Review: To celebrate Phil Mison's fourth LP under the Cantoma moniker - an album that took in collaborations with Quinn Lamont Luke, Hush Forever, Suad Khalifa, Apres Midi, David Philips and Luna Asteri - its remixers are equally exciting in Pete Herbert, Ruff Dug and Leo Mas & Fabrice. Ruff Dug simultaneously balances post punk and Italo disco in his melancholic yet wholly uplifting remix, with Pete Herbert heading straight into indie, disco and pop territory that will appeal to fans of a New York City sound. And for something a little deeper house leaning but still loungey, ambient jazz, and groovy - Leo Mas & Fabrice hit the spot!
Review: A single release for this track from 'Into Daylight', the fourth album by chill-out/Balearic legend Phil Mison in his Cantoma guise, which gets served up here in two very different forms. Rudy's Midnight Machine (AKA Faze Action's Robin Lee) takes the dreamy, lounge-y album version and ups the funk factor considerably, dragging its mournful, Brass Construction-like trumpets, sprightly piano notes and chorused male vox onto the disco dancefloor even if the pace remains quite sedate, while Dune People head in the opposite direction, dropping the tempo to a hazy, stoned crawl that's vaguely reminiscent of Groove Armada.
Review: Since launching at the dawn of the decade, Paul 'Mudd' Murphy and Simon Purnell's Leng label has risen to become one of the most consistent nu-disco labels around, with a trademark style that cannily combines chugging grooves, dub disco rhythms, and clear West Coast psychedelic rock and contemporary Balearica influences. It's for this reason that this celebratory 10th birthday compilation is such a treat. The multitude of highlights includes, but is no way limited to, the kaleidoscopic nu-disco rush of Pete Herbert's vintage remix of Apiento's 'She Walks', the kraut-folk-goes dub insanity of the Idjut Boys remix of Mountaineer's 'Golden Chalk', the intense drug-chug of Mudd's 'Slow Rave' mix of Tiago's 'The Source', and the late-night exotica of 'Luna' by Turkish producer Ali Kuru.
Review: At the time this review was written it's 12 hours until the official release of Cantoma's second studio album! Released on Highwood Recordings, Into Daylight presents the fourth studio LP for Phil Mason's project and second for the label following others on Leng and Horizon before that. With warm touches of Spanish guitar gracing tracks like "Solando", "Road Home" and "Verbana", you'll find cool pop, folk and jazz in numbers like "Another Place" to disco strings, smooth brass sections and African percussion throughout "Kasoto" and "The Mountain". Best enjoyed at Sunset!
Review: If it's ultra-Balearic dancefloor fare that floats your boat, there's a strong chance that your music collection already boasts a number of releases by British veteran Phil Mison. Aside from his pals Mark Barrott and Chris Coco, few have quite as good a grasp of Balearic beats as Mison, something he consistently proves via his productions under the Cantoma alias. He's at it again on "Kasoto", a Flamenco guitar and synth brass sporting chunk of East-West dancefloor fusion that's as Balearic as dungarees, poolside parties and Jose Padilla's ponytail. Mison's own dancefloor-focused Noche Espanola remix, which sits somewhere between early Italian house and post-boogie Balearic disco, is particularly potent. That said, the new age inspired horizontal dreaminess of the Karel Arbus and Eiji Takamusto Remix is also sublime.
Review: Phil Mison returns with another blink-and-miss wax special that takes the name from a medicinal leech. Fitting; one session with any of these three versions will drain you of any ill will or negativity. Rising in tempo and energy from the original across Noche Espanola's remix and instrumental version, this is pure Balearica with its glistening strums, sunset chords and magically scattered percussion. The seasonal timing of this is no coincidence.
Review: Cantoma's Out Of Town has long been regarded as something of a modern Balearic classic. It first appeared on Leng Records back in 2010 as a CD-only release, before getting a deserved vinyl release four years later. Now the album's creator, long-serving chill-out DJ/producer Phil Mison, has reissued it on digital download. It still glistens as majestically as the Mediterranean Sea at sunset, with highlights including the dreamy dancefloor bagginess of "North Shore", the dub-powered, head-nodding shuffle of "Under The Stars", the up-tempo, accordion-sporting tango-house goodness of "Dix Verte" and the impeccable neo-classical ambient lusciousness of sublime album closer "Trees of Highwood".
Review: As the matter-or-fact title suggests, this expansive set gathers together a swathe of previously unheard remixes of tracks by Phil Mison's Balearic-minded Cantoma project, plus a handful of never-before-released bonus cuts. There's naturally much to set the pulse racing from the word go, when Test Pressing sort Apiento blends Padilla-style flamenco guitars, jaunty Afro-funk flourishes and early '90s Balearic breakbeats on an inspired rework of "Talva Lumi". Elsewhere, Mison goes all dubby and lucid on "Echo (Instrumental)", joins forces with old pal Pete Herbert as Reverso 68 for a synth-heavy, Balearic nu-disco interpretation of "Just Landed" and encourages Whatever/Whatever to reach for the acid lines in a sublime, floor-friendly remix of "Tabarin" that's worth the admission price on its own.
Review: Denmark's Kenneth Bager is a pioneer and record hunter in addition to label owner of Music For Dreams. Through his legendary Club Coma and subsequent stints on Danish National Radio, he has been on air for four decades promoting dance music. The label started out as a lounge/chill-out label but has since evolved into an entity with no musical boundaries. Bager has also organised the Music For Dreams Festival, in addition to his residency at Cafe Mambo in Ibiza: where 13 Music For Dreams Sunday Events were being held thus far. On the label's latest compilation, Music For Mindfulness, there's so much great music and it's hard to pick just a few highlights, but here goes: Copenhagen local The Swan And The Lake's "Clouds Over Osterbro" is absolutely lush and dreamy, Bager himself delivers an ambient instrumental mix of Ruf Dug's "Dominica!", while pianist Troels Hammer makes several appearances here, but "Cold Hawaii" is his finest moment.
Review: Here's a glorious selection of 12 bright and sun-drenched moments destined to be heard daily at the world's coolest beach clubs this summer and inevitably soundtracking a million gorgeous sunsets in Ibiza. This edition features exclusives aplenty. There are two album-only tracks; Tommy Awards gets an Ambient remix from Balearic's Jim Breese. Then The Madrigal blasts off with 'Ride To The Moon,' a completely unique track that's refreshing to hear. Three tracks were previously unavailable digitally, including the debut from Nancy Noise, Olefonken's spacey remix of Hubbabubbaklubb, and Steve Cobby's tropical-jazz remix of Penelope Antena's Tradewinds. Other highlights include Cantoma's 'Abando,' plus an incredible, modern interpretation of the 80's classic Southern Freeez from Paul Murphy. BALEARIC 3 captures the ineffable spirit of Ibiza - perfectly accompanying that unique moment when the golden sun meets the gleaming sea. It's destined to be a classic, go-to album you'll reach for again and again.
Review: Out Of The Blue, Phil Mison's first compilation for some time, was apparently inspired by his first few trips to the White Isle of Ibiza, and specifically the unlikely set of circumstances that led to him filling in for Jose Padilla at Cafe Del Mar. Musically, it's reflective of the story, joining the dots between impossible-to-find rarities (see the loved-up instrumental jazz-rock of "Jelly" by The Cactus Rose Project and the life-affirming fusion business of Christoph Spendel Group's "Forever", for starters), huggable Balearic synth-pop, flamenco-inspired sunset gems, and a smattering of head-in-the-clouds Italian dream house killers. Given Mison's heritage and status as one of Balearica's top selectors, it's perhaps unsurprising that Out Of The Blue is undeniably brilliant.
Review: Given his success with the similarly minded Buddha Bar compilations, it's little surprise that Music For Dreams has asked DJ Ravin to compile their third "best of" collection. The Mauritian selector predictably does a fine job, delivering two exotic, globally focused mixes of material from the downtempo and Balearic label's extensive archives. For DJs, it's the unmixed tracks that most excite, and the chance to own a fine range of cuts variously influenced by dub, slow house, tango, dub disco and, of course, sun-soaked Balearica. Ravin's selection also includes a few chunky floor-fillers, with the cheery dub of The Kenneth Bager Experience's "What's My Name" and Serge Devant's shuffling deep house rub of Hess Is More's "Yes Boss" standing out.
Review: It's been some three years since Phil Mison last graced the world with some original material as Cantoma, and fans will be glad to hear that the producer is preparing a third album for release in October. Some advance insight into how it will turn out is afforded with this EP release of lead single Alive that features the silky vocal talents of Bing Ji Ling. The crooning alter ego of fuzzy headed Phenomenal Handclap Band member Quinn Luke, Bing Ji Ling is the perfect vocal foil to Mison's guitar flecked arrangement which is bound to feature on many an upcoming Balearic compilation. Meanwhile Mison's Reverso 69 partner in crime Pete Herbert delivers a glistening discoid take on "Just Landed".
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