THE JOURNAL
Getting bored of those algorithmic recommendations? Take a dive off the beaten path and get into a more sunshine-appropriate mood with this spring’s most breezy new records. We at MR PORTER most certainly will be…
Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop AOR & Boogie 1976-1986
Various Artists
City Pop is a term used to describe the groove-laden, good-times music that emerged from Japan during its boom years in the 1970s and 1980s. Not too familiar with it? No worries: Seattle-based label Light In The Attic has dug through crates to resurface the best of the genre, which comes beautifully curated and re-packaged in this May release.
Out 3 May
Os Catedraticos 73 (vinyl reissue)
Mr Eumir Deodato
Brazilian jazz great Mr Eumir Deodato was having a particularly good time of it in the 1970s when he recorded this wonderfully wigged-out album, which combines a Brazilian rhythm section with American horn players, bossa nova grooves, and plenty of wah-wah pedal. This spring’s 180g vinyl reissue is the perfect excuse to rediscover it.
Out now
**faroutrecordings.com **
Velvet Desert Music Vol 1
Various Artists
Curated by minimal techno pioneer Mr Jörg Burger (aka The Modernist), this new compilation from Cologne’s Kompakt records is a laid-back beast, mixing elements of folk, krautrock and psychedelic music with contemporary electronic sounds. Perfect for a sunny cocktail hour (or seven).
Out now
Henryk Górecki: Symphony No 3 (Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs)
Ms Beth Gibbons and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
The latest, and perhaps most adventurous project from Portishead vocalist Ms Beth Gibbons sees her take on a masterpiece of 20th-century classical music that, when recorded by the London Sinfonietta in 1992, sold over a million records. Yes, this whole “Sorrowful Songs” idea does not exactly make for party music, but surely there’s room for some moody downtime this spring, too?
Out now
Accelerator (vinyl reissue)
Royal Trux
Pair your 1990s-throwback floral shirt and bucket hat with this, a new reissue of this distortion-soaked, ahead-of-it’s-time alt-rock classic from 1998. Gloriously noisy and messy, it’s to summer listening what the ice-cold beer is to summer drinking. Probably not one for the in-laws, though.
Out now