Frequent Flyer: Departure Lounge
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Kinkysweet is one in a disconnected collective of labels that cater to the post-techno-era lifestyle. Sometimes closely related to the world of Ibiza chillout, but often too soulful, funky, jazzy, ethnic and grounded to belong. That’s exactly the space Kinkysweet resides in, and exactly what you get with the sixth installment of their nicely selected Frequent Flyer series; Departure Lounge.
Late Night Sneaky “Tell Me Where You Are (feat. Irina)“- J-Boogie’s Dubtronic Science “Golden Nectar“
- Drop Culture “Szeto“
- Bah Samba “Inner Soul“
- Navarro “Beneath The Surface“
- Bud Not Bombs “The Pick Up (feat. Wallnut)“
- Michael Tello “Barrio Beats“
- Sunspot “Banco de Gaia“
- Temple “Carlos Torres“
- Craig Kohland & Shaman’s Dream “Lalla’s Ecstasy“
- Phobos “Edge Of Forever“
- Ian Pooley “Stoyridge Terrace“
- Michael Anthony & B. Smiley “Fuzzy Green Stop Lights (feat. Allisone)“
- Blu Mar Ten “Drive“
- Liquid Bloom “Om Namo Bhagavate“
- Kaya Project “Walking Through“
- Nomad “Desert Wind“
- Patchen “Wish (feat. Jianda)“
- Madrid de los Austrias “Para Don Alonso (Yam Who? rework)“
- Jasmon “Somasomasu“
- D Tek & M.A. “Spazzy McGee“
- Ommetamorphic & Majitope “Shakti Jai (feat. Nanu Clover Ma)“
Departure Lounge is a bit of a grab-bag compared to other releases in the series that hinge their style on a specific geography like Rio de Janeiro, Bombay, or Kingston Jamaica. This collection smoothly transitions from floating, dreamy grooves to funky south Asian vibes, Latin bossa nova to down tempo house and back again.
The nice thing about compilations like this is that they’re not built on a roster of well known artist names. In fact, in many cases these are artists you’ve never heard of before. It doesn’t mean they’re all new to the game though. Digging deeper you’ll find a number of these projects have been active for some time, like the producers behind Late Night Sneaky who’ve been on the scene for the past 10 years.
The opening track on disc one is a mellow, dreamy piece by Late Night Sneaky featuring vocals by Irina Mikahailova, whom you may be familiar with as a vocalist for Kaya Project (Interchill). The next track is a sitar led head-nodder, with mellow breaks and a funky jazz flute vibe performed by J Boogie’s Dubtronic Science. After that comes Drop Culture with “Szeto”, a track whose smooth, ambient-backed downtempo style builds nicely into a funky, mellow breaks joint. Bah Samba is next up with a sweet bossa nova rhythm entitled “Inner Soul”. The cycle of stylistic transitions continues throughout the remainder of the disc, showcasing work from E. Navarro, Bud Not Bombs (who are the same guys behind Late Night Sneaky), Michael Tello, Sunspot, Temple, Craig Kohland & Shaman’s Dream, and Phobos.
The second disc has a few more noticable names like Ian Pooley, Kaya Project, and Blu Mar Ten. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the cover of The Cars’ well-known hit “Drive” by Blu Mar Ten. It’s a mellow, floating breaks bit with soft female vocals. A unique treatment of the original. Patchen’s “Wish” featuring Jianda, reminds me of the most recent work by Soul G. & Tony Match[2] (Mole Listening Pearls, Milan Records). The sound is a combination of raw-but-sweet female vocals, triphop breaks and warm synth work.
The majority of the second disc takes on a south Asian flavor, but there is still a healthy mix of downtempo and Latin influenced styles. Designed to soundtrack the cosmopolitan, jetset lifestyle (and the vicarious living of), with Departure Lounge, Kinkysweet deliver another thoughtfully arranged and nicely selected edition to their Frequent Flyer series.
