Review: Having impressed Balearic sorts with four fine volumes of the "Coastal Soul" compilation series, you'd expect Apersonal Music's exploration of what they call the "lo-fi pop universe" to be rather good. On the whole, it is, with highlights coming thick and fast throughout, from the glistening Hawaiian guitars and gentle dub disco shuffle of Maurice Aymard's "Different Channels" and the lilting trumpets and rubbery dub bass of Jeep's luscious "Goldman Sachs Building", to the sparse tropical synth-pop of Ponzu Island's "Ponzu Logic" and the exceptionally dreamy Balearic nu-disco/slow house fusion of Pablo Bolivar and Sensual Physics' "Base". Whether any of it can genuinely be classed as "Lo-Fi Pop" is open to debate, but there's no doubt about the exceptional quality of the warm and melodious fare on offer.
Review: Thanks to the slowly shifting warmth, gentle breeziness and sun-kissed appeal of the twelve tracks on Coastal Soul Volume 4, we now have a strong desire to kick off our shoes and flop down on the nearest sandy beach. You'll struggle to find a more languid and life-affirming chunk of jazz-funk/deep house/soul fusion than Jimpster's "Closer To You", while Kiss Me Again's gorgeous "Garden Waves" is arguably best enjoyed while sipping something boozy, cold and fruity. Highlights continue to come thick and fast throughout, from the subtly D-Train influenced throb of Jex Opolis's remix of Jules Etienne's "Free As A Man", to the lazy sunset warmth of Andras Fox's hybrid electronic/organic Balearic house take on Ponzu Island's "Super Koto".
Review: It's a been year since Barcelona's Apersonal dropped the first volume of Coastal Soul, doesn't time fly when your having fun? Vol 2 marks their fourth anniversary and once again it's another continuous mix by label co-founder Andres Vegas. He doesn't disappoint either - further pursuing the sounds previously explored and adding to their repertoire too. Highlights include the sultry jack of "LA Melody (Session Victim mix)" by Egyptian Nipples, the deliciously warped electro-house-pop "More For The Less" by Mario Basanov and the slo-mo, fuzzy-sludge house of "Nothing Wrong With Holding On" by Michael J Collins.
Review: Barcelona's nu-disco label, Apersonal, are currently celebrating their third birthday, and to mark the occasion label co-founder Andres Vegas delivers this sizzling late summer mix. The label's vibe is all about deep, sunkissed Balearica that is explored to the nth degree over the space of (just over) and hour. It's a wondrous journey with select highlights including Jay Shepheard's mesmerising, early Beloved sounding "Here Comes", the hazy mid 80s digital soul of "After Midnight", the looped white heat funk of "Tryin To Be Me" and the Italo-disco/acid house hybrid "Bottle Of Mine" by Egyptian Nipples.
Review: Having previously released six quietly confident releases from the likes of Volta Cab, Trujillo and James Teej, Spanish deep house/disco fusionists Apersonal Records gather together some of their favourite remixes on one extended digital EP. It's a good collection, casually flitting between solid rubs from label stalwarts and notable big name remixes. Of these, look out for Soul Clap's excellent version of Michael J Collins' "Nothing Wrong With Holding On" - a joyous fusion of dubwise bass, drifting sax and sugary-sweet melodic builds - and Mark E's Trujillo rework. This touchy-feely slo-mo builder is reminiscent of the Black Country producer's fine early work on Jigsaw.
Review: Fledgling Barca based label Apersonal grace us with the digital version of their third release and the standard set by the inaugural Trujillo 12" featuring Mark E and Social Disco Club remixes is more than maintained here. Venturing across the Atlantic for the first time, the label has secured some blissful late night house movements from Michael J Collins - surely the most Balearic name on the circuit right now - who really impressed with his Ilija Rudman remix on Electric Minds earlier this summer. Driven by broken house rhythms and some neat Fulton style hand claps, "Nothing Wrong With Holding On" is a delightfully idiosyncratic departure from the normal nu-disco template. Heavily phased saxophone lines cross with looped vocal chants atop the warm electro bassline with a panache you'd expect from someone who has featured on Wolf & Lamb. Keeping things close Boston's greatest Soul Clap pop up with a remix that adds some urgency to the tempo but retains the off key rhythms. Sumptuous Detroit style pads drenched with emotion rise gradually through and there's a rather tasty percussion heavy breakdown midway through. A big tip!
