MARNIA DEL REY & BIG SUR

TRACKLIST A1 Marina Del Rey B1 Big Sur INFO As NuNorthern Soul eases into its second decade, the label welcomes back a familiar face: Benjamin J Smith, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer whose emotive, colourful and atmospheric compositions are the very definition of ˜Balearic™. Famously, it was Smith™s The Movedrill Projects album that kicked off the NuNorthern Soul story way back in 2012, and he™s periodically returned to the imprint on numerous occasions since. It™s fitting, then, that Smith is stepping up once more, with NuNorthern Soul founder Phil Cooper selecting to showcase two overlooked gems from his bulging back catalogue. Both tracks are taken from Smith™s digital-only album Mojave (Vintage Californian Dreams), a set of thoroughly gorgeous, West Coast-inspired library music compositions smothered in sumptuous strings and informed by the artist™s love of jazz-funk, languid jazz-rock and the kind of luscious, sunset-ready soundscapes that defy neat categorization. Opening proceedings, and sitting on side A of the vinyl release, is the breath-taking ˜Marina Del Rey™, where layered, reverb-laden harmonic vocalisations, twinkling electric piano improvisations, lazy guitar licks, spacey synth flourishes and sultry strings slowly rise above a toasty bassline and gentle, Latin-tinged beats. Smith cannily adds layers of sound throughout while moving the musical story forwards, leading to a memorable, awe-inspiring conclusion. In contrast, ˜Big Sur™ sees Smith take an imaginary road trip through the driest, dustiest parts of the Californian countryside. Psychedelic rock style organ motifs, sustained Hammond B-3 chords and glistening West Coast rock guitar solos dance atop a rubbery bassline and intoxicated, loose-limbed drums, with Smith™s eyes-closed vocalisations  drenched in reverb and delay  adding extra layers of aural loveliness. Like ˜Marina Del Rey™, ˜Big Sur™ is a vivid, widescreen concoction tailor-made for soundtracking films that have yet to be made.