"The Sound Station EP" by Stefan Egger is out on Frinda's Label

The Garda Lake in the early 80ies is possibly not the first place that pops up when it comes to pivotal moments for European dance & club culture. Whilst most of Europe was dancing to more mainstream disco music, few north Italian DJs found an alternative form of spiritual and natural dance music. Forward-thinking club residents like DJ Mozart, DJ Rubens, Daniele Baldelli, Ebreo, Pery and Beppe Loda fused African and Brazilian music, Reggae, Ragga and Bhangra with Kraut-Rock, space disco, US funk or British new wave b-sides with a carefree and partly odd approach into their so-called "Afro/Cosmic Sound". Records were sped up or slowed down massively to create a slow-paced trancey journey somewhere between 90 and 110 beats per minute.

We consider the first sound as "Cosmic Music" was played at Baia Degli Angeli in Gabicce Mare / Rimini by DJ Bob and DJ Tom from Philadelphia. Those tracks inspired DJ Mozart and Baldelli, amongst others. In the following years, clubs like Cosmic, "Typhoon ", "Melody Mecca", and "Chicago" became sacred places for a post-hippie movement. We were getting lost in the rhythms of western dance music blended with sounds from around the globe. But the spirit of the "Afro-Wave "did not only attract a solid and faithful local scene.

In 1980 the 15-years old Stefan Egger got bored by the routine of the annual family vacation at Garda Lake and started exploring the city of Lazise on his own. Looking for excitement, the young Austrian asked some random alternative-styled guys for an excellent place to hang out. He found himself at "Club Cosmic "and instantly absorbed the Italian Afro-Cosmic movement. No one less than Daniele Baldelli played that night in a UFO-styled DJ booth surrounded by dancers and multi-coloured flashlights, blending hypnotic sounds from various genres within minute-long transitions. It became a life-changing moment for him and the kick-off of a whole movement, which he brought to his hometown Innsbruck.

Overwhelmed by the welcoming, inclusive music scene at Cosmic Club, Egger bought his first Technics turntables. He started the "Afro-Meeting" – a series of own events – in Innsbruck, trying to capture the feeling of his first encounter with "Afro-Cosmic Music". He wanted to overcome the local wooden disco shacks with their chart music, which was predominant these days. As it turned out, this was more than overdue. A whole generation of young Austrians and Germans was craving an alternative to the so-called nightlife of these days. Just by word-of-mouth, the "Cosmic Music" of DJ Stefan Egger and his fellas Hannes Alshut and Rob Neureiter became an underground movement itself. It reached Munich, Augsburg and even northern Italy. Egger started to invite Italian DJs to Austria. Vice versa, he was booked in the Italian clubs where his journey once started.

Driven by the urge to create a more and more unique sound by layering dance music of the obscurest origins, Egger became an expert DJ. His sets involved 3 to 5 turntables, live musicians, synthesizers and drum computers. As his definition of "Cosmic Music "became more explicit, Egger's various sources to draw the sounds from started to run out slowly. The local record stores focused on Euro-disco, hip hop, techno and house. So, by the end of the 80s, Egger and his fellas produced their tracks, and "Afro/Cosmic "finally became their genre.

After roughly ten years of djing, Stefan Egger founded his label, "Sound Station Records ", and released his first Maxi-CD in 1987. Until today the Sound Station catalogue counts more than 200 titles on CD and vinyl, most of them by Stefan Egger or his various projects like "Cosmic Project ", "African Project "or "Yes ". Also, tracks from his favourite Italian producers like Fabrizio Fattori, DJ Ebreo, Meo, Yano or Corrado found their way into the catalogue. Even though Sound Station never really aimed for commercial success, the label had built a solid fan base that remains active until these days. The label itself released music until 2016 and became quite sought-after within a circle of enthusiastic collectors.

With AP 001, we present four fully licensed and remastered tracks taken from DJ Stefan Egger's early output on the Sound Station catalogue. While the A-Side contains two almost unknown mid-tempo bangers, the B-Side pays attention to Stefan's more spiritual and world-inspired productions.