Tags: Balearic Disco

Review: Ritmo Fantasia is the name of this superb 21 track selection, and it has been curated by Berlin-based, Venezuelan-born producer, DJ and record obsessor Trujillo. As the name suggests, this is music plucked from the outer fringes of the Spanish electronic scene from the 80s and 90 with plenty of proto sounds from the worlds of bleep, hip house, electro, boogie, Iberian pop and plenty more. It is a treasure trove of obscure but essential grooves for Balearic heads and music lovers alike. The artwork alone is worth the cover price, so big up Soundway for this one.

Review: Don't let the "Coldwave" tag fool you: this EP from Dutch archival imprint Music From Memory is every bit as glassy-eyed and loved-up as the rest of their left-of-centre, Balearic-minded catalogue. German drummer and composer Curt Cress first released "Dschung Tek" in 1992, layering his own dense tribal drums across a tropical, ambient house and dream house influenced backing track on the brilliant "Long Version", before stripping it back to a loved-up, Ibiza-friendly house cut on the "No Live Drums" version. Both mixes can be found on this reissue, alongside a trio of similarly percussive, tropical-minded cuts from the artist's 1983 LP, "Avanti". All three are ace and almost as good as the more floor-focused title track.

Review: Under the Jaz alter-ego, John Zahl has been serving up laidback, Balaearic-minded edits of musical obscurities since the mid 2000s. Initially, that was for Claremont 56 offshoot Sixty Five, but in the last decade he's also appeared on Passport To Paradise, Rotating Souls and, most recently, Pinchy & Friends. Here he returns to the latter label with four more rubs of atmospheric cuts from the dusty corners of his record collection. He begins with the wonderfully throbbing, solo-heavy dancefloor synth-scape of 'Cloud Worship', before successfully tinkering with a tactile, semi-organic proto-house gem on 'Pick a Toy'. Over on side B, 'Puzzle' is a tidy revision of a cosmic-minded, French language Balearic synth-pop gem, while 'Friday Night' is an eccentric, off-kilter slab of new wave disco oddness.

Review: Milan duo Eternal Love made their debut last year on local imprint Polifonic's Itria Vol. 2 compilation and follow up here on Sydney's Planet Trip. Comprising of four tracks, the Altar EP features some Balearic rave inspired by the late '80s Ibiza sounds as heard on 'Flotamos', while the following cut 'Terra Trance' is as much a zeitgeist of that magical era with its loved-up vibe. Over on the flip, we really enjoyed the celestial and new-agey groove business of 'Geo Geo'.

Review: Much time has been spent marking the importance and excellence of some aspects of the Italian dance music story - think the 1980s Italo-disco movement, Baldelli's cosmic disco vibes, and the later Italo-house and Roman techno scenes - but there are still gaps in our knowledge. That's where this compilation from Dualismo Sound and Gabrielle Casiraghi comes in. Devoted to 'Italian dancefloor outsiders', it aims to educate us on some of the overlooked oddities recorded in Italy between 1987 and '94. It more than achieves its aims, delivering a mixture of proto-trance (Cy & Gy), Fairlight-powered instrumental synth-pop (Ubaldo Missoni), druggy Afro-cosmic throb-jobs (Teknoafro), sparkling "Worldbeat" (Bokaye), breakbeat-driven downtempo grooves (Nightmare Lodge), and impossible-to pigeonhole sonic insanity (Zen). A genuine 'must-check'.

Review: Hassan Ideddir's 1989 single "Atfalouna" sees an expanded repress courtesy of Dark Entries. Born to Berber parents in Morocco, Ideddir began making music at the age of 10 after being discovered singing in the stairwell by his school's headmaster. Encouraged by his peers, he began playing concerts, and his status grew. In 1987, he played a string of sold-out concerts in Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh, in support of a children's charity. The success of these concerts secured him a record deal, and he went to Paris to record his debut single "Atfalouna" in 1988.

Review: Orange Tree Edits are back once again with more of that super fruity dance floor juiciness. Jimmy Rouge is the man at the controls this time and he wastes no time in heading off to the stars with the cosmic disco workout that is 'Bay Leaf' and its stiff retro arps. 'Rounders' sinks into a more laid-back vibe, with late night chords and gently tumbling drum breaks perfect for seaside dancing. 'Night Train' is a real cosmic chugger with spangled synths spiraling round the mix and 'Fever Dream' then locks you into a lush late-night reverie with lo-fi boogie bass.

Review: Probably one of the most fascinating Japanese compilations to ever receive a release since 'Diggin' In The Carts', Time Capsule's 'Anime & Manga Synth Pop Soundtracks 1984-1990' takes a thorough look at the genre when it was well underway and in its heyday, charting just eight cuts of the sauciest lo-fi bangers for the cartoon style. Opener 'Honowo' is a proto-sinogrimey, synthpoppy slice of city pop for the period manga Yume No Ishibumi. Meanwhile, 'Utage' recalls Eurythmics or Talking Heads with a retro-classic, quantized groove. A great snapshot of Japanese music media from a time of upheaval.

Review: Known for their cover versions - having re-read Sly Stone, Plastic Bertrand, Les Chats Sauvages, and many more over the years - Telex managed to tread a fine line between comedy and innovation. Focusing heavily on a lo-fi synthesised sound, the Belgian alt-poppers would use plenty of humour in their work, but never allowed this to outshine or overshadow the musicality of it all. Released in 1980, Neurovision is a case in point. According to the band, this was their tongue-in-cheek entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, for which they were chosen as representatives for their home country in the same year. Deliberately banal lyrics, mostly referring to the competition itself, married to the glittering wonder of a proto-electronic soundtrack, mark it as a work of bold daring and a little genius. Sadly, it failed to secure them last place in the tournament, as they hoped, forcing them to settle for 17 out of 19.