MAX ESSA Vinilo y CD

Review: Balearic disco maestro Max Essa has named his latest EP in honour of "Barkhan Dunes" - those wind created, crescent shaped sand dunes often found in deserts. Quite how this fits with the music on offer isn't explained, though the Balearic-minded music offered up is excellent. Check first "The Price You Pay (For Loving That Way)", an arpeggio-driven slab of sun-kissed nu-disco/Balearic house fusion rich in life-affirming Rhodes chords, twinkling synth lines and delay-laden saxophone solos. "Kites At Nemoto Beach" is a gently unfurling ambient soundscape full of drowsy vocal harmonies, while closing cut "Sundowning" sees Essa wrap glistening guitars and thickset synth bass around a bubbly mid-tempo drum machine rhythm.

Review: The UK's Max Essa resides in Tokyo these days and is one of the city's leading nu-disco purveyors. We're particularly fond of his 2010 full length "White Shoes Blue Dreams". While usually releasing on isitbalearic..? or his own Jansen Jardin imprint (which he runs with Motoyoshi Shimakazi), he now appears on Palms & Charms, a new Tokyo/Hong Kong joint effort run by Samuel and Barnaby Bruce. "Blame It On Rea" starts in typical Essa Style: warm '80s strings, funky guitar licks and epic slow burning arpeggios that sound like the perfect accompaniment to Crockett and Tubbs veering down Nikki Beach chasing bad guys on Miami Vice. "Body Time" is far more uptempo with its Italo influences worn firmly on its sleeve. There's more epic retro sounding synths on this retrovert nu-disco anthem. Finally "Keep On Truckin'" is all hands in the air, summery balearic business that does throwback sounds as good as any of the best of them at the moment, namely Tuff City Kids or Love On The Rocks.

Review: If you've so much sniffed a Max Essa record, you'll already have a great idea of how lush this sounds... Sun-kissed positivity and slim-line instrumentation throughout, each of these cuts jet us so deep into late 80s Ibiza we can feel the sand between our toes. From the mischievous guitar Q&A, slap bass and subtle disco bubbles of "Destination You" to the shimmering acoustic guitar and whale cry textures of "All Is Not Lost" via the deep-set meditation and treacle-thick euphoric atmospheres of the EP title track, Max has pulled out every stop to create the ultimate celebration of all things Balearic.

Review: If Max Essa's Won Ton Sunrise album was an exercise in gentle Balearic revivalism - admittedly with a side order of hazy dancefloor chug - then this companion album, Won Ton Sunset, is an attempt to get the party started. Packed with alternative versions, dubs and extended remixes, it fixes the original's wide-eyed, sun-kissed melodies, 80s AOR-inspired grooves and jangling acoustic guitars to Italo-influenced rhythms, nu-disco beats and slo-mo house basslines. It's a simple idea, executed well. Highlights are plentiful, from the synthesizer chug and twinkling melodies of "Trust The Wind (Long Version)" and strutting bump of "Stupid Smile (Sunset Party Dub)", to the bluesy, dance-rock bagginess of "Asleep at the Wheel (Sunset Mix)".

Review: Tribal Balearic is the genre Aficionado are pushing to describe their latest 12" offering which is a split release from Max Essa and Basso, but put down that pinch of salt because it's another winner for the Mancunian label. Essa of course needs little introduction to anyone that indulges in some of the more horizontally inclined disco releases, whilst fans of the Black Disco label will remember Sebastian Graetz's killer contribution as Basso. There's a pleasant degree of chunkiness to "Chou Chou San," Essa's opening gambit where hefty drums are complemented well by the Oriental synth lines and spiritual pads that Max has made his own. "Peninsular" is most definitely not tribal but it is Balearic at it's most serenest and offers a moment of calm before Basso mans the B Side deck with the vibrant afro disco flavours of "Sore Sebi" and the languid "Waking Up Late".

Review: The guys behind the legendary Brazilian festival follow up last winter's debut release from Pete Herbert, Dicky Trisco and Eric Dunks with another all-star nu-disco cast. The Revenge gets playful with a string sample (and the title) on "Strings Of Fife", Eddie C ups the cosmic factor with an array of dubby textures and an insistent guitar loop on "Take Me Or Leave Me", Pete Herbert get evangelistic with big disco vocal harmonies and a groove so slippery you could wash your hands in it. Finally Max Essa flips the switch heads south for an Amazonian synth adventure that's so immersive it might swallow you whole.