Spittle Records has long dedicated a large part of its catalog to reissues of material from 1980s Italy, also adding unreleased tracks: the “391” series, focused on the underground scene of various regions, is a good example of this approach. The same goes for the compilations curated by Fred Ventura, such as "Milano Undiscovered 1988-1992" or "Italia Synthetica 1981-1985". Fortunately, after years of looking predominantly to the past, the present has begun to be represented with compilations like "Milano Undiscovered 2023 – Modern Italo Disco, Synth Pop & House Experiments From Milan’s Underground" or the one I want to talk about today: "Fred Ventura Presents Italia Synthetica 2025". First of all, it should be noted that the people involved are by no means novices; rather, I would say they are seasoned veterans: people like Danilo Carnevale (see Jeunesse D’Ivoire, Other Side, Ivories…), the Piatto brothers (N.O.I.A., Rebels Without A Cause), Fred Ventura himself, Livio Fogli (La Maison), etc… These ten tracks are a testament to their latest projects, several of which have been released recently. Just to give an example, two and a half years ago I did a special on my radio show Musick To Play In The Dark during which I interviewed N.O.I.A. Records and played several tracks from their catalog: there was stuff from Mono Han, who appear here with “Stardust Blooms,” taken from their second album "Things Change And Friends Leave" and from TenGrams, who are present on "Italia Synthetica 2025" with “A Lesson To Learn,” one of their few tracks with vocals, a beautiful, very catchy mix of wave and italo disco (not to mention their remix of Italoconnection’s track “Sleeping,” with references to Kraftwerk’s melodies and sounds, which reminds me of what Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force did for “Planet Rock” using the sample from “Trans Europe Express”). The other half of Italoconnection, Paolo Gozzetti, opens the record with “Spleen Selecter” by his Rimini Metafisica, again mixing italo disco with more nocturnal atmospheres. Sandiego has been active in the Milan scene for about twenty years and has absorbed the atmospheres of the 1980s: his “Suburban Winter” has the right mix of melancholic and robotic atmospheres, perfect for this compilation that winks at an era but presents it fresh. Body System (a collaboration between Fred Ventura and Enrico Colombo of Art Boulevard, Orange Party, Bedroom Rockers) with “Insane” instead nods to EBM, though quieting the angry vocals of that genre. This is a compilation worth buying, and I’m curious to check out the other releases from the groups I didn’t know well. If forty years ago we were able to export italo disco all over the world, I don’t see why we can’t dream again and hope that these sounds will once again make dance floors and bars around the world vibrate!