Message from a Balearic Star (Cosmic Records - 2013)

01 - ken nordine - sounds in space

02 - snob - message from the stars

03 - electric mind - pick me up (dub version zwei)

04 - fleetwood mac - rhiannon (baron von luxxury dreams unwinding re-edit)

05 - mad professor - fast forward into dub

06 - the duke of burlington - flash

07 - sun palace - rude movements

08 - lee oskar - haunted house (lw edit)

09 - jim morrison - ghost song

10 - alessi brothers - seabird

11 - brian briggs - aeo (pt.1 and 2)

12 - pointer sisters - hypnotized

13 - büdi und gumbls - pienes tanz

14 - roxy music - india

15 - sammy barbot - mexico (lovefingers barrio edit)

16 - the beach boys - california girls

Here is a brand-new compilation/mix of some old & some rather recent Balearic favorites and discoveries. Balearic?! Or is it Afro/Cosmic, Space Disco, Krautrock, Italo Disco, Dub...?! Honestly. I don't know. It just has to be good music - and support the general vibe & feeling of this compilation. But - then again - when I shared Balearic Dreams - Your Mind is on Vacation last year I wrote:

''First off you need to understand that Balearic isn’t just some kind of genre, it’s more about a vibe, a feeling and an attitude. This might sound like some hippie shit but that’s exactly what Balearic music is all about, it’s about being in Eivissa and listening to Alfredo while you dance naked during sunrise, it’s about that feeling of total euphoria, where there’s no problems just pure bliss (...) There aren’t really any rules as to what can and can’t be classed as Balearic as long as it feels right, but to me it’s usually something sexy, sophisticated and melodic that gets your body and mind feelin’ good.'' (Radio Jiro)

I am starting this compilation with a beautiful spoken word track by Ken Nordine over some dreamy-early-outta-space-electronics. Taken from the RCA Living Stereo sampler Sounds In Space - which has Ken introducing the concept of Stereo to the listener back in 1958. If you have never heard of Ken Nordine before - google his name - or start by listening to Yellow from his 1967 album Colors. Killer beat poetry/spoken word jazz! But be warned! It might alter your view on colors forever. Track #2 - the mega rare Message From The Stars by cult Montreal disco band Snob is a wonderful slo-mo cosmic groover with a great female vocal taken from their highly collectible Are Women Snobs album. Followed by track #3 - Electric Mind's Zwei (Dub Version). Nice dubby cosmic Italo Disco. Track #4 is a stripped-down, laid-back, post-coital reworking of Fleetwood Mac's classic Rhiannon by Baron von Luxxury. "This hot tub dub version of Fleetwood Mac's 'Rhiannon' is the first in a series of 70s and 80s re-edits I’m making from the original studio multi tracks," says the Baron. "Each will be different tonally, but I’m trying to keep them all vintage-y sounding, refraining from using any (or too many) modern dancefloor tricks like filtersweeps, bswooshes, etc. Just delay, reverb and editing'' (via discoworkout). Go here for more Fleetwood Mac mixes, remixes & edits. Track #5 is Mad Professor's beautiful Fast Forward Into Dub from his 1985 album Dub Me Crazy Part Five: Who Knows The Secret Of The Master Tapes? Found on DJ Lexx' equally beautiful & brilliant mix Pressure [Mix/Jan. 2011]. Track #6 is the incredible breakbeat classic Flash by The Duke Of Burlington - who were an Italian combo from the late 60ies/early70s - often mixing up hard heavy piano, funky drum breaks, choppy guitar and some nice soulful flute solos. Yeah! Next we have the wonderful Rude Movements by Sun Palace. Beautiful spacey midtempo Disco tune. ''Rude Movements'' is the B-Side to a single called Winning by Sun Palace who only put out this single under that production name. It was a huge track in NYC during the days of Paradise Garage and The Loft. Track #8 is Leftside Wobble's edit of Haunted House by Lee Oskar - a bittersweet little slow burning funk number. Also be sure to give the original a listen - a atmospheric roller disco classic from Danish harmonica legend Lee Oskar. Lee is better known for his soulful playing with War on tunes like Me and Baby Brother and Low Rider but here he trades strutting for suggestiveness and the results are all the more euphoric for it. Built around a shimmering Fender Rhodes, a whispery guitar arpeggio and an insistent slo-mo disco beat, less is definitely more. It's all so lush and effortless that 7 minutes scarcely feels like long enough to appreciate it and the slightly surreal chorus makes complete sense in context. (via The Ransom Note) Where there is a ''Haunted House'' - there must be a ''Ghost Song''! So track #9 is Jim Morrison's Ghost Song - taken from The Doors 1978 album An American Prayer. Seven years after lead singer Jim Morrison died members of The Doors reunited and recorded backing tracks over Morrison's poetry (originally recorded in 1969 and 1970). Several tracks on this album have a really nice Balearic Disco feeling to them... One of them being ''Ghost Song''. Track #10 is the Alessi Brothers' Seabird - a drum-machine driven curio with intriguingly imperfect double-tracking and wonderful lyrics. Pure sunshine bliss! Pay FLASH STRAP a visit to listen to the rest of the Alessi Brothers first album. The next song is Brian Briggs - Aeo (Pt.1 and 2) - a beautiful little gem I have no way of describing. Sounds of fairies & elves... Perfect for listening to on a Sunday afternoon - in your garden - surrounded by fields and woods... Brian Briggs real name was John Holbrook and he was a well-respected mixer and sound engineer. He worked on the Who's Tommy & Hendrix's Electric Ladyland among others. "Aeo'' is taken from his album Brain Damage (1980). Track #12 got the Pointer Sisters covering  Fleetwood Mac's Hypnotized. A really awesome groove to this one. Littered with stylish guitar inflections, nonsensical but beautifully executed lyrics about hypnosis and UFOs and eerie synth drifts inhabiting the background. After the Pointer Sisters trip to space - track #13 takes us back to good old mother earth: Büdi & Gumbls' Pienes Tanz is some rare German Kraut/Prog. Dreamy and mellow... Dance on, fly on, dream on... Somewhere deep in the forests there is a feast. Fairies & elves are already dancing... Taken from Büdi & Gumbls' Hmm album from 1983. Now we are jumping straight to track #15 - the Lovefingers Barrio edit of Sammy Barbot's Mexico. As I couldn't put it any better - here is what Andy Webb from Disco Delicious says: ''I've been loving the Black Disco series but had never heard the first volume until a few days ago, which features this stunning low-mid tempo Hawaiian shirt hangout tune. Give me a pineapple filled with some kind of tasty alcohol and some ember orange sunlight to bask in, crank this up and await heaven. Ice cool and toasty warm at the same time, this is a huge winner. I am ending this compilation with some California Sunshine Pop - the Beach Boys' classic California Girls. Written by band-members Brian Wilson (who conceived the song during an LSD trip) and Mike Love in 1965, the song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Enjoy! DubMe