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LP
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DIGI 065LP
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Paco Sala have come a long way since the dusty beats of their debut, Ro-Me-Ro (DIGI 043LP). The duo of Antony Harrison and the re-christened Birch (formerly Leyli) dissected and reassembled their sound during the two years Put Your Hands on Me was written and recorded. This album, their second, runs deeper and is far more collaborative in all aspects. Put Your Hands on Me is steeped in violence, sometimes subtle and sometimes overt. Scars left from a brutal past play victim to the minor-chord synth swells and complex rhythms. In between whispers, Birch howls with a vengeance. Her voice provides a counterweight to Harrison's gunshot-fed beats and glowing synths. Each hushed tone or whispered lyric is bathed in smoky neon hues, lost in a binge-fuelled haze. Album opener "Impossible Places" melts disparate influences from contemporary R&B to '80s no wave into a cathartic reverie while the cryptic melodies of "Jonny Silverhands" soundtrack a dystopian future. Birch's voice is soft and sultry against the sharp synths and rhythms of "The ACO," acting as a barrier between the perpetrator and a sea of bubbling rage. There's a scattered diversity to Put Your Hands on Me, yet it never loses its cohesive thread. It's a massive album, meticulously assembled and masterfully engineered. Paco Sala aren't fucking around any longer. Mastered by John Tejada and cut to vinyl at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin.
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LP
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DIGI 043LP
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Paco Sala first came to fruition sometime in 2011 as producer Antony Harrison began developing a totally different side to his usual musical explorations as Konntinent. Following up a debut cassette, Radial Sundown, that introduced Paco Sala as a new solo vehicle for Harrison's love of hip-hop, Italo-disco, & synth-infused pop music, Harrison joined forces with vocalist Leyli -- and everything changed. Leyli's voice became the perfect vehicle for Harrison's squashed productions, adding an elegance and airiness to his dark, introspective tropes. This is most evident on the show-stopper, "Spiral" -- Leyli's vocal is divine, streaming skyward as it twists into endless, delicate shapes, with a hypnotic beat and Tropicália-infused loops acting as the perfect backdrop. Leyli slowly takes over the album's first single, "Gifts Of The Bloom," with layer-upon-layer of wordless murmurs. Along with B-side opener, "Tre's Future First," they show off Paco Sala's Italo influence with stunted beats and catchy, yet minimal synths. It's the vocals, though, that continually push Ro-Me-Ro to another level. Ro-Me-Ro is as striking a debut as any on the esteemed Digitalis label over the last few years, tapping into that emotional, sparkling intersection where followers of Nite Jewel, Chromatics, Not Not Fun and Julee Cruise will find much comfort. Original art by Marie-Pascale Hardy. Mastered by Brad Rose and cut to vinyl by Rashad Becker at Dubplates + Mastering, Berlin. Limited to 500 copies only.
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