Mix: 25. Heart To Heart

Nearing the end of summer I thought it would be nice to revisit a mix I shared with brilliant Lithuanian free-form online station Hao Dao Radio, but held off on sharing here. To bookend a feeling, it makes more sense to hear it now. Loosely based on the little known and (sadly) as heralded work of the late, sometime, Camel keyboardist Peter Bardens it hooks on a feeling. A native of Notting Hill, England, it was Peter that helped steer the direction of a few wayward Prog and Pop artists into the realms of disco, funk and tropical musical styles. In doing so, Pete, created a distinct niche of Balearic ideas that should be ripe for others to mine.

It’s always the small niche of music that I tend to really be fascinated with. For me, it’s imagining an alternate world where these ideas give way to broader movements. Where Pete wasn’t entirely alone in this.

Imagine a world where Colin Blunstone’s “Touch” gave way to a whole album of such tropical post-disco. Imagine a world, where Belgian RiO (Rock In Opposition) band Cos actually dominates the charts with their wiggy interpretation of funk music. One where Billy McKenzie of post-punk futurists The Associates graces us with another gorgeous soul album.

In some alternate reality this is a summer jam playlist where Prog grew progressively more out there and inviting — touching on different genres in a subtle way. In some alternate reality this is where the fun begins. As a new seasonal cycle begins, let’s go to a different world. Here’s where we get that summer feeling once again…

https://soundcloud.com/haodaoradio/hao-dao-radio-08-fondsound-heart-to-heart

Heart To Heart

  1. Peter Bardens – Julia
  2. Camel – Summer Lightning
  3. Colin Blunstone – Touch
  4. Willy Finlayson – After The Fall
  5. Keats – Hollywood Heart
  6. America – And Forever
  7. Caravan – Silver Strings
  8. COS – Frau y Mann
  9. Mother Gong – Machine Song
  10. Jan Akkerman – Blue In The Shadow
  11. Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin – I’m In A Different World
  12. Claire Hamill – Two Fools In A Storm
  13. Sandie Shaw – Moontalk
  14. Billy MacKenzie – Free

/DOWNLOAD/

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