Back catalogue: Balearic/Downtempo

Review: Oceanvs Orientalis and Ilhan Ersahin first entered each other's orbits by chance at a performance at Turkey's Cappadox Festival in 2018. Orientalis is renowned for his fusion of Eastern musical motifs and traditions with cutting-edge electronica, while Ilhan Ersahin has long plowed a unique path uniting assorted musical strains from around the world via an exploratory jazz-improv sensibility. Following two tracks ('Mesta' and 'Pire') co-written by Ilhan and OvO and released as collaborations, as well as two more Ersahin / OvO co-writes ('Revenge Of The Wankers' and 'Television') released under OvO's name alone, a fresh and exciting new song, '1980', now heralds a full-length collaboration slated to land in Spring 2024. The track's title hints at a certain nostalgic bent, all while still keeping its gaze firmly fixed on the future as it evokes sun-drenched, bygone good times. The 10" edition adds several extra versions, one of which spotlights the multi-instrumental mastery of Darkside's Dave Harrington, and the other the mesmerizing vocal stylings of Gaye Su Akyol.

Review: The dynamic duo Octave One starts off 2024 with a new EP that features new versions of two of their own classics and a brand new song. 'Price We Pay' has two remixes featured here, with the both being massive main stage crowd pleasers. 'Mirror Image' is a slick downtempo track that shows the pair's creativity for making great dance music. Last, the new version of 'A Better Tomorrow' is updated to be more futuristic and spacey. Messages From The Mothership Volume 1 are a great sign of things to come as Octave One explores more of their long and impressive discography.

Review: Garage Hermetique unleashes four cuts by Berlin's Onirik and collaborators, all recorded at his Schlesi studio hidden beneath the Schlesicher Tor U-Bahn station. A 'special and chaotic' place, it clearly proved a fertile ground for sonic alchemy, with the 'Good Bye Schlesi' EP traversing a smorgasbord of moods and atmospheres, from the mardy tekkno stomp of 'Rabenflug' to the pensive tone float of the aptly-named 'Ebb & Flow' via the effortlessly sleazy synth gyrations of 'Meier Low Rider' and the nervy Drexciyan shuffle of 'Critical Massa'. Class.

Review: West Yorkshire's intriguing vocal and synth talent Laura Groves teams up with Open Space following her excellent album last year and lures us in deep once more. This time she's on the classy Test Pressing Recordings with a pair of beautifully tender and spare singles. 'Tied' has her delicate and icy vocals drifting up top over minimal synth lines and barely-there rhythms for a spine-tingling lullaby that also comes as an instrumental. On the flip is 'Control' which has another angelic vocal, this time in amongst swirling and heavenly pads that act like a perfect catharsis to busy modern life.

Review: A Strangely Isolated Place has secured this second most captivating album from One Million Eyes. They impressed many with their magical debut album Drama back in 2021 and once again reach new heights in the world of ambient here with Iris. Their brand of ambient is relatively fulsome, with lots to focus on from the smeared and pastoral chords to the muted synth modulations, the vinyl crackle, distant vocal cries and the heavenly backlit glow. It is an absorbing and positive place to be with a sense of optimism colouring the airwaves thought.