And here we go again for a new season, the fifteenth, with still as much insouciance, still so much pleasure to share every Sunday a slew of sounds, gleaned from the most astonishing corners of the great musical universe.
MailTape is back! Tell it to your curious ears, to your deep desire for discovery, to your thirst for exaltation; prepare your best neck movements, your ‘dancing on whatever’ shoes; turn on the sound system; and embark on this journey into counterculture, where the landscapes are constantly deformed, always wonderful to explore…
Our guide today: Emmanuel Mario aka Astrobal. He’s the perfect companion for diving headfirst into a playlist of sweetness and voluptuousness, like the soundtrack to a blissful dream. “L’uomo e la natura”, his album released earlier this year, is in this spirit, with cosmic tunes that teleport us millions of miles away when we close our eyes.
You are now aboard MailTape capsule number 590, bound for hyperspace. Next departure in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
Astrobal’s selection
Galassia M81 - Stella Nova
Astrobal: ” Fabio Fabor is an Italian musician, composer, arranger born in 1920 who throughout his life composed for films, TV series, or for Italian pop stars. He was one of the great masters of Italian music, like Alessandro Alessandroni, Morricone, Piero Umiliani and so on… This 1981 album is a melodic and synthetic marvel that inspired me a lot for my new album, to the point of taking their band name to give it to the second track on this album.
Galassia M81 is also called Bode’s galaxy, it is located in the constellation Ursa Major.
My music remains mainly inspired by Science Fiction, and more precisely by our life on Earth, isolated in the middle of a cosmos that transcends us. “
Ilous - Les yeux fermés
Astrobal: ” Bernard Ilous is a must in my love of French music… I refer to him every time because his music inspires me at every moment. Only two albums under his name, in 1971 and 1974 (on the magnificent Flamophone label), improbable mixes of songs with magnificent chord progressions, sound experiments of all kinds, choirs to fall to the ground… Ilous is a legend!
If I sing in French, it’s thanks to him. “
Steve Kuhn - Time to go
Astrobal: ” Exceptional and unique American pianist, Steve Kuhn played from the 60s with Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman and then joined John Coltrane’s quartet in 61. He quickly launched a solo career and developed his own music from the end of the 60s.
90% of his discography is instrumental, and the remaining 10% consists of breathtaking songs, sung by himself, a mixture of jazz, pop, philosophy, poetry.
The kind of song that freezes time around you, and transforms the environment into an existential paradise.
Even though my music isn’t jazz… Steve Kuhn inspires me deeply, with his freedom, his tear-jerking melodies, and the adventure he offers. “
Curator’s selection
Astrobal - Galassia M81
Anto: ” As you will have understood, I really appreciate the dreamlike and soaring side of Astrobal’s music. This track is second on his album, just after the intro. In other words, it’s a bit like the one who welcomes us on board, who installs us and gives us safety instructions. Then suddenly, it’s takeoff with this stirring beat that arrives by surprise! We suddenly find ourselves glued to the seat, propelled over the sky. I love this impromptu soar right in the middle of the track. I found it reassuring, I immediately trusted it. The rest of the album could have taken me to I don’t know which planet, I would have followed, convinced that the journey was worth it.
Well, I can confirm: it’s worth it! It’s beautiful, it’s sweet, gentle, you fly over infinity and you love it. “
Robert le Magnifique – Here we are my friend
Anto: ” In a few months, it will be 10 years since we’ve had no news from Franck Robert. He’s still alive, that’s not the problem. But since 2016, it’s just the silence. Nothing, nada. And yet, I still love his musical work. The four albums he has to his credit are still often played through my speakers. His bass is a familiar friend that I think I can recognize among a thousand. Same for his compositions.
So when I can, I slip one of his songs into a selection. This one is particularly adapted to the theme of the day, for its ecstatic side, almost beatifying. The kind of song on which I can see myself making my entrance into heaven, with a little halo around my head, in a devilish groove, moonwalking on the clouds… “
Bonnie Banane - The nap song
Anto: ” This voice… For sure I have already heard it in my dreams. Well, I think so. It’s vapourous. I don’t remember very well. I can still see myself, lost in a fantasy, my heart heavy, wandering in an unknown dimension where everything seems strange and out of place. I just dozed off for a minute. It was only a nap, but I went far away, into the lofty world of Bonnie Banane, the eternal muse you’ve already heard here or here. “
The Beta Band – Dr Baker
Anto: ” Here we are, crazy. This last song is the assurance that we’ll never return to Earth in the same state. Our minds are profoundly altered. We’ve seen too much, heard too much. Our perception of the world will never be the same again. Let’s hope fate doesn’t reserve for us the same fate as poor Dr. Baker, tenderly set to music by a band lost from view for 20 years until… this year, and an unexpected tour planed in England and across the US. Mirage or reality? ”
So it is for today’s selection. Thanks to Astrobal for having the game and for introducing us to such delicious little gems. Thanks to Noémie for her wonderful illustration. We’re preparing some great episodes for you in the coming weeks, stay tuned!
