In 2018, Sean Worsey, a successful lawyer in California, began to receive some rather surprising emails. These were not from prospective clients, or about current cases he was working on, but rather queries from record collectors. They wanted more details about a pair of obscure, largely forgotten records he’d made in the mid 1980s as part of a virtually unknown band called Passion Theatre.

To say he was surprised is an understatement. “People from around the world were emailing, calling and messaging us about the music, particularly a track called ‘Vacation Day’,” he says. “Our records were rare and gaining in value, mainly because there were not many manufactured at the time. By 2019, several individuals in the music industry had emailed me about licensing tracks.”

Space Talk eventually agreed with Sean to include ‘Vacation Day’ on Charles Bals’ second compilation, Retour Au Club Meduse. Impressed with the quality of the compilation Sean approached them again to discuss whether they would be interested in reissuing both of his old EP’s in full, an idea he’d been considering for a few months already.

The original studio tapes were long gone but a friend of Sean’s had some mint vinyl copies which made the trip from California to use as the master source, restored and mastered superbly by Technology Works in London. The striking original artwork from the two EP’s has been faithfully reworked into a gatefold double vinyl LP by designer Asger Behncke Jacobsen and features extensive interview/sleeve notes by Matt Anniss.

In the words of Sean Worsey - “One of the nicest things about the renewed interest in our music is that we can now enjoy it for what it is - back then we were a bit too worried about succeeding.” 

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: I'm not sure this could be any more relevant to my interests; Painfully obscure 80s synthpop, heavy on the groove, angular, art-ish and kinda flouncy in a Balearic way. In other words, it's my dream record. Buy it now or regret it later!

TRACK LISTING

1. Strange Desire (EP1: Strange Desire EP)
2. International Love Affair
3. Menage A Trois
4. No For Answers
5. Mannequin (Fiesta Mix - EP2: Mannequin EP)
6. Vacation Day
7. In Love With A Mannequin

For the third volume of compilations curated by confirmed crate diggers, Spacetalk invites you to take a trip to the magical Mediterranean resort of Club Meduse in the company of Beachfreaks Records co-founder Charles Bals.

A creative director, designer and curator by trade, Bals spends the majority of his spare time searching for superb, unknown, small-run music releases made between the 1970s and 1990s. While some of these are made available for other enthusiasts to buy via Beachfreaks' mail-order service, many more make it into the racks of Bals' private collection. With Club Meduse, Bals is sharing rare, hard-to-find and just plain brilliant gems from his personal stash for the very first time.

For Club Meduse, Bals was inspired by countless magic childhood summers spent playing amongst the rocks, beaches and warm seas of the Cote D'Azur. The compilation, then, is a soundtrack to the greatest soft-focus, sunlit teenage summer holiday you've never had, with a gaggle of forgotten musicians and overlooked artists for company.

Take a barefoot stroll from the campsite to the beach with Ara Macao, whose warm and lucid "Canyon" is a softly-spun delight, before splashing in the crystal clear waters to the accompaniment of The Clean-Hands Group and their 1984 Balearic blue-eyed soul gems "Night Fly" and "Shake It On".

As the sun comes down, clamber across the cooling rocks with the tumbling, sun-kissed guitar solos and sparkling analogue synthesizer motifs of The Keyboys' leisurely "Savannah" ringing in your ears, before using the words of Gemini's "Take A Chance" – undoubtedly the most Balearic record to emerge from Sweden in the last 50 years – to get flirtatious under the moonlight.

Should you fancy a dance down the camp disco, Bals' selections will gently ease you onto the dancefloor and into the gaze of the boy or girl of your dreams. The fuzzy Italo-boogie of the C.V.Q Band's "Whatever You Do (Instrumental)" will get you going, while Miss's 1984 French electro gem "Hip Hop" should guarantee a celebratory conclusion to the night's party. 

TRACK LISTING

1 Molitva - Bastion
2 Savannah - The Keyboys
3 Canyon - Ara Macao
4 Feelin' Good - Chris & Kylie
5 Radio Cosmo 101 (Bals Edit) - The One 'O' Ones
6 Take A Chance - Gemini
7 Night Fly - The Clean Hands Group
8 Whatever You Do (Instrumental) - The C.V.Q Band
9 Hip Hop - Miss
10 At The Banks Of The River - Metal Voices
11 Shake It On - The Clean Hands Group
12 Nymphomaniac (Instrumental) -Gigi Flag
13 Havan' Hamac - Eddy La Viny

With only a handful of sought-after private press 7” singles to their name, Morrison Kincannon are all but unknown outside record collecting circles. Yet Norman Morrison and Terry Kincannon wrote and recorded some superb songs during the 1970s and early ‘80s, desperately hoping for the break that would see them released on vinyl. Now, at last, their time has finally come. Morrison and Kincannon first started working together as teenagers almost 50 years ago. Every Saturday, they would get together to jam and write songs. This led to recording sessions at a friendly studio in San Francisco and a management and publishing deal with Manny Greenhill, a man who had previously nurtured the careers of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Sadly, their hoped-for-success never came, and by the early 1980s both members had re-focused on work and family. As the years rolled by, their original multi-track recordings lay idle in Morrison’s loft, seemingly never to be released.

All that changed when Morrison received an email from Spacetalk Records two years ago, asking about the possibility of reissuing “To See One Eagle Fly”, the B-side to one of their 7” singles that has long been a favourite of label co-founder Danny McLewin. Once a deal had been done, Morrison mentioned that he had hours of unissued recordings in his loft; a treasure trove of ultra-rare multi-track master tapes that could be freshly mixed and mastered for release. When the Spacetalk Records’ team finally got a chance to listen, they were astonished by the timeless quality of the songs. Put simply, they just had to be released.

The resultant album is a stunning set: an intoxicating glimpse into the world of two previously unheralded master songwriters whose musical vision encapsulates all that was good about Californian music during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Rooted in the American folk revival and folk-rock movement of the late ‘60s, the album’s 15 thoughtful, heartfelt songs are laden with sly nods to the likes of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Ned Doheny, Michael Deacon, Cy Timmons, Gene Clark and Buffalo Springfield. The tracks were recorded at various times between 1970 and ’82 and gives a small glimpse of the duo’s total body of unissued work. The release comes with extensive liner notes telling the remarkable story of two lifelong friends and musical collaborators who thought their moment had passed. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Incredibly rich soul, folk, West Coast groove-rock that inexplicably fell between the cracks. The songs are impeccable, the vibe pure, hippy, LA mellowness.How was this never released!?

TRACK LISTING

1. Freely
2. I'll Be Ok Tomorrow
3. To See One Eagle Fly
4. I Believe That There's Good In This World
5. Dier Nier Nier Niernt
6. Summer Days
7. As The River Flows On
8. I Will See You Again
9. Beneath The Redwoods
10. Sonshine 
11. Destination 
12. On Mt Diablo
13. Seashell 
14. All My Life
15. A Few Minutes Of Peace