Cosmic | Balearic 416 Items

Max Essa completes a trio of terrific releases on Hell Yeah with The Great Adventure EP. It's packed with more grown up dance floor dynamite and later in the year will be collected together with the first two parts to make for a full album.
By now you will know that Essa is part of the UK's Balearic mafia. He's served up big tunes on Is It Balearic?, Aficionado, Music For Dreams, and his music always acts as a sonic raft that floats you out to sea and leaves you bobbing up and down in a state of pure bliss.
Opener 'Tombolo' starts as acoustic music and the sound of a muffled crowd but soon awakens into an uptempo affair littered with toms, guitar licks and claps that are driven by bumping drums. There are elements of old school, Italo and classic house but somehow it feels completely new and fresh as it takes you ever higher.
'The Great Adventure' is masterfully sun kissed disco with crisp 80s drums, love struck chords and a yacht rock feel that is pure joy, something like topless dancing with sand between your toes and umbrellas in your cocktails.
Closer 'Fool in the Pool' sinks into gentle tabla drums and unhurried chords. It's horizontal and thoughtful - the sound of a lazy afternoon somewhere on the Mediterranean coast, gazing at glistening seas through the romantic lens flare in your sunglasses.
This EP is already great feedback from the DJ dons who have been giving it early plays, so act now to snap up your first summer sounds of 2020.

It’s testament to the man they call Medlar, that you never quite know what you might get with one of his releases. Wolf Music family since the early days, his latest mini-LP on the label is no exception. Seven cuts that prove this man can do anything, taking you on an otherworldly, island tour. First stop, ‘Aerial’, channelling that inner Wally Badarou for a cosmic, sand-stomping chuggathon, heavy on the juiced-up basslines, tripped out synth wizardry and space delay goodness. Your pace quickens, ‘Iguanadon’ rattles the world around you, shamanic echoes swirling through your skull as that acidic stab hypnotises you into a stupor. Out the other side, you stumble across an ‘Elephant Bingo’. Cup of tea, track three. Slap bass, bongos and synth stabs lifting the spirits. Back on the beach you drift off into a slice of sleazed up Balearic business, turning the funk dial all the way up to 11 via ‘elv’. Suddenly things take a trippier turn. Are you dreaming? ‘cr78-108’ booms in the background, pure jungle-tinged, digi dubwise movements. A few stiff drinks and you’re on your feet again. ‘Phoenix Lights’ New York house stylings pump you with life, even if your hazy brain is still hearing wild echoes all over the place. How did you end up here, 10 hours later? One too many ‘Sin Prisa’ homebrews no doubt, yet you’re still stompin through, granted it’s of the slow-mo, acid-laced variety though. What was in that welcome drink Medlar handed you at the start? Who knows, who cares when you get that kinda bang for your buck.

Melchior Sultana steps back in into his more chilled and downtempo side, Jazzy and soulful melodies combined with Hip Hop inspired beats, 'Cosmic Soul' is an album that shows once again a new side of the artist and an ongoing musical evolution.

After the first two Earthly Tapes & a handful of EPs, Earthly Measures drops its first full-length album with Mente Organica’s El Espacio - a beautifully crafted album with glorious textures, steady grooves, calming vibes & a dancefloor filler or two. Born in Bogotá, Colombia – producer & multi-instrumentalist Mente Organica has slowly been making a name for himself within the folktronica/Latin scene. Following multiple album and EP releases over the past few years, El Espacio marks his first release on wax and the music stands out from anything he has done before. These 8 tracks surprise & reward the listener as individual harmonies at first, and finally, as a whole and immersive symphony. From 'Pablo Bebe’, a track he wrote which is inspired & dedicated to his best friend – to ‘Close the Door’, written in the depths of quarantine, reflecting isolation, loneliness & introspection, & ‘Yoga’ - a song written with his father that can be easily heard filling the dancefloor as well as easy bedroom sessions, this album truly does feel like his most personal work yet. Eagle’- an utterly unique track born in Pucon, Chile, after meeting opera singer Katy Prado - blends sensibilities of 60s psychedelic rock vocals with Mente’s signature electronica. ‘Dame Un Segundo’ is the lobby track of the album, with Balearic vibes: chilled, jazzy & floaty. Title track ‘El Espacio’ pays homage to Mente’s influences growing up - think Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation & Air - giving us that Trip Hop vibe. ‘Huanini’ is a real groover - a low-key dance track that evokes that ‘start of the night’ feeling of excitement, with heavy experimentation of granular synths. Finally, rounding the album off with melodies of hope, delight and positivity, ‘Partida’ reminds us that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Banabila returns with a second LP release on Knekelhuis. The renowned Dutch producer is up there among the stars when it comes to ambient music and the so-called ‘fourth world’ legacy. On this eleven-track album, we witness soul-wrenching, kraut-tinted, and early-yet-modernist electronics.

Coming from his heart, these imaginative recordings center around otherworldly voices – fictional characters chanting in a made-up language, imbued with a captivating spirit, transcending linguistic barriers. Through remarkable complexity and technique, 'Unspeakable Visions' is full of sonic textures, together evoking a layered, emotional arc.

While the track 'Rattles' still references the artist's first album on Knekelhuis, 'Echo Transformations', the style of most other tracks departs towards an intriguing new mix of both pop-infused songs and gloomy abstraction, balancing between a sense of anticipation and desolation.

After the success of Middle Name Dance Tracks Vol. 1 comes Vol. 2 of the series by Brisbane's Middle Name Dance Band. The collaborative trio project between Sampology, Megan Christensen & Sam Stosuur was originally intended as a one off studio project, but the success of the first EP saw both a demand for live shows and a Vol. 2 EP. _ Middle Name Dance Tracks Vol. 2 features the first single 'Weekend Love Chant' which dropped end of 2019. Support from Gilles Peterson on BBC 6, and Middle Name Dance Band have recently performed atLaneway Festival and Melbourne Museum as well as a debut Australian tour. An iconically Brisbane video also accompanied the release, featuring the unmistakeable moves of Megan at beautiful early morning locations around the sunny city. _ This EP sees a progression into both mid tempo and slow jam grooves on the A side with 'Love Bite' & 'Weekend Love Chant' as well as house and Brazilian rhythms on the B side with 'Deeper Than Love' & 'Lovers Carnival'. The writing of the EP happened both in the studio and on stage throughout 2019 as part of the band's Bearded Lady venue residency in which they developed the songs in front of an ever increasing hometown crowd.

After highly acclaimed releases from OK EG and Donald’s House, Wax’o Paradiso Recordings proudly welcomes Naarm/Melbourne producer Midnight Tenderness (Ryan Hunter) to the fold. Over four tracks the ‘Hydrosphere EP’ continues the label’s narrative of platforming contemporary antipodean psychedelia with three masterful productions and a remix from Boorloo/Perth’s Hame DJ. As a producer with influences rooted in dub, street soul, boogie and the DNA of UK club music, Ryan draws down on the Middy T sound with the title track ‘Hydrosphere’, a blend of broken machine funk, glistening synth lines and beautiful crisp drum programming. ‘Rain Vibe’ takes the sound palette further adding a hefty wub for good measure. ‘Catamaran’ transports us back to the golden era on the Balearic isles, with the original evoking Ibizan sunset cruises whilst Hame DJ’s remix brings some Madchester chug to the mix.

Mihail P (Verdant/Where We Met/Magnonic Signals) returns to Distant Worlds with 4 more communiques of inter-dimensional wonder. Here, the Macedonian sonic strategist sets his sound palette ever wider whilst still maintaining his signature emotional pads and haunting melodies integral to all his productions. His hauntological approach bears fruit throughout -the future fails us so let's explore different futures, different interpretations of the past, the present. Certainly a maturation in sound, this manifesto offers up 4 distinct meditations on the continuum of electronic sound from the early 90s through to the present day and beyond..

P&F Recordings returns with it’s fourth release. This time they are coming at you straight outta NAPOLI, ITALY with a four track EP by MILORD (known to many as one half of the duo “The Normalmen” and one-third of “The Mystic Jungle Tribe”).
M • E • T • A / M • U • S • I • C. is one part vintage library-music studio wizardry another part lowkey house. Imagine a slinky G-funk synth at a new-age retreat, a spacey kraut jam at an eighties video arcade - all at once familiar, yet unglued from any particular moment in time.
12 Inch Picture Sleeve shrink wrapped with an obi strip.

Next up from Palms & Charms, a sublime collection of sun-tinged instrumentals straight out of Vilnius, Lithuania. Miskotom have been releasing some beautiful deep house and downtempo gems in recent years on the likes of Pleasure Unit and Dreamtime. We are very pleased to have the duo here on P&C.
Opening track Huacachina is reminiscent of 90's jazzy house, but with a mellow and distinctly organic palette. Next up, Berenice's Hair catches the wind and features a downtempo chugging groove with swirling organ, cowbell and deep synth pads.
Nazska brings a slice of mystery to a mid-tempo breakdown. Horizontal atmospherics hold sway, as picked guitar and choral synths summon visions of a tropical sun risingover the bay. Finally, title track Aegean Cruise 1955 features swirling guitar trading with ethereal synths evoking nostalgic voyages around the Anatolian Peninsula.

Compilation of the works by MJ Lallo, weird harmonizing mantras layered with drummachine rhythms.. Very psychedelic compositions where she uses her voice to create all kinds of sound(scapes)
Take Me With You is a revelatory voyage through the captivating universe of voice artist and poet MJ Lallo. The works on this 2LP compilation were all recorded in her home studio between 1982 and 1997, primarily using drum computer, synth and her own voice processed through a Yamaha SPX 90 digital effects unit. They range from wordless harmonizer mantras and primitive drum computer meditations, to psychedelic latin dance-floor anthems and synth-drenched end-of-the-nighters. Lallo has created her own inimitable galaxy of sound where the human voice, liberated from the constraints of language and abstracted using digital technology, is able to explore the outer realms of human expression, like Joan La Barbara with an Eventide and a new-age sensibility. Although Lallo’s flight path is distinctly her own, her journey converges with other travellers as diverse as Jon Hassell, Laraaji, Stereolab, William Aura, Laurie Anderson, Meredith Monk, Gertrude Stein and even Terry Gilliam (whose film Brazil was a big influence on Lallo). Like something beamed in from another planet, Lallo’s work is both fascinatingly strange and strangely familiar, and will leave a lasting impression for lightyears to come. Double gatefold LP, remastered DDM pressing.