Cosmic | Balearic Vinyl 353 Items

Stop what you're doing and give us your full attention because Hell Yeah mainstay My Friend Dario's new album Senza Estate is going to define the sound of summer 2024. It's an eclectic eight-track collection that has something for everyone and is inspired by dreamy Italian soundtrack composers Piero Piccioni and Umiliani.

Curveball Italian talent Dario is a real dance floor don who collides acid, nu-disco, breakbeat and electro. His take on Balearic is unique and always sends dance floors wild, as proven with his last outing Food For Woofers Vol 2 earlier in the year. His new album is the sound of life by the Mediterranean, Balearic audio pleasure for daytime dreaming and nighttime dancing with vocal tracks written and performed by the UK's Space Echo Records associate Darene Obika.

Dario hails from Catania on the island of Sicily and his inspiration for Senza Estate, which translates as 'without summer,' was an imaginary holiday, weekends at the seaside, car journeys in the sun, relaxing sunsets and late-night dancing. 'For five years, I worked in a shop six days a week so despite living on a Mediterranean island I could never enjoy these things. Instead, I locked myself in the studio and jotted down the ideas, sensations, melodies and rhythms I had about another lost summer.'

'Keep On Cruising' is a downtempo opener with innocent synths that are filled with hope and promise for the warm months ahead. 'Zingarella' is a wide open sea view with wispy pads, seductive flutes and jazzy melodies that bristle with life and the tropical title cut gets more dancey on shuffling broken beats and radiant synth glows. There's a seductive laid-back cool to the tumbling keys of 'Marittimo' and 'What You Need' is a horizontal groove with loved-up vocals, 'Falò' pairs sensual acoustic guitar with work with pillowy drums and 'Il Pianeta Proibito' layers up sci-fi synths and stuttering bass into a bubbly sound that leads to cosmic take-off. 'Acid Panorama' is the melancholic closer which hints that the summer sun is setting one final time after weeks of carefree fun.

But the good news is, you can repeat the joys of My Friend Dario's masterful Senza Estate over and over again.

For its first release of 2019, Sol Power Sound is pleased to welcome back Nenor -- formally Obas Nenor-- to the label family. Since his now-classic Color Soul EP on Sol Power Sound back in 2015, Nenor has gone on to release a string of hugely successful EPs on Heist, Whiskey Disco, and on his own imprint, Nenorion Music.
With the Future Ancestor EP, Nenor revisits the African-inspired textures that made the Color Soul EP unforgettable, but ventures further into the subterranean reaches. On "Tike Ye Ya Kende", Nenor teams up with Congolese-born vocalist Natalie Wamba for a rousing dancefloor heat-rock, with pulsing marimbas and hazy synths.

Nico Motte returns to Antinote with his second album ‘The Missing Person’ after his 2015 introductory EP ‘Rheologia’, 2016’s ‘Life Goes On If You Are Lucky’ LP, and 2017’s ‘18 Rays’ EP collaboration with Zaltan and Raphaël Top-Secret. Truly though, Motte never really left, having been the aesthetic eye for each Antinote artwork since day dot. His visual style would prove pivotal to the labels decade long success in the leftfield music underground. But here Motte shows us once again that his skills don’t solely lie in graphic art.

A bandcamp review of Motte’s first LP reads ‘French late seventies synth-laden electronics of avant garde film soundtracks with a touch of early house, minimalism and Balearic…’ ‘The Missing Person’ holds true to that balearic core while adding flavours of lollipop dub, sugary synth and Martin Denny-esque Exotica. Synth-Pop from a tropical island. Perhaps The Missing Person here is the album’s protagonist themself, having sailed away from the trivialities of urban life to lay on a white sand beach somewhere warm, drinking fresh coconut water and not giving a shit. A laissez-faire attitude.

Underneath the cool sonic facade of ‘The Missing Person’ Motte effortlessly meanders through pastel sounds drawn from an extensive collection of vintage synthesisers, drum machines and effects units at Synth City. The result: a smooth textured continuous listen of an ear off to somewhere far… island life perhaps? perhaps urban life in need of reprieve.

Welcome to Nicolini’s wonderful world of surprise - Penni’s Palace. Here you will find zebra-chairs and matchbox countachs, colourful tv-screens and Penni the cat presiding over proceedings. You will also find Nicolini, hunched over his MPC or Casio keyboards, sweeping the EQs to make the sounds move, jamming out his songs in heavy microdoses. They are the sounds of machines and the city - Amsterdam centre to be precise - brought to life with volts of electricity.

These songs started out as a live show on the terrace of Garage Noord nightclub, and over the following months Nicolini tweaked and re-recorded them into the collection of tracks you have before you. Bristling with energy, these live jams have a loose, almost mystical feeling - you never know quite what’s around the corner. Sounds jump out of the speakers at you, from car engines to reverb crashes. Opposites face off against each other - the mechanical meets the organic, and the cold emptiness of the city contrasts with the warm timbres of tropical climes.

Nicolini is quite used to combining disparate elements, particularly as a member of the re-configured Zamrock band Witch. As pioneers of some of the heaviest space fuzz back in the ‘70s, Witch combined garage-psych guitars with Zambian dialects and culture to create a wildly unique sound. Nicolini joined the band during their resurgence over the last few years, as they toured far-flung corners of the world. It’s an experience that undoubtedly helped Nicolini hone one skill set in particular - combining unexpected sounds together in unusual ways - and it’s on full display across these nine tracks.

Sunny Crypt is incredibly happy to announce its seventh release: a retrospective compilation of six previously CD-only tracks by Nightmare Lodge, a name that might ring the bell to many enthusiasts of Italian experimental music. It Passed Like A Dream is a selection of some of our favourite tracks they released between 1994 and 2000, aiming to spotlight a small glimpse of the amazing body of music they did throughout the years. Nightmare Lodge is a musical project by Minus Habens Records / Disturbance founder Ivan Iusco alongside vocalist B. Mazzilli and bass player Gianni Mantelli, when the Bari based trio decided to decided to embark on a path in search of their own dreamlike musical dimension tied to introspective explorations. Over the years, the group's lineup evolved, eventually solidifying as a duo comprising Iusco and Russolo. With their first release dated 1987 and staying active till the early 2000s, it is quite challenging to put the Nightmare Lodge discography in a precise musical box. Their first outings flirted with post-industrial music and a more stripped down sound palette marked by a DIY approach to composition, while in later years leaning towards a more horroresque / cinematic feeling and following the development of new technologies but always charactering their output with a ritualistic, trance inducing and mystical approach, whatever if it’s ambient, downtempo, techno not techno, or a whole lotta else...

Splendid deep electronics coming from Niko Tzoukmanis

Just south of the roundabout, is a pulsing sign of life. The well-spaced sunlit room with its polished concrete floors and olive-green banquettes, thrums with a certain optimism. It's a slap on the back. It's a splash of cold water on the cheeks. It's a crushing bear hug of a welcome.

Welcoming North 90 to the M.A.D family, the couple DJ / Production duo from Liverpool make music we want to play. Euro Trash is a hot contented for tune of the summer!

NT is Nail aka Neil Holliday, one half of Bent and a master of UK tech house. But here he shows a different side across six majestically Balearic groovers. That draw on everything he has done before to send you out to sea on gentle waves of shining synth goodness, downtempo bliss and dreamy, chubby, soft focus drums. 'Beside Boa Linn' is a soothing summer sound to kick off then 'Going Out To Feel It' is a spiritual house cut for sundown, and 'Don't Hide Away' is slow motion disco brilliance. The trip continues with the star-gazing 'Evening Fixture', Eddie C style guitar licks of 'Walk In Romance' and romantic lullaby 'Dreams On Hold.'

First release in 5years by Snaker, and the catalog counts 10th. The first full length album by Odopt, the duo being releasing their signature hypnotic, freaky feeling sound from labels like [Emotional] Especial、Hivern Discs、Born Free and so on. And they prepared a “contemporary library sound” for Snaker. Not quite for dance floor or not exactly for home listening, but definitely a unique cinematic sound scape is compiled for a new special experience. Artwork by Masato Mori.

Eight cuts of cinematic electronic music from synthwriter OFFLINE. To follow this rainbow of silky sounds is to reach a point of no return, where the last person on Earth you'll be able to communicate with will be a 1970s synthesiser.

Wax’o Paradiso Recordings presents its debut outing on vinyl, OK EG’s Intertidal Zone EP. The new label from the long standing Naarm (Melbourne) party is set to explore hi-fidelity, landscape-driven and cerebral music from the antipodes and beyond.

After sold out pressings on local imprints Animalia and Steeplejack, this EP explores a more contemplative side of OK EG, suitable for discerning dancefloors and meditative home listening alike.

Conceived in 2019 and completed in 2020, Intertidal Zone was recorded in collaboration with percussionist Phil Stroud. The rhythm tracks are a fusion of drum machines and hand drums, loose percussion, human voices and tuned percussion immersed in water. Joined by analog synthesisers, layered vocals, processed guitar and field recordings, the music evokes solastalgia and a reverence for nature. The final track, Golden Hour, came from an improvisation with multi-instrumentalist Adam Halliwell on flute and jazz musician Jack Doepel on Korg bass, later transposed to modular synthesiser. Wax’o Paradiso and OK EG acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this music was recorded, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, and pay their respects to elders past, present and emerging.

Hot off the press, Okinawa Delays' lay down their second single of 2020, Just A Little Lovin', an ethereal cover of Dusty Springfield’s classic that’s nestled within her many Balearic wonders. Drinking in all the essence from Dusty’s original, Satoko Ishimine channels that pureness through her breathtaking vocals on the lead track. Sweeping, soulful and with a summer haze weaved into it’s very makeup, it’s that warm embrace you’ve been pining for all year. Ibiza legend DJ Pippi and Ibiza-born talent Willie Graff then step up to provide a laid-back dance remix as the sun sets on the beach club. Rounding off the EP captains of the Balearic waves, Seahawks, provide a sublime psychedelic chill-out mix that's ready-made to lose yourself in as you stare across the glistening horizon.

Stunning collection fo Tracks by Suso Saiz' much sought after ambient outfit.

JKriv’s long out-of-press Bukom Mashie Rework gets a king-size reboot in this tasty 7 Inch package with a fresh new acid dub! J’s original 8 min opus is nipped and tucked in all the right places to make for a streamlined A-side stomper, and a brand new version on the flip, with a tastefully reimagined arrangement, punctuated with spicy 303 acid lines and live flute performed by the inimitable Domenica (of Underground System). Big summer banger alert!

Played on 6Music by Tom Ravenscroft & Deb Grant.

"Pablo’s Eye is the science of studio pressure, when engineer becomes artist. Appropriating left and right as well as front and back, Pablo’s Eye uses the mixing desk to examine and exhaust the possibilities of moments. Pablo’s Eye is a record of that examination and exhaustion, but it is also a record of its own inner space. By means of depth placement, psychoacoustics and spatial fug, Pablo’s Eye is experienced in the deeper reaches of the body, bypassing the conscious part of the mind entirely.
Pablo’s Eye is the turning of recorded music inside out to show its seams. It interrogates a song, stripping down the body of the song to reveal its bones. Pablo’s Eye is in the interstices of music, it plugs the gaps, fills the holes. Pablo’s Eye seeks out the concealed mechanisms, it is a song’s hidden agenda.
For this compilation, it was decided to present the softer air-beatings of Pablo’s Eye. More than anything, Pablo’s Eye is a temporary atmosphere, like a taste or a dream..."

Mystical Disco presents Analog Dream Simulator, the first full length ambient LP from Paranoid Pyramid. Utilizing Sequential Circuits and Moog synthesizers, each song reveals a secret door into the subconscious. Mystical pads conjure visions of distant dream-realms accompanied by melodies that evoke the simplicity of childhood memories. Analog Dream Simulator is by turns joyful and mysterious, intimate and cosmic. Journey to the antipodes of the mind with Paranoid Pyramid. Life is but a Dream

Limited (to just 200 copies!) teaser single off the upcoming PEPIN full length due on STAR CREATURE in the Spring of 2020. Here PEPIN teams up with Japan's No. 1 in demand producer SAUCE81 for a downtempo preview to his spaced out LP. Don't sleep, sure to go fast.

Crossover balearic/leftfield house cuts from newly minted Australia based Within Reason Records.

I Love It When A Band Comes Together…The one thing that has kept most artists sane during the pandemic is writing and creating. In an attempt to apply this logic Red Ant Records maestro Pete Bones decided to recruit the talents of a bunch of cool cats he had met whilst traveling the globe and put a band together. Having often wondered after 30 odd years as a DJ/Producer how the band would sound had he not been swept up by Acid House in the late 80s, six months later, plenty of file bouncing and numerous edits, and The Stones Of Convention are ready to wreak havoc; with Jeff Ward on electric guitar, Jeff Richey on saxophone, Pierre Davis on drums, Scott Anderson on slide guitar, Duncan Gray on bass and electric guitar, Sean Q6 on acoustic guitar, and featuring the effervescent vocals of Laura Clarke. Hailing from Galway, Orlando, Pittsburg, St Petersburg, Slough, San Francisco and Glastonbury respectively, band practice might be problematic. The album features 7 original tracks, 2 full vocal cuts, and a cover of the Talking Heads classic Pull Up The Roots

Two of Russian electronic music’s rising stars, Phil Gerus and Alexander Lay-Far, invite you to join them at the Solitary High Social Club. While table service is provided, they’d much rather you throw caution to the wind and head to the dancefloor.
Before joining forces in the studio, both Moscow-based musicians have delivered a string of memorable solo productions. Lay-Far has previously released a wealth of material on such labels as Local Talk, City Fly, Lazy Days and 4Lux Black, while synthesizer fetishist Gerus has showcased his electrofunk and disco-fired cuts on Futureboogie Recordings, Sonar Kollektiv, Public Release and Superior Elevation Records.
The five tracks that make up Solitary High Social Club deliver a perfect marriage of the two producers’ distinctive solo styles, combining the rich musicality of Lay-Far’s house productions with the spacey, intergalactic electronics of Gerus’s discoid adventures. In many ways, it’s a marriage made in heaven – or in Lay-Far’s celebrated In-Beat-Ween Studio, at least.
The duo’s spacey and melodious musical fusion is arguably best exemplified by lead cut “City 2 City, Star 2 Star”, a widescreen, mid-tempo disco epic rich in tactile Rhodes riffs, supernova synth solos, delay-laden drum beats, tumbling melody lines and heavy analogue bass. Fittingly, the track returns in “Reprise” form – think sweeping, weightless ambient bliss – to round off the EP. Elsewhere, the duo provides further proof of their combined musical talents. Check, for example, the gentle drum machine electro beats, cascading new age
melodies and sparkling, stretched-out synthesizer chords of the impeccably beautiful “Am I Tripping”, or the devilishly percussive, mind-altering brilliance of “Love Life”, where mutant electro bass, wide-eyed chords and alien melodies rise above a heavy, Afro-influenced groove.
As for “Snowflakes On Her Lips”, you’ll struggle to find a more confident and positive dancefloor workout all year. Blessed with killer piano parts, darting analogue synth-bass and a range of disco-tinged musical flourishes, it’s by far and away the most celebratory moment on an already happy-go-lucky EP. It confirms, too, our initial hunch: at the Solitary High Social Club, life is always good.

We are delighted to present the debut record by pianist, poet and radio producer Phil Smith. Turning his attention away from BBC feature-making, and his cult Jazz-Disjunction NTS show, Phil offers us the diaristic, heartfelt and homespun "Tagebuch".
"Tagebuch" is a collection of musical journal entries, spanning Phil's time living in Berlin from 2013—2017. Using sweetly tumbling piano as a starting point, he flexes his storytelling chops, shifting from scene to scene via voice, folk-jazz arrangements, musique concrète and the occasional techno-synth chugger.
Don't be fooled by Phil's back-of-envelope charm, this is an expertly-crafted radio biopic without words; the minutiae of life percolated through layers of accordion, U-Bahn harmonics and beer foam. A talented cast of guests and friends, notably multi-instrumentalist Zac Gvi, add an unassuming weight and emotional muscle to this deeply personal source material.
Recommended if you like John Carroll Kirby, Penguin Cafe Orchestra or Alabaster DePlume. The vinyl edition of "Tagebuch" comes complete with a book of poems and photos by Phil.

The new LP by Krefeld-born, Berlin-based artist Philipp Otterbach entitled 'The Dahlem Diaries'.

Recorded in a little-visited corner of the German capital, 'The Dahlem Diaries' is a convergence of ideas, sketches and tracks, both old and new, most of which were produced between 2020-2022. Whilst eerie atmospheres, electronics and drums have played a pivotal role in Philipp’s earlier releases, his latest is a rather more introspective affair, in which the guitar takes a leading role. A role Otterbach uses to quietly bring light and hope to his music.

Speaking about his writing process, Philipp explains that, based around his original compositions, “Friends were nice enough to contribute additional parts on their instruments which I then reworked, put together and re-contextualized. The recordings encapsulate a very specific moment in time, one that would have sounded perhaps very different the day before or after.”

Combined with a strong use of effects and field recordings, 'The Dahlem Diaries' feels somewhat like a scene or fragment from a story, in which the narrative remains undefined. It is a playful album that is something of a blurred underwater adventure, sounding as bright as it is hazy, even psychedelic at times, yet with an almost melancholic positivity. In Philipp’s own words: “It could be an album about friendship and being at one with myself, whilst at the same time bringing a certain seriousness to my music, but not necessarily to myself; there is also a playful humour hidden in there. ”

Artwork by David McFarline.

Beautiful release coming from Italy drawing inspiration from the intense colors of the works of the painter Tania Cantone on this work of love; "Sharade" by Pino Presti & Garden Planet. Mediterranean and Balearic lushness from the talented Pino Presti, and the eclectic keyboardist Claudio Calzolari, his son Andrea Calzolari, bass player Andrea Verardi and the organist Guido Mazzella. All together they created that magic, that long-forgotten, set aside, almost hidden atmosphere, which covers various genres such as lounge, future jazz, bossa-nova, ambient, which obviously includes chillout and downtempo vibes from the hot summer nights in the Mediterranean. So much vibes on this one release coming from the Italian friends of Best Record! Recommened!

After 8 years Georgian pioneer George Dzodzuashvili is back as Post Industrial Boys with a new album. It's his most personal record to date and opens up its own world: a world full of memories of a bygone time and observations so precise you almost feel like you are living and capturing them yourself with a Super8 camera.

Pretty Sneaky slips deep down the dub-hole for the sweet 4 tracker on Private Stress (Brussels). Refined stuff. TIP! The sneaky one is slowing carving out quite a reputation with a super solid back catalogue of releases and ultra dope radio shows and DJ appearances.

Life is full of wonder and excitement. Now it is also filled with the 14th release on Fasaan Recordings, produced by one of its founding fathers: part-time fruit picker Prins Emanuel. Gli Ornamenti comes in three different versions, which is nice. The U20 Mix is all about that sweet Roland U20 and offers us many of its decorative sounds. The Maximal Minimal Mix is the one to go to when you don’t want a lot of different stuff, but what you want you really want a lot of. The Ambient Mix is perfect to play while inspecting the grass growing under your apple tree. This is a good 12-inch single for the industrial balearic summers ahead.

Undercover Lovers AKA Psychemagik's spectacular cover version excursion returns ! Ultra-Limited pressing on this one…

The 2nd of 2 singles from the wizards of editing, with lysergic renderings of some well-known pop/dance classics, just not as you might expect.

Finally on vinyl after some considerable time, this one has a limited pressing!