Freediving in the Tropical Zone

 

This Sunday service comes from The Isle of Jura with the Jura Soundsystem.

Return to the Island offers the finest Balearic ambient house.

„The label is called Isle Of Jura. I`m assuming this is a KLF reference. But why?

The KLF are inextricably linked to my youth and University days. The Chill Out album particularly. That album was like nothing I’d heard before, and as well as the mind-blowing music, I was really drawn to the personality of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, and the branding of it all. Their whole approach was really in the spirit of Punk, and doing things 100% their own way. I loved that edginess. Their mystique and legend just continues to grow, and I wanted to tap into that vibe with the new label, which is named after the place where they burned a million quid in cash.“

„As a listener, you will have to imagine the palm trees.  For Australian label owner and producer Kevin Griffiths aka Jura Soundsystem they provide the backdrop when he works on new tracks in his home studio in Adelaide.  Added to this are the calls of tropical birds, some of which have also made it onto the album thanks to the open studio doors, for example on the opener »An Interlude in Paradise«.  

Composed during the quiet and isolation provided by Covid and the pandemic, the selections add up to a perhaps predictably chilled-out, but varied album, ranging in tempo from beatless ambient, to seductive, slo-mo house. The opening An Interlude In Paradise, for example, could be a clipping from Virginia Astley`s cult classic, „From Gardens where we feel Secure“. 

„A happy memory captured on tape, accompanied by pretty piano, and rich with reverb. Meanwhile, Crystal Voyager is a bumping and skipping mid-tempo mover that mixes acidic twists with its mellow marimba and feather-like, Fairlight-like cries and whispers. Whatever Happens, Happens, similarly, is a cool take on the template of firm loved-up favourites, such as Culturebeat`s „Cherry Lips“.

More important are the main ingredients, soft synthesizer chords on »Return To The Island« with bright bell-like melodies and a beat kept at a moderate tempo.  Griffiths combines them in the style of the tried and tested Balearic sound with basically minor variations, but still varied enough to avoid becoming monotonous.

The breaks and bubbling b-line of Freediving In The Tropical Zone invoke the still in vogue sound of early `90s street soul. With its clipped guitar, congas, cowbell, and 80s electro-boogie bass, King Of Aldinga could almost be classified as spaced-out jazz-funk. Romantic strings off-setting its ping-ponging programmed melody. Love Always Wins constructs its beats from collaged breathing – with edits a la Art Of Noise – while borrowing an instantly recognizable Tom Clay, spoken word sample (once made famous by Deee-Lite). 

In places, such as Linn Fun`s combination of gentle tribal tom tom rhythms and afro / cosmic electronics, the music recalls Jasper Vant Hof`s „Pili Pili“ project. In others, like the standout closing cut, Inhale Exhale, it`s cinematic. Sighs and storms segueing through eruptions of echo and delay, and topped off by a sweet saxophone solo. 

What remains the same is the relaxed, summery optimism which each and every one of the eight numbers exudes.  This is always a good thing to have, perhaps even more so than usual at the moment.  Besides that, the term »downtempo« appear to fit in here unreservedly for once as well.  At the end there is thunder and rain, but even that is not threatening, but rather refreshing amidst the languorous sunshine sounds.“

sampled text passages from

Ban Ban Ton Ton

HHV Mag

File under: Ambient I Balearic I House