Sunless ’97 – Body Weather/Azul (Not Even/ June 18 2012)

By Gary Lewis

How do you like your new music? Served on a platter of bliss as you lounge the day away, carefree? Letting the ambient sounds of the city fade in and out of earshot, lapping at your pleasure cortex? If so, then we have just the thing for you.

Sunless ’97 released a double A-side on the Not Even label. First up is ‘Body Weather’, which fizzes and pops like a family size bag of space dust. Warming electro pop buoyed by the glorious boy/girl vocals and a smattering of sax soar to a sunrise finish. ‘Azul’ appears on the  B-side. The track opens with some deep reverberating synths, a little reminiscent of Vangelis. Soft pads creep in, organ stabs pop up and the brass drifts languorously in and out. All topped by Alice Davis’ lovely vocals, which have a touch of Sarah Cracknell’s lightness and buttery smoothness.

The band have a balearic vibe that brings the white isle to wherever you may be. Mixing sounds as diverse as krautrock, jazz, ambience and dance music they produce a heady sound. This is none more evident than on their ‘Ju Ju’ mix tape, which manages to fuse Moodymann, Scritti Politti and Marvin Gaze to dazzling effect. You can definitely imagine Gilles Peterson picking this up, if he hasn’t already.

In less than a year, they have released two mixtapes and an EP (Making Waves), and are making a name for themselves. Like a musical Malbec, they are delicious, drowsy and drowning in style. Go get tipsy on them.