JOAN BIBILONI Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Amsterdam label Music from Memory are steadily becoming the most interesting archivally minded operation out there, with this retrospective of Mallorcan guitarist Joan Bibiloni following essential issues of work by Gigi Masin and Leon Lowman. On El Sur, MFM founders Tako Reyenga, Abel Nagenast and Jamie Tiller cast their gaze over Bibiloni's work from the more experimental era of his long career (he first released a single in 1967) selecting tracks from a six album run which commenced with the album Una Vida Llarga I Tranquila, originally released in 1984. It was during this time that Bibiloni began to compose with the assistance of tape loops, drum computers and synthesisers and these primitive experiments make for compelling listening across the ten tracks on El Sur.

Review: Balearic is perfected to near-Platonic form on this new split single from Joan Bibiloni, the Mallorcan artist and guitarist behind many such full-length masterpieces as 'Joana Lluna' and 'Una Vida Llarga I Tranquila'. Gouranga Music's re-licensing of Bibiloni's music here sees two new remixes by esteemed reworker Ray Mang; 'The Boogie' adds sheeny mega-production to Bibiloni's original, with tense chordwork and watery delays backing up a maddeningly restless instrumental. The ambient standout here, though, is the B, 'Val, Vuw Ya', on which Mang refuses to differentiate between pad, kazoo, tambourine and guitar, it's that washed out. A fascinating new release, straddling two disparate zones in Balearic music.

Review: With over 50 years of experience dating way back to the early 70s with the progressive outfit Zebra, Joan has left quite a discography that is still being discovered and enjoyed. This EP - Joan Bibloni's second appearance on the label in total - features three versions of 'Badia Onirica', two of them being language versions and then the instrumental. Overall, the song is a track fitting for the Cafe Del Mar sound - a mix of folk, electronica, house with a Latin and folk influence and versions in Spanish and Catalan. An EP for watching the sunsets, dreaming on the beach and remembering life's great time with friends and family. NuNorthernSoul continues to honor the chill out legacy.