Attempting to recreate the golden yesterdays of Jose Padilla`s White Isle sunsets with the tunes of today…

Joan Bibiloni / Cofio Recorda Remembrance / NuNorthern Soul

On this E.P. two Joan Bibiloni tracks are subjected to rather special reworks. A version of Badia Onírica, first appeared on the album, Oniric, in 2021. James “Jim” Baron, of Crazy P, then radically rearranged it last year, for the NuNorthern Soul comp, Posta De Sol Season One. It’s now been “voiced” by the actor, Rhys Ifans, who, in a warm Welsh burr to rival Richard Burton reading Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood, recites the poetry of Waldo Williams. His poem, Cofio (“Remembering”), which dates back to 1931, is a sunset reflection on a simpler, perhaps more human, past. Something that technology’s pace, in the name of progress, generally pushes from our minds. Jim’s production moves the piece from clear, crisp, clipped guitar microtones to soaring strings, carried on cathartic tides of crashing drums. Fans of his are sure to flip. Un adeu is taken from Joan’s 1998 collection, Balears, but this too, now gains a vocal. This time the prose comes care of Pep Tosar. The Spanish cinematic star’s rich, booming, baritone, combined with Joan’s pretty acoustic picking, produces what’s surely destined to become a timeless chillout classic. The sort of thing that would have been a Jose Padilla secret weapon. There are a total of 6 mixes, featuring 4 languages (Welsh, English, Catalan and Spanish), and 2 instrumental takes. 

Calm / Shining of Life Flutemental / Music Conception

Twenty years since its original release Shining Of Life Flutemental, reappears in 4 fresh mixes. All of them are epics. Each clocking in at 10 / 11 minutes. A previously unreleased version, rescued from Calm’s archives, recalls the stuff that Joe Claussell used to do. A sunny, summery, jazzy, gospel-y journey – complete with a 5-member strong community / choir – that reminded me of Jephte Guillaume’s uplifting, Spiritual Life, classic, The Prayer. The Sunset Chillout mix begins all beatless, and doesn’t drop the drums until the piano crescendos commence, 7 mins in. Strings spiralling, keys dancing, cavorting. On the Space Ritual Dub, the central flute floats, feather-like, surrounded by gentle arpeggios and sound effects that shimmer like shooting stars, while on the UNDUB, the woodwind is wound around a foot-stomping tribal beat. Circular hand drums hit a groove similar to Guem Et Zaka Percussion’s afro / cosmic / Balearic favourite, Le Serpent, as shouts and chants encourage, urge dancers / shufflers on. The bass is a bionic undulation. The keys caught, kept ringing, in infinite echo. 

Max Essa / Washoe Zephyr / Is It Balearic? 

The opening track on Max Essa’s new E.P. boogies in a totally tropical, wonderfully Wally Badarou way. With a bouncy, Euro-disco bridge, and a playful melody, that could be an electric axe, could be cool keys. The sound’s similar to Fluke’s Boys Own Fanzine favourite, Joni. The other offerings, however, are far more chilled. Compositions of chimes and precisely picked guitar. The fine fretwork on Moonlight Contribution combines The Cocteau Twins with West African highlife, while on Dry Plains Parade the solos recall Robert Smith / The Cure. The percussion, piano, and swooning synthesised sighs of Southern Edges summon memories of Art Of Noise’s Camilla The Old, Old Story, intertwined with Jun Fukamachi’s sonic sketches for French fashion house Nicole. 

Gaussian Curve / Winter Sun / Music From Memory

These two tunes first took shape in the sessions for Gaussian Curve’s 2016 album, The Distance. The initial ideas were then completed during downtime between gigs in 2022. Winter Sun runs on gentle guitar and Fender Rhodes. The instruments’ ripples and echoes. The 6-strings sometimes sending out aching drones. A haunting hint of horn toward its close. The rhythm restricted to a shake, a shudder of CR-78 percussion. Fever Dream also peacefully percolates, but the electric axe is upfront, as is Gigi Masin’s blues-y growl. Giving proceedings the feel of a loved-up blissed-out prog-rock ballad. The sort of sexy thing that DJ Harvey used play, and make as Map Of Africa. 

Marta Del Grandi & Graham Reynolds / Linger In Silence / Fire

Italian vocalist Marta Del Grandi and composer Graham Reynolds collaborate on Linger In Silence, a seriously syncopated, loose, jazzy jam, that boasts a lumbering contrabass groove. Swinging like Lætitia Sadier leading a chamber orchestra cover of Sun Ra, shades of label mates Vanishing Twin, colour this brilliant bit of beatific epiphany pop. The single includes English, Italian, and instrumental versions. 

Troels Hammer / Beautiful Kaos / Music For Dreams

In a teaser for Troels’ forthcoming album, The Old North Trail, pirouetting classical piano patterns are paired with Matthias Heists’ blues harp. The harmonica, for me, always brings the air of an `80s European art house flick. Memories of Betty Blue. Beatrice Dalle’s pout. The cinema in Leeds’ Hyde Park. French kissing in the dark. 

Highlines / La Spirit! / Bandcamp

Highlines is Alex Pasternak’s latest project. If you check on Discogs, man, I’m not sure if it’s correct, but if it is then you can trace the California-based guitarist back through a crazy range musical past lives, including, in the mid-90s, playing hardcore and punk (plus a college band that featured Steve Aoki!). If this is true, then he has certainly mellowed out. In recent years he’s given us the Brazilian boogie of Saidera, the “Balearic Beat” of Dr Bronzer, and together with partner Allie Schulz, teamed up with Coyote, as Florecer. This new venture is different again, and finds Alex and Allie, working with  Richard Houghten, who shines on Spanish guitar, and Korey Riker, taking flight on flute. The first fruit, Le Spirit!, is a sun-kissed samba. A perky piece of Latin pop, with  breathless vocals, and bright faux brass stabs. Conjuring Cafe del Mar classics, like Karen Ramirez’s Troubled Girl, it shimmies somewhere between Kenneth Bager’s Copenema and the modern acid jazz of Chris Bangs’ Nova Vida. 

The song premiered here…

Juan Power / I Touched The Void / Me Me Me

Juan MacLean and Man Power join forces for an E.P. on Me Me Me. While the bulk of the tracks are far too banging for an old git like moi, I Touched The Void is another moody ambient track that plays tribute to the dark majesty of Tangerine Dream’s Zeit. An eternal drift of icy drone and manipulated modular machine buzz, it reaches for the outer limits of inner space  and would make a potent, heady score for a moment at either sundown or sunup.