In record buying / selling circles Basso is a legend. His Growing Bin operation, both the website and label, span out of his incredible curiosity and enthusiasm for unearthing extraordinary vinyl that no one else seems to have heard of. In terms of turning up forgotten oddities, that subsequently become sought after Balearic bombs, he is rivalled by only the likes of former Cafe del Mar resident Phil “Cantoma” Mison and Aficionado’s Moonboots. In terms of commitment and service he’s rivalled only by Amsterdam’s Red Light Records.

Not content with dusting off old dynamite for discerning dancefloors, through the imprint, for ten years now, Basso’s been constantly championing new music. Andrew Wilson, John Tanner (1), Bartosz Kruczyński, Wolf Muller (2), Niklas Wandt, Shy Layers, Cass., Singu, Krakatau, MAAT, Lilipulu, Reinis Ramans, Minna Wight, CV Vision, Santilli, Double Geography, Taro Nohara, Matthieu Beck, and Andreas Kunzmann are just some of the talented folks that we’ve been introduced to. 

Basso’s new compilation – this’ll be his third – titled Sitting In Trees, to be honest, really only scratches the surface of what he’s capable of. The 8 tracks serve as a sort of Basso / Growing Bin primer. You get a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, but I guess it would be impossible to showcase all the strange stuff that he’s into. For a start there’s no privately pressed German fusion.

There’s `80s Euro pop from Beau Michael and Christian Ch. Kneisel. The first of these, Move Away, could be a lost classic by Italian Balearic favourite Mike Francis. A drum and synth-driven holiday romance drama that packs plenty of faux fanfares and Spanish picking. The other, Jungle Connection, has a tempo and chimes that also suggest sunny tropical climes, and which, together with its insistent scratchy rhythm guitar, call to mind another classic, Kinkina, but post-fever, post-coitus.

Edwin Schimscheimer`s Bon Nuit Michelle is far more chilled. A gentle river of rippling, peaceful piano. The cool organ and sax of CAN-inspired Peak Of Normal’s Hava channel the dubbed-out trip hop and acid jazz of acts like 8Up and DJ Food. Ikee Largo’s After The Storm uses a 10cc sample to further sugar a sweet lovers rock skank. A vinyl-pressing of Dancing Fantasy’s Mystery Voice – something that featured in Mr Mison’s sunset sets, and those of his friend and mentor, Jose Padilla – will be enough to get collectors coughing up their cash. A super mellow, highly polished sunlounger-by-the-pool piece, imagine Art Of Noise, with additional epic, electric axe shredding.

There’s new stuff too. Patrick Jahn & Erobique’s moody, muted, Moonlight Shuffle is previously unreleased, while licensing Summer Vee’s Judas was a bit of coup. The original 10” sold out on Bandcamp in a blink. A stunning slice of soulful New Zealand / Aotearoa jazz-funk – part Sade, part Chic – rarely has heartbreak and betrayal sounded so beautiful. 

NOTES
(1) This might be hard to believe but just the other day I had someone stop  me while I was walking the dog, and thank me for, via my local radio show, introducing them to that first Wilson Tanner record. I do live in a very small village.
(2) To my mind it was Basso who “broke” Wolf Muller. It was Basso who really pushed that first release on Themes For Great Cities.

Basso’s brilliant Sitting In Trees can be ordered directly from International Feel.