Graham Reid | | 1 min read
From time to time Elsewhere will single out a recent release we recommend on vinyl, like this reissue which comes as a double album with an insert of album credits etc.
Check out Elsewhere's other Recommended Record picks . . .
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Sola Rosa (known to his folks as Andrew Spraggon) frequently recalibrated our expectations of local electronica and for this ambitious 2009 outing, his fourth album, he once again set his sights far over the immediate horizon.
On a global sojourn through space and time he seems to stumble into the exotic world of James Bond flicks in the late Seventies (the opener The Ace of Space) and follows that with some funky soul elevated by guest vocalist Iva Lamkum.
Elsewhere there are Latin-style trumpets and scratching (the terrific, loping Del Ray has hints of Latino star Juanes about it), the thump of Forties jump jive (Humanised with singer Bajka), splashes of reggae (a little cliched in the toasting it needs to be said), superb guitar throughout from Ben White (acoustic and electric) and much more.
The sheer musical diversity (and channeled energy) here lifted this one well above the pack, and above the previous output by Sola Rosa.
There's also an admirable democracy here and this album took him on the long journey to his excellent Chasing the Sun in 2020.
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