In a few weeks the first release on Fools & Fables by Maricopa (Tusk Wax, Back to the Balearics) will see the light of day, a record that's quite special to us. Firstly, because we think both sides of the release are pure magic, and secondly because we actually have a hand in setting up the label (alongside our good pal Mark Whyte of Isodisco fame). We stumbled upon Maricopa's tracks a really long time ago and immediately fell in love with them. It didn't feel right to sign them for Sleazy Beats or the Black Ops offshoot though, as they're both quite a departure from the usual disco/beatdown fare we love so much. However, our other ongoing love affair - and the one that got us into deephouse back in the day - is downtempo fare, ranging from instrumental Dilla beats to beardy synth workouts with no drums by outfits like Seahawks. See, we're both thirty-somethings, both have two kids and both don't quite nearly spend as much time in clubs as we used to/would like to, so there's more than a fair bit of homelistening going on over here: moody downtempo soundscapes to soothe the soul after another night of little sleep and screaming kids. It's in this homelistening department that our Fools & Fables project belongs. It won't have you fistpump, it's highly unlikely any taps will go aff when you play this, and there's no epic reach-for-the-lazorz breakdown tucked away in there, but if you sit down and close your eyes, Maricopa's creations will feel like a kind soul wrapping a warm blanket around you and making you some tea. With biscuits. We think it's extraordinary stuff by this young lad from Belfast and are very proud to assist in getting these tracks out on vinyl. As I said before, we've been listening to these tracks for a really long time and they still seem to get better upon every listen. Music for the ages then, hopefully.
Soul Lite on the A is trademark sundown Maricopa. Warm keys and harmonious melody weave with atmospheric percussion and soft complementary drums that all coalesce and whisk your mind off to a place where you feel the sun on your face and the sand between your toes:
Flip over for This Way Forever, an excursion into 110 BPM mid-tempo balearica, if such a thing exists. A bit punchier than Maricopa's usual fare, but still unmistakably him - soulful, full of character and detail, driven by a sun-soaked groove, a haunting vocal and key change licks throughout.
As you've come to expect from us, this is a limited vinyl-only release (no binary business). Only 300 copies worldwide, on 10", with paper inners and individually shrinkwrapped. Fingers crossed you like this as much as we do!
If you want us to send you an e-mail notification when the record is out, sign up here
We also set up the inevitable Facebook page for the new label. Keep track of what we're up to over here if you're interested.
Epic stuff.
ReplyDelete