MAX ESSA レコード& CD

Review: The by-now seminal Is It Balearic label welcomes long-time Balearic boss Max Essa for another superbly horizontal offering that will take you to the beach no matter where you are. He is a regular on this label who has been serving up top tunes and compiling superb collections like 2016's 10-Year Anniversary comp for ages, and the quality levels never dip. This fresh four-tracker traverses gently breaking synth waves, undulating dubby undercurrents and gloriously sun-kissed synth work all in a soothing and meditative style.

Review: Grown up Balearic maestro Max Essa takes us on a lovely trip far out to sea with his latest on Balearic Ensemble. Matinee is like sipping on a cocktail as you float on a glistening med with some rustic old town up on the hillside behind you. 'Tempo Babadoh' then soundtracks the open air dance you have in the early evening somewhere on a terrace as the sunsets, and the two remixes pump up the energy for late night action. For those of us unable to make it to the White Isle, or any sunny beach at all, frankly, these tracks are the perfect tonic.

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: Barely a month has passed since the release of Max Essa's latest sumptuous long-player - the lovely "Lanterns" on Music For Dreams - but the Balearic hotshot already has more killer cuts to showcase via a second EP for Hell Yeah Recordings. The real triumph is languid A-side "Han Zoc Roc (Midori Coup)", a gently unfurling fusion of slow motion electronics, gentle beats, meandering melodies and blissful instrumental solos that changes shape several times over 13 mesmerizing minutes. Over on side B, the jazz guitar-rich wonder that is "How You Showed Me Everything" sounds like a tribute to Antenna classic "African Queen", while "Rainbird's Alfafa Jam" is a slightly more energetic workout that could arguably be described as "Balearic funk".

Review: Japan's disco don Matthew Bruce aka Max Essa is back with a three part track, namely Themes From The Hood, The Cad & The Lovely, on one side of vinyl, plus two more on the flip. Recording for a decade, this prolific producer has big hits like "Panorama Suite/Uptown Vibration" that have long been in Hell Yeah boss Marco Peedoo's record bag. The story goes that Essa first approached the label with a bunch of tracks until a good correspondence alchemy ensued and together the artist and label decided to put out the most timeless 12" possible. This is music that will calm busy minds now and forever.

Review: There's always been something decidedly Balearic about the productions of Tokyo-based Brit abroad Max Essa, but on this fifth full-length for Stevie Kotey's Bear Funk label he's really pushed the boat out (presumably into the Mediterranean Sea). Beginning with the silly, sun-kissed, Hong Kong Syndikat-ish Balearic-pop of "Asleep at the Wheel", Won Ton Sunrise offers a wide-eyed saunter through hazy, sun-kissed, slightly eccentric pastures. Along the way, he turns his hand to Vangelis-ish dreaminess (the excellent title track), eccentric, offbeat new wave ("Take My Hand"), stylized Italo-pop ("Stupid Smile") and piano-laden instrumental pop ("Back To Blue"). The album's finest moment, "Cactus Time Frame", even has echoes of Mandy Smith's Balearic classic, "I Just Can't Wait".

Review: Master producer of smooth Balearic grooves Max Essa returns on John Daly's Feel Music with "Iberia Sequences", an extended odyssey in two distinct parts. The journey begins with some seriously thick analogue bass and new-age pads, taking things into an extended breakdown before dropping a totally huge baseline topped with some ascending strings and finishing off with a Balearic guitar solo. The flip side includes a further Essa production, "Islands", a slo-mo 80s inspired cut with a deep bassline which then explodes into more blissful action as soul-searching piano chords chime across the surface. Finally, Fabrizio Mammarella remixes the title track; he takes inspiration from the split nature of the original, opening with some springy acidic bass, slowly building up the blissful pads before dropping back into a solid, nicely flanged bass.

Review: Steve Kotey's Bear Funk once again plays host to an album of delicately delicious contemporary Balearics from Japan based multi instrumentalist Max Essa. White Shoes Blue Dreams is Essa's second album and gives a lot more prominence to his own dulcet tones, which feature on the majority of tracks here. There's a woozy almost narcotic haze to the opening track "Moonlight & A New Direction" thanks in no small part to the additional vocal harmonies from Kazuko Kawabe. the title track follows and is vintage Essa; a chugging groove steeped in sunshine feeling, all funky guitar licks, melodic synth flourishes complemented by his yacht rock vocals. Across the twelve tracks a languid, near horizontal pace is maintained with the vocals broken up nicely by the smattering of instrumental grooves. Indeed it's two of these that perhaps impress the most in "Glass Bottom Boats" and "Saturation (dub)" with the former delighting via the lolloping beat and silky guitar riff phasing whilst the latter wraps warm bass tones around crisp electronic drum programming.

Review: The "Midnight Garden EP" is a super classy affair that sees Stevie Kotey's new production partner give up some solo work that is really gonna create a buzz.

Review: Heralding brighter days is surely the job of Is It Balearic?, a label whose entire raison d'etre is silky smooth sounds for long days spent sipping cocktails on sunkissed terraces. This time around, Max Essa and Eddie C have gone head to head, with the former delivering the original tunes and the latter dropping the remixes. Essa gets into full-spectrum deep house for the baggy crowd on 'Jigsaw Moon', which Eddie C promptly pitch shifts and rubs down with some understated acid. 'Jules Y Cyntia' is a mellower offering, revelling in languid guitar, only to be gently pumped up by Eddie C with a heavy, chugging undercarriage to take you deep into the sundown.

Review: 2016 sees Coyote arrive at a decade of posing the question Is It Balearic? Replicating the compilation shaped celebrations surrounding their fifth anniversary, the landmark is noted with this fine 2CD collection. The compiling skills of Balearic chieftain Max Essa are called on for the first disc selections, with Coyote taking care of business on the second for a fine horizontally-minded celebration of all things Balearic encompassing 22 tracks. Tempos nudge back and forth, different vibes coming to the fore along the way as a dash of steel drum is replaced by forthright synth glistens and upright basslines. Legends mingle alongside future heroes, Foolish Felix and Baldelli impressing as much as Last Waltz and Clandestino. As the end nears, up pops Prins Thomas's classic Diskomiks of Downtown Party Network. Here's to another ten years Is it Balearic?

Review: The 5th release from Rothmans pays homage to legendary Argentinean defender Alberto Tarrantini and to mark this 5th release Rothmans have provided a team sheet to rival even that infamous 1982 World Cup squad. First up we have a welcome return to the label from Timothy J Fairplay who featured back alongside Toni Schumacher at the start of the year. This time around he brings us some spaced out Chicago flavour in the guise of 'The Third Season'. On the Flip side we have a welcome addition to the Rothmans squad in Max Essa, and the Tokyo resident brings us nothing but silky moves with a dark taste of the Orient with his aptly named "Stereoscapledmysexpool". Coming up the flanks we have tracks from Al Gobi and Tommy Walker 3 who bring some dark deep spacey vibes with wacked out basslines that really bring this 5th release to the boil!

Review: Japanese Balearic crew Okinawa Delays have long been friends with Tokyo-based Brit Max Essa, while the latter previously remixed one of their tracks for Mudd's Claremont 56 label. Now they've taken their musical partnership to a whole new level by offering up their first joint single. In its original form, "I Can't Sleep" adds an attractive female vocal to a sparkling, ear-catching backing track rich in bubbly nu-disco bass, White Isle-ready piano riffs, swirling synthesizer pads, typically Japanese melodies and mid-tempo beats that boast just the right amount of dancefloor weight. The accompanying remix package is strong, too, with a wonderful dream house interpretation by Italian veterans Leo Mas and Fabrice being joined by a funky Balearic disco take from nu-disco master Pete Herbert.