Search:balearic sound

Pure product of the Neapolitan scene, Fabrizio Fattore turns up on Cosmocities Records with his third solo effort. Comprised of two originals on the A-side, and two bespoke revamps from Vince Watson on the flip, this new EP from Fattore draws a direct bridge betwixt the idyllic coastal flow of Italian boogie and straight out pulsating alien disco, sure to keep galaxies bouncing in good order.

Clocking in first is the vibey, otherworldly 'Lyle' - a cross-pollinated ode to the healing power of laid-back, 80s-informed house, bristling with shimmering Casio synthlines and Cuban jazz-friendly pianos and drums. Heliotropic by nature, Fattore's sound sits half-way loungey summer atmospherics and trailblazing post-kosmische jaunts. Then comes 'Island Goddess', casting more of a Sino-Caribbean flavoured spin on the dance floor with its obsessive miss-mash of processed chimes and prismatic webwork of steel pans.

On the B-side dwell two versions of 'Lyle' by true house legend Vince Watson, each of which deliver in their own right. If you’re after a proper classy, straightforward roller, bound to take dancers into a ravishingly deep but rousing trip, then the 'Watson Reshape' fits the bill like a glove, whereas the 'Balearic mix' does exactly what's written on the tin - ushering you into a sense-soothing haven, where keyboard-laden escapism and Afro-style rhythms meet the elegance of muted chamber music.

"Emotional Rescue presents the first ever reissue of Sugar Minott’s rare 12” of I Remember Mama. Recorded in Soho in mid-80s London, the Boogie meets Reggae song comes in vocal and instrumental mixes, as well as a wonderfully teasing long Discomix by NAD aka Dan Tyler (Idjut Boys).

Having grown up and become a star out of Kingston, JA, with over 50 albums and hundreds of singles for the likes of Studio One and Black Roots labels, the legendary vocalist was a pioneer of the Dancehall and then later Lovers Rock sounds.

Based in London for much of the 1980s, a chance meeting in the Wackies offices he met producer Steve Parr, who had recently opened the Sound Design Studio next door.

Hatching the idea to create a label to showcase their capabilities, Parr played all the instruments except the distinctive sax by friend Andy MacDonald, while Minott’s delivery is at his prime, storytelling in the Jamaica tradition of hardship and praise.

Released on 7” and 12”, they have striking differences. The “Sound Design” instrumental / version sees the studio team craft a disco meets reggae in a cod-style to wonderful, almost Balearic effect.

The collaboration with Dan Tyler continues, as he again works his desk dubbing magic. Extending and editing between the two mixes, teasing the instrumental before finally bringing the sax and vocals together for a ‘discodub’ finale. "

»Infuso Giallo aka Philipp Carbotta originally hails from rural Western Germany, first cut his teeth in the music scene of nearby Cologne and conducts a host of activities in Berlin for a couple of years now – co-running the label Kame House, designing graphics and producing and playing leftfield electronic music. His debut LP Ocular Soda presents an intersection of these activities – self-released, self-designed and of course self-produced. Even before the first synth chords and reverse atmospheres of the two-part opener 'Every Waking Hour' tickle the ear, it is the eye that is drawn to the bright, cut-out style cover art – itself made up of two eyes on the front and what seem to be their rough shapes or discarded counterparts on the back.
To stay within that metaphor, Infuso Giallo's music is indeed of a reflective and calm nature, taking cues from Berlin School, library and New Age musics from roughly the 1970s to the 1990s – steadily repeating and slowly evolving ostinatos, lush digital pads, quirky filtered toplines and electronic percussion that mostly eschews four-four monotony in favor of much more subtle syncopations. Balearic bomb 'The Big Rip' with its big drums and acid bass turns the energy level up a notch while retaining the somnambulistic, lingering quality that makes Ocular Soda such a coherent listening experience – music on the sheath of waking and dreaming, both worlds and their inherent logics freely bleeding into each other. There are moments of great expanse, such as in 'Mole Gaze' – I couldn't help but see myself hovering somewhere in mid-air while the music unfolds as if on a great deserted plane below me. Maybe this is what it sounds like once the mole leaves his tunnels and takes in the sound of the world overground. 'Hello World', indeed, in its multitude of information to eye and ear, in its gently overwhelming quality. The title track 'Ocular Soda' closes the proceedings with a whimsical nod to 1970s botany-centered library music, its brooding chord sequence and sweet lead lines gradually fading in the distance. A fitting ending to an impressive LP of highly evocative, at times sombre and at times blissfully naive pieces that leave me yearning for more.«

Written, recorded & produced by Infuso Giallo in 2020 & 2021 in Berlin. Mixed by Philipp Janzen & Sebastian Blume at Dumbo Studios, Cologne. Mastered by Sam Irl in Vienna. Design by Infuso Giallo.

London-based record label Wisdom Teeth kicks off 2021 with something close to home: Blush - the playful, dynamic debut LP by label co-founder, Facta. Recorded unusually quickly over a short stint in early 2020, the record is the product of a period of refreshed and unfussy creativity. It’s an innovative and distinctly contemporary album that moves a good few steps beyond the artist’s work to date - loosely rooted in UK dance music but taking added influence from ambient, modern classical, dreampop, Balearic, folk music and beyond. The result is a lush, ornate record populated by aqueous pads, bleeping arps, wandering melodies and sparse broken rhythms; acoustic instruments that play out alongside FM synths, all processed with a pristine UV sheen inherited from modern pop music. The record opens with ‘Sistine (Plucks)’ - a crystalline synth piece with a stumbling, shifting metre revolving around an odd-ended MIDI harp loop, coloured through with washed-out pads and snatches of found sound. This breezy mood follows through to ‘On Deck’, where an FM vibraphone rings out on top of woozy, warping chords and a subby soca groove. Moving forward the record moves cohesively through a range of shifting moods and hues. The machine jazz of ‘Brushes’ is tense and coiled, with nods towards Burnt Friedman, Photek and Eli Keszler. ‘Iso Stream’ sees a rich, colourful sprawl of arpeggiated synths and dissociated vocal chops unspool slowly to form pooling, lowlit melodies. Title track ‘Blush’ is a forlorn Autonomic love song built from clicks-n-cuts - like dBridge & Instra:mental reduced and reinterpreted by SND. Throughout, bold, broad melodies take centre stage, and the tracks build like compositions rather than loops or club tools. There are echoes of the dancefloor - particularly in the slo-mo bruk of ‘Verge’ and the glacial subs underpinning ‘Diving Birds’ (a collaboration with friend and Trilogy Tapes regular Parris) - however the end results find us somewhere far off. ‘Blush’ is the second long-form release to come from Wisdom Teeth following K-LONE’s 2020 debut album, ‘Cape Cira’, which was widely ranked as one the best LPs of 2020.

Pelagos come from the deep, dark waters on the southwestern coast of Finland, the same city as Circle and a few other remarkable local underground acts. Pelagos’ sound is melancholy in a decidedly post-industrial minimalist, repetitive urban Finnish way, but it is also soaked in romantic wanderlust and Balearic exotica. New album "The Boat" will be released 10th of December 2021.

Four Flies' new record series, ITALIAN LIBRARY SONGBOOK - Masters of Cinematic Music Reimagined into Song, hopes to build a bridge between the modern and the contemporary. Producers and songwriters from today's music scene put their spin on hidden tracks and outtakes from the catalogues of Italian soundtrack maestros, reimagining them into new, previously unheard songs poised between pop and club culture – a sound nestled somewhere in between Balearic, downtempo, and organic grooves.

Volume I focuses on Alessandro Alessandroni, a composer whose trajectory is emblematic with respect to Four Flies' journey as a label and publisher. Despite being best known in his lifetime for his unmistakable whistle in Ennio Morricone's soundtracks for Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, Alessandroni was way more than that. He was a refined composer and multi-instrumentalist, and one always ahead of his time. Partly thanks to Four Flies and its contribution to the rediscovery of the Maestro with releases such as the EP "Afro Discoteca" and the compilation album "Lost & Found", this has become unquestionably clear in the past few years, which have seen his name climb to the top of collectors' want lists and gain recognition in the international music industry.

This release goes back to one of Alessandroni's lesser known film scores, Sangue di sbirro (written for Alfonso Brescia's 1976 poliziottesco Cop's Blood), where he created his own version of the soul-infused jazz-funk music typically found in 70s Blaxploitation movies.

More specifically, Neapolitan producer pAd and London singer-songwriter Jessica Duncan reimagine the original "Philadelphia", which appears on Side B and whose title clearly refers to the city that, back in the 70s, saw the birth of (mellow) disco. The result of their collaboration is "Do You Wanna Get Close?" on Side A, a downtempo, jazz-funk and Balearic gem pervaded by warm, sexy and elegant pop-soul vibes that make it a perfect club track to enjoy the night until the early hours of the morning.

To ensure maximum audio quality, the mastering was done by Fabrizio De Carolis at his Reference Mastering studio in Rome's Prati neighborhood (the same neighborhood that was once the epicenter of Roman library music) while the vinyl cut at the The Carvery, the multiple Grammy-nominated London studio behind some of the best organic grooves records of the past decade. The result is a deep, full, rich and three-dimensional sound that enhances the beauty of both tracks.

The series and volume artwork is by graphic designer and calligrapher Luca Barcellona, an artist used to working with analog tools such as ink, brushes and pencils. He drew inspiration from the world of literature, imagining each release as one of the volumes in an elegantly bound classics book series - an analogy that reminds us of the tactile element that makes vinyl records so unique and precious, while also suggesting the cultural value of a music that aims to connect the legacy of the past and the creativity of the present.

Having already impressed via a slew of releases for Correspondant, Live At Robert Johnson and his own Biologic Records, DC Salas tees up an impressive release for Futureboogie. ‘The Weight Of Uncertainty’ EP illustrates the suave sounds that the Brussels born producer has become noted for, and comes backed with a remix from the supremely talented and always on-point I:Cube.

In its original mix, ‘The Weight Of Uncertainty’ dips into a smorgasbord of sound, as touches of Belgian New Beat slide on up against balearic disco tropes for a spectacular body & soul workout. The legendary French disco architect and Versatile Records mainstay, I:Cube, floats in on a little fluffy cloud for a terrific ambient dance version, fuelled by the kind of IDM brain scrambling sounds once present in the DNA of producers like Carl Craig, B12, Black Dog and Autechre.

On his two other originals, DC Salas gets raw and grungy on ‘Gliding Sound’, its distorted edge adding to the drama composed by the heavy hitting synth lines and the gnarly percussive pattern, whilst ‘They Don’t See It’ introduces some dark acid elements to the chugging rhythm and steely hi-hats anchoring the tracks off-kilter melodies.

KiNK is back with number six on his sometimes experimental, often exemplary, but always exciting Sofia outfit. The driving force of Clap On 2 are the tropes of acid and its numerology (101/202/303/). The opener Disco Spectrum shows why the sound rose from the shards of smashed mirror balls in Chicago – updated and optimized for today. Turbo – nomen best omen – takes it even further, faster and fiercer, while the theme song completes the pogo picture. Finally, Almond Break lulls you into a false sense of security (think yoga camps, namaste cults, kale drinks and Balearic sunsets), before it turns into a pagan ritual to complete this acid test. Remember: wo wants to own the future needs to conquer the past!

SOFIA: Founded by Strahil Velchev and Konstantin Petrov, Sofia is not only the physical location where this music was made, the city where they met and developed as artists, but also a paradox that is reflected in the art and music that comes from the place. Beautiful and ugly at the same time, clean and dirty, brutal as well as romantic, it’s a place where aesthetically seemingly incompatible styles come together in a twisted, yet unifying form. The photographs for the sleeves are made by influential local selector DJ Valentine, effortlessly capturing the local reality.

Balearic floatation tank vibes from another choice debutant to Good Morning Tapes, introducing Nueen with a romantically introspective suite of fluttering electronic productions gilded with glyding subbass, recommended if you're into the sferic label, Bola/0161-era Skam, Eno & Budd, Roméo Poirier or Perila.

Blessed with a play of warmth and dappled light recognisable to anyone who has visited or lives in the Mediterranean, ‘Nova Llum’ presents Nueen’s diaristic account of days lolling and contemplating life in the Balearic isles. Drawing inspiration from its sunbleached rocky mountains and brilliant blue waters unusually devoid of lobster-tanned holidayers during lockdown, Nueen lets his mind and arps drift unimpeded across the landscape in nine sublime parts with a sound bound to appeal to lovers of classic Eno & Budd or Roméo Poirier as much as strains of vapourwave, Perila’s ASMR textures and cult Grabaciones Accidentales.

With a light touch Nueen takes us there, beautifully evoking a slippage of time from afternoon to noche between the glitching butterfly net sweeps capturing the isle’s sleepy ambience in ‘Once You Have It,’ to the shimmering shorelights of ‘Viejo Roble del Camino’ that draw the album’s velvet curtains to a close. Where the backdrops feel still, ancient, natural, Nueen channels a gently vibrant human energy via his melodic and harmonic signature, with daubs of field recordings lending an intangible effervescence to the the tip-of-tongue strings in ‘Centro Gris,’ and with sparing use of percussion and subs giving it a sort of subliminal drive and saline buoyancy, especially in the skin-stroking bliss of ‘Hum.’

For their 9th release Slam City Jams welcomes the fabulous Manuel Darquart to the family!
After brilliant releases on imprints like Wolf Music or Coastal Haze and recently getting remixed by the Italo-House legend Don Carlos, we are happy to have the duo on the label with their „Down 2 Dance“ EP. Originally from New Zealand but now living in London, Manuel Darquart bless us with a record full of balearic bliss, backed with a dope remix by Tech Support.
We are kicking things off with the title track, a deep, yet uplifting Italo-House tune: „Down 2 Dance“ is full of sweet chords, perfectly cheesy sax stabs and this catchy vocal cuts we just can’t get out of our head. On „Cultivating Yucca“ Manuel Darquart maintains the Italian vibe but
gets even more balearic with warm pads, some muted trumpets and of course: The slight sound of the ocean.
On the flip things get interesting with „Prince Of The Rinse“: Distorted 808s paired with a funky lead that builds up steadily and finally dissolves into a wonderful synth solo. A tune that reminds of the early Funkineven on Apron Records. To round this record off, we invited
Londons finest Tech Support to give the title track his remix treatment: He added his signature 80s sound to the original and perfecftly stripped back the tune to its essentials, with gated snare drums and little synth blips. What more can you ask for?!

Following the success of the label's Cassiopeia reissue, Mysticisms presents a second EP from Nail with four previously unreleased tracks of gliding deep house, dub techno and Balearic sunrise anthems, highlighting this respected talent.

Recorded between 1993 to 1999, predominately at the DiY collective's Strictly 4 Groovers studio in Nottingham, with the ever reliable Damian "Deadbeats" Stanley engineering. While edits and overdubs were completed at home, some were mixed down to DAT and cassette to became part of Nail and friends after party soundtrack, as much for pure enjoyment as appraisal.

Still a teenager for the early years of these recordings, Nail was honing his craft. Utilizing the ever faithful S1000 sampler, Juno 106, Oberheim Matrix 1000 and Roland SH101, influences from Future Sound Of London, the emerging 'West Coast Sound' rising in the US, Maurizio's dub fusion, through to the bouncing free party sounds emanating out from the Midlands to a now nationwide party scene embed in to machines.

Unreleased until now, the Cassiopeia release ignited an interest in these old cassettes and DATs, bringing them to life and offering further proof of Nail's place as one of the UK's best House producers.

Ghost the Mystery.

Having further honed his craft, Reuben Vaun Smith returns to
Soundway Records with a sonic odyssey through lo-fi Balearic
and Afro-Caribbean influenced synth.
Heralded as one of the best summer releases of 2020 (Beat
Caffeine), ‘Warm Nights’ introduced his unique blend
of synth-based balearic grooves, mid-tempo lo-fi beats,
and sun-drenched sonic landscapes. A lush debut and an
inspiring story of resilience from the former football promise
that turned to music production serendipitously after an injury
halted his career.
Smith’s second album continues his exploration into
improvised live instruments and programming, while
venturing into new territories of music-making and genres
including soca, benga and trip hop. Also sliding into the mix
are organic sounds and riffs reminiscent of 2000s Villalobos
sunrise scorchers such as ‘Waiworinao’, keeping the Balearic
thread firmly present throughout the album.
Having learned to sail along the southern coast of Spain in
the last year, Smith spent a winter locked down in Yorkshire,
channeling summer memories into his music and drawing
influences from his own record collection which he would
play everyday in the studio. With a few local friends and his
brother to jam with, the result is dreamy and lo-fi, with more
guitar-led melodies, distant vocals and lush pads.
Smith’s debut album from 2020, ‘Warm Nights’, received an
array of rave reviews and support from DJs including Tom
Ravenscroft, Antal and Bill Brewster. One year later, with
‘Sounds From The Workshop’ Reuben Vaun Smith delivers
a matured, varied sound and a glimpse into his incredible
future potential.

‘Eighteen Movements’ is a collection of recordings captured at live performances between 2017 – 2019. The record’s rich textures combine ambient, tribal rhythms, field recordings, ritualistic vibes, and a meditative feeling that runs through the entire LP. Đ.K. is in full flight mode, illustrating the project’s aptitude for deep transcendence.

Đ.K. is a DJ, composer & producer based in Paris, France. A versatile and prolific artist, D.K. has cultivated an eclectic body of work in recent years, with acclaimed output on renowned labels including Antinote, Melody As Truth, 12th Isle, Good Morning Tapes, Music From Memory’s Second Circle imprint, and L.I.E.S. (as 45 ACP).

Luminous and mesmeric, D.K.’s work combines finetuned traces of house, synth pop, ambient, balearic, minimalism, and fourth world music, creating energies and soundscapes which aim to invoke elevated forms of consciousness.

Prismatic tones exchange space with devotional drums on ‘Clarity’ and ‘Echo Chamber’, as Đ.K. hits a hypnotic stride somewhere between Jon Hassell, HTRK & a Folkways percussion ensemble. With ‘Full Consciousness’ meditation bells ring out across a progression of gleaming new age emanations, conjuring an entrancing spell. Movements of pulse and ether.

On ‘Mirror’, sonorous, elaborate percussive phrases are interwoven with drifting ambient vapours, while ‘The Other Side’ veers into broad, rolling blasts of dub and Antipodean drone, a cavernous trance evoking the early roots of Ras Michael and Yabby You, pared back to resolute drum sequences and infused with esoteric chimes and sultry synthesis.

The finale of ‘Eighteen Movements’ represents one of Đ.K..’s most ambitious recordings. ‘Awakening’ is an epic tone poem of aqueous, outer planetary resonance that completes this mercurial cycle with a poignant, euphoric fadeout. Chronicled in the moment, alternating between rhythm and repose, momentum and aviation, 'Eighteen Movements' sees Đ.K. voyaging further, into vast, uncharted outskirts of sound. A collection of movements for heightened states and new diversions.

Mastered by Jose Guerrero at Plataforma Continental. Graphic Design by Javi Tortosa.

Russian Producer Volta Cab presents himself i n MM Discos with Balearic Balsam EP, a record that explores the borders of the sound that was born i n the white i sland, blending i t with a “new-wave” oriented vibe.
On the A side, Saint Petersburg based producer, shows us what he l ikes the most partying obscure rhythms with summery-soothing atmospheres. “Shujumi'' plays along with more ethnic and oriental sounds while “Balearic Balsam” gets highly influenced by t he 80’s new wave.
On the B side, the talented Greek producer “Anatolian Weapons” takes over the control by remixing Shujumi, he twists the original track and adds different acid elements building a perfect 4x4 killer straight to your brain. Volta Cab finishes the EP with “Vedic Space Vehicle”, getting a l ittle darker than the previous tracks on the
A side but without changing the vibe, delivering an excellent new-age-elektro rooted anthem.

A limited-edition, hand-numbered L.P. dedicated to the previuosly unreleased 1990 project by Manrico & Nicola - featuring two special new Balearic versions by Ed Longo. Manrico & Nicola are comprised of Italian artist, singer, composer and author Manrico Mologni, together with saxophonist, composer and sound engineer Nicola Calgari. Manrico and Nicola were collaborating for some time in artistic harmony, and decided to form a duo to undertake their own album. Nine songs identified, arranged and recorded on a wave of enthusiasm - their "alchemy" gave excellent results. At the last stage of the work unfortunately, misfortune struck - Manrico fell very ill. For the respect of a unique creative moment, and for a sort of psychological "removal" all of this was forgotten until recently. By chance, Manrico had an old cassette with a couple of those songs - the memories resurfaced and it was immediately a race to meet again. Going though many recording studios, Nicola found the DAT with the temporary mixes which had been waiting for years with their emotional content.
But finding a way to transfer the songs was not easy. Quite by chance, a miracle took place. Their friend Massimo Parretti, in his post-production studio, was still equipped to transfer from DAT, and everything worked - with the sound intact as 30 years before!
The rest is news, and now a 1990 album - and piece of history - resurfaces.
Archeo Recordings is a re-issue record label that regenerates old, lost, or forgotten rare gems, of mostly Italian music, but also 70's, 80's and 90's music from across the world.
All releases are licensed audio tracks, re-mastered in their original form. The sleeves are re-created for today, but all based on the original images.
Archeo would like to make the music available to a wider audience of collectors, DJs, music lovers of a forgotten time.
Artwork by Filippo Sala, Milan, 1990.

„Sounds like Burial who listened to Psychic TV instead of UK Garage. For me the best Pudel Produk-te so far, I'm thrilled. And you know me, I find a lot of things good, but only super cool super cool, best Pudel Produkte ever. How did you find them, do they come from Mainz or the surrounding area or what? Top record, I would also like to have it on vinyl for grandpa's cupboard“.

// Superdefekt


„The record sounds great!
This is the MFOC record, you can't get more MFOC than this.
Every track is awesome !!!!! It's on rotation here :))))"

// Rvds


„The Masterpiece, can only be topped by the Volume 2!"

// Ralf Köster
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Since slipping out on Leng last year, Paul ‘Mudd’ Murphy’s first collaboration with singer/songwriter David Harks, ‘Susta’, has become a much-played modern Balearic classic, with DJs and listeners alike responding to the track’s attractive blend of sun-kissed nu-disco instrumentation, warming melodies and deliciously evocative lead vocals from Jaanika Leino AKA JaneLy. Now the track returns for 2021 in the shape of two superb new remixes from Chicagoan deep house legend Ron Trent, who four years ago delivered similarly ear-catching revisions of Mudd and Pollard’s ‘Far Away’ as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations for Murphy’s Claremont 56 label.



As you’d expect given Trent’s impeccable track record over the last three decades, both revisions are stunning. He begins by eking every last ounce of soul from Leino’s brilliant vocal on a remix that’s warming, deep and luscious. Combining elements of Murphy and Harks’ colourful, synth-heavy original mix – including the lusciously tactile bassline and boogie-style synth flourishes – with his own yearning chords, hand percussion sounds and a shuffling, samba-tinged house beat, Trent re-imagines ‘Susta’ as a future vocal deep house classic. Melodious, musically intricate, infectious and summery, it’s a remix for the ages. It comes accompanied by a Dub Mix that successfully shows off the intricacy of Trent’s production and additional instrumentation while keeping both eyes firmly on the dancefloor. Beginning with effects-laden synth sounds reminiscent of the mid-‘80s proto-house classics by Paul Simpson, Winston Jones and Boyd Jarvis, the mix sees Trent skilfully add selected snippets of Leino’s lead vocal to a backing track rich in delay-laden synthesizer sounds, reverb-rich chords, echoing percussion hits and chords so warming they feel like a late-night, loved-up bear hug for your ears. Like the A-side vocal version, Trent’s dub is breath-taking and spine-tingling in equal measure.

Andy Compton is undisputedly one of the hardest working producers in dance music. With over 40 albums and 150 EPs released either solo or as part of deep house legends The Rurals, the Bristol-based producer just can't stop creating profoundly funky and vibey music that works on loose-limbed dancefloors, beach bars and shag carpets alike.
He has appeared regularly on quality labels as diverse as Lumberjacks In Hell, Hed Kandi, LARGE and naturally, his own vital imprint Peng.

Andy's latest long player for Tangential Music is a collaboration with LA artists Irantzu Pujadas and Brad Kent under the name Blue Dream.
Aptly titled: 'A Trip To LA' the album is a deliciously louche and laidback twelve tracker of pure LA heat. The project began as many great ones do, without a plan. Visiting Brad's studio to check out his huge vintage analogue synth collection in search of new sounds for The Rurals, they got to thinking...and jamming. With Brad on the dusty old drum machines, Irantzu on the microphone and Andy in synthesiser heaven, Blue Dream was born.

Their first and equally good album 'California Dreaming' was released on Peng in early 2019 and now we are here with a second round of perfectly realised dream-like grooves. Think of the sun-facing vibes of Shuggie Otis, Eddie Chacon, Bobby Caldwell or Roy Ayers at his most relaxed and add a passionate knowledge and experienced grasp of electronic forms. They make this seem easy goddammit.

'I Wanted To See You' sounds like Khruangbin with a 303, 'You Want Me Back' with its mid-tempo shuffling groove, saucy squidge bass line and seductive soul house vocal is pure daytime at Houghton Festival happiness, like Crazy P in the hot tub.

At no point are we required to sweat. Lie down if you must, stand up and sway if you're ready. This could be lovers music or just for you alone. Irantzu's vocals throughout are whispers and purrs, evocations of humid love drenched in reverb and easy living. Sunset music.

The singles 'I Wanna Go Home' and 'Sandwich Dub' don't deviate far from the endless feeling of hazy cinematic sunshine, one a sultry plea for intimacy, the other a heavily dubbed-out slice of musique française amour.
'Trip To LA' with a vocal more than suggestive of the Balearic classic 'Sueno Latino', spare guitar chords and a prodding repetitive bass line creates a feeling of slinky bliss.

Every track is full of sensual melodies and the space required to be truly funky. Press play and invite a bit of California magic in...

Working his mellow magic on the Growing Bin, Sorcerer entertains your inner child with eight tracks of instrumental west coast pop suitable for dancing, dreaming and surfing a wave or two.
While Basso sat in a Teutonic treehouse, feeding his head with the sounds of the woodland, Dan Judd danced on the sands of San Francisco's Baker Beach. Stretching between them, like the world's longest tin can radio, was the Dream Chimney. This legendary forum, run by Ryan Bishop, better known as The Beat Broker, helped to launch a thousand labels, and the Growing Bin is one of them - all hail the Chim!
Here, Dan, naturally mystic in his Sorcerer guise, satisfies all our sensory needs with a Kinder Surprise of sweet melodies, coastal cool and playful rhythms inspired by his children's earliest responses to music. Following his feelings and avoiding overthinking, he creates open, enticing and accessible cuts; each living and breathing that mellow magic you only get on the West Coast.
'Kids World' kicks into gear with the spheric bass of '2000 Studio', a bouncy embodiment of that spacious San Francisco sound. There's a nod to nu disco but the dreamy dubiness takes the track much deeper, especially as those surf guitars start to detune in the summer heat. The breezy fretwork continues on 'Disco Drums', topping a wriggling groove tailor made for the terrace. Shades of rave refract through a healing crystal at the midpoint, encouraging al fresco dancing from sunrise to sunset. The A3 sees Sorcerer get into the groove of 'Bahia Brothers', rolling that rubberised B-line out of his own Paradise Garage before putting the top down for the carefree Balearic pop of 'Spray Paint.'
The B-side glides into being via the night dubbing grooves of 'Fire Feel', a reverb laden journey though glassy tones, off beat perx and gorgeous chord progressions. Next up, the new wave inspired 'Crunchy' translates Sheffield's daring synth pop into a wide eyed blast of psychedelic house, boosting our mana ahead of the loose limbed and light footed 'First Wave'. Ringing guitars reference Ghanaian highlife, shimmering in the heat haze as Dan funks up the drum kit ready for the broken beat and blissed out energy of sundowning set closer 'Escape Route'.

Following “La Contra Ola” (BJR015), Bongo Joe presents 'La Ola Interior', a compilation exploring the ambient side of the Spanish electronic music produced in the 80’s, bringing together 19 little-known and innovative pieces from the golden age of Spanish electronic music !

It gathers musicians from various horizons and of many generations, who shared the desire to create an immersive soundscape and to combine electronic music with non-Western musical traditions. As a general rule, the Anglo-Saxon tropism did relate the spanish peninsula’s ambient music to the Balearic Sound, that is to say to the relaxing music played in Ibiza’s nightclubs. But this music takes place in the productive territory of experimental musics, and particularly in its two main breeding grounds: the tape recording underground and the independent musicians-producers scene.

Inseparable from the processes of self-publishing, distribution and exchange of music that were then taking place in Spain in an artisanal way, the vast underground movement of cassettes was divided between an "ethno-trance" combining industrial beats and oriental sounds on the one hand (Esplendor Geométrico, Miguel A. Ruiz / Orfeón Gagarin) and unclassifiable low-fi tinkerers on the other hand (Camino al desván, Eli Gras, Mataparda, Victor Nubla). Hyperactive, this scene is radical and strongly dominated by the hardest musical styles, but the ambient, influenced by the German Kosmische Musik and "krautrock", also develops here.

The second vein of Spanish ambient comes from some of the independent labels of the peninsula (DRO, GASA, El Cometa de Madrid, EGK) whose activity will mark the return of some of the most adventurous musicians-producers of the 70s. Some were influenced by American minimalism (Luis Delgado / Mecánica Popular, Suso Saiz, Javier Segura), others by Fourth-World Music conceived by Jon Hassell and Brian Eno (Finis Africae, Jabir). Having passed through folk, ancient, traditional or contemporary music, and being familiar with improvisation and studio techniques, these artists come from a mutant hippie culture, capable of phagocyting many musical styles from electronic ambient to ethnic improvisation and modal jazz.

These two scenes and generations that make up LA OLA INTERIOR intersect around a common interest in non-Western musical traditions. Their exploration may be that of the tribal origins of electronic rhythms or the Arab heritage of Spain. Above all, it is a dreamy exoticism, an immobile journey as the sounds, rhythms or instruments of these traditions are scrutinized by Western practices (avant-garde music, electronic technology). The result is a hybrid music, filtered and reinvented, neither Western nor extra-Western, with a pronounced taste for the fusion of opposites, which we have called "Acid Exoticism" because of its permanent search for trance or contemplation. Atmospheric, contemplative and serial, these musics still plunge us today into a sensorial journey, at the same time interior and distant, organic and technological, between exotic reminiscences and interior visions.

A seamless mix of the organic and inorganic, the recent past and distant future, and the possible and impossible, Japanese multi-media artist Masumi Hara's sophomore album arrived like a fish on the moon in 1984. An album filled with contradiction and purpose, 4 X A Dream is both balearic acid folk and damaged steel drum dub, hi-tech new wave balladry and ambient synth pop. Classical and neoimpressionist vibes haunt and entrance. Quite possibly the most unique LP you'll ever add to your collection.

A seamless mix of the organic and inorganic, the recent past and distant future, and the possible and impossible, Japanese multi-media artist Masumi Hara's sophomore album arrived like a fish on the moon in 1984. An album filled with contradiction and purpose, 4 X A Dream is both balearic acid folk and damaged steel drum dub, hi-tech new wave balladry and ambient synth pop. Classical and neoimpressionist vibes haunt and entrance. Quite possibly the most unique LP you'll ever add to your collection.

For their first new release in twenty years, Toko turn to the talents of their original 'in house' producer Si Brad, who calms and charms with the butter smooth Balearic soul of 'Falling Down'.
Featuring the rich vocals of Azeem, this sublime sundowner takes Curtom Horns on a Moon Safari, a nimble bassline chasing crunchy keys across the horizon before the sublime vocoder soul of the final third transports us from Sheffield to Shibuya. Slow burning, deep and meaningful, 'Falling Down' is your new summer soundtrack.

Balearic trailblazers Psychemagik take the controls for the B side, creating an atmospheric extension which is low slung and laid back but still dressed for dancing. Building a haunting riff into the main refrain, they lead us through nearly 12 minutes of floatation tank funk awash with heart-swelling strings and cascading keys. As the breaks and bass intensify, the track swells into a true end of night anthem for the horizontal dancers.

Welcome home.

The International Feel label is back from an extended meditation. Well-rested and with a cornucopia of new ideas and records, IFeel is happy to announce the debut album from Charlie Charlie as the starting shot. „Little Things“ is the brainchild of Gabriella Borbély alias Bella Boo and Jens Resch better known as Chords. Born on a beach in Southern California instead of their hometown Stockholm, it is exactly what you would hope for such a record to be: pop music that is informed by hippie or counter culture and by a Balearic ethos (hence the International Feel address) that is free of blinkered definitions. In equal parts, the duo’s ten songs take the listener through honey dripping r&b, while respelling that certain Californian recording studio sound aesthetic, revisit vintage yacht rock and pop tropes as well as they are reflecting dance music influences in a broken, yet gold framed mirror. Most of all, it’s like a day dream that you don’t want to end. To quote our Italian friends from Edizioni Mondo: good listening experience!

Band info:
Charlie is Gabriella Borbély – also known as Stockholm's deep house virtuoso Bella Boo. Charlie is Jens Resch – also known as prodigious producer/musician Chords. The two Charlies met on a beach in Southern California and immediately decided to write a song together.
That first track was built on the sampled sounds of a rusty drainpipe. Charlie fired up a dusty ARP Odyssey and played a woozy solo over the drainpipe beats, then the other Charlie did the same, using that same legendary 70's analogue synth. When they realized the two separately recorded solos played together in perfect harmony, they knew they had to keep heading down their newly found, shared musical path.
Charlie & Charlie have since continued making music together, describing their common process as liberating, free-flowing, genre-less. "Little Things", their debut album, is made up of tracks recorded in Los Angeles and Stockholm, using that very same ARP as well as pianos, electric guitars and machines like the Prophet 6, the Juno-106 and the Syncussion SY-1. Vocal contributions come from the Charlies themselves as well as friends like Mapei and Julimar Santos.

Hell Yeah's debut Buena Onda compilation proved hugely successful. It also kept people drenched in exotic dance floor sounds while the pandemic has kept everyone apart. Now the Berlin-based party is back and on a mission to redefine what Balearic means with a first-ever vinyl-only sampler featuring exclusive, unreleased tunes and remixes compiled by Marco Gallerani and Gallo from brothers around the world.

The a-side is all about new kids on the block: Australian cyborg disco don Kayroy appeared on the label in 2020 with his Imaginary Expeditions EP and now links with his friend Jaspar Robinson, a dreamer with his head amongst the stars. He provides the vocals which speak of an astronaut lost in space and aching for a missing loved one while sombre chords and downbeat bass make for a beautifully longing groove. It's a blue-eyed Balearic classic. The up-and-coming Italian Feel Fly of labels like Internasjonal then goes widescreen with his 'Esperanto.' The chords shimmer, the baseline percolates and the guitar riffs arc up to the heavens for some late-night intergalactic bliss.

The flip side features more mature and established artists: label regular Max Essa offers a remix of The Vendetta Suite 'Neon Secrets,' which has naive Eastern melodies and rueful 80s chords with a subtle new age feel that dumps you right on the beach at sundown. Last of all come Chris Coco and Micko Roche with true-school Balearic classic complete with cicada-like shakers, mellifluous Spanish guitar licks, flutes and soft, frothy, rolling beats that break like waves on a sun-kissed Mediterranean coastline.

Balearic Beats 2021 Sampler 1 offers something for every hour of the day, making this a perfectly functional 12" for the modern Balearic DJ.

Support by Prins Thomas, Calm, Chris Coco, Andy Wilson (Ibiza Sonica), Pete Gooding, Severino (Horse Meat disco), Will Nicol, Phil Cooper, Leo Mas, Mike Salta, Balearic For You, Jon Sa trinxa

Barcelona's Pau Roca is back with his 2nd release on LA label Pleasure of Love, EP of cool-hazy balearic house with equal parts sunrise and sunset energy.

Roca is a standout in the Barcelona DJ scene, with his party Libido and labels Escola and Bons Records, he’s established himself as a premiere record collector/DJ and a producer in the scene. You can hear it in "Euphoria", a track that shows Roca’s deep understanding/appreciation of this music’s roots while updating the sound and capturing the mood and essence of the title. "Marble Arch" is another chugging, deep italo/spanish house number - filtering in breakbeats, choir patches, and a resonant lead to hypnotizing effect.

The legend Pal Joey brings a trademark sound to his version of "Euphoria" on the flip, lending vocals and organ to a tripped out and blissful vision of the track. "Hope" rounds out the EP, a downtempo, uplifting piece for lovers of atmospheric retro-house.

Makèz have come a long way since they first sneaked into Amsterdam’s studio 80 at the age of 17 to hand over their demos to Dam Swindle. Those demos led to their debut EP ‘Different planets’ on Heist in 2019 which gained major support from artists like Seth Troxler and Chez Damier. Quickly after, they signed two records on New York based label Let’s Play House. Fast forward two years, and here we are: the release of their debut album “City of all”.

"City of all” shows an admirable level of sophistication and matureness and effortlessly bridges genres across its 13 tracks. You can feel the amount of thought that has been put into this record, with songs happily blending into each other as Makèz submerge themselves in their concept of accidental encounters, inclusiveness and what it means to live in a city like Amsterdam.

On “City of all”, Makèz bring together all the musical influences they’ve picked up in their life as music fans, clubbers and art students. The jazz-funk of opening track “The entrance” feels breezy, casual almost, like the freeform rhythms that are played in a jazz club during soundcheck. That energy also oozes from “Not so different”, which features the smooth vocals of LYMA. There’s a hint of the house-meets-R’n B vibe that made Anderson .Paak the star that he is now. The song is brilliantly funky and shows the songwriting and arrangement talent of Makèz, who cleverly use pop & soul cues to create one of the album’s highlights.

What follows is 4 cuts ranging from the syncopated Balearic funk of “Orbit”, the strings of album title track “City of all”, the organ-led jam “Gonna getya" and the downbeat “Sonder”. Allysha Joy -best known for performing in Melbourne Hip Hop collective 30/70 - is featured on the deep and jazzy cut “Looking up”. If Makèz and Allysha are all looking up, it’s clear they’re seeing the same thing. These kindred spirits perfectly complement each other on this track, where the deep bass, warm harmonies and jazzy percussion prove to be a perfect foundation for Allysha’s rhymes.

Is it an album all about jazz and soulful tracks to listen to at home? Far from that. There’s a nice bit of dance floor-oriented tracks, where the distorted filter funk of “Roselane” featuring Fouk proves to be a highlight along with what is arguably the heaviest cut of the album: “Bent with funk”.

In an EP context, these house tracks would surely do their work, but they really come to life in this album format. No compromise has been made to storytelling and the house tracks all play their part while still standing their ground as powerful club tracks. It’s the expert production and smart arrangement that gives this album its casually funky feel. On “City of all”, Makèz showcase their remarkable talent for writing an album that goes to so many different places, but most of all, just really feels like home.

Enjoy the music,
Maarten & Lars

Three years ago Danish guitar player and highly acclaimed session musician Jacob Gurevitsch made his solo debut with 'Lovers In Paris', a sweetly melancholic single which conquered sunsets worldwide and earned a place in many quality compilations and has over 10 million views on Youtube. Roll forward to 2018 and this stunning track now heads up the Danish guitarist's first vinyl album, on Kenneth Bager's renowned Music For Dreams label. The original album of 'Lovers In Paris' album entered the iTunes chart at #1 position in Denmark and was (back then) being hailed as one of the Records of the Year by the Balearic Community. And the success story continues. With over 2 million monthly streams Jacob Gurevitsch is a name to watch.

This vinyl debut album 'An Introduction' consists of selected works from the 'Lovers In Paris album, a few from his 'Cinematica' Ep and some from his forthcoming album 'In Search Of Lost Time.'

One could say A kind of Greatest Hits.!

10 melodic and beautiful originals.

'Mexican Margarita' is a truly impressive piece of guitar work with superb bongos and bass - already an essential tune for any Balearic collector - and the recently released single 'Spanish Inquisition' a current DJ Harvey fave, shows his technical and compositional ante into the world of Flamenco. 'Mapa De Soledad' and 'Poesia Del Mar' both gorgeous and moving Mediterranean-flavoured ballads full of emotional keyboards, soulful strings and accordions. The indelible upbeat of 'Motive Loco' and elegiac cinematic 'In Search Of Lost Time' remains memorable long after listening and this hits the nail on the head.

Jacob Gurevitsch the guitar player and composer has a unique sensibility to write themes and melodies that transcend time and sound like divine interventions.

New Zealand collective Flamingo Pier's debut album - serving up euphoric disco hooks, classic house choruses and forays into Latin funk, balearic and psychedelia

Auckland. Musicians from the tightly knit local scene swung through to contribute to the recording, including fellow Soundway act Julien Dyne on drums, as well as saxophonist Nathan Haines.

The self-titled album draws from the band’s wide-ranging taste, as well as what they’ve been playing in order to keep spirits up. Channelling classic emotive house, to disco, Afro and jazz funk on their debut album, Flamingo Pier cite a wide range of musical influences such as Khruangbin, Roisin Murphy, Peven Everett, house legends Masters at Work and Brazilian artist Tim Maia. This translates into an uplifting but nostalgic current running throughout the album - reflecting on last chances, soul-searching and longing for the carefree days of the dance floor.

Those who pay close attention to DJ Harvey’s sets should already be familiar with NuNorthern Soul’s next single, a fully licensed reissue of a sought-after 1980 promotional seven-inch from legendary Spanish Flamenco singer Manuel Mancheño Peña, better known as El Turronero (‘The Nougat’).

Both ‘Las Penas’ and ‘Si Yo Volviera A Nacer’ have long been secret weapons in the sets of dusty-fingered Balearic DJs, with Harvey regularly dropping the tracks during his sessions at Pikes Hotel on the White Isle.

Both tracks first appeared on Pena’s 1980 album New Hondo, a set that updated the then veteran Flamenco artist’s sound for the disco era. Whereas most of his previous albums were more traditional Flamenco affairs, New Hondo combined his throaty, effervescent Flamenco singing style with the driving grooves, swooping orchestration and spacey synthesizer sounds of European disco.

To promote the album, Spanish label DB Belter pressed up a promotional “45” featuring two of the most club-friendly cuts on the album. It’s this release that is being reissued for the very first time by NuNorthern Soul.

A-side ‘Las Penas’ is undoubtedly an off-kilter, late-night disco classic. Built around a flanged, action-packed disco-funk bassline, metronomic beats. soaring and layered female backing vocals, intergalactic synth sounds and stirring strings, the track steps up a level when ‘El Turronero’ takes to the microphone to belt out an infectious, energetic vocal in his trademark Flamenco style. It’s the kind of cut that’s as haunting and intoxicating as it is funky and floor friendly.

Flipside ‘Si You Volviera A Nacer’, another of New Hendo’s most sought-after tracks, is another unique and righteous concoction. Looser, groovier and warmer in tone, it sees another sublime, Flamenco style lead vocal from Pena accompanied by even funkier bass, spiralling ’70s synthesizer sounds, sweaty drums and some seriously exotic instrumental flourishes (think sitar and kalimba). It’s every bit as alluring as the more driving A-side, and equally as playable.

Both tracks may be unusual in comparison to the artist’s other releases, but they expertly capture a moment in time, when disco dominated dancefloors all over the world and inspired even the most traditional and historic of European musical styles. Quite a number of flamenco-disco records were made in Spain during the late ’70s and early ’80s, but very few are quite as magical as these.

The 71st release on International Feel is not only the wake-up-call from the label’s well-deserved lull, but also the constitution of Charlie Charlie.Consisting of Gabriella Borbély alias Bella Boo and Jens Resch better known as Chords, their genesis didn’t happen in their home port Stockholm, but on a beach in Southern California – and the music kid of gives it away, too. „Save Us“ takes a sun bath in pop melodies with infectious vocals of Mapei and a cabriolet ride on the proverbial highway, while „Charly“ is its instrumental counterpart that would sound good on any beach on this planet and was to be expected on a label like International Feel. Balearic on a meta-level and soon to be experienced in full album mode. Hey Charlie!

Bosconi welcomes fellow producer Mattia Lapucci on board with his EP titled Levitated Sensor Detector (LSD) with a massive 4-track that includes a great variety of styles: from Electro to Deep House with a touch of progressive trance reminiscences, all fused in a decidedly original and unique style.
The record opens with "LSD Hallucinogen", surely a floor killer with a retro flavor and EBM inspiration characterized by mechanical grooves with an industrial appeal and a hypnotic voice capable of dragging you into this sonic 'mind bending' vortex.
The second cut of the A side is "Quantum Entaglement" which goes deeper into the territories of the renowned old school 90s Italian house with its recognizable deep basslines and its mysterious sound weaves in full afterhour style.
Side B opens instead with "Density Matrix", a song performed during the quarantine period that resonates in its suggestive hybrid vein between New Beat and Balearic carefree as a nostalgic call to freedom.
The closing piece of this release is finally entrusted to the fluid atmospheres of "Kinematic Postulates" where a relaxed and fascinating proto trance melody will keep you ready for a soft landing in the most psychedelic territories of dance music. One for the Eat Static fans for sure, we hope you dig it!

Debut release for the brand new mediterranean label ‘R&C Records’ based on just “benessere” (well-being).

It opens with ‘Eram’ a nice italo-balearic flavoured fusion between Carella’s sounds & sea winds, ruffled by drums of “Soul”.

On the flip-side ‘Key Mon’ is a splash of psycho roller drums on Peter’s magical voice. Shock !!

The second album from Brighton based Balearic duo Andres y Xavi. This time with a little help from Rolo McGinty of Peel faves and Balearic Beat legends The Woodentops. This is a love letter to the forgotten side of Ibiza: dusty lanes, olive groves and clearings with sea views that go on for miles.

10 original compositions plus a cover of Talk Talk’s Renee.

The self released and distributed first album found favour with Balearic DJs across the world. Lead track ‘My alibi’ was picked out by the likes of Kenneth Bager, Danny Psychmagik and ‘Never seen Ibiza’ was a firm favourite of Phat Phil Cooper and Balearic Ultras.

Rolo adds guitar and vocals and a Woodentops vibe to two tracks on the album ‘What do you see in me?’ and ‘Walking in the sun’, his personal tribute to Jose Padilla.

First album received support from Kenneth Bager (Music for Dreams), Phat Phil Cooper (NuNorthernSoul), Chris Coco, Mike Salta, Leo Mas, Balearic Ultras, David Pickering (OneMillionSunsets) and many more!

And was described by Dr Rob (Ban Ban Ton Ton) as "Smokey Muscle Shoals organ plays, strings swoon, and Kosmische synths blink like distant stars... an overall “vibe” somewhere between Mo`Wax and the Sunday Best of Bent and Dan Mass... adorned by cascading Indie “neo-acoustic” guitar jangle. Like The Stone Roses by way of Horsebeach."

Growing Bin switches back into reissue mode with an off-kilter obscurity from Austrian eccentrics Molto Brutto. Equal parts amateur funk, indie jangle, art rock and idiot pop, "2" is a real weird bastard with a whole lot of charm. As the Bin continues to grow in all directions, there's plenty of space for new sounds to take root. Alongside patches of Ambient, Balearic, Kosmische and Jazz, Hamburg's audio allotment now stretches to accommodate the strange waves of Molto Brutto.

Basso dug their first LP a decade back in Stuttgart's Second Hand Records, embracing their abrasive style of sandpaper sonics and experimental urges. Interest piqued, he made the journey through their DIY catalogue, capturing excellent collaborations under the Ganslinger alias before bumping into the second of their two LPs. Originally released on their Golfdish imprint in 1988, "2" walks into the pub with an air of accessibility, but quickly unravels into glorious chaos - pissing in the corner and passing out on the bar. Pop structures are suggested then subverted.
Pints of Paisley slosh out of a broken Glass, tape loops spool onto shabby Material, and indie janglers are just a couple of stamps short of a Postcard.

Turning you tipsy, this loveable rogue starts to tell you his life story, but you're going to have to fill in some blanks. They miss 'Blackie', but who is he - a dog? What happened on the 'Deadly Vacation'? Is that song really about a 'Goldfish', or did they find out the name of America's horse? Words repeat until they lose all meaning, awkward poetry masks a lost laureate and a drunken Wurlitzer sends the room into a spin.

The pubs are shut, so get happy drunk with Molto Brutto.
Patrick Ryder

Everything has its right moment in space and time. And Rhode & Brown’s debut album “Everything in Motion” is no exception to this rule.

But first things first:
Hailing from Munich, Germany, Friedrich Trede and Stephan Braun are the DJ and producer duo Rhode & Brown. Growing up in two neighbouring villages near Munich both of them had been music enthusiasts since their early childhood. Friedrich played drums in punk bands at school and recorded rap songs in his bedroom, while Stephan, as childhood friend of Harold Faltermeyer's son, had the chance to experiment in the impressive studio of the legendary Donna Summer producer in his early teens.

By the late 2000s older friends started supplying them with DJ mixtapes and helped them sneak into clubs they weren’t allowed to visit, yet – cultivating their love for electronic music and club culture. And, of course, the Internet was their go-to source for finding the latest blog house tunes back then, too.

It wasn’t until October 2009 that their paths would cross for the very first (but almost last) time when introduced by a mutual friend: Back then Stephan was selling his old CDJ-player and Friedrich, who wanted to hone his DJ skills, ended up buying it: „When I got home and unpacked the player I realized that it was the wrong model. I thought Stephan was trying to rip me off - so I called him in a rage and demanded my money back.“ Friedrich laughs. To cut a long story short, the two met again the same evening, money and CD-players were exchanged, but luckily so was their passion for house and disco music. It was at that very moment that Rhode & Brown was born.

A lot has happened since the two played their first gigs together and made baby steps in music production. In the past 10 years they established themselves as one of the most reliable house producers around with rock solid releases on Toy Tonics, Shall Not Fade, Public Possession or their own Slam City Jams imprint. As well as becoming a household name in the DJ world, sharing the booth with the likes of Palms Trax, Dam Swindle, Jamie Tiller or Octo Octa - spreading their infectious "Dancing Deejays" vibes around the globe.

Following the great reception of last years „Aku Aku“ EP, June 2021 will see the release of Rhode & Brown’s debut album on Permanent Vacation. A record that showcases their open minded approach to making music and a passion for the nuances between genres - „We found inspiration for this album in all corners of our record collection. That means we are as much influenced by disco or 80s synth-pop as by house and techno of the last decades or the latest viral trap hit on Spotify“, the guys say.

On "Everything In Motion" you'll hear piano house / Italo disco hybrids alongside dreamy Balearic soundscapes and '90s-infused acid breakbeats flawlessly accompanying '80s synth pop anthems. Always infused with that signature Rhode & Brown magic. The album also finds them collaborating with some of the finest vocalists of the moment: Peaking Lights' own Indra Dunis is lending her voice to the title track for this special laid back California vibe, while Berlin's hottest export DJ City evokes a neon light romance affair on "Memory Palace", with a longing poem that makes you wander the rainy streets at night with your walkman on.

At a time when suddenly everything seems to be standing still, Rhode & Brown undeterred moving forward... true to their LP’s title.

Leo Ceccanti should be a familiar name to all followers of the Claremont 56 label. Alongside sometime studio partner Gianluca Salvadori, he was responsible for two delightfully distinctive Almunia albums released on the label, 2011’s New Moon and 2013’s Pulsar. Both sets were filled with golden, sun-kissed sounds, psychedelic grooves and immersive, life-affirming soundscapes.

Now he’s decided to go it alone as Leo Almunia, delivering a debut album for Claremont 56 that’s every bit as alluring, wide-eyed and evocative as those he made with Salvadori. In keeping with his previous work, the album blends layered acoustic and electric guitars with toasty bass, dreamy synthesizers and grooves that variously touch on hypnotic house, chugging mid-tempo disco, sunset-ready Balearic beats and, on the glistening, life-affirming album highlight ‘Wishing Star’, loose-limbed jazz breaks.

What’s most significant about Ceccanti’s personal musical style is not the blend of stylistic influences he draws on – think psychedelic rock, progressive rock, jazz-rock, new age ambient and slow-motion disco – but rather the way he uses it to paint vivid aural images that genuinely linger long in the memory.

After opening with the duelling guitars and chunky dub disco grooves of ‘Sinking Fields’, Ceccanti sashays between magical moments of rush-inducing positivity, heart-tugging poignance and heady nostalgia.

Along the way, you’ll find numerous sonic highlights. On the intoxicating 21st century psychedelia of ‘Panerea’, jangling chords and eyes-closed psych-rock guitar solos ride a chugging, thickset electronic bassline, while ‘Il Cormorano’ is a metronomic, flash-fried workout rich in fuzz-tone guitar motifs, bluesy riffs and echoing instrumental touches.

He cannily joins the dots between Mid-West Americana and throbbing, psychedelic disco-chug on ‘Loveblind’, while ‘Minor Circle’ sits somewhere between Santana, the Pat Metheny Band and sunrise-ready Balearic blues. Arguably even better is the saucer-eyed brilliance of ‘Brillo De Luna’, where a dubbed-out electronic beat becomes enveloped in life-affirming acoustic guitar chords, exotic slide guitar motifs and string-bending solos. If John Lennon had ingested MDMA rather than LSD before writing ‘Across The Universe’, it would probably sound like this.

Then there’s the album’s crowning moment, closer ‘Can’t Hold a Lover’. A heart-aching, largely ambient instrumental that channels the loneliness and anguish felt by many of those separated from their nearest and dearest during the pandemic, it sees Ceccanti brilliantly wrap a variety of sun-bright guitar textures and solos around some of the loveliest synthesizer chords you’re every likely to hear. On an album packed with effervescent, mood-enhancing musical highs, it’s a rare moment of bittersweet bliss.

Bounding on from the Door to the Cosmos, the label'sexpansive triple vinyl compilation, OnTheCorner has paired up new artists in this series of cosmically twinned EPs. Twinning EPs on a single piece of wax reduces the impact on the environment and wallet friendly. Each brace of cosmically twinned OnTheCorner artists interstellar balearic for the deepspace bound. Each 12" will be split taking over a whole side of black wax. Party wax loaded with Stardust. Get your fix of tomorrow's sound, tonight! Side A is UFFE's 'Not All the Stars EP' - an underground emissary channeling dark bass weight through a prism of jazz-house - dub-tech hitters. A singular talent leading the charge into new frontiers with OnTheCorner. Not All The Stars EP is aprelude to his first LP on the label and follows on from City's Dead and that featured on Door to the Cosmos in 2020. Petwo Evans' 'Bootstrap EP' on the flip side is made of soundsystem-primed, innovative club tracks. Welsh Futurism, celestial electrics and objects of space-junk percussion. CERN loops, cyber kinetic grooves, machine pulses and chugging house kicks converse in the orbit of 'Gyroscope'. Petwo Evansfeeds the tracks compulsion with heady layers awash with dreamy vocal stabs, synths and hazy harmonics.

Brand new Barcelona imprint Balearic Ensemble hit the ground running with their premier plastic disc drop, BE001. We’re over (and under, and around) the moon to present the Painting Of The Day EP, the first i n a series of extended plays l ined up from the baddest crew of balearic samurais for your aural i ndulgence. Leading the charge i s the one and only Max Essa, a man some may know as botanist-in-chief at the sublime Jardin Jansen l abel, others as the shadow behind a string of l ush productions sounded out by the l ikes of the Guv’nor Andrew Weatherall or a one David Mancuso. Painting Of The Day i s the l atest i n Max’s deeply inventive output, with Joe Morris, Lukkas and Ibicenco duo Reisdentes Balearicos serving up three wondrously lush revamps for the heads . First up i s ‘ Matinee’, which takes that l aid-back 80s sound and washes i t through reverb racks and cascading arpeggiatic tones. Soft, subtle and brilliant, the result i s an emotional Essa performance, akin to a soft caress of the waves, or a brush stroke on a canvas i n the afternoon sun. ‘Tempo Babadoh’ i s another massive balearic number, promenading and pirouetting i ts way across a vista of club congas, wah guitar and deluxe synth sounds. Sliding nylon strings evoke memories of a l ate-night Mandy Smith anthem as agogo bells i nterweave among the flora and fauna of Max Essa’s balearic vision. A l ofty, virtuosic affair that’s sure to be a staple when the good times come. On the flip we have Joe Morris’s ‘ Paraiso’ version of Tempo Badaboh. It’s a(n) NY hymn, a dusty psalm, a stellar reimagining of the original which brings an 80s Chicago feel with all the savoir faire and finesse that the Clandestino man has come to be revered for. Sizzling b l ines, crickets at dusk and time-tested balearic motifs presented i n a new, slightly angular l ight. Over on B2 (?) we get Lukkas’ Club Mix of Matinee, a dangerous dance weapon with a dose of l ow frequencies bubbling through the sp

AEGEAN is the first offering by Argentine producer and Leipzig resident Accanto. His approach to mid tempo electronica is very rich in organic textures and deep atmospherics. The opening track Sentimental Sediments sounds deep, raw and dubby, a great opener for any set. Bokanovsky picks up the pace and brings in the sunshine uplifting vibes, while the title track Aegean completes the package with an exquisite progressive anthem that makes good use of a bass arpeggio to create a driving groove that will surely lift dancefloors to Cosmic dimentions. A must for Balearic lovers and adult ravers.
ACCANTO is Jorge Bonadeo Miguens, a young Argentine producer residing in Leipzig. Born in 1990 in the city of Buenos Aires, his relationship with music started at an early age while digging the cassettes of his older brothers. At the age of 13 he started playing bass guitar in a rock band with friends, with which he played
in several halls and bars, as well as recorded a studio album.
Around 2012 Jorge got into the electronic music scene of Buenos Aires. After years of traveling and getting immersed in the scenes of his city, Sydney and Europe, he settled in Barcelona and started producing, while also performing as DJ. Nowadays based in Germany, and after years of self knowledge and learning, he felt ready to share his music with the world.