About

After the acclaimed Bar Mediterraneo, Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina return with a new album that broadens the scope of their sound even further, sailing beyond the Pillars of Hercules into a constellation of gravity-defying creative freedom.

People Of The Moon is not an imagined cosmic species, but a dimension within us all. Deeply personal yet universally shared. An alternative way of thinking that lays dormant until we find the courage to untether it, helping us experience life more fully. It is that precious sphere of the soul that slips away from everyday life. A form of self-expression free from the social pressures that weigh on each, at every latitude on the planet.

Under the moonlight, these songs trace anxieties and aspirations, guided by the international language of groove and rhythmic motion, articulated in Neapolitan, Arabic, English, Spanish, and Portuguese. It speaks with equal clarity through the Afro-Cuban influences of Celavì (“That’s Life”), with its circular rhythmic energy, and through the Anatolian zurna of Ma Tu Che Bbuò (“What Do You Want?” in Neapolitan), moving from highlife guitars to the mandolins that have become a Nu Genea signature. New idioms and rhythms, filtered through an Italian perspective. — (via Label)

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Neapolitan duo Nu Genea have evolved from producing cosmic house music to making a much more organic, vintage-sounding blend of disco, funk, and boogie which incorporates global influences including Mediterranean pop, MPB, and Afrobeat. They released an album with pioneering Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen in 2016, and both of their subsequent LPs, 2018's Nuova Napoli and 2022's Bar Mediterraneo, have been in demand, selling out multiple pressings. People of the Moon, Nu Genea's 2026 effort, expands their scope, with a greater amount of guest musicians and songs sung in five languages, yet it also feels like the group is continually refining their sound and writing catchier material.

The two songs featuring Spanish flamenco singer María José Llergo, the yearning groover "Acelera" and the more chilled-out, Afro-Cuban-tinged "Calavì," are easy highlights. Tom Misch smoothly leads "Onenon" into disco paradise, while "Carè" is much more celebratory, prompting group singalongs, high-in-the-air handclaps, and full-body shaking. "Puleza"'s Afrobeat-inspired rhythm is slightly complex yet effortlessly danceable, and its synth and horn arrangements are similarly knotty without detracting from the groove. "People of the Moon" is a fun, peppy floor-filler with a pinch of ska added to its guitars, and "Sciallà" is an even more upbeat, blissful synth-disco winner. "Shway Shway," an Arabic bossa nova fusion sung by Celinatique, shows that Nu Genea can still create an infectious groove even when they slow the tempo down a bit. Brazilian percussionist Gabriel Prado takes the lead on "Ondas Do Mar," an uplifting tune fit for a beachside party. Nu Genea are experts at crafting warm, danceable music that has a timeless quality to it, tapping into universally understood feelings of joy and togetherness. — (via AllMusic)

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This is not music I feel the least bit qualified to speak in the least bit authoritatively about, but I do know I love it. Italian nu-disco duo Nu Genea swayed back to the stage with People of the Moon, and perhaps it doesn’t quite match 2022’s sublime Bar Mediterraneo, but would it have to?

It’s still a delight in its own right, pure sun-drenched, cheerful summer goodness. Once more folding sounds ranging from Balearic vibes, to Latin and African funk, to jazz under their beach umbrella, these are just pure, strident vibes. If you’re unable to play this alongside an actual pool or beach, it’s still the next best thing to help you imagine it. – (via BPM, Chase McMullen)

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Label: NG Records
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Released: 2026
Genre: Electronic, Jazz, Latin, Funk / Soul, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Boogie, Jazz-Funk, Nu-Disco, Soul, Canzone Napoletana

File under: Disco / Boogie
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