Back catalogue: Balearic/Downtempo

Review: Balearic scene stalwarts Chris Coco and DJ Rocca are old pals, with the pair first working together five years ago on an EP released by Faze Action's FAR imprint. Cocorocca, though, is their first collaborative full-length - a set that cannily combines Coco's love of fluid pianos, tactile downtempo grooves and sun-soaked ambient textures with DJ Rocca's passion for dubby basslines, moon-lit low-tempo nu-disco, starry Balearic synth-pop and the trippy and psychedelic ethos of Italy's 1980s Afro-cosmic scene. As a result, there's plenty of subtle variety on show - compare, for example, the dubbed-out slow acid oddness of '303/808' with the sunset-ready dancefloor colour of 'Sunshine Love' and the slap bass wielding dub disco madness of 'Night Dubbin' - as well as plenty club-ready material.

Review: When Marie Davidson announced last year that she would be, "retiring from club music", many wondered what she'd do next. Renegade Breakdown, her first album recorded with a full band (L'Oeuil Nu), answers that question. It sees the Canadian artist and her new collaborators deliver suitably arresting, personal and ear-catching songs built on mixing and matching a surprisingly wide variety of musical inspirations, from Blondie, classic disco and mutilated heavy metal guitars, to Kraftwerk, Billie Holliday, Fleetwood Mac and Daft Punk. It's a big shift for the previously highly experimental artist, but thanks to her skill as both a a producer and performer, one that works magnificently well.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


In the seven years that have passed since the release of his last solo album, DJ Koze has become one of electronic music's most celebrated and sought-after producers. For that reason, the release of Music Can Hear Us is a genuinely big deal - as the impressive roll call of guest vocalists and collaborators (Damon Albarn, Sophia Kennedy, Ada, Notwist and Marley Waters included) attests. Typically, alongside a handful of genuine dancefloor workouts in his skewed deep house style ('Buschcutter', 'Bush Taxi'), Koze serves up far more fine material that is less easy to categorize - think Indian-influenced downtempo exotica ('The Universe In a Nutshell'), off-kilter outsider electronica ('The Talented Mr Tripley'), jangly psych-Balearic excursions ('Arunda') and heady ambient soundscapes ('A Donde Vas?'). Spots in end of year 'best of' lists await.

Review: In the seven years that have passed since the release of his last solo album, DJ Koze has become one of electronic music's most celebrated and sought-after producers. For that reason, the release of Music Can Hear Us is a genuinely big deal - as the impressive roll call of guest vocalists and collaborators (Damon Albarn, Sophia Kennedy, Ada, Notwist and Marley Waters included) attests. Typically, alongside a handful of genuine dancefloor workouts in his skewed deep house style ('Buschcutter', 'Bush Taxi'), Koze serves up far more fine material that is less easy to categorize - think Indian-influenced downtempo exotica ('The Universe In a Nutshell'), off-kilter outsider electronica ('The Talented Mr Tripley'), jangly psych-Balearic excursions ('Arunda') and heady ambient soundscapes ('A Donde Vas?'). Spots in end of year 'best of' lists await.

Review: Arriving almost exactly three months after its predecessor, HiFi Sean and David McAlmont's third collaborative full-length is lightly a conceptual flip side to 2024's Daylight - a "dusk till dawn" night drive sequel, as they put it. To provide a distinctly different sonic sheen to the album that preceded it, the duo has reached for slow, soft-touch grooves, dreamy textures, bubbly electronics, strobe-lit synths and musical motifs forged in darker, if still colourful, tones. Add in McAlmont's honeyed, effortlessly soulful vocals, and you have another genuine gem from the 1990s survivors. Highlights include Blessed Madonna collaboration 'The Comedown', the tactile bliss of 'Goodbye Drama Queen', the huggable wooziness of 'High With You' and the heartfelt sweep of 'Star'.