Antena: Camino Del Sol (2LP, blue vinyl) [NUMERO]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set comes on Brussels blue vinyl in a tip-on gatefold jacket with printed inner sleeves, the original five-song mini-album cut at 45 RPM. The second disc gathers B-sides and early tracks, many produced by John Foxx.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Blue vinyl
• Tip-on gatefold jacket
• Printed inner sleeves
• Disc one cut at 45 RPM
• Remastered
• Lyrics included

About the album

Bossa nova and drum machines don't often share a flat, but in early-80s Brussels Antena moved them in together. Isabelle Powaga, Sylvain Fasy and Pascale Moiroud signed to the Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule and in September 1982 put out Camino Del Sol, five songs of samba rhythms, electro congas and cool French vocals.

"Achilles" and "Silly Things" open with a sunny, slightly eerie lilt, the title track sways like a beach party heard through a wall, and "Bye Bye Papaye" and "Sisséxa" add a playful bounce. The second disc digs into singles and early sessions, many produced by Ultravox founder John Foxx: "To Climb the Cliff," "Spiral Staircase," "Seaside Week End" and that vocoder twist on a bossa standard, "The Boy From Ipanema." Powaga later carried on solo as Isabelle Antena.

Numero Group made it the label's second ever reissue in 2004, which is why the catalogue number reads 002, and its sound has drawn comparisons to Stereolab ever since. It's the sound of a Brazilian beach as imagined from a rainy Brussels studio, which is roughly how we picture most beaches from Queen Street in November.

Also at Kops: more Antena on vinyl · browse World

Tracklist

Listen

On Numero Group / Les Disques du Crépuscule (cat# 002), a reissue of the 1982 compilation.