Cantoma - Out of Town (Album Sampler)

Cantoma - Out of Town For those of a horizontal nature, Phil Mison needs little introduction. Over the last two decades, the DJ, producer and songwriter has become one of the most celebrated names on the Balearic chill-out scene. Here, he presents his second solo album under the Cantoma moniker, ’Out Of Town’. Influenced by listening to legendary chill out DJ Jose Padilla, Phil started his DJ career at London’s Milk Bar in 1991, playing chilled Balearic warm up sets. A chance meeting there with Jose would lead to a two year residency at Ibiza’s Cafe Del Mar, sound tracking a thousand sunsets with his vast collection of sun kissed records. It was his sets there that led him to play at Full Circle, Bugged Out and to become Leftfields tour DJ. It was this huge knowledge of the chill-out genre that earned Mison a chance to put out his first compilation ’Original Chill Out’ in 1995. With its beatless, mood-friendly approach to mixing electronic music, it was something of a groundbreaking collection. Since then he has gone on to release a further 12 compilations (including four volumes of the hugely popular ’Real Ibiza’ series), record with friend Pete Herbert under the Reverso 68 guise and in 2004, release his debut artist album under the now familiar Cantoma moniker. Phil has also recently been invited to play at Harvey’s 39 Hotel in Hawaii and in the last year played at Horse Meat Disco, Fabric, Secret Sundaze, Disco Bloodbath and APT in New York. ’Out Of Town’, his first release for the Leng label, picks up where that acclaimed debut left off. As you’d expect from a man who has devoted his life to showcasing the finest down tempo music from around the world, ’Out Of Town’ fuses a wide variety of sounds and styles. The result is a beautiful, otherworldly album that moves effortlessly between blissful flamenco, shimmering, slo-mo nu disco, dubbed-out tango and haunting, ethereal soundscapes. The stunning ’Maja’ opens the album, a heady fusion of drifting chords, haunting Indian vocals and dubbed-out strings. It’s a statement of intent -- a slow-motion call to arms for a new decade of down tempo decadence. Effortlessly, the mood shifts to a deserted Uruguayan beach via ’Dix Verte’, an accordion-heavy slice of horizontal tango that evokes memories of Dr Rockit’s chill-out classic ’Café De Flore’. Next, we’re back in the Ibizan hills for ’North Shore’, a spine-tingling fusion of stargazing electronics, sweet flutes and relaxed vocals. As it unfolds, ’Out Of Town’ continues to surprise and delight in equal measure. There are emotion-rich songs (’Suomi’, the confident and hooky ’Under the Stars’ and the more obviously Balearic ’Only People’), blissful soundscapes (’Out of Town’, ’Trees of Highwood’) and future chill-out anthems (’Paloma’). Throughout, Mison maintains an air of sun-flecked beauty and, as the myth and majesty envelops you, it’s hard not to dream of starry, cloudless Ibizan nights and sweltering, peaceful afternoons by the pool. With ’Out Of Town’, Phil Mison has arguably produced his strongest music to date. Grab a copy and dive in.