Downtempo / Balearic Recommendations June 2015

Review: There was a sense of inevitability when Mark Barrott's International Feel label revealed plans to issue a new album from Ibizan legend Jose Padilla, the pair go together like Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. What makes So Many Colours particularly special is the fact Padilla got the chance to work with Barrott, Running Back affiliate Telephones, Australian producer Tornado Wallace and Jan 'Wolf Muller' Schulte, a list of artists that share a common approach to the idea and concept of being Balearic. As you would expect, copious amounts of fluttering beats, Spanish guitar strumming and deep throbbing arpeggiated basslines feature throughout So Many Colours and it's really a pleasure from beginning to end!

Review: South East London four-piece Hejira made a big splash with their Matthew Herbert-produced debut album, 2013's Prayer Before Birth, and the same year's Floating Test collaboration with Floating Points. Here, they resurface on the latter and Alex Nut's Eglo imprint. The Name Surname EP is an altogether softer, dreamier set of tracks than their previous releases, but it's no worse for it. There's something wonderfully attractive about the emotion-rich vocals, subtle pianos and sparse electronic rhythms of "Pinter", while "Rhyme Or Reason" sounds like an inspired blend of smoky trip-hop and '60s psychedelic pop. That hint of psychedelia can also be heard on "Too Mean To Lie", while the title track is a yearning, sun-kissed delight.

Review: Summer sounds couldn't soothe more.... Above Machine unite some of their most creative slo-mo vibe maestros for an ultimately sedate, sexy, sun-kissed set. Highlights include Jonny Nash's take on "Summer Wind"; a stark, piano and vocal led moment of solitude that whisks you off to faraway lands by way of expertly placed instruments, and Slo's subversion of "Another Day"; a misty early August morning that trembles with delicate guitars and yearning vocals that aren't dissimilar to Yannis Philippakis. Dig deep.