Raphaël Top-Secret and Nelson Bishop have a Love So High

The lesser known French artists have teamed up for the latest release from Antinote.

If there’s a label you can trust with your synth pop needs it is surely Antinote. As well as the clubbier tendencies of Zaltan’s exalted imprint, there has been equal praise heaped on the softer sounds that have emanated from the Parisian operation. Early on Syracuse launched a charm offensive that could melt the iciest of hearts, while last year Latvian duo Domenique Dumont landed themselves in everyone’s lists, record bags and sun-kissed ’60s reveries. For all its machinations, Island Of Dreams by D.K. found favour as a resoundingly pretty album when it arrived earlier this year, and Inoue Shirabe’s Achromatic Illusion too straddled the dividing line between pop sensibilities and club mentality.

Raphaël Top-Secret (pictured above) and Nelson Bishop have made scattered appearances prior to their coming together on Antinote with Love So High. The former was in fact one half of Mascara DJs with Zaltan, while he has also been known to deliver edits and a whole EP to Macadam Mambo in the past. Bishop meanwhile first appeared back in 2007 with a release on short-lived label Clap Clap (not to be confused with the Italian production outfit), although his credits also stretch to design work for a host of Parisian labels. On this three-track release for Antinote, Top-Secret and Bishop create an infectious blend of plaintive synth lines and simple vocal mantras that get right under the skin. The record definitely sports grooves that one can get down to, but as ever that misty-eyed melancholy makes this more than simple dance music. The title track is especially affecting in this regard with its slow dub balladry, and you can listen for yourself over at the Rush Hour site.

Antinote will release Love So High by Raphaël Top-Secret and Nelson Bishop in mid-May.

Tracklisting:

1. Chekema
2. Get Enough
3. Love So High

Antinote on Juno