Juno Recommends Balearic / Downtempo: July 2022

Review: Here comes an 11-track comp that epitomizes the sound of Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy's renowned breakfast show. 'Balearic Breakfast' has been running on Worldwide FM for years now, beginning and running throughout the COVID-19 pandemic so as to soothe and placate the anxious, plague-ridden listener with island sounds, sunsoaked balearism, drizzly disco. Spanning a "hodge-podge of chillout, spiritual jazz, deep soul, percussive house, quirky disco" and much more, you can expect a heady and 'ahh'-inducing escape with this one.

Review: Almost two decades have now passed since the release of Sebastien Tellier's most iconic single, 'La Ritournelle' - a stunning, stirring, string-drenched favourite in which fluid pianos, sweeping orchestration and Tellier's eyes-closed vocals ride a typically loose-limbed Tony Allen drumbeat. This reissue pairs the peerless original mix with two 2003 remixes of the cut and a rare 'bonus beat' version that showcases Allen's incredible polyrhythmic drum track. Mr Dan's remix gives the track a slight psychedelic dream-pop vibe - throwing in a few subtle audio references to Smile-era Beach Boys for good measure - while retaining most of the original instrumentation, while the Gilligan Moss interpretation replaces Allen's drumming with a fuzzy, low-slung dub disco groove and a smattering of analogue synth sounds. One of those records that everyone should own a copy of.

Review: With long-serving Balearic DJs Mark Barrott (he of International Feel fame) and Pete Gooding at the controls, you'd expect the latest volume in White Isle venue Hostal La Torre's ongoing compilation series to be on-point. It is of course, with the pair variously offering up a lesser-known (and stunning) David Morley ambient remix of Golden Girls' rave classic 'Kinetic', the tribal-meets-jazz-funk headiness of No Zu, the humid, boogie-era stripped-back soul of Raw Silk (the brilliant 'Storm'), soft focus beach-side exotica (Margaret Wakely's 'Hard To Leave The Island'), pitched-down Italian dream house revivalism (Timmy Stewart remixing the Vendetta Suite), spiritually minded piano jazz (Lola Perrin), picturesque synth-scapes (Suzanne Ciani) and Barrott's own Balearic bliss ('Travelling Music').

Review: The Avidya label arrives with a bold new concept that sees it push itself to "step out of comfort zones to release a series of EPs of broad, challenging and deep music." The first affair is a fine one from four artists, the first of which is Lyon based procure A Strange Wedding from the Worst label. His slow trance locks you in and then Gothenburg trio Datasal come through with a prog rock and post funk and dance fusion. 84PC's contribution is peak time gold and Barcelona's Iro Aka arrive with another debut to round out this fine offering.

Review: Since its release almost a decade ago, Furstattl's debut EP for Claremont 56, the revivalist krautrock brilliance of 'Rheinlust', has become an in-demand item. It's for this reason that the label has decided to reissue it, alongside a wealth of other tracks from the Mountaineer offshoot and create this compilation style album. Record one pairs the kraut-goes-space-rock 'Rheinlust' with its' original B-side, the even more cosmic and epic, Can-go-Balearic style brilliance of 'Links Der Pegnitz'. Record two contains two hard-to-find cuts from C56 compilations, the pleasingly upbeat and breezy 'Leerlauf' and the heavier, fuzzier 'Haru', with previously unheard cosmic rock/kraut-disco number 'Fur Paul' (a track named in tribute to Claremont 56 founder Paul 'Mudd' Murphy).

Review: Having spent the last couple of years producing music for other people, International Feel main man Mark Barrott is keen to showcase some new music of his own. The tracks featured on Travelling Music were recorded in the summer of 2020, though this is the first time he's shared them with the public outside of his decidedly Balearic DJ sets. The title track - and its bubbly, sun-bright and utterly gorgeous 'Reprise' mix sibling - is loved-up and sun-soaked in the extreme, with Barrott layering lapping waves of Tangerine Dream style synth lines, kaleidoscopic counter-melodies and hypnotic, trance-inducing drums. Elsewhere, 'Chillin' 4 Work' is the Gentle People jamming with B12 and Vangelis after a fistful of happy pills, while 'Arcade Scene' is Italo-tinged analogue nu-disco.

Review: The late Jorge Reyes was a leading figure in Mexican experimental music, and this album recorded with Antonio Zepeda is one of his earliest and most striking works. Originally released in 1986, A La Izquierda Del Colibri is a worldly product of the era in the same way as the work of Jah Wobble and Brian Eno, rich in new wave funk but reaching to a higher plane thanks to all manner of sonic devices. From treated jungle sounds to swooping pads, the whole album feels like an exotic trek through the heat and mystery of Central America, at times leaving the Western world far behind and at other times embracing it. A captivating listen.

Review: House music exploded in the UK in 1987 and continued to blow up in the ensuing summers. But with all the high energy parties and ever more visceral rave sounds, people needed a break, and so it was that in February of 1990 the KLF invented new slowed down after-sounds on their Chill Out mix. This collection gathers best sub 100bpm cuts form that time, as assembled by Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley. Fun fact - the artwork for the LP is a picture from the new book on acid house by photographer Dave Swindells which is well worth copping if you can.

Review: Neapolis is a brand new label that kick off with some brilliantly seductive Balearic sounds for the warmer days and nights that are fast approaching. The accompanying notes tell us that 'the intoxicating songs of the Sirens found in the bay of Napoli are irresistible to all' and these tunes are no different. 'Boulevard' kicks off with icy drums but balmy synths all rolling smoothly onward to some distant imagined horizon. Delicate vocals add the key hooks while a dubbed out version on the flip is more fleshy and heady.

Review: Following up the first release quickly with Detroit native Paul Alan, who now resides on the sunny west coast. Paul Alan aka DTCHPLNES, delivers the smooth latin driven car cruiser "Provider" and the sun blissed slow skate vibes of "Charlevoix", which also sounds great on 45. The two track 7 inch is wrapped in a treasure map jacket with a compass foil stamp and includes a postcard.

Review: Elysian On Moon Lake is a new album from TECWAA that takes a differs path than its predecessor. Where that one was full of air and sparkle, this one is more claustrophobic and dusty. It is tight and dark an involving with plenty of weird electronics obscuring the beauty of the pianos on opener 'Never, There. Was.' 'Tropic Notations' is a cosmic workout with electro drums and aline synth sounds, while things get leggy and zoned out on 'No Lies To Her Fire.' Highlights on the second side include 'Welcome Dystopia' with its visceral techno stomp.