Thursday, 11 November 2010  El Residentes, innit  Right strange
one this.  First off, this is not the Balearic beat as we all
now know it: this is a very different animal. And secondly, a
compilation featuring such diverse artists as The Residents, The
Woodentops, Nitzer Ebb and Mandy Smith (remember her? Think Bill
Wyman, yeah, you got it) is hard to imagine; especially one
titled Balearic Beats.  All rather bizarre; but somehow, rather
good.  Up to a point.  The liner notes boldly suggest that
despite the Balearic beat being born in Ibiza, it was actually
conceived in South London, or more precisely: The Shoom Club, as
well as a little foreplay going on down the road at The Future.
Well, it was the eighties....  Of course the highlight is
without doubt The Residents' 'Kaw-liga', alone well worth the
download: it's really stomping; dreadfully infectious, and just
makes you want to go and listen to a lot more Residents. And why
not?  There are some other interesting pieces on here though,
it's not just a one