Back in stock: Balearic/Downtempo

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


We're never short of new Ricardo Villalobos material and he's generous with his time as a mixer, but this project offers something different from the Chilean mad scientist of minimal. A Mountain Of One are a duo who deal in Balearic-leaning pop with a subtle charm and an adventurous spirit, and they initially approached Villalobos for a single remix of one of their tracks. As a fan of their sound, Villalobos ran with the project and it wound up as a full remix album of seven different versions. On the earlier tracks Ricardo takes a surprisingly light touch, while the later stages find us knee deep in the mesmerising roll of his minimal house, shot through with dubbed out ingredients from the original songs. It's surprising and satisfying in equal measure, showing Villalobos at his best and quite the scoop for A Mountain Of One.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


If the aim of most albums is to take you on a sonic journey of boundless exploration, then this new record Exploring Together from Saphileaum on Mule Musiq is about as good as it gets. It's a work pop escapist beauty with ethereal synths invoking a sense of wonder and discovery over pulsating rhythms which build layers of intrigue. Ambient textures are melted into hypnotic beats, lush soundscapes invite introspection and movement alike and exotic percussion, sound effects and sun kissed sounds all bring each track to life as you get lost in this most beautiful odyssey into uncharted downtempo and Balearic waters.