ISABELLE ANTENA レコード& CD

Review: Some years back, Permanent Vacation dipped into the back catalogue of decidedly Balearic synth-pop trio Antenna before offering up a swathe of fresh remixes. Now Discomatin have decided to explore the solo discography of lead singer Isabelle Antena, serving up two rare contemporaneous remixes of 1987 singles by Mark Kamins and Marc Moulin respectively. The former's version of "Laying On The Sofa" is superb, with the Danceteria resident layering her fine lead vocals over delay laden electro beats, warm Rhodes chords, glistening guitars and elastic bass guitar. Moulin's body-popping, synth and drum-machine fired revision of "La Tete Contre Les Murs" is arguably even better and undeniably funkier. It goes without saying that both tracks are superb.

Review: After a potential demo deal with Island Records went south, Belgian electro-samba outfit Antena parted ways in the mid-'80s. Singer Isabelle Antena quickly moved onto new projects, forgoing her cold wave aesthetic for an excitingly new sophisticated pop sound. On 1986's En Cavale, there's the undeniable influence of Madonna and city pop sounds with the inevitable bleeding through of late-'80s Euro dance and even a bit of bossa nova would you believe - and it works well!. The elegant second chapter of a French pop treasure. In the '90s, Antena led another group, the Powaga Sisters, and was with them for three albums between 1993-2004.

Review: 'Electro-samba' didn't used to be a genre name one came across every day, but that all changed with French pop icon Isabelle Antena, whose daring solo ventures in the 1980s saw to many a creative explosion. First coming to prominence as part of the self-styled French-Belgian trio Antena, who were more coldwave than city pop, Isabella's solo defection proved a thorough change in tack, as her debut En Cavale dealt in all the sexiest styles from bossa nova, to electro, to synth-pop, to cafe-ready easy listening. From 'Magic Words' to 'Sea Side Week End', this is dreamy, electrified musical sophistry for the Sylvester era.