aaamusic | On 04, Jun 2011

Following the resounding success of the debut Future Balearica compilation comes the equally brilliant second installment, bursting with hook-laden, hedonistic beats and boldly heralding the return of the summer. Once again, the compilation presents a fresh perspective on Balearica, effortlessly transcending the boundaries between Indie, Dance, Disco and Chillwave. In true Balearic spirit, tracks by a myriad of bands and DJs, including Chad Valley, Beat Connection, Houses, Todd Terje and Health, are seamlessly blended into a melting pot of sunny dance rhythms that serve as the perfect soundtrack to the summer.

Production duo FETE, which includes Future Disco’s head honcho Sean Brosnan, take control of arrangements, digging out the freshest Balearic sounds the world over. The twosome’s clever tune selection and discerning taste earned them plaudits from the music critics for the first CD in the series and Volume 2 picks up the mantle where that left off.

Kicking things off, US band Houses set the tone with the blissfully melancholic ‘Soak It Up’, as dreamy synths and tropical beats accentuate hauntingly soft vocals. FETE’s beautifully crafted ‘Song For Her’ follows, a rolling slow-mo instrumental delight and the first of the album’s three exclusive and unreleased tracks. Next up, Max Essa’s uplifting ‘Panorama Suite’ and James Holroyd’s alter-ego Begin gets to work on ‘You May Not Mean To Hurt Me’, a groovy downtempo number, which builds nicely to into CFCF’s tropical re-work of Health’s ‘Before Tigers’, a track sure to get your mind dancing with thoughts of hazy summer afternoons, ice cold cocktails and a cool summer breeze.

The groove continues with the Prince of New York disco, Lee Douglas, on remix duty with ‘Need Your Love’ and the Is It Balearic..? main men Coyote, who step up the pace with the disco chimes of ‘Corona’, followed by the hazy summer sounds of Free Disco’s ‘Odd Summer’. Up next and representing Seattle is Moishi Moishi’s Beat Connection with ‘In The Water’ a true summer anthem from the US Balearic pop upstarts. The mix climaxes with the euphoric sounds of Chad Valley’s ‘Up And Down’, Hugo Manuel’s solo project and disco-infused delight, which has had the blogoshere buzzing and not without good reason. The warm, chilled out beach vibes continue, courtesy of Nordic disco darling Todd Terje and Japanese duo COS/MES before Black Marlin starts to bring the dreamy Balearic journey to a close with the second of the album’s exclusive, unreleased tracks, Forest. Rounding off the mix is Diskjokke’s sublime ‘Panutup’ and the last of the album’s exclusives . And finally, we end with ‘White Elephant’, a laid-back, playful, dreamy delight, which concludes this magnificent Balearic journey as sweetly as it started.