Cosmic | Balearic 216 Items

30/70 and Rhythm Section team up once more to deliver their most ambitious remix package to date. Call outs to friends and family of the label and collective offered up a selection of some of the most exciting electronic music producers in the scene and the fruits of the collaboration have arrived.

The remix package continues 30/70’s practise of rebirthing their music in a contemporary club sound but this time takes that intention a step further, veering into unexpected and more experimental territory for the band, calling in a new era for their musical endeavours.

The record opens with a duo that need no introduction, label legends Chaos In The CBD work their magic on TLF, playing on Josh Kelly’s drawn out noir-esque sax notes and Allysha’s whispering tones to create a sultry and sophisticated house number in their typically infectious style.

Next up Utrecht native Carista enters with the sound of the Netherlands for a new wave electro trip fresh off her BBC Radio 1 residency.

Tornado Wallace takes us straight to a hot pink sunset on the long lost festival floor with his Red Face Mix of Tastes Like Freedom.

Closing out are the cerebral and ethereal sounds of Yu Su’s Midnight Blossom Remix, where the Kaifeng-born composer, DJ and sound artist continues her exploration of ‘fourth world’ ambience and left-field dance music.

Over the last few years, 30/70 have become something of a supergroup: with Allysha Joy, Ziggy Zeitgeist, Josh Kelly and Matthew Hayes all soaring as solo artists and band leaders. Individual talents aside, there’s nothing quite like the 30/70 collective united as one unstoppable force; and the synergy is palpable in this tantalising tour-de force.

SC016 sees the re-issue of four tracks taken from a little known cassette only release ‘Diet Of Germs’ by British artist and friend Adam Oko. Originally released in 2015 on the now defunct Astro:Dynamics label the four tracks were recorded in Adam’s bedroom studio overlooking Clissold Park in Stoke Newington, London.
Now based in Tokyo but having spent most of his life living between London & Canterbury, as well as producing music and running a regular radio show on NTS radio, Adam also makes mixed media artwork and designs installations & interiors.
All instruments on ‘Diet Of Germs’ were performed by Adam himself except the solo on Suketo which was played by Raven Bush - Kate Bush’s nephew & was actually recorded in Kate’s old studio in South London.

Alex Attias is back with his El Mustang Project taken form his second album “Two” due early next year. In the meantime, Visions Recordings is releasing this 4-track ep with exclusive songs that won’t feature on the vinyl double album. Under the moniker El Mustang, Alex mixes organic sounds, styles and genres with his unique production sound and way of mixing the tracks. The centre of this project is rooted in jazz, soul, disco, house, boogie, bossa and drumming. This 4 tracks EP is ranging from soulful jazzy house to mad drums and futuristic disco going through broken tech and electronic afro jazz. As usual, Alex has been working with guests including Cecilia Stalin and Rouhangeze Baihoo on vocals.

This is a limited 12” so don’t sleep, this one is for the collection!

For our fifth release, P&f Recordings is pleased to welcome Berlin-based musician, producer, and DJ, Alex Kassian. Over the past few years, Kassian has made a name for himself in Berlin and beyond as a solo act, as well as with his project Opal Sunn, via a clutch of well received, dancefloor-focused 12s. But on our first release of 2021, Kassian swaps the techy pulse of the German capital for a sound that’s altogether more melodic and atmospheric. Side A kicks off with 'Leave Your Life (Lonely Hearts Mix)' which began as a way for the producer to realize some of his early—and so far unrequited—dreams of playing in a rock band. Next up he delivers 'Leave Your Life (Dance Mix)', which ups the energy and echoes some of the production that made the musician’s 'Oolong Trance' (Love on the Rocks) one of 2020’s best club tunes. On the flip, the gorgeous 'Spirit of Eden' unfurls like a lost Lyle Mays classic, but with a mesmerizing loop that keeps the song’s feet placed firmly on the dancefloor. Concluding the EP is a bass-heavy remix from none other than U.S. dub legend Bill Laswell. 'Eden’s' melodic focus is underpinned by a propulsive groove and filtered through Laswell's trademark sonic dynamics. The EP, comes packaged in a full-color jacket from Parisian artist Alexis Jamet with OBI strip.

Soundclash or romance? Androo versus Bony Fly have composed six tracks finely balanced between the care given to sound experimentation and the explosive ardor of the dancefloor. Love Affair EP was born from this particular research, the fruit of a common passion for dub music, dancehall and its infinite variations. Radical and popular, the EP carries within it this generous and spontaneous quest for dance, naturally provoking body movements. It is also combined with a particular attention to sound textures, subtle and harmonious, whose multiple references (to jazz in particular) testify to an overflowing curiosity

The legendary Daniele Baldelli began to propose the two Azymuth’s tracks taken from the album ‘Light As A Feather’ in his DJ sets at Discoteca Cosmic the two Azymuth’s tracks taken from the album ‘Light As A Feather’ the same year in which they were released: 1979. And a trace of this has remained in his legendary mixed tapes of those years. Today he remixes and models them as he deems most suited to a Cosmic DJ set. In addition to the two Remixes released with his right arm Marco Dionigi there is a totally resonated cover version of ‘Jazz Carnival’ and the original 1979 ‘Young Embrace’.

The title of guitarist Barry Cleveland’s 1986 album - Stones of Precious Water - conjures images of incandescent gems, harvested from hallowed streams and held aloft to glimmer and catch the light in their many facets. And perhaps this is the truest analogue for the music contained therein. Recorded between 1981 and 1983, in mostly improvised recording sessions, the disparate nature of Stones’ creation is alluded to only by the breadth and variety of sounds it encompasses. Stones of Precious Water is a revelatory collection that maps its way through textural fourthworld ambience, shimmering New Age, gently propulsive kosmiche, and jazzinflected prog. These sounds are sewn together with a deftness of performance and sonic character which reveals them as branches of the same tree, or perhaps more appropriately, a handful of glittering stones. Six of the ten tracks contain contributions from Kat Epple and her late husband Bob Stohl (a.k.a the epoch-defining New Age duo, Emerald Web), adding flute, synthesizers, and bells. Between the years of 1981 and 1983, Cleveland worked with this duo and alone, allowing serendipity to play a significant creative role in their music. Many of the pieces began as improvisations, or simple structures that served as springboards for deeper exploration. Making his first forays into multi-track recording, Cleveland used a basic Teac 4-track cassette recorder, and this rudimentary piece of equipment proved to be a useful tool for compositional exploration. By flipping and reversing the tape, slowing the pitch, and altering and layering different performances, Cleveland stretched the sound of his guitar across the expanse of the tonal canvas. Stones of Precious Water stands as a remarkable document of experimental selfrecording, improvisational collaboration, and restless creative expression. Morning Trip is exceedingly happy to release it on Vinyl LP for the first time.

Becker & Mukai is a coming of titans. Parisian cinema composer Jean-Gabriel Becker, best known for his work alongside Massive Attack on acclaimed film soundtracks and recorded with John Foxx, teams up with Susumu Mukai, one of London’s most sought after musicians, whose list of collaborators includes Floating Points, Vanishing Twin, Alexis Taylor and Fimber Bravo.
Together they’ve created fresh new music that floats effortlessly above traditional genre delineation, with a dubbed-out and experimental melange of modern acid house, post punk, global grooves and clattering beats.
After releasing their first EP ‘Eyes’ in 2018, and their collaborative EP of space-disco-meets-experimental-electronics with label mates Auf Togo in 2019, the duo are now ready to release their tentacular debut album, ‘Time Very Near’, on SaS Recordings.
Still not complying to genres, ‘Time Very Near’ gathers sounds and inspiration from an ever-expanding palette of influences, assembled into something amorphously intangible that’s simultaneously refreshing and sharp, meandering and cosmic, futuristic but timelessly vintage.

Blair French & Eddie Logix step outside the box with the first release for Some Paradise Forgotten. Blair French brings an 80s afro balearic bugged tune and Eddie Logix drops a heavy dubbed out journey. The two track 7 inch is wrapped in a treasure map jacket with a compass foil stamp and is a limited run of 300.

Straight from the Mediterranean Sea, the Greek Duo Bonnie and Klein have landed at MM Discos to present “roof Garden”, an EP where the balearic beats and downtempo takes over the control and where the “2 Balearica devotes” invite us to enjoy an amazing trip from the Ionian coast thru the Aegean beaches until Myrtle Sea. Bonnie & Klein are no longer unknown after being working the last 4 years for well renown labels as “Leng”, “Music for Dreams” and “Is It Balearic?” among others. Following their previous releases, B&K stay loyal to their own personal vision of “Chillout”. Highly influenced by the architecture and culture from Greece, George & Thanasis build beat after beat an amazing work where their “Laid Back Style” will be the main character on this story, a long with haunting keys, wicked percussions, and sounds and melodies that will remind to “Far East”.

Tom Findlay (Groove Armada) and James Alexander Bright's relationship started on Twitter (a place where hope usually goes to die) However, Tom had listened to James' recent release on the radio reached out to chat about working together on some tracks. Over a few months in the studio they created a mountain of work, some of which would feature on Groove Armada's recent 'Edge Of The Horizon' album.

Having enjoyed working together so much, they decided to start their own project and Bright & Findlay was born. The first track they worked on together is featured as the lead on this 12" was 'Slow Dance' Funky party track with its feet firmly in 80s boogie territory and. Following tracks seemed to interweave / play alongside each other. Drums machine / chorus laden synths and guitars, and a soulful vocal are a staple of their sound.

When Tom and James sent the EP over I was down from 20 seconds into the first track, 80s Boogie, Tangerine dream, Disco rap style rhythms yet totally their own thing. Slow dance was one of those tunes I could see myself dropping mid-set when I want to cool it down and focus the room again, dance floor fire.

To a degree, all musicians are a product of their environment, the places they record and the venues they play. For proof, check out the alumni of the n-wave era CBGBs venue in New York, Cabaret Voltaire’s Western Works studio in Sheffield or more recently London’s Total Refreshment Centre. We can now add to that list the Constellations Workshop in Colwick, Nottingham, a project that provides employment through making studio furniture, for out-of-work musicians. It was here, after-hours, that the music on Brown Fang’s impressive and ear-catching debut album took shape. Both members of Brown Fang, bassist John Thompson and guitarist Henry Scott AKA Henry Claude, have a long association with the Constellations Workshop. Though their musical projects are manifold – Thompson having toured with the likes of The Nectarine No9 and The Selecter, with Scott being both a mainstay of Nottingham jazz circuit and recording ambient music as Fang Jr – the work provided by the community-minded project has kept their heads above water and allowed them a space to record in when the shutters go down and the bandsaws get switched off. Yet the music showcased on Sherwood Pines is more morning-fresh and sun-kissed than industrial and sawdust-sprinkled. Combining the pair’s brilliant musicianship – think languid bass guitars and Pat Martino-esque jazz guitar licks – with saucer-eyed electronics, occasional downtempo drum machine rhythms and plenty of glistening special effects, the set’s eight tracks are as blissful and becalmed as an early morning saunter through Sherwood Forest on a misty autumn morning. For proof, check epic opener ‘Tracing Paper’, a slow-build ambient soundscape in which bubbly electronic lead lines and colourful chords sashay around Scott’s sparkling, laidback guitars, and the beguiling ‘That’s All You Can Think’, a subtle tribute to Steve Reich masterpiece ‘Electric Counterpoint’ in which slow-burn, stretched out synthesizer sounds wave in and out of a gradually evolving cycle of delay-laden electric guitar motifs. The band’s love of classic American minimalism – as well as a shared love of the Duratti Column and Robert Fripp – comes to the fore on ‘hdmi I Love You’, which boasts a deliciously dubby bassline, Tangerine Dream style synths and the deepest of ambient chords, while ‘I Nearly Married a Human’ and ‘Fridgewords’ balance bespoke electronics – languid, dewy eyed and comforting – with Scott’s gorgeously laidback, slow-release guitars. Every great album needs a triumphant conclusion, and Sherwood Pines is no different. You can hear everything that makes Brown Fang great on ‘Goodbye Donkey Jacket’, from the pin sharp, effects laden jazziness of Scott’s guitars and the fluid dexterity of Thompson’s bass, to the pleasingly spacey pulse of the synths and the gentle rhythms of the soft-focus machine drums. It’s a confident, ear-catching conclusion to a debut album that’s been years in the making.

Reparto Vinile is back with the second release. "Storia Fantasy" with Italo Funk influences, it is the track that best represents the Cabopolonio project.

Record Store Day 2021 Release. Cacao is an instrumental duo ,electric guitar and bass, based in Ravenna ,in the north-east coast of Italy, and here for RSD only they announce their take on 2 extremely different versions of 90's classic dance tunes, Robert Miles 'Children', and wedding and Euro family holiday, 'Lambada'. Think Nouvelle Vague in a Cantina on Acid. LTD Edition blue vinyl in picture sleeve.

Completing a red hot trio of remix EPs of Calm’s By Your Side album is this final part with Lucas Croon, Cantoma and Gallo and Yuri Shulgin all serving up expansive and mind altering new versions.
He doesn’t release often but when he does you need to listen to Lucas Croon. His unique take on ‘Before Landing’ is a proper dance floor heater to get you on your toes. Once you're there, a gentle rush of rave euphoria tases over you and sends shivers down your spine as old school breakbeats and glowing pads complete the trip.
Elsewhere, long time Balearic pin up, scene hero and all round blissed out boss man Phil Mison has a new album corn gin the spring. Before that, he becomes Cantoma for a timeless version of ‘You Can See The Sunrise Again’ that has bright blue skies and jaunty chords making you move.
Regular label artist homie Gallo is in the form of his life right now - he's resident DJ at Hell Yeah's weekly Balearic night Buena Onda in Berlin, has a growing reputation for being one of the best eclectic selectors in the game and is currently working on compiling the forthcoming BUENA ONDA comp with label head Marco. He gets long legged on his deep cut remix of ‘Sky Color Passing’ which is another killer that slowly but surely works you in a slow motion acid trance.
Completing this most exquisite outing is Yuri Shulgin, a multi-instrumentalist music producer from Tajikistan with credits on Cocktail d'Amore Music. His spellbinding take on 'Ending of Summer, Beginning of Autumn' is a fusion of jazz, leftfield and electronica will have you in a spin and your head lost in the clouds amongst the twinkling stars and cosmic pads.

Chad Pulley makes his first solo appearance on John Beltran's All Good Music label, although keener eyed spotters will know that Pulley and Beltran previously collaborated on a track under the Bel-Pull Productions moniker. He steps up to the task ably, slipping into All Good style comfortably with the calm and melodic, gracefully coasting techno of 'Through My Eyes', before the flip side reveals the wistful 'Mesmerizing Blue', where pianos and synths call and respond over exotic rhythms. 'Sticks' completes the set, slightly harder and funkier than its two predecessors but again with an emphasis on musicality, off kilter danceability and originality. On this showing, a name to watch.

Tiny tear on the cover front, otherwise solid VG+ copy!

Leng Records has long had close ties with the underground music scene in San Francisco, with low-slung dub disco and psychedelic disco outfit 40 Thieves releasing their acclaimed album The Sky Is Yours on the imprint way back in 2014. Now Leng has turned to another stalwart of the Bay Area scene, Cole Odin, on a single that’s every bit as trippy and engrossing as you’d expect from one of San Francisco’s most frequently overlooked talents. Cole made his Leng debut earlier in the year, contributing the electro-influenced track ‘Numbers Game’ to the label’s 10th anniversary compilation. On ‘Little Boxes’, he’s joined by good friend Eddie C, a much-loved disco and house producer from Canada best known for his releases on Endless Flight and Red Motorbike. The pair recorded the track while Eddie was staying with Cole in San Francisco last year.



In keeping with the low-slung, hallucinatory sound that has always been a big feature of the San Franciscan scene, ‘Little Boxes’ is a trippy, mind-altering affair in which waves of sitar sounds, cosmic synths, effects-laden guitars and kaleidoscopic electronics rise above a weighty punk-funk bassline and crunchy, snare-heavy beats. It has serious dancefloor chops but is also atmospheric and immersive: perfect 5am music for Bay Area beach parties and mushrooms-fuelled forest raves.



Fittingly, it’s 40 Thieves who provide the accompanying remix, a 10-minute epic created with the assistance of Adonis and Rodney from the psych rock band ‘Guavatron’ for additional synths and the guitars. Beginning with tabla-style percussion, swirling chords, psychedelic guitar licks and mystical sitar sounds, the remix builds in waves, with looser drums and even weightier bass propelling the track forwards at a metronomic and hypnotic pace. By the time the eyes-closed guitar solos drop two thirds of the way through, you’ll be tripping hard and reaching for the lasers. It’s a genuinely stunning remix of a genuinely intoxicating, mind-mangling track.

Last year's 'Will We Ever Dance Again' 12" was a big one for Coyote who now follow it up and impress once more. First up they do so on 'Baka Re-Rub' by paying their respects to the iconic Jon da Silva remix of The Fads track. It's steamy, tropical, full of loose drum energy and jangling synths that lightened up any club. On the flip you find 'No Entry' which is a big house anthem plenty of classic tops, uplifting arpeggios and pianos, and dramatic strings next to big acid lines. It's an all out, hands in the air gem that brings the good times.

10" EP by German producer Dan Bay. 3 Downtempo/World tracks dedicated to the Cassiopeia Greek myth

Daniel Ögren is one of the key artists in Sweden’s contemporary, underground music scene. He has already accrued quite the back catalogue, both as a member of the sensational quartet Dina Ögon and also as a solo artist with eight albums already under his belt. ‘Fastingen-92’ was originally released as a limited-edition vinyl pressing in 2020 on the independent label Sing A Song Fighter Records (the same label that first introduced us to Dina Ögon's music). The album came to our attention after hearing Daniels' solo band performing live at the Stockholm Jazz Club, Fasching. The band featured Love Örsan and Christopher Cantillo of Dina Ögon fame (who also records with the incredible Sven Wunder), and their sensational genre-busting set blew us away. It convinced us that this now out-of-print album needed to reach a wider audience.
‘Fastingen-92’ doesn't sit in one genre, it draws from Daniels's love of South American folk music, soul, Nordic folk music and film soundtracks, resulting in something unique, dreamlike and transformational.

It features 'Idag’, an epic, beautiful, cinematic song that introduces the ethereal vocalist Anna Ahnlund. ‘Idag’ has gained a cult following and Daniel has stated that it was the spark that started the Dina Ögon project. Tracks like 'Annalena' and 'Kristinehamn by Night (for Christopher)' sound like a new club sound that hasn't yet been invented (which Nicola Cruz would spin in his DJ sets), mysterious, hypnotic, and engaging. Other songs like 'Maj (for Tintin)' and 'Picasso' venture into blissed-out Scando-Balearic realms. Daniel's love of nature and the inspiration he draws from the geographic environment of the Swedish countryside can be felt in these tracks, they take you to other places and times and are simultaneously familiar, ancient and alien.

Alongside the collaborations with Anna and Christoper, the album features Josefin Runsteen playing the drums on 'Idag' and Swedish musicians Edvin Nahlin and Ulrik Ordin. The majority of the album was played, recorded and mixed by Daniel. For the Mr Bongo edition, we have added the bonus track 'April’, which was previously only available digitally. ‘Fastingen - 92’ is a truly remarkable record that gets into your soul, so please delve in!

"Darryl is a crazy mysterious person. From what I know, he grew up alone with his mother without being much in contact with the rest of the world. His father's music record collection was the only connection with the other cultures and the world. Somehow he got a weird idea in his early childhood that this record collection contained all the music that had been ever created. He persuaded himself that the only way to make new music is to combine bits and pieces from that collection together. So he kept listening to those records and after a while, he was able to recollect their parts and combine them in his head — thus creating new music from what was already there. My role in this process is to communicate with Darryl and transfer his ideas into reality". Mr. Ultrafino

Debut release for Balearia Records with a 4 tracks Ep licensed from Irma Records. Incl. Leo Mas & Fabrice and Djale Remixes.

First move of the collaboration between Dj Fede and Robert Owens. Pure gold vibes, digging deep, with a warm house vibe and hard hitting beats. A 4 tracks Ep with different moods, that includes remixes from Don Carlos and LTJ Xperience.

Balearic summer tunes from Ibiza. Archipelago's fourth release is a Balearic cover version of Roberta Flack's classic The First Time Ever Saw Your Face. Produced by Ibiza legend DJ Pippi and the talented Ibiza born Willie Graff. The production is gorgeous, with lots of live instruments, and the guitar is played by the legendary Ibiza flamenco guitarist Paco Fernandez. In addition to the laid-back Ibiza-inspired original mix, the single features remixes by Roberto Lodola, known for his Balearic classic Marimba Do Mar, and Cantoma, a leading Balearic artist. This is a powerful package for sunset cafes and beach clubs.

Double Geography drops heavyweight 7" on IIB. Beautiful synth patterns and melodies drifting over a shuffling drum pattern. Like a long lost Maxi 12 dub mix from the 80s. Just lovely.Flip it over for the boss that is Ruf Dug's rework. Buzzing flies and slight de tuned stabs create a slightly moody eastern super dub chug bomb.Do not miss this

Les Disques Magnétiques is a new sub-label from Les Disques Bongo Joe presenting their first release with Ediacara, by Ethyos 440.
Emerging from Geneva’s underground scene, Ethyos 440 is the meeting of groove band L’éclair and DJ/producer Dj Laxxiste A.
This ultimate late-night-infected-dub-live band pairs sequencers and human grooves, analog instruments are played live on riddims, fx’s, and samples manually executed with a dub-mix approach towards the extreme.
This this brand new EP will fit perfectly for any party, any DJ set or any late night playlist.

Los Angeles' Zen 2000 returns with its third release, the third and final chapter in its kick-off string of 7-inches. For this episode, we once again dip into the deep and diverse well of local talent for a single from Tim Jones, a.k.a. Ex.Pontoon.

“Coming Back” is a slinky, off-kilter slow burn, a slinky vocal groove snaking through SoCal G-funk refashioned into a crackly reggae dub wobble. The other side is a delirious and psychedelic trip into the desert, the fiery sun scorching the earth below. Icy guitars and a cavernous arrangement turn the sonic horizon into a shimmering mirage. For the digital bonus, an instrumental version of the B-side, further revealing the nuanced and delicate composition of the piece.

Perugia producer, synth collector and linchpin of the underground scene Feel Fly pokes his head above the trenches to deliver a consummate four track EP Mediterranean Dreams - Part 1. Onironauta rolls up all the best bits of spaced-out disco and italo house into an expansive dancefloor soundtrack that would sound equally at home in a Den Haag squat as by an Ibizan hillside pool. Sounding in turns both futuristic and nostalgic, it sets the tone for the dream-like timezone in which this EP resides. Meanwhile slowed-down 303 chugger Grace In Space sounds perfect for Room 2 - that is, if the room is on an orbiting space station and someone adjusted the gravity settings. The track concludes the side with timeless balearic drift and a dash of kosmiche afro percussion sprinkled on top. Flip the 12” over and the title track Mediterranean Dreams seeps through, with more than a slight nod to the summer of ‘88, like a faded photograph. The revolving chord progression and melodic synth phrases that weave through the groove fit together sweeter than the cogs in a swiss watch. EP closer Becalmed rounds proceedings out in fine cosmic disco style, firing more 16th note lasers through the dry ice than Kitt, as melancholic pads float over the rhythm section like a négligée. It’s a stylish way to sign off a collection of tracks that are equal parts fond memory, hopeful optimism, and hazy dance-fuelled hedonism.

With the two-part EP Mediterranean Dreams, Perugia producer and composer Feel Fly revisits his musical roots and pays tribute to the sounds and ‘sun-kissed nostalgia’ that informed his style. Mediterranean Dreams Part 1 collected four tracks, and added that Feel Fly touch of emotive chord progressions and layered production onto cosmic disco grooves to powerful dancefloor effect. Now with Mediterranean Dream Part 2, Feel Fly switches the tempo both up and down, to fully demonstrate his affinity for club moments of all shapes and sizes. Nebula flies out the gate with full intent, recalling classic Detroit techno while pushing the vibe even more wide-screen - it’s driving, melodic dance music that delivers on the fine details as much as it does on the life-affirming, big picture sentiment. Optical Bells opens in meditative style, not unlike a new dawn in a Tibetan monastery, before each element of the track slowly reveals itself and assumes its place. It’s an arrangement technique that Feel Fly employs masterfully, and gives the impression of a camera lens moving into focus, or a storyteller setting the scene. The revolving chord changes pull you in and while whisking you away, you’re compelled to engage with the moment - like being asked to dance by a mysterious stranger. The B side kicks off with Luce Eterna Ai Sognatori, still keeping the tempo high while cherry-picking disco house drum patterns and piano synths with a slight Italo flavor to create an irresistible slice of dancefloor dessert. This is a soundtrack for Sognatori, in whose dreams anything is possible. The EP finishes up with a superb cut of echoey balearic dub in the form of Templum Dub. Putting the drums through its mixing desk paces, Feel Fly reanimates the drum kit with delays, phasers and flangers, and wraps it up in hazy drifting pads that could accompany any moment of contemplation - from that morning espresso to a midnight phone call. Mediterranean Dreams Part 2 acts as the perfect compliment to its prequel Part 1, and shows a producer at the height of his powers, reimagining his musical roots and composing a love letter to the sounds and stories of his youth.

Following on from his previous debut album Tape 1/Tape 2 on Soundway, Felbm delivers Tape 3/Tape 4 : an intimate, emotional, lilting and melodic solo project. These 14 lo-fi, instrumental, jazz-infused sketches were written on guitar, with cascading keyboards, vibraphone and drum machine. Possessing a restorative and soothing quality, it goes some way to balancing out a chaotic year for the world at large. With echoes of the dreamier end of 1980s English indie-pop, minimal ambient music and Brazilian bossa-nova, Topper’s musical storybook includes touches of The Durutti Column, hints of Antônio Carlos Jobim and Baden Powell, whilst all set firmly in the summer fields of Germany and the Netherlands. The recording method used for the creation and recording of Tape 3 and Tape 4 follows the same as his previous release: all sketches were initially recorded onto cassette on a 4-track tape machine. Most notably a vibraphone finds its way onto almost every track fitting Topper’s sound-palette perfectly: warm yet distinctive, a percussive as well as sustaining sound that evokes some melancholy and a certain timeless nostalgia. Features that most certainly also apply to the other ‘new’ instrument on the tapes: mellotron flutes. Tape 3/Tape 4 navigates the space between quiet, open, meditative tunes and more solid instrumental works, reflecting his constant search for an optimal balance between stillness and movement.

After spending some time on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, Fred wrote his 2018 album Long Way Home. Barbarella was one of the songs on the album. It was inspired by a morning set he did at Barbarellas, the infamous outdoor venue in Tisno. The kitsch disco vibes are also a wink to the cult B-movie of the same name. But it was the 7am in Tisno mix, featured on the alternate version of the album No Way Home that made the song popular. While there was no plan to release it as a single, Fred had the idea to contact I:Cube, one of his all-time favourite producers, to see If he would be interested in remixing it. The process took a little while but thanks to confinement, with more available time in the studio, the I:Cube Parisian Sleeze Version was born. Taking only a few elements from the original, he completely rearranged the track into a modern disco classic as only the Cube can do. This is one of those cuts that gets better every time you hear it. On the B-side, Fred’s Slow Down 2021 Version expands on the Balearic vibe at a slower tempo. Sounding a little bit like Sade on acid, with added samples from the 1968 Jane Fonda movie.

Following his “Cosmic Sands” cassette on Light Of Other Days, Greg D debuts “Ocean Walk” under his new alias, GEE DEE. Recorded in 2019, the EP marries ambient, dub, and house influences to create an enticing body of mid-tempo magic. Using limited hardware [505, Juno 6, D50, and a Space Echo] the four-tracker bears a hazy vibe throughout and pairs simple drum programming with sun-kissed synths and hypnotic bass lines. Whether dusk is upon you at your local cafe bar, or the lights are down in the discotheque, GEE DEE delivers an array of leftfield bumpers that will fit just about any mood. Coming 2020 on Superior Elevation Records.

Widely-loved electronic maestro Gigi Masin returns with ‘Vahinè' – a mini album of beautiful and distinct music that is unmistakably his, sounding better than ever.

Masin always pours his heart into composing, but here it takes on a potent new level of heavy emotion – as it’s a tribute to his late wife, who sadly passed away last year.

“There is a Tahitian dance called ‘Aparima’. It consists of graceful, sinuous and fascinating movements, which tell you stories and legends about love or tradition. The ‘Vahinè' are now dancing, the Tahitian females, with smiles and gestures that could be symbolic or descriptive but are always gentle, harmonious, charming. I was watching this documentary, it was almost 4 in the morning, but I couldn't sleep; I was in front of the television for hours, my wife had passed away the day before, and I was watching hands and arms swaying.

I told myself that maybe it’s so, at the end of the road it’s possible to realize dreams, and I’m sure that she is finally able to dance like never before, and is able to move without any impediment, with no suffering, free to make all the movements that she couldn't make for so long, turning to me with a smile and a wink. So, in the clouds, you will discover and see an extraordinary 'Vahinè', because she will move and dance and smile until the end of time.” Gigi Masin

A future-retro dreamscape where stripes of early evening sun pour through partially closed venetian blinds; kalimba, piano and steel pans meet on the incredibly evocative ‘Marilene (Somewhere in Texas)’.

The Balearic/Italo house heart of ‘Barumini’ throbs throughout a celestial epiphany, whilst ‘Shadye’ is a sun blinded ambient mirage where angelic voices and electric guitar intertwine, before more heavenly music ensues on the trance-like ‘Malvina’.

A heart-wrenchingly beautiful evocation of transitioning to the other side, ‘Valerie Crossing’ is Gigi’s compelling and inspirational take on death, with a vivid evocation of something spiritual, existential and metaphysical. His exemplary approach shows decease not as a cause for despair, but a philosophical and poetic exploration of where souls go, when they leave their earthly bodies.

Masin closes with ‘Vahinè' – a twitchy, levitational piece of sublime deep techno, which transmits high strength vibrations of powerful emotions. On both this track, and the album of the same name, there’ s no pseudo intellectual ambient posturing with cod academic angles tagged on; This is music of real substance, coming from a real place. It’s saturated with feelings, but turns mourning into affecting art, and even a beacon of hope.

Helmed by the deftly talented Alessia Avallone, Language Of Sound is new record label which marks ‘Vahine’ as its maiden voyage. Language Of Sound is also a management company founded in 2017, with singular talents Ron Trent, Lyra Pramuk, Huerco S, Carmen Villain, Gigi Masin, Paquita Gordon and Soundwalk Collective on their impeccable roster. Dedicated to facilitating ideal conditions for artists to flourish, where appropriate Avallone also collaborates creatively, including the video for Gigi Masin’s ‘Marilene (somewhere in Texas)’ which she produced and directed.

Part one of a two part set. Two years after Africa Oscura, considered by many to be the “dark side” of Sorgini’s masterpiece ‘Zoo Folle’ and partly recorded during the same session in 1974, Four Flies has decided to celebrate the album's modernity with a double 12” featuring 7 reworks by six of Italy’s most visionary DJs/producers. The original tracks have been reworked with different approaches, sometimes into full reinterpretations, and with demanding dance floors in mind. The result is a stunning collection of electronic reworks that preserve the spirit of the original versions while projecting them into the future.

Part two of a two part set. Two years after Africa Oscura, considered by many to be the “dark side” of Sorgini’s masterpiece ‘Zoo Folle’ and partly recorded during the same session in 1974, Four Flies has decided to celebrate the album's modernity with a double 12” featuring 7 reworks by six of Italy’s most visionary DJs/producers. The original tracks have been reworked with different approaches, sometimes into full reinterpretations, and with demanding dance floors in mind. The result is a stunning collection of electronic reworks that preserve the spirit of the original versions while projecting them into the future.

Go Dugong is back on Hyperjazz Records! The new album "Meridies" is the result of his ongoing investigative work into traditional Apulian music from the south of Italy, inspired by his hometown, Taranto, and the phenomenon of the Tarantella - started with Trnt (2019, Hyperjazz). On a quest to push the boundaries of traditional Apulian music, Go Dugong’s research has allowed him to rethink and rework these musical traditions of his homeland, leading to the creation of a soundtrack for an imaginative and futuristic ensemble of peasants and farmers. In "Meridies" Go Dugong has collaborated with several musicians in order to combine traditional Apulian music with sounds and influences belonging to other Italian and Mediterranean regions, reinterpreting a genre that for many years has lived trapped in its canons.

Sean Johnston has put together some righteous compadres to form a new project - The Summerisle Six. Featuring Jo Bartlett (Yellow Moon Band) on vocals, Andy Bell (Oasis and Ride amongst others) & Duncan Gray on guitars, Kev Sharkey (That Petrol Emotion, The Undertones, Elvis Costello to name a few) on percussion, Mick Somerset Ward on Sax (Clock DVA, Was Not Was, Crooked Man). This Is Something is a driving pop groover reminiscent of a late 80's early 90's Indie Dance anthem. The Dub mix invites the OG mix to Alfos, turns the lights off and presses the smoke button for a chuggy heartwarming trip across the dance floor. There are no words to describe Rico Connings mix other than to say this 10 min journey has to be heard to be believed. A genuine Balearic gem.

Who is Harvey Couture? Some say he’s a survivor of French pop music’s sun-soaked synth-pop era of the early 1980s, others that he’s a more suave and stylish Serge Gainsbourg for the nu-Balearic era. There were even rumours circulating that he’s a musical mobster from the Cote D’Azure: a shadowy member of the mafia who deals in synths, drum machines and fretless bass guitars rather than guns, money and drugs.

In truth, not even Leng Records knows much about the man behind the moniker, though his vividly kaleidoscopic, retro-futurist debut album, Scellé En Cristal, does offer a number of crafty clues. Whether listeners will make the necessary deductions to solve the mystery remains to be seen; regardless, it’s the music that matters, and on that score Scellé En Cristal simply cannot be faulted.

Rich in humid, afternoon-bright musical delights, the set sees our publicity-shy hero mix and mangle a multitude of musical influences – think proto-Balearic European synth-pop, Prince style purple funk, immersive ambient, early INXS style synth-rock, the electronic end of zouk and much more besides – with constantly colourful and imaginative results.

Couture is most at home adding his variously seductive, sexy and sleazy vocals to bubbly, upbeat and mid-tempo numbers that combine delay-laden drum machine beats with surging synths, fluid bass, stylish guitars, lashings of leftfield pop nouse and plenty of tongue-in-cheek Gallic flair.

For proof, check the throbbing, off-kilter alien-funk throb of ‘Les Portes De La Perception’, the bustling, percussion-laden cheeriness of ‘Crème Solaire’ and the loose-limbed, toe-tapping brilliance of ‘Je Ne Peux Pas’, where chiming, steel pan style melodies and pots-and-pans percussion hits jostle for position with sliding fretless bass notes and flash-fried guitars. Check to ‘Passion’, a swaggering slab of bustling electrofunk/synth-rock fusion rich in ‘Rockit’-style scratches and restless synth-bass.

The influence of languid, sunset-ready European pop records of the 1980s – those cuts that would later become sought-after amongst dusty-fingered collectors of Mediterranean music – is another recurring feature of Couture’s cultured but joyous debut album. It can be heard amongst the drowsy guitars, yawning bass and tumbling lead lines of ‘Look Within’, the pleasingly laidback ‘Invincible Line’, the elastic bass, fluorescent synth sounds and stuttering machine drums of ‘Marche’.

Yet Couture is no one-trick pony. Horizontal and loved-up moments of a more downtempo hue can be found scattered across the album, with the enveloping ambient awe of ‘Les Portes’ – all swelling chords, gentle melodies and atmospheric field recordings – and slowly unfurling ‘Whale Song’ both lingering long in the memory.

Harvey Couture may not be ready to step out of the shadows just yet, but his music most certainly is. We have a feeling that Scellé En Cristal is just the start of the mystery monsieur’s musical journey.

Since joining the label back in 2018, Hear & Now have quickly become one of Claremont 56’s most prolific and consistent acts. The Italian duo impressed with their debut album Aurora Baleare – a drowsy, mood enhancing masterpiece – and then went one better with 2020’s Alba Sol, a seductive and sun-kissed set that incorporated more nods to Hear & Now members Ricky L and Marcoradi’s 1990s deep house roots.

The pair have once more struck sonic gold with their third album, Milvus, a set whose colouful chords, unfurling melodies, warming instrumentation and sun-soaked vibes were mostly laid down during the various pandemic lockdowns of 2020. If it’s vivid, picturesque and immersive musical escapism you’re after, Milvus delivers and then some.

The album’s clear White Isle-friendly intent can be heard on opening track ‘Bassa Marea’, a yearning chunk of horizontal brilliance in which guest musician Marco Evengelista’s emotive flugelhorn sounds spar with slow-motion, eyes-closed electric guitar solos over billowing ambient chords and a tactile, thickset bassline. The pair’s ability to craft high-class, saucer-eyed Balearic soundscapes is a theme that’s returned to several times across the album, with ‘Abisso’– another near beat-free slab of touchy-feely dreaminess – standing out.

Ricky L and Marcoradi’s love of evocative, pitched-down excursions is another recurring theme. For proof, check out the chugging weariness of ‘Zanziblu’, where a lone whistle drifts across waves of heady chords and metronomic beats, the dub-fired Balearic reggae shuffle of ‘Coccobello’ and the bright aural colours of gentle title track ‘Milvus’, whose cascading piano motifs, echoing harmonica motifs and chunky dub disco grooves are as appealing as they are infectious.

While the prevailing mood is perhaps even more horizontal than their previous albums, Hear & Now have not completely abandoned the dancefloor. Two of the set’s standout moments are those where the pair actively explore their early ‘90s Italian dream house roots.

There’s the rolling haziness of ‘Levante’, where more emotion-rich electric guitar solos and ear-catching whistling softly spar with pulsing pads, club-ready house beats and chiming synthesizer motifs, and the breathlessly brilliant ‘Baiadriatica’, whose stirring, sustained opening chords should always be described as “rush-inducing”.

Rich in jangling piano riffs, fluid keys, squelchy bass and glistening guitars, the track is little less than a glorious 21st century update of the dream house sound first made famous by the likes of Sueno Latino and Key-Tronic Ensemble. Like the rest of Hear & Now’s absorbing and emotive third album, it’s a stunning, sunset-ready delight.

Limited 2024 Repress

Tornado Wallace and Jamie Tiller present Heart Sphere, on their new imprint Basic Spirit. The first release "E.R. (Emergency Relief)", is a mid-tempo, cosmic trance manifestation with three revisions; Guitar Mix, Piano MIx, and the vinyl only Children Mix. For disciples of Big Room Balearic ™️, new-normal-beat, classic-trance, and George Clooney.

Take two monster tracks and apply the ‘Heavy Disco’ ethos to them. Then get on the dance floor and let the music take control. Remember – Heavy Makes You Happy.