For Aubele, it’s a way to summarize the fused cultural mismatch at the heart of his sound.
It’s more of an idea than a road really, a metaphor for the complicated connections between these two continents. Built as a supply chain during World War II, long stretches of it are more dirt than concrete, and less than obvious signage could leave you hopelessly lost. The name of Federico Aubele’s new record references the Pan-American highway, a road that stretches–except for a 54-mile gap in the Columbian rainforest–from northern Alaska all the way to the southernmost tip of Latin America. Tags: chillout, downtempo, electronica, I Monster, iorel69, lounge, Neveroddoreven, trip-hop Recommended if you like Moloko, Lovage, Portishead, Lemon Jelly, and Télépopmusik. Best known for the loungy trip-hop track “Daydream in Blue,” a 2001 hit that has a lengthy and convoluted history of its own, the British production duo I Monster specialize in psychedelic, electronic-tinged pop confections that are often based around samples from easy listening records and other unlikely sources. I Monster is a British group creating fresh, fun and bouncy trip-hop with very catchy samples and melodies. Like its Gallic predecessors Air and Daft Punk, the British duo (Jarrod Gosling and Dean Honer) specialize in crafting pop-savvy electronica, as revealed on the atmospheric, vocoder-laced tunes “Daydream in Blue” and “Heaven.” The album also features “The Blue Wrath,” a bubbly ditty that was used prominently in the cult-favorite horror/comedy film Shaun Of The Dead. Tags: Air, ambient, chillout, downtempo, electronica, french, iorel69, Premiers Symptomes, trip-hop Most electronica fans are usually more than happy to bump ‘n’ grind, but when they’re in the mood to play Premiers Symptomes, all they want–all they need-is the Air that they breathe. It’s not that newcomers “Californie” and “Brakes On” are unworthy, just that their overt funk shatters the tranquil atmosphere this French duo so painstakingly establish elsewhere.
By contrast, the recent rerelease of Premiers, with two bonus tracks, sounds like exactly what it is: a collection of early singles. Deploying an array of vintage mid-century instruments (Fender Rhodes, Minimoog, Clavinet), as well as a tuba, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel created a cloistered, lulling sound world that was entirely their own (although, think The Percy Faith Orchestra Covers Brian Eno’s Music for Airports and you get the basic idea). Air’s European-label five-song EP, Premiers Symptomes, may have been a collection of early singles, but when it first came out in 1997 it felt all of a piece. Air’s success seemed to inspire many other bands and led to the emergence of a handful of other chill-out artists. Enjoy!Ī debut EP, Premiers Symptômes, was mostly ignored, but Air achieved success with their first full-length album, 1998’s Moon Safari, which made it to the Top 10 in UK and was praised by critics. A great beginning to a classic compilation series.You can also find Vol. Café Del Mar was “compiled with love” and thus truly stands the test of time. The sky fades to black with the gentle ambience of “Sunset At The Café Del Mar”.
Higlights include the resonant piano and strings of Sabres Of Paradise’s “Smokebelch” beatless mix. Jose creates a spellbinding atmosphere by placing oddities such as Penguin Cafe Orchestra, alongside dance tracks that take inspiration from world music and New Age (ethereal female vocals bongo-lead percussion samples of self-hypnosis tapes, flutes wave-sounds). The first Café Del Mar album encapsulates this mystical experience, beginning light and airy with Jose’s own dolphin-esque “Agua”, progressing to darker, bassier sounds like Underworld and Ver Vlads to represent the sun falling behind the horizon. Every sunset, people gathered at Jose Padilla’s ornately-decorated little beach-side bar to be hypnotised by his unique sunset DJ mix, staring dreamily out to sea. Once upon a time, Ibiza was a spiritual and magical place.