Juno Recommends Downtempo / Balearic June 2019

Review: Said to have been created after a long period of writer's block, Mark Barrott wrote much of Sketches From A Distant Ocean when he returned to his former home of Uruguay for the first time in a long while. The long break is said to have taught him about the value of self-expression and connection, and he returned to work with an invigorated enthusiasm. This has certainly paid off, as Sketches From A Distant Ocean shines through musically. Our picks are the sun kissed balearica of "Galileo", bossa nova-inflected island dreams of "Low Lying Fruit" and the evocative trip-hop journey of "The Rowing Song", which calls to mind his earlier output from the '90s as Future Loop Foundation.

Review: First released in 1987, Stephane Severac's sun-kissed European pop gem "Hold On" has long been regarded as something of an under-appreciated classic by those DJs of a Balearic persuasion. This new edition replicates the track listing of the original 12", opening with the evocative extended version. This builds in stages, opening with Chic inspired guitars and dreamy synth chords before introducing a poolside-friendly groove, snaking saxophone solos and Severac's heavily accented vocal. Over on side B you'll find the shorter "Single Version" - less sax, but just as much eyes-closed vocal action from Severac - and "Dreams", a bonus cut that sounds like his take on Duran Duran's mid-'80s big studio synth-pop sound.

Review: BeachFreaks Records co-founder Charles Bals is a man who knows about records - and obscure European ones at that. Club Meduse, his first compilation for Spacetalk (a label with a track record for producing these kinds of killer, crate-digging comps), is loosely designed as the soundtrack to life around a mythical (IE imaginary) Cote D'Azure resort. Musically, it gathers together the kind of hazy, soft-focus and life-affirming cuts that you would have heard at resort discos in the mid-to-late 1980s. Suffice to say that Bals' selections tend towards the rare, magical and undeniably Balearic, from the glassy-eyed, cascading jazz-funk of the Keyboys and loved-up post-boogie sweetness of Gemini's "Take a Chance", to the sparkling Euro-electro of Miss' "Hip Hop" and pitched-down drum machine chug of Gigi Flag's "Nymphomaniac (Instrumental)". Essential.

Review: Archeo trumps once again with a stunning reissue of Riccardo Giagni's highly desirable 1988 masterpiece "Kaunis Maa". It's a subtle, refined body of work that places Giagni's delicate guitar refrains front and centre, with a hazy mist of atmospheric synth pads drifting in the middle distance. The title track is especially sublime, folding dreamy exotica tones into the pastoral sound palette with stunning results. Alongside the six original pieces, Archeo have also commissioned a special, Balearically charged remix from Claremont 56 artist Simon Peter

Review: On its initial release in 1994, St Etienne member Bob Stanley described "Tiger Bay" - the band's third studio set - as "an album of modern folk songs done in 20th century styles". It was, though, much more than that; while opener "Urban Clearway" sounds like Kraftwerk, "Hug My Soul" and "Like a Motorway" akin to the Pet Shop Boys and "Cool Kids Of Death" reminiscent of Giorgio Moroder, the rest of the album is far more pastoral in tone, with luscious instrumentation and traditional folk melodies coming to the fore. As this expansive 25th anniversary reissue proves, the album remains a timeless classic. As well as the original album, this box set contains a wealth of bonus tracks, demos and "work in progress" cuts that shine further light on the album's gestation.