Hostal La Torre レコード& CD

Review: Following the runaway success of their first La Torre Ibiza compilation last year, long-serving Balearic selectors Pete Gooding and Mark Barrott have once again joined forces to select another double-album's worth of atmospheric, sunset-friendly gems. As you'd expect, their selections are not only superb, but also reflect the wide range of sounds and styles that come under the Balearic umbrella. So, while there's little surprising about the inclusion of killer cuts from Tornado Wallace, Lord of the Isles, Vangelis, the Durutti Column and Barrott himself, many may not have expected to hear the traditional Malian sounds of Oumou Sangare, the thrillingly loose and percussive acoustic soul of Marvin Franklin's "Kona Winds" or the sweeping orchestration and harmonica solos of John Barry's classic theme from "Midnight Cowboy".

Review: Given how busy he's been with International Feel this year, you have to wonder where Mark Barrott finds the time to get involved with this new compilation series from the equally-fresh Hostel La Torre label. Of course, Hostel La Torre Ibiza: Volumen Uno came about after Barrott spent the last summer DJing at the hotel venue of the same name based on the West Coast of Ibiza; you can imagine the experience left Barrot with plenty of inspiration when it came to pulling together tracks for the series. Presuming there will be several more editions, this is a fine start and will satisfy anyone missing a finely-curated compilation in the digital playlist age. Barrott canvasses a wide spectrum of Balearically-minded sounds with the psychedelic sanza of Francis Bebey, reissue favourites Finis Africae and Penguin Cafe Orchestra rubbing shoulders with more contemporary fare from Antinote artist Domenique Dumont, Hatchback and Andras Fox.

Review: With long-serving Balearic DJs Mark Barrott (he of International Feel fame) and Pete Gooding at the controls, you'd expect the latest volume in White Isle venue Hostal La Torre's ongoing compilation series to be on-point. It is of course, with the pair variously offering up a lesser-known (and stunning) David Morley ambient remix of Golden Girls' rave classic 'Kinetic', the tribal-meets-jazz-funk headiness of No Zu, the humid, boogie-era stripped-back soul of Raw Silk (the brilliant 'Storm'), soft focus beach-side exotica (Margaret Wakely's 'Hard To Leave The Island'), pitched-down Italian dream house revivalism (Timmy Stewart remixing the Vendetta Suite), spiritually minded piano jazz (Lola Perrin), picturesque synth-scapes (Suzanne Ciani) and Barrott's own Balearic bliss ('Travelling Music').

Review: Given their insanely strong Balearic credentials, you'd expect any album compiled by Pete Gooding and Mark Barrott to be stacked to the rafters with drowsy, sun-kissed gems. That's certainly the case with the latest volume of the La Torre Ibiza series, which is the third in total. There's much to enjoy throughout, from the exotic dub shuffle of Jah Wobble and Bill Laswell's "Alseema Dub" and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra-esque "Mornings At Made's" by Pacific Coliseum, to the new age ambient warmth of Satoshi & Makoto's "Crepuscule Leger" and the glassy-eyed blue-eyed soul brilliance of Richard Torrance's "Anything's Possible". Barrott's production and remix contributions are naturally stunning, with his epic Sketches From An Island remix of Tears For Fears' "Head Over Heels" being particularly worthy of mention.