Juno Recommends Balearic / Downtempo best of 2020

Review: .Mikhail Khvasko has been painting a vivid, sunkissed picture of Balearic bliss with his A Vision Of Panorama project since it first emerged on Mellophonia back in 2016. As the nights start to draw in, this latest drop is just what you need to escape to an imagined coastal idyll where the sun never sets. From the steady groove of 'Floral Rhythm' to the gentle skank of 'Seaside Tune' this is immaculately rendered feel-good music rendered in plush synths with an unmistakable 80s finish. There are beats to be enjoyed on 'Blues 909', but you've never heard the totemic techno machine sound as smooth and mellow as it does right here.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Emotional Rescue take one final trip into the archives of The New Morning - the Munich-based Afro-cosmic project active in the mid-'90s. This third round of tripped-out dancefloor delights draws on a global panoply of sounds once again, starting in a mystical mood with "Kongo Bina" before firing up the party stove with "Roots & Culture" and slapping down a heavyweight chug on the fierce n' slow "Flatline". There's plenty more fireballs on the B-side, not least the looped-up funk of "Satan (Dub)" and the heavy hitting percussion of "Riddim Of Inari (Tribal Mix)". "Anthems" finishes the final volume of this valuable reissue series on a stirring, melancholic note with powerful choral voices and sentimental melodic refrains - the perfect emotional set closer.

Review: REPRESS ALERT: Emotional Rescue continue to explore the fruitful early '90s exploits of The New Morning, a Munich-based crew who took their lead from the Afro-Cosmic scene pioneered in Northern Italy by DJs like Danielle Baldelli and Beppe Loda. On this second installment of spiritually charged, low tempo club killers, you get the chants and percussion of "Riddim Of Inari", tightly looped West African funk of "Mi C'Yaan" and the stunningly evocative "When Will You Come Down?". There's more rolling rhythmic business to be enjoyed on "Picayune" while "Cricket (part II)" amps up the distortion without losing the groove, and then "Ancient Nomads" seals off this volume in style with a slow, hard-slapping beat to get fully entranced too.

Review: Way back in 1988, Italian label Les Folies Art put out a dreamy chunk of Art Of Noise style ambient experimentalism by Quiet Force called "Listen To The Music". It's long been in-demand amongst Balearic collectors for its unique fusion of Fairlight-manipulated vocal samples, glistening guitars, sparse beats, snaking clarinet lines, jaunty fretless bass and new age synthesizers, so this licensed reissue on Rogue Cat Sounds is long overdue. This time round, the duo's original "For Love & Emotions" version comes backed by two fresh remixes. Justin Strauss and Max Pask turn it into a deliciously dreamy chunk of acid-fired early morning house, while Apiento & Tepper re-imagine it as a slick and seductive instrumental Sade B-side.

Review: Since debuting on the sadly departed Aficionado label six years ago, Mikhail Khvasko's A Vision Of Panorama project has become one of the more reliable sources of sun-kissed Balearic soundscapes. He's in a particularly cheery and positive mood on this first outing of 2020, confidently skipping between jazz-funk influenced Balearic boogie (tasty opener "Atlantic Dawn"), late-80s style deep breakbeat haziness (the swelling chords, toe-tapping beats and Nu Guinea style synthesizer flourishes of "Mediterranean Tribal"), languid sunrise warmth (standout "Sentimental Coast", whose twinkling piano solos are sublime) and bubbly, synth-propelled jazziness (the similarly awesome "Vibechos"). In other words, it's another must-have collection of cuts from a modern Balearic maestro.

Review: Here's a record perfectly suited to the Emotional Rescue sphere. International Noise Orchestra was born out of a collaboration between Berliner Ulrich Homberg and Algerian drummer Jol Allouche, first embarked on in the 1980s when they sought to combine 'new technology with old'. The results are wonderfully vibrant, evocative of the era but also packed with open-ended experimentation that sounds fresh more than 30 years later. There's a push and pull between the collaborating parties, but the frisson between cultures and methods is where this record gets its unique groove from, all delivered with a slick 80s cool it's hard to resist.

Review: When it comes to hybrid blends of intoxicating world music sounds and contemporary dancefloor rhythms, few producers are quite as accomplished as Nicola Cruz. He's at it again on "Hybridism", the Equador-based Frenchman's first EP for Multi-Culti for almost three years. Opener "Aima" sets the tone, with Cruz wrapping lilting synth lines, weirdo electronics and chanted vocals around a bubbling electronic groove, while "Naeku" makes the most of echo-laden drums, what sounds like an African children's choir and faintly foreboding acid lines. "Drom Tradisie" is an exercise in trippy sounds and layered percussion, "Third Eye Dub" is a darker and moodier slab of techno-exotica and "Kawe's Dream" is a blissful blast of clarinet-sporting musical positivity.

Review: The Anything Goes "Rollover Edit Service" continues apace with this latest grip of four unique choices of forgotten disco treasure to get a 2020 spruce up. Ferraroni is on "Le Soleil Bateau", a sunkissed schooner by any measure with a Balearic tint in the easy tempo and cheery disposition. Jacques Renault brings equally slick vibes with "NYC Lights", which teeters between yacht rock and synth pop to perfection. Makossa's edit of "Dio Come Ti Amo" is a more reflective cut, subtly dubbed and revolving around an introspective guitar hook. Pasta brings the tempo back up with a version of "Di Di No" that will have party people young and old dancing in unison.

Review: REPRESS: Rising Sun Psyche aka Berlin's hugely prolific but somehow rather lowkey Steffen Laschinski hits an amazingly bittersweet spot on his latest offering. It combines post-rave ambient, breakbeats, IDM and deep house into a real trip. "The River Experiment II" is a dreamy opener with gorgeous synths while "Back Home" is backlit with a celestial glow of melody and spoken word snippets that add to the reverie. There's gentle minimalism in "The River Experiment I" and followed by punchy and emotive number "Feel What I Feel" amongst many other highlights.

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: Green Gartside is the Welsh frontman of cult band Scritti Polltti, here in solo mode on Rough Trade His latest 7" finally gets a release after various delays and on it are two covers of songs originally recorded by Anne Briggs, who is often regarded as one of the great British folk singers. The originals came out in 1971 on Briggs album The Time Has Come (and has also been re-released this year). In the hands of the so-called brainiest man in pop they become fresh propositions with interesting new perspectives.

Review: Max Essa made his name through swathes of releases for Bear Funk, but broke through once more with his essential "Lanterns" LP for Music For Dreams back in 2018. His appearances have been scattered since, but now he makes a welcome return on Hell Yeah with some of that plush, full frequency synth disco business. "Tombolo" is defined by its rich layers of lead chords and cascading electronic percussion, but it's also made even more seductive by subtle splashes of dubby processing. "The Great Adventure" is a cooler jam for more mellow moments, but it's still no slouch in the funk department. "Fool In The Pool" finishes the record off with a truly laid back combination of tabla drums, electric piano and dreamy pads. Blissful, beautifully composed music to let the mind drift to.

Review: Emotional Rescue follow up on the excellent first instalment of reissue material from International Noise Orchestra with this second round of visionary curios from the late '80s. The 'Instrumental Muezzin' mix of 'Gimme More Lovin' comes on like Art Of Noise rocking hard at a slow tempo, all Fairlight flex and more plush digi-synth tones than you can shake a shoulder pad at. 'Yeh Naina Yaa Hai' points to the outernational focus of the group with its canny fusion of Indian musical tropes with electronics, all framing Asha Bhosle's peerless vocal. 'Sick Of Love' works wonders with angular time signature explorations and another plunderphonic funk freakout, while 'A Lulu A Bobe Danz' gets into even more virtuoso kitsch deviations. 'Listen To The Earthbeat / The Driving Force' finishes the set with a compelling rhythmic workout accented by underwater surrealism.

Review: London based Brazilian artist Laima is back after her Home album with two new version of tracks form it. They have been mixed and engineered by the Soulwax brothers and feature the combined Tonal + Rhythmical versions of 'Disco Pregnancy' and 'Home'. Each one is a creepy and alluring affair with Laima's vocal and synth tracks on the 'Tonal' disc alongside Iggor's beats on the 'Rhythmical' record both designed to be played at the same time for full effect. It's wonderfully weird and straddles a dark disco, wave, EBM line that is utterly compelling.

Review: Napoli producer Enrico Fierro AKA Milord may not yet be quite as well known as fellow city dwellers New Guinea, but he shares the same love of cosmic synthesizer sounds, atmospheric electronics and lo-fi drum machines. "Meta/Music", his first EP for Pinchy & Friends, inhabits a similar sonic space to the Early Sounds Recordings regulars, too - or at least the synth-fuelled jazz-funk-meets-Balearic cuts "The Kemetist", "Infinite Balance" and the sparse, dubbed-out bliss of "Meta Music" do (incidentally, all three feature copious amounts of dub style delays on the drum hits, which is no bad thing). Best of all though is opener "Transcendental Experience", a slow-burning fusion of new age melodies, intergalactic electronics and minimalist drums that's worth the admission price on its own.

Review: Andy Pye's Leeds based label Balearic Social has always been about grown up and escapist sounds with real musical value and gorgeous grooves. After something of a hiatus the label returns with a typically classy offering from Reuben Vaun Smith which actually moves way from super downtempo sounds and towards more dream-scale musical fantasies. Opener 'Energia Mistica' is a dubbed out trip with arching pads and retro synth sounds, 'Tomate Tu Tempo' rides a wave of seaside bliss and pan pipe magic and closer 'Misterioso' is a more colourful and psychedelic cut.

Review: The third volume of International Noise Orchestra archival dives from Emotional Rescue sees no let up in the dizzying, dazzling displays of visionary 80s production from this curious German-Algerian project. The fusion between bold and brash synths and samples with Jol Allouche's drumming is fluid throughout. On lead track 'The Atlantic Swimmer' the project sounds incredibly of its time but also utterly out of time and space in its futuristic outernational reverie. There's space for era-appropriate bombast on 'Listen/Gimme More Lovin', which shimmers with a new wave tint, while a rubbery b-line on 'I Speak Your Body Electric' almost hints towards acid in its fluid glides. Stellar, spellbinding stuff highly deserving of a second airing.