Phantom Island レコード& CD

Review: Swiss imprint Phantom Island specialises in the kind of atmospheric, slow-motion Balearica that looks far and wide for inspiration. Their latest EP, a collaboration between live electronic performer Tillman Ostendarp and singer/songwriter Gina Ete, naturally takes a similar approach. Title track 'Le Bouqet', for example, features subtle nods towards the more atmospheric material on Peter Gabriel's 1980s album 'So' with drowsy chords, ethereal electronics, clicking beats and the sweetest of vocals, while 'Tetra' is creepy, dark and atmospheric in the extreme, with live percussion catching the ear. Elsewhere, 'Nonchalant' is like trip-hop after a hit of opiates, 'Customer Care' is a wonky number with distorted vocals, ambient textures and West African percussion, and Fuga Ronto's remix of 'Le Bouquet' is a retro-futurist leftfield synth-pop gem with added dub delay.

Review: Pinning down Ethimm's self-titled 2021 debut album is tough, though his description - snapshots of a hopeless romantic's life packed into an eccentric mix of genres, all in the spirit of Balearic - is surprisingly accurate. Here one of the set's undoubted highlights, the moody dub disco-goes-Balearic chugger 'Choices', is re-animated by Phantom Island regulars Fuga Ronto. The Swiss twosome's A-side vocal take is nothing short of brilliant: a delightfully dreamy, sweet, slow-motion shuffle through reverb-laden synth chords, bubbly bass, echoing vocals and dubbed-out drums. The accompanying instrumental flip-side dub is, if anything, even better - an echoing, shuffling drift through eyes-closed Balearic brilliance that sounds like a long-lost gem from the mid 1980s. Simply superb.