Balearic . Yacht Rock . New Age . Downbeat

WEEK STARTING 16 May

Genre pick of the week Cover of Archipelago - Cosmic Fusion Gems From France (1978 - 1988) by Various Artists.
Isle of Jura teams up with French digger Switch Groove on the next compilation titled ‘Archipelago – Cosmic Fusion Gems from France (1978-1988)’.

Switch Groove explains the concept “When I seriously began to search for and collect records, I was mostly interested in sounds from african-american, afro-latin and UK contemporary scenes. Sounds from distant territories, faraway from my native Massif Central, a highland region in the middle of France. The grass is always greener, I guess however, as I was digging in fleamarkets in the early sunday morning light, as well as spending regular sessions in second hands record shops, I began to discover hidden treasures, underground gems and side-projects of an unknown French musical repertoire.

French music is often reduced to its most famous musical forms, characters and signatures : French songwriting and voices, 60s yéyé, prog rock concept albums and soundtrack explorations, 80’s indie rock scene or more recently electronic French touch. All these sounds have a common feature : a geographical link, forged on mainland French territory, following the contour of the so-called Hexagone, the border that shapes the grounds for an homogeneous cultural expression. But beyond this showcase lie more complex, hybrid and global French productions. From French Caribbean Antilles to Parisian suburbs - especially during the ‘Sono Mondiale’ era -, in French areas outside urban cultural centers, musicians have created fusion and cosmic musical expressions. As the mid-seventies meant a greater freedom to make and record music, a wider use of electronic instruments like synthesizers and drum machines helped to deliver some magical projects you could only find lost in the middle of cheap records during a sunny record digging session. I selected these tracks, in an attempt to shape an ARCHIPELAGO that highlights significative contributions of African diasporas and ultramarine territories into French musical borders. It is the map of a land I have gradually drawn, thanks to deep listening of amazing cosmic and fusion tunes. I hope you enjoy the journey.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Another winning set from Isle Of Jura who shine a light on would-be cosmic classics from rich pastures of France.

TRACK LISTING

Patrick Bernard - Interieurs
Cecilia Angeles - Climax Our First Day Of Love Its A Love Day
Carla Music Orchestra - A Meet With Bond
Remy Boussengui - Coco Lando
Archipelago Soundscapes Part 1
Francisco Et Son Orchestre - Cafe Rete
Francis Bebey - Crocodile Crocodile Crocodile
Michel Lorentz - Zantye An Metro
Egide Sadey - High Emotion
Princess Erika - Trop De Bla Bla Dub Version
Archipelago Soundscapes Part 2

Approach Release

Drum Chums Vol. 10

Punching our ticket for the tenth trip on the Drum Chums line, we rattle past the control centre, where Approach Release delivers another masterclass in genre-blurring brilliance.
Darting through emotional New Beat, psychedelic soul, stomping Afro-disco and coastal cosmic, AR keeps things right on track and perfectly off the rails.

'So Wrong' starts the party with a growl and a gurn, all gnarly sequences and robotic drums until that mournful vocal moves us into a land of Lynchian longing. Teardrops on the dance floor, clouds in your coffee, it's, it's, Goth Italo folks.

Shifting tone like McCrae shifted gears, Approach Release moves on from Main-Room Gloom into the smooth and sensual soul of 'LuvLuvLuv'. Low-slung, lilting, loose and lysergic, this versatile version-excursion works wonders as warm up and rub down, its brilliant bedroom vocals floating atop the synthetic and psychedelic groove.

Over on the B-side, 'E-Killa' bursts out the speakers with about 100,00 volts of Afro-disco energy, each one perfectly harnessed to whip a crowd into a grinning frenzy. Armed with an unstoppable arrangement, vital vocals and a stomping rhythm section, this delicious drink of tropical pop just keeps on fizzing.

For an encore, Approach Release drops the deeply dramatic 'Lou Cee', a full-hearted bit of Balearique-brilliance stacked with enough synth strings, faux-accordion and earnest outpourings to give Chris Rea a run in the anthem stakes.

100% Drum Fun Guaranteed. .

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Here's another Manc stalwart to grace the Talking Drums offshoot label. Four moments of obscure but sublime brilliance that lovers of the leftfield dancefloors should shake more than a tail feather too. Tip top tackle from the Chums!

TRACK LISTING

A1. So Wrong
A2. Luvluvluv
B1. E-killa
B2. Lou Cee

Back in stock Cover of A Deeper Life by Chaos In The CBD.
“We created a holiday inside our heads.”

‘A Deeper Life’, Chaos In The CBD’s debut album over 10 years in the making, is nostalgic for the duo’s nature-filled youth, exploring the magical coastline and lush rainforest of New Zealand. “The title refers to our childhood, which was idyllic,” says Ben. “It was just the sun, the sand, the sea, waterfalls, birds and fish…” The album’s blissful setting is also depicted on the album cover: a painting, by a childhood friend, of the beach where they grew up in Devonport.

‘A Deeper Life’ whirls that profound love of house music and wide-ranging influences – from Brazilian to R&B, ambient to Italo to deep house and downtempo pop – into a serene, cohesive whole with their signature finesse. The result is an international dance sound that feels unmistakably like Chaos and ebbs and flows from the beach party to the club to the afterhours.

On the album they’ve teamed up with a number of US legends and married their vocals with the UK underground: Josh Milan of house pioneers Blaze brings his soulful vocals to the bossa nova beats of ‘I Wanna Tell Somebody,’ a future jazz-dance anthem. Unheralded Chicago house hero and Larry Heard collaborator Lee Pearson Jr. goes deep over ‘More Time’’s broken beat flex. And on ‘Maintaining My Peace’, the brothers have matched veteran house singer-songwriter Stephanie Cooke with UK grime MC Novelist, on a slinky LDN interpretation of LA hip-hop and g-funk.

Also featured on the album are New Zealand jazz artist Nathan Haines, frequent collaborator Isaac Asaeili and more.


STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Rich, expansive, highly musical long player from New Zealand deep house poster boys Chaos In The CBD. With tons of character and a variety of moods and tempos explored throughout, it's one of those albums you know is gonna be on constant rotation throughout the year. Don't wanna miss this one folks...

TRACK LISTING

A1. Down By The Cove
A2. Mountain Mover Feat. Alex Cosmo Blake
A3. Maintaining My Peace Feat. Novelist & Stephanie Cooke
A4. Tears Feat. Saucy Lady
B1. Brain Gymnasium
B2. I Wanna Tell Somebody Feat. Josh Milan
B3. Ōtaki Feat. Finn Rees
B4. Love Language Feat. Nathan Haines
C1. A Deeper Life Feat. Isaac Aesili
C2. More Time Feat. Lee Pearson Jr. Collective
C3. Tongariro Crossing Feat. Nathan Haines
D1. Barefoot On The Tarmac
D2. Marlboro Sounds
D3. The Eternal Checkout Feat. Cenk Esen

Back in stock Cover of A Deeper Life by Chaos In The CBD.
“We created a holiday inside our heads.”

‘A Deeper Life’, Chaos In The CBD’s debut album over 10 years in the making, is nostalgic for the duo’s nature-filled youth, exploring the magical coastline and lush rainforest of New Zealand. “The title refers to our childhood, which was idyllic,” says Ben. “It was just the sun, the sand, the sea, waterfalls, birds and fish…” The album’s blissful setting is also depicted on the album cover: a painting, by a childhood friend, of the beach where they grew up in Devonport.

‘A Deeper Life’ whirls that profound love of house music and wide-ranging influences – from Brazilian to R&B, ambient to Italo to deep house and downtempo pop – into a serene, cohesive whole with their signature finesse. The result is an international dance sound that feels unmistakably like Chaos and ebbs and flows from the beach party to the club to the afterhours.

On the album they’ve teamed up with a number of US legends and married their vocals with the UK underground: Josh Milan of house pioneers Blaze brings his soulful vocals to the bossa nova beats of ‘I Wanna Tell Somebody,’ a future jazz-dance anthem. Unheralded Chicago house hero and Larry Heard collaborator Lee Pearson Jr. goes deep over ‘More Time’’s broken beat flex. And on ‘Maintaining My Peace’, the brothers have matched veteran house singer-songwriter Stephanie Cooke with UK grime MC Novelist, on a slinky LDN interpretation of LA hip-hop and g-funk.

Also featured on the album are New Zealand jazz artist Nathan Haines, frequent collaborator Isaac Asaeili and more.


STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Rich, expansive, highly musical long player from New Zealand deep house poster boys Chaos In The CBD. With tons of character and a variety of moods and tempos explored throughout, it's one of those albums you know is gonna be on constant rotation throughout the year. Don't wanna miss this one folks...

TRACK LISTING

A1. Down By The Cove
A2. Mountain Mover Feat. Alex Cosmo Blake
A3. Maintaining My Peace Feat. Novelist & Stephanie Cooke
A4. Tears Feat. Saucy Lady
B1. Brain Gymnasium
B2. I Wanna Tell Somebody Feat. Josh Milan
B3. Ōtaki Feat. Finn Rees
B4. Love Language Feat. Nathan Haines
C1. A Deeper Life Feat. Isaac Aesili
C2. More Time Feat. Lee Pearson Jr. Collective
C3. Tongariro Crossing Feat. Nathan Haines
D1. Barefoot On The Tarmac
D2. Marlboro Sounds
D3. The Eternal Checkout Feat. Cenk Esen

Misty Lane is vocalist Elaine Desjardins who worked with producers Michel Bibeau and Ralph Mashats in the mid-80s. Two tunes from that time, 'Energy' and 'Controle', brim with charm and analogue warmth all these years later as they get served up in all their quirky synth-pop style with unmistakable Quebecois flair via Dark Entries. The opener pulses with snappy Roland TR-808 beats and proto-house vibes carried by Desjardins' refreshingly unpolished vocals, while 'Controle' slows things down into a tropical mid-tempo groove that echoes the atmosphere of Junior Byron's 'Dance to the Music.' This reissue is a delight for lovers of Italo, Canadian disco and eccentric synth pop.

STAFF COMMENTS

Mine says: Unlike many other euro pop songs, 'Energy' manages to balance on the tightrope of cheesiness without ever falling off, enthusing those that love a catchy melody and appalling those that don't just enough to keep them interested but without scaring them off completely (although it could be argued that the chorus comes pretty close). 'Controle' on the other hand gives me balearic video game soundtrack vibes - make of that what you will!

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. "Energy"
2. "Energy" (7" Mix)

Side 2
1. "Controle"
2. "Controle" (7" Mix)

"Koinè" is the new album by Pellegrino & Zodyaco, a record that explores the desire to escape by interpreting it as an act of emancipation, an aimless journey in search of creative freedom. The demonstration that escapism, when it is conscious, can bring us back to the heart of things. Inspired by Éloge de la fuite by Henri Laborit, the album embarks on a journey to discover a 'common language' (Koinè), blending Neapolitan roots with a global and contemporary musical vision. It blends melodic traditions with disco, funk, jazz fusion, and world music, experimenting with vintage instruments, ethnic percussion, and Mediterranean atmospheres. Pellegrino, a pioneer of the new school Neapolitan sound, after 4 years since his last LP “Morphé” (2020) continues the path started with "Zodyaco I" (2018), painting an authentic portrait of modern Naples and celebrating musical contamination as a form of creative euphoria.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: The Naples massive return in flamboyant style as you'd expect! There really is something in the water (or is it the olive oil?!) down in south Italy; and here you have two of the finest currently doing 'IT' in breath-taking form.

TRACK LISTING

Pecché
Mario
L’aura
Palepoli
Saditè
La Malìa Del Sur
Faccussì
Sirene

Röyksopp

True Electric

    'True Electric' gathers together 19 studio versions of the music from Röyksopp’s True Electric tour in 2023, featuring previously unreleased track 'The “R”' as well as newly-reworked versions of originals and remixes taken from their acclaimed catalogue. These include the celebrated Robyn collaboration 'Do It Again' featuring Robyn (from the 2014 Röyksopp & Robyn EP 'Do It Again') and 'Running To The Sea' featuring Susanne Sundfør (from the 2014 Röyksopp album 'The Inevitable End'), as well as several tracks from their critically acclaimed 'Profound Mysteries' creative universe that resulted in three albums released throughout 2022.

    Speaking about the album, Svein and Torbjørn explain: “'True Electric' consists of recordings and renditions, meant to capture the essence of our live shows bearing the same name. The idea was to put an emphasis on the clubbier aspects of our music, as well as returning to our roots within the realms of electronic music.”


    TRACK LISTING

    1. The Ladder [True Electric]
    2. Impossible (ft. Alison Goldfrapp) [True Electric]
    3. This Time, This Place (ft. Beki Mari) [True Electric]
    4. The Girl And The Robot (ft. Robyn) [True Electric]
    5. Here She Comes Again (ft. Jamie Irrepressible) [True Electric]
    6. Monument (ft. Robyn) [True Electric]
    7. Oh, Lover (ft. Susanne Sundfør) [True Electric]
    8. Unity (ft. Karen Harding) [True Electric]
    9. You Don't Have A Clue (ft. Anneli Drecker) [True Electric]
    10. The "R" [True Electric]
    11. Breathe (ft. Astrid S) [True Electric]
    12. Running To The Sea (ft. Susanne Sundfør) [True Electric]
    13. What Else Is There? (ft. Fever Ray)  [True Electric]
    14. Never Ever (ft. Susanne Sundfør) [True Electric]
    15. Sordid Affair (ft. Man Without Country) [True Electric]
    16. I Had This Thing (ft. Jamie Irrepressible) [True Electric]
    17. Feel It (ft. Maurissa Rose) [True Electric]
    18. Do It Again (ft. Robyn) [True Electric]
    19. Like An Old Dog (ft. Pixx) [True Electric]

    Scruscru and Los Protos hook up on the former's ever-reliable label for some more funk-fuelled and sample-heavy madness. This eight-tracker draws on the best of Library, jazz, hip hop and soul and collides elements of all of those together with some raw, and what sounds like, MPC beats, all tapped out with a lovably loose vibe. Some like 'Local Sugar Diggers' look up towards a sunny, cloudless sky, others like 'Dreams Of Sonora' are swaggering broken beat workouts with sensuous sax lines setting a steamy tone. 'Por Do Sol Em Shelekhmet' is another highlight with its aloof, angelic vocal tones.

    TRACK LISTING

    Local Sugar Diggers
    Smoke On The Volga
    Pfonkie Pfonk
    Dreams Of Sonora
    Opyat' 25
    Quimera
    IRest
    Por Do Sol Em Shelekhmet

    The percussive new age soundtracks of '80s and early '90s Japanese TV, anime and manga built alternative worlds and pushed boundaries in the process.

    When Japanese composer Yas-Kaz left Tokyo for Bali in the mid 1970s he had little idea of how influential his trip would become. In studying the storied art of gamelan, the jazz and avant-garde percussionist opened a door to a world of sound and rhythm left behind by the West. The music he and his contemporaries made would become known as new age. It also happened to soundtrack the golden era of anime.

    Awash with money and with the prerogative to entertain the burgeoning middle classes, anime in the 1980s experienced a creative and commercial boom. Not constricted by generic expectations, production houses such as the now renowned Studio Ghibli were able to experiment liberally with both form and content. And with it came the space for composers to be similarly adventurous.

    'TV, Anime & Manga New Age Soundtracks 1984-1993' charts this moment across eight tracks spanning classics of the genre and previously unknown rarities. The collection brings together music that found kinship in electronic and acoustic instrumentation, often combining spiritual or environmental themes with percussive, varied and highly refined syncopations of non-Western musical traditions.

    Among them is ‘Kaneda’ by Geinoh Yamashirogumi, the shape-shifting group of self-styled musicians, anthropologists and computer scientists that masterminded the soundtrack to game-changing dystopian anime Akira - and with whom the sound, tuning and breakneck speed of Balinese gamelan has become indelibly entwined.

    Reflecting the desires of the era to reach beyond Japan’s borders, many of the soundtracks featured were commissioned for narratives set in distant lands or alternative worlds. There’s violinist and composer Norihiro Tsuru’s ‘Farsighted Person’, written for The Heroic Legend of Arslān, set in ancient Persia; Yas-Kaz’s own ‘Hei (Theme of Shikioni)’, for period sci-fi manga & anime series Peacock King - Spirit Warrior; and two tracks - 'Tassili N’Ajjer' and 'Fiesta Del Fuego' - from Yoichiro Yoshikawa’s soundtrack to NHK’s proto-Planet Earth series The Miracle Planet.

    Such was the variety and quality of the music produced, if there is a guiding principle to the tracks collected here it is a sense of escapism and adventure that came with the confluence of modern electronic instruments and a fascination with percussive traditions.

    Elsewhere, pioneering children’s TV composer Chumei Watanabe’s ‘Fushigi Song’ (performed by a vocal group Korogi ‘72) offers a trippy and infectious groove with sonic similarities to Don Cherry’s ‘Brown Rice’; little-known jazz-funk library group Columbia Orchestra showcase the best of Tokyo’s session musicians on ‘Hearts Beats - Theme for Andrew Glasgow’; before lawyer-turned-composer Kan Ogasawara closes out the compilation with a dramatic flourish on ‘Gishin Anki’.

    Following on from Time Capsule’s acclaimed deep-dive into the world of manga & anime synth-pop in 2022, this vinyl only collection is set to broaden and diversify an understanding of how soundtracks shaped the sound of new age music in Japan for a generation.

    STAFF COMMENTS

    Matt says: Market leaders at this stuff, Time Capsule's latest episode transports us into the world of Anime & Manga; but if these Japanese animation houses are unknown to you fear not! As the sounds contained within are a mystical adventure in their own right.

    TRACK LISTING

    A1. Korogi ‘73 - Fushigi Song 4:31
    Taken From Space Sheriff Shaider TV Soundtrack (1984)
    Composed & Arranged By Chumei Watanabe
    Licensed By Nippon Columbia Co.,Ltd.

    A2. Yas-Kaz - Hei (Theme Of Shikioni) 4:40
    Taken From Kujakuoh Kikansai Ongakuhen Anime Soundtrack (1988)
    Composed And Arranged By Yas-Kaz
    Licensed By Pony Canyon Inc.

    A3. Yoichiro Yoshikawa - Tassili N'Ajjer 3:29
    Taken From A Dream Of Aku-Aku, A Soundtrack For TV Series The Miracle Planet (1988)
    Composed And Arranged By Yoichiro Yoshikawa
    (P) 1987 EMI Music Japan Inc.
    Published By: NHK Publishing
    Licensed Courtesy Of Universal Music Operations Limited

    A4. Norihiro Tsuru - Farsighted Person 4:58
    Taken From The Heroic Legend Of Arslān III, IV Original Manga Soundtrack (1993)
    Composed And Arranged By Norihiro Tsuru
    Licensed By Sony Music Entertainment UK

    B1. Geinoh Yamashirogumi - Theme Of Kaneda 3:11
    Taken From Symphonic Suite Akira (1988)
    Composed And Produced By Shoji Yamashiro
    Licensed By Victor Entertainment, Inc.

    B2. Yoichiro Yoshikawa - Fiesta Del Fuego 3:29
    Taken From Cyprus, A Soundtrack For TV Series The Miracle Planet (1988)
    Composed And Arranged By Yoichiro Yoshikawa
    (P) 1988 EMI Music Japan Inc.
    Published By: NHK Publishing
    Licensed Courtesy Of Universal Music Operations Limited

    B3. Columbia Orchestra - Heart Beats - Theme For Andrew Glesgow- 3:28
    Taken From Palm - The Sea Shouldn’t Exist Manga Soundtrack (1986)
    Composed And Arranged By Norimasa Yamanaka
    Licensed By Nippon Columbia Co.,Ltd.

    B4. Kan Ogasawara - Gishin Anki 5:05
    Taken From Yume No Ishibumi Manga Soundtrack (1985)
    Composed & Arranged By Kan Ogasawara
    Licensed By Pony Canyon Inc.


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