COOLTEMPO BACK ON THE BEAT

Blue Raincoat Music has revived U.K. dance label Cooltempo Records after buying the imprint from Universal as part of its purchase of Chrysalis Records in 2016 during the EMI merger.

The first release for Cooltempo in nearly 20 years will be from Italian DJ and producer Francesca Lombardo with a single titled “Eye Ring” in May, followed by her debut album, Life of Leaf. A debut album from London duo Infinity Ink is also on the way.

Cooltempo was active in the ‘80s and ‘90s, releasing music by electronic and hip-hop artists including D’Angelo, Milli Vanilli, Monie Love, Gang Starr, Arrested Development and Paul Hardcastle.

Amsterdam-based electronic music company Armada Music will distribute new releases. Blue Raincoat Music have worked with Armada on management client Kevin Saunderson’s KMS Records.

“Cooltempo is a great brand with a great name,” said Jeremy Lascelles, CEO Chrysalis Records and Blue Raincoat Music. “We are very pleased to continue its legacy by releasing such a wonderful album from Fran. We are also delighted to be continuing our relationship with Armada, who have done such impressive work on Kevin’s longstanding KMS label.”

Maykel Piron, CEO Armada Music added: “I still remember playing lots of Cooltempo releases on vinyl back in the day and it’s great to see the legendary imprint making its return. We are really excited and proud to be part of this and we’re sure Cooltempo will continue to cement its position as an electronic music staple.”