Album Review: The Yellow Collection - Eskimo Recordings

BlackPlastic.co.uk regulars Eskimo are back with their latest compilation in their ongoing series, this one labelled The Yellow Collection. Continuing the gentle progression of recent entries, this new suite of songs feels like a step into deeper, more dancefloor tuned sounds.

Opening with Atella's gorgeous Mechanical Sparrow, as premiered on BlackPlastic.co.uk earlier this year, The Yellow Collection doesn't so much as announce itself as it does slip into the room gently shimmering, softly unveiling its presence. Greece's NTEIBINT teams up with ex-Twin Shadow bassist Russ Manning (here as Rush Midnight) on the rhythmic dream pop of By Your Side. Du Tonc's We Can Hold On gets a previously unreleased dub by German label favourites Satin Jackets, continuing a journey that sees each track become a little deeper than the one before.

By track four things have descended into a far more minimal, dubby territory than you would readily expect from the Belgian label these days... MiddleSkyBoom's Slow With The Run is a deep and percussive number, random noises punctuating the bags of reverb-laden space that the track is successfully constructed around. We also get a punk-funk basslines on the acid-flecked psychedelia of Man Power's Fisky, a track that deviates little over it's tightly wound nine-minute length.

There is little let-up on The Yellow Collection until Horixon puncture the atmosphere with Colours, featuring Else Born - a dramatic disco record the offers just a slight reprieve before Vinny Villbass' The Itch dives straight back into tech-house territory, albeit with a Ballearic disco-tinged break that recalls Tangerine Dream. El Wild, from Mexico's Zombies In Miami, is like the paranoid heat of a midday sun in aural form - cyclical synthesisers, distorted bass and lots of reverb.

It is the penultimate track, James Curd & Turbotito's blissfully removed You Could Be Floating, before things let off properly. The vocal almost audibly sighing at the release of tension amidst slowly birthed electronics. And then Go March close things out with the wonky skate-math-funk of Rise, a muted and funny end to things.

The Yellow Collection is a considerably more wild release than we have had from Eskimo for some time with even their regular artists turning in something more experimental and introspective. It may jostle at the seams, but as tends to be the case the individual quality of everything here is consistently high... The Yellow Collection makes a fine soundtrack to getting baked in the hot summer sun.

The Yellow Collection is available through Eskimo Recordings tomorrow. Stream the track Fisky by Man Power in full below:

Out May 20, pre-order here! http://news.lnk.to/TYC Eskimo Recordings is back for its annual inspection of what propels the Belgian imprint’s throttle, exploring the boundaries of their house, disco and pop infusions in ‘The Yellow Collection’. Each artist has their own identity but Eskimo forms a package of seamless musical treats and forges yet new allies in the dreamy landscape of ‘The Yellow Collection’. More info http://maouris.co.uk/music/eskimo-recordings-presents-the-yellow-collection https://soundcloud.com/manpower-1 http://www.eskimorecordings.be/ https://www.facebook.com/eskimorecordings/ https://twitter.com/eskimorecords

Album Review: Panorama Pacifico - Satin Jackets

Having teased us over the past few years with their contributions to Eskimo's compilation albums and a clutch of gorgeous electronic pop singles, Satin Jackets have finally removed the wrapper from their debut album, Panorama Pacifico.

Things start with a reimagining of the duo's hit track You Make Me Feel Good, simply re-titled Feel Good and with additional vocals from LA four-piece Scavenger Hunt. It retains all of the gloriously bowled over sentiment of the original but with some of the extra polish Satin Jackets have picked up since that track was originally released.

The rest of the album unfurls like a collection of hit singles - each track boasts an instantly accessible hook and the trademark sun-kissed Satin Jackets sound. Recent single We Can Talk maintains its tight percussion and string FX to create a slick piece of disco-influenced pop. Say You features an appearance from Jane Elizabeth Hanley, AKA Kids At Midnight, who described the song as "about being afraid of being happy". It's a cool record wrapped around an insistent desire to give happiness a chance.

Find Out represents one of Panorama Pacifico's more dramatic moments, Marble Sounds' Peter Van Dessel providing a heartfelt pleading vocal to "Shut your eyes and you'll find out..." In comparison to much of the music hear it feels like it draws more on 80s electro-pop more directly. The vocals, enveloped in melancholic synths, reference both the excited moments of receiving a surprise gift and the potential to comprehend more about our situation when we close down some of our senses.

Whilst most tracks feature guest appearances, there are exceptions. Cala Banana is an electro-funk influenced exercise in retrained house music - drums bask in their reverb and guitar riffs glisten in the heat. Similarly, the NTEIBINT featuring track Coast To Coast is full of dramatic strings and stirring baselines, all the better for it's minimalism.

Panorama Pacifico rounds things out with the duo's staples, Girl, Forever and the original version of You Make Me Feel Good... Effectively closing the album where it began, back where we started. It is almost indulgent, but they come as a full-stop to an album full of hits, and in closing the album here it feels like a generous reflection of everything Satin Jackets have given to fans of their style of electro soul, pop and disco. We are just one album in, but there is lots here to enjoy.

Panorama Pacifico is released on Friday on Eskimo. Check out Feel Good below:

EP Review: The Owner - NTEIBINT feat. Stella

Another slice of aural gold from Eskimo Recordings. The Owner is an easy going love song from Greek DJ and producer NTEIBINT, real name George Bakalakos. On it he whips up a steady-paced electronic track with disco flourishes with gorgeous vocals from Stella... And it is the vocal hooks and those muted guitars in the chorus that really hold this track together.

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The Owner - NTEIBINT feat. Stella

Together with an accentuated, more Balearic beatless version and and extended mix are two remixes. Justin Faust lays down a chunky elastic bassline and uses those guitars to full effect, mixing them in more liberally than on the original. It plays more with the track's layers, creating more of a sense of contrast.

Anoraak's remix is the best here - slickly layered in a effects on the central synth patterns and using a strings to create a more dramatic sense of disco that actually evokes Everything But The Girl in their Temperamental-era, and their collaboration with Deep Dish on Future Of The Future (Stay Gold) particularly. It's utterly glorious disco of the finest variety, and frankly I can't get enough of it.

The Owner is released through Eskimo Recordings on 8 June. Whilst you wait for it to come out check out an edit NTEIBINT released a while back entitled Fooling Around. His remix of Chet Faker's 1998, also below, is great too!