Calypso vinyl

Once dubbed by Young Marco as "the King of Chords", Italian ambient pioneer Gigi Masin has yet to make a duff album, or one that's not deliciously warm and loved up for that matter. Predictably he maintains this near perfect record with "Calypso", his first set for R&S Records' downtempo offshoot Apollo. Interestingly, it's perhaps a little more eclectic than you might expect, with cuts clearly influenced by Steve Reich and Jon Hassell (see opener "Calypso" and "How To Disappear In A Kiss") and dusty trip-hop beat-scapes ("Belamore", the jazz-flecked beauty of "Anemone") nestling side by side with fireside-warm ambient luxury ("If", "Your Name Is My Infinite") and pin-sharp synthesizer journeys ("Kalifa Golf Club"). It all adds up to one of Masin's most magical albums yet - and that's saying something.