Memento Ludi

Description

Toy Tonics is proud to announce Memento Ludi, the first collaborative album from the label's founder, Kapote, and multi-instrumentalist producer Arpy Brown. This album is a funk journey that bridges the warmth of 1970s analog recordings with the rhythm of contemporary dance music. Blending neo-soul grooves, yacht rock harmonies, and modern house beats, Memento Ludi captures the spirit of classic craftsmanship in a decidedly modern club context. But Memento Ludi is much more than just a house album. It fluidly alternates between dancefloor-ready tracks and more elaborate pieces. Each instrument was played live by the artists themselves: guitars, bass, keyboards, and percussion recorded in the studio by Arpy and Kapote. After improvising and recording the foundation of each track live, they carefully resample the different parts to create the organic and human touch that characterizes the sound of Toy Tonics. The title Memento Ludi reflects the album's philosophy: to bring joy, spontaneity, and musicality back to dance music at a time when many club tracks seem increasingly mechanical and formulaic. This collaboration comes at a particularly busy time for both artists. While spending countless hours in the studio, Kapote and Arpy Brown have also maintained an intense international touring schedule with the Toy Tonics collective, testing many tracks as "secret weapons" in their DJ sets from Melbourne to Los Angeles, as well as their Berlin base. "We wanted to create a record that feels like a lost studio session from 1978, resampled and synthesized in 2026," explains Kapote.