Juno Recommends Balearic / Downtempo: Best of 2023

Review: Emotional Rescue turn their attention to Rare Silk and their sublime cult classic "Storm". It's one of those rare tracks with a wonderful otherworldly quality that manages to be smooth and accessible, and somehow not like anything you've ever heard before. It must be somewhere in the mix, between the dreamy harmonized vocals, lush instrumentation and curious sense of space. The original on the A side is a treat enough, but then throw in a mercurial dubbed out version by Arp on the flip and you've got yourself a 12 inch portal to a most delightful dimension.

Review: The Coyote lads take a moment to chill from their ever-steady output on their Is It Balearic? label to drop this pearler for the Magic Wand edit series. It won't take a private gumshoe to work out the source material for 'Kate's Bush (Nocturnal Edit)', but you won't have heard the original simmering quite like this brooding version before. 'Kool Kats' is dripping in yacht rock delight with Mercurial vocal trysts over the top, while 'Lee Sure (Black Hashish Dub)' takes things far out into pure sundown wind-down territory. 'El Verano' completes the set with a beautiful, dusty lick of 70s funk, complete with sultry trumpet and the lightest of FX touches.

Review: Emotional Rescue has had this reissue in the works for a while, but it was delayed by the sad passing of Steve Coe after the rerelease of The Ganges Orchestra's The Dream. Finally, though, the right time has come for this one to be bacon the racks and it is a much-loved reminder of Coe's wizardry in the studio. It comes with plenty of Eastern flavours to bring something new to the dance floor, not least thanks to tabla disciple turned teacher, Jhalib (Millar), who helped Coe on this one back in 1982. The likes of Danielle Baldelli and chug dons like Andrew Weatherall long favoured it, and if it's good enough for them...

Review: Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy's first White Isle-inspired compilation, Balearic Breakfast (named in honour of her long-running radio show) rightly won plenty of plaudits, in part because her musical definition of 'Balearic' (a notoriously hard-to-tie-down genre) was eclectic, colourful and personal. As you'd expect, this sequel builds on the sound and success of that set by offering up another 12 top-notch treats, many of which have never appeared on vinyl before. Highlights are plentiful throughout, from the sun-soaked psychedelic nu-disco excellence of Manalo's 'Amalfi Drive', Todd Terje's classic 2000s rework of Dolle Jolle's 'Balearic Incarnation' and Calm's self-explanatory 'Mellow Mellow Acid Dub' of Gallo's 'Abysso', to Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve's sublime revision of Midlake's 'Roscoe' and Murphy's own rework of 'Love Scenes' by Hard Feelings.

Review: Electronic music production deity James Holden returns with a circling back to his dance music roots, following a brief detour into jazz with his last album 'The Animal Spirits'. Building on an increasingly otherworldly set of inspiration - which he's gradually entertained as his career has marched on - this new LP 'Imagine' playfully dissects the possibilities of dance music from the perspective of an alternate reality. Buzzing leads, detuned leads, and international flavours evoke a modern take on sounds espoused first by the likes of Amorphous Androgynous or Charanjit Singh.

Review: It is time to succumb to the sounds of the Magic Wand label once more and this eighth sonic spell is another one that will leave you happily helpless. It finds the Coyote lads step away from their fine work on Is It Balearic? to cook up two top edits. First up they offer 'Lonely' - a broody, steamy and shimmering tropical Balearic workout and then comes the organic and lazy drums of 'Western Revolution' with an iconic gravelly vocal. There are folk-tinged Americana sounds on 'Love Home' and laid-back disco licks on the seductive 'Luca' to make this a summer party essential.

Review: Ibiza legend and all round well respected industry man Chris Coco is back with more of his seaside sounds. This time his Mediterranean magic is cast over 'La Guitarra' which as the title hints has Flamenco style acoustics (from Micko Roche) with tropical house drums and heartfelt synths. There is a pair backed and delicious dub also, and then modern disco don Rune Lindbaek comes through with a mesmeric take that is laidback and lush in its design. Last of all is Daniel Braca with a Deep In Brooklyn remix thing brings some fine Latin house styles.

Review: After being forgotten for a few years, a whole new generation of listeners has started digging into the vast back catalogue of Hull duo Fila Brazillia - a prolific outfit whose output of the 90s and noughties encompassed dreamy deep house, breakbeat-driven loved-up workouts, stoner funk and dusty downtempo gems. This fresh career-encompassing 'best of' showcases a mixture of stone-cold classics (early house single 'The Sheriff', confirmed chill-out classics 'Harmonicas Are Shite' and 'A Zed and Two Ls'), fan favourites (the decidedly Balearic 'Airlock Holmes', the undeniably funky 'Madame Le Fevre' and 'Throwing Down a Shape') and slept-on treats ('Bublehaun' and 'Little Dipper'). There's even a couple of relatively recent recordings ('Hush Hush' and the fresh 'Toro De Fuego', both of which return to the sounds explored in some of their earliest releases). In other words, it's a must-have celebration of Fila Brazilllia's often-unheralded genius.

Review: The top tier imprint that is Is It Balearic is back with more blissed-out and beach brilliance, this time with a trio of masterpieces from Das Komplex. A whole world of influences are called up on here and then distilled into primo Komplex sounds - opener 'Quest' brings a slick 80s new wave vibe with a ragged guitar riff and splashy hits over heavy drums and under well-treated vocals. It is awash with waves of dance floor warmth then 'Never Stop' is all shimmering vocals and Japanese house chords over 80s house beats. Emotive and uplifting for sure, then ' Dzis' closes out with chugging percussion and strummed acoustic guitars. It's a heart of the dance floor gem full of love and good-time vibes.

Review: A case of things turning full circle if ever there was one, as Rolo McGinty of The Woodentops fame - the indie stars who discovered raving and then featured on the very first Balearic Beats collection - teams up with Coyote for a one sided 12" for Is It Balearic. Well, if this isn't, then nothing is! The title should be a clue to its sentiments, paying homage to the laughing herb that is 'Marijuana' and in particular, partaking in its delights in the shade on a hot day. McGinty delivers a deep, resonant vocal and some very cool acoustic strumming, while the Coyote boys do the slow motion beat shuffling. Anthemic glory.

Review: The follow up to 'Sun Circles' is here: 'Jour De Fete' (French for "day of celebration") is a sweltering slab of festive inner city disco of the highest order. Flip the record for a mighty, extended dub by cult hero Conrad McDonnell of Idjut Boys fame. 'Nuff said.

Review: Longtime disco innovators Faze Action have dug deep into their vaults for Faze Action present the Balearic Sounds of FAR. It's a collection of their most laidback and beauty sounds, those that will soundtrack warm summer evenings, sunset dancing and hazy afternoons by the pool. There are plenty of forgotten B-sides and overlooked second cuts here that take in melody rich tunes likes Rudy's Midnight Machine's 'Crystal Dragonfly' while there are more tropical and percussive bubblers like Andromeda Orchestra's 'Kano Line Dance'. It's a rich selection that will improve your grown up Balearic credentials no end.

Review: Coyote drop a special 7 inch single. Inspired by recent events over the last 2 years and their continuing love affair with all things dub and reggae sound system.related. They have been playing lots of this type of stuff at their monthly night at The Bodega in Notts. Apparently causing some heat at recent ALFOS parties too. Bubble Up!

Review: Don't let the playful, tongue-in-cheek title put you off; this EP does not contain 'Balearic gabba', should such a thing exist, but rather a quartet of largely dancefloor focused remixes of delightful downtempo cuts from the Hell Yeah! Recordings catalogue. SIRS steps up first to deliver a chugging, Italo-disco-goes-Balearic re-make of Carmel 3000's 'Super Rapido', before we're treated to one of Calm's TB-303-laden 'mellow acid' dubs, this time of Sergio Messina & The Four Twenties' gorgeous, soft and sun-soaked 'Sometimes Remember'. Over on side B, Feel Fly delivers a soft-focus Balearic deep house take on Pedro Bertho and Mariana Gehring's 'Tornei', while DJ Spun's revision of My Friend Dario's 'Acid Mosquito in a Summer Night' is a twisted, genuinely psychedelic dub disco excursion.

Review: Last year, Pamela Records launched with a fantastic EP of cosmic club music from the late, great Andrew Weatherall and his long-time production partner Nina Walsh. For release number two, they've turned to another long-serving London producer, former Aloof collaborator Jo Sims. Lead cut 'Bass - The Final Frontier' (track two on the A-side) is definitely one that Weatherall would have played: a psychedelic, mid-tempo chugger with trance-inducing electronics, twinkling synthesiser lead lines and a throbbing groove. David Holmes remixes, slowing it down further while adding undulating TB-303 'acid' lines and plenty of cinematic textures. Elsewhere, 'Demons of Dance' is a moody dark disco throb-job (Richard Sen would approve), while 'Mumbo Jumbo' is a deep Balearic breaks number tailor made for sunsets and sunrises.

Review: Wally Badarou's incredible impression on modern pop music is intrinsically linked to his work in Nassau at the legendary Compass Point studios. There, the Paris-born synth legend lent his talent to a staggering amount of legendary music, but his own solo works have a magic all their own. 1984's Echoes might be the best known of his records, but there's a surprise entry from 2001 which is known to the deep-digging heads at Be With as a legendary record in need of wider release. Colors Of Silence was originally conceived as a yoga-minded release, but it's easier to consider it as another trip into the fantasy worlds Badarou can conjure from his eloquent synth work, and now it finally has a vinyl release.

Review: Twisted are continuing their solid reissue campaign for one of the true greats of psy-trance culture, the mighty Sphongle. Simon Ponsford and Raja Ram's project of course reached beyond the trappings of dancefloor formula to become a much broader concern drawing on global music traditions and new age spirituality as much as mind-tweaking electronica. On this, their fourth album, the electronics were positively subsumed by intricately woven layers of flute, guitar, sitar, cello, hang drum and much more besides. Released in 2009 and remaining a firm favourite amongst the group's devoted fanbase, this remastered repress spread Ineffable Mysteries across three discs for maximum fidelity.

Review: Spring has sprung and Statues bring some positive vibrations to IIB. Clear skies is a shimmering Alan Parsonsesque cosmic groove beaming out into the atmosphere Coyote soften the OG into a fading twilight reflection. The Vendetta suite create a mesmeric ambient gem The Creek continues the kaleidoscopic feel with a soothing dreamlike trip towards a lovely vocal finish. Nothing but clear skies all round.

Review: A quarter of a century has passed since Jason Boardman and Moonboots threw their first 'anything goes' Balearic Sunday session. Aficionado, as the event became known, is now an institution in Manchester, making this celebratory compilation a special one. It boasts two previously unreleased cuts - J-Walk's sparkling 'Cool Bright Northern Morning' and a deep Begin remix of 'Alaska' by Canyons - with the rest of the 16-track set being made up of records that "mean a lot" to the two DJs and their audience. The selections are simply sublime, with our current picks of a very strong bunch including the neo-acoustic brilliance of Stanley Clarke's 'Desert Song', the turn-of-the-Millennium nu-Balearic excellence of Mudd's 'Summer in the Wood', and the baggy 'global beat' fun of 'Can't Step Twice (On The Same Piece of Water)(New Version)' by Teachers.

Review: Elkin & Nelson's 1979 track 'Jibaro' harks back to the true essence of Balearic music, before the style became a self-aware genre of its own and instead referred to a certain attitude. When the DJs of Ibiza were feeding off their island's unique party energy and going deep to find the heaviest grooves to send people skywards, the 1986 promo reissue of 'Jibaro' became a highly-prized nugget of psych-rock-freak-beat brilliance. Now this gem is being reissued in a faithful reproduction which nods to the cult status of the 1986 promo release, pressed up on red vinyl and sounding as powerful and transportive as it did back then.

Review: The Analogue Attic microverse is defined by a unified commitment to the deepest ideas of where house music can head, and no one embodies that spirit better than Alex Albrecht. On this latest 12" he's heading into the velvet folds of low tempo chugger 'The Blacksmith' and downtempo dream state 'Coles Ridge' with elegiac piano sparkling atop fathoms-deep pads and the softest of percussion. This is house music as a vessel for pure relaxation and sentimental meditation, and across six tracks Albrecht offers up balm after balm to soundtrack oceanic realms of calm - a much needed tonic for the frenetic pace of modern life.

Review: Drawn from a soundtrack Barrott was commissioned to write for the Japanese documentary Johatsu -The Art of Evaporation, this release explores ideas of living simply and focusing on kindness, grace and gratitude. Opening track, 'Kyoto', ripples into focus, floating through a blue-sky dreamscape and punctuated by hazy choral vocals. Another standout track, 'Icarus', is a jazz-electronic fusion piano piece, merging traditional instrumentation with a softly encompassing clarinet solo. A fantastic release from Barrott, taking contemporary Balearic to the next level.

Review: Always fun house craftsman Ali Renault secured another big tune with his 'Piano For The People' which is a chuggy groover that locks you in with its rich atmospheres. Now it gets offered up with remixes from, firstly, Aikhi, who flip it with laidback downtempo drums and some classic and well known chords. Calm then brings his Mellow Acid Dub to sink you in even further and last of all Double Geography bring some more crunchy drum textures and psyched-out synth sounds with echoing vocals and dark, late night sense of mischief.

Review: When it first emerged a few years ago, Mod Hut was an instant favourite with house lovers. It had a dusty outlook and laid-back vibe that led to some big underground hits so we're glad it has navigated those highs and is still turning out the good stuff as it now drops at 30th release. Freak Heat Waves are the cult collective behind this record which is a hard to define cocktail of hazy house, lo-fi electro, psych, dub and soul that has a proudly DIY aesthetic and very real emotions. Highlights include the lazy vocal allure of 'In A Moment Divine' (feat Cindy Lee) and sultry sounds of slow mo outsider cut 'Music Has An Interesting Power.'

Review: Alex Albrecht makes a superb debut here on A Strangely Isolated Place with an album of the sort of absorbing ambient beauty that the label is so well revered for. It's style is light and array, with hazy edges and dreamscape spuds slowing but surely lifting the spirits and take you on a trip through the great outdoors - bird calls, swirling breezes, looping piano phrases and pastoral downtempo signifiers all feature throughout Violet Visionary. It's a great mix of delicate percussive elements and powerful drum patterns that are coloured by soft hues of a rising of sinking sun depending on your mindset.

Review: The diffuse hues and retro-feeling colours of the artwork on this new 45rpm from Star Creature perfectly embody the downtempo and Balearic sounds within. They come from A Vision Of Panorama who seems to ever more have the dance floor in sights over his last few releases. That's not to say these are banging tunes - but they do have lovely grooves. 'Piano Sunset' is a real spine tingler with 80s keys and mid tempo drums that come alive with crisp hits and a fresh bassline. 'Lost In Palms' then has a shuffling and low slung groove with nice wet hits. Add in some more lush chords and you have a real pearler.