Tags: Balearic Disco

Review: The latest one on Faze Action's label comes from Robin Lee in his Rudy's Midnight Machine guise. This is where Lee's disco funk fantasies run amok, with 'Dyane' in particular coming on strong with the sound of the early 80s. This is blissfully melodic, good time stuff throughout, steeped in classic motifs but delivered with a fresh, modern panache. There are downtempo Balearic moments like 'Crystal Dragonfly' to get lost it as much as there are plenty of invigorated calls to the dancefloor, making this a five track EP to really get your teeth into.

Review: Faze Action's Afro series hits a fourth and final volume with Zeke Manyika and Faze Action themselves at the helm of two new singles. The vibes on this one take their cues from Afro Latin and Balearic worlds with opener 'Maswera' bringing nice open-air festival sounds, rich horn work and expressive drum funk. Manyika's chants are the icing on the cake for this one. Then comes a nice dubbed-out remix of 'Rugare' by Faze Action with lively disco drums and loose-limbed percussion. The original on the flip is a more straight-up and dazzling disco cut while a paired back instrumental of 'Maswera' closes things down in style. Timeless Afro bombs for sure.

Review: Anders Midtgaard is one of the leading proponents of the Balearic vibe in Denmark, alongside the likes of Kenneth Bager and Mike Salta. He inaugurates the Fantastic label with this beautiful summer groover, leading in with a plush remix from Italian maestro Luca Moplen. It's a feistier affair than Midtgaard's ever-so-slightly hazy original version, but both retain the core chord sequence that makes this such a heart-rending beauty of a track. The B side opens up with said original mix before Salta is then drafted in for a remix that leaves the disco locomotion behind for a breezier samba groove over which to play some delightfully warbling keys.

Review: Javi Frias has earned a solid reputation as a producer on the international disco scene since he began releasing his edits and reworks back in 2015. However, this year, during confinement, he decided to put editing aside to unleash his creativity and start recording his own productions, playing with synthesizers, electric pianos, syncopated basses and tribal percussion, and the result is this 'Sunset Disco EP'. A collection of songs that take us to a summer sunset on a beach in paradise that represent a huge leap in the career of this artist. The A side begins with 'Give Love', a hedonistic and melancholic disco song, followed by 'Noche Tropical', with Balearic overtones and reminiscences of a Caribbean party. Side B opens with 'Are You Really Fellas?', a funky little number featuring jazzy guitars and smashing bass. 'Dance With Me' brings us back to the field of the emotional and evocative disco. And finally 'Musical Connection', with touches of reggae downtempo perfect to say goodbye to this eternal and warm sunset.

Review: Proper party music from two of the most trusted names in the game. Paradise Row is a brand new label and production outlet for both long-standing pillars of the modern disco community, and each of these three launch tracks tip nods right back to the roots. From the brazen piano slapping of "Hanging Out" via the shiny guitar, chugging synth bass and dubbed out vocal tactics of "Machine 16" via the early Chicagoisms-meet-Balearic -guitar-twangs of "Aperol Sunset", there's no fronting or pretention here; just lush floor-focused music that is designed to make you smile.

Review: Naples does disco like nowhere else and that is from where this EP originates. It is like a siren call to Balearic beat lovers with its hypnotic drum loops and dazzling Italo melodies, The angelic vocals rise out of the mix next to pixelated pads on 'Sirenusa' and soon have you shaking your ass. On the flipside is 'Vetara' which is edgier and driving for the later night hours. But it is still lush and cosmic disco, with swathes of retro-future synth sounds, chugging drums and crispy 80s textures. Irresistible stuff.

Review: Three generous portions of blissful beats on the Electric Shrine imprint, kicking off with the downbeat (in BPM terms) but lively 'Solar Visions' coming on like a dub mix of a lost Chic classic, 'What You Love' more like prime-era John Carpenter remixed by a mischievous Orb and 'Un Amore Supremo' a slow motion (one of the slowest we've ever encountered) reverb-fest, designed for more eccentric chillout rooms. And that's all before the opera singer pitches in.

Review: On his new single 'Pacifico Waves', Joel Sarakula takes the scenic route down a pacific coastline, searching for peace, enlightenment and the perfect sunset. Travelling and searching is nothing new to Sarakula: it's almost his default way of being. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia before swapping oceans to live in the UK and more recently onwards to Gran Canaria: "I've been busy making my islands smaller" he jokes. But the music on 'Pacifico Waves' sounds like none of these places: with its easy drum shuffle, soulful guitar hooks and smooth vocal harmonies it distinctly evokes Southern California. It's such a potent portrait of the West Coast that if not for the contemporary lyrics and some modern production techniques, it could be a long lost hit from an early 80s LA studio band.

Review: The Artless Cuckoo label has done a fine job of showcasing the work of lesser-known German outfit Ghia his year by releasing an album of rediscovered 1980s recordings as well as a special 7". Now Thank You has put together this 12" package with three different versions of 'Don't Leave Me Alone.' The original dropped in 1987 and was an instant euro-pop classic. An OG copy on wax is tough to find these days so often fetches three figures. Soon as you hear the tune though you know why - it's effortlessly catchy with mounting tension and super creative vocals.

Review: After a standout debut on the label in 2020, Andrea Ferrari returns to Rollover Milano with a new EP charged with Balearic mystique and a truckload of silken synth wares. 'Deep Blue, Green Eyes' is a boxy beatdown in the rhythm section, but the cooing pads, FM chimes and bubbling FX create a delectable dreamscape to drift off into. By way of comparison, 'Subacqueo' jacks up the pressure with a trance-leaning cut splashed with some particularly wigged-out acid lines. Bell Towers takes up the mood of the track and injects a little uptempo joy on a typically sweet remix draped in blissed out melodics, and then the record gets rounded off with some deeper peak time immersion on the seriously immersive piano house stylings of 'Morning Routine'.

Review: Neon Indian main brain Alan Palomo returns under his own name for World Of Hassle, the latest full-length project and exploration of a completely different sound altogether. His first album under his own name, it's something of a departure from his previous synthpop/chillwave oeuvre, homing in on a brighter, kookier disco, funk, and house verve. Thematically, the album is adventurous and playful, having been inspired by Palomo's travels around the world, ups-and-downs in the music industry, and personal relationships.