European continent.

Showcasing familiar standards in the genre from the likes of 707 Boys and Sasha, the compilation brings back fond memories of old favourites while opening up a new generation to these significant wonders from the past. There is an air of joy in every cut Young Marco selects and holds onto a feeling of pure contentment through the compilation that finds its way to us via his Safe Trip label. If there ever was a DJ that would be in the knowledgeable position to catalogue this style of music, it would be Young Marco and he does it with the experience of a selector that stands in then upper echelons of House music.

Deep, luxurious and soothing, Welcome to Paradise takes us a mile away from the pressures of a weekday, in the rapturous calm engulfing waves of some the best music from a lost era through one of the greatest collectors of music of our time, Young Marco.