An '80s Obscurity Remastered



Franco-Belgian trio Antena originally released Camino Del Sol as a 5 track EP in 1985 on reknowned Euro indie label Les Disques Crepescule. Their music was a blend of electronic instrumentation and samba rhythms and jazzy touches. Their initial recording sessions were helmed by John Foxx, who with his first solo album Metamatic had laid a blueprint for icy electronic soundscaping. This music was largely ignored at the time, and it's only now with this loving reissue of the original EP plus a handful of B sides and rarities that their impact can be heard. You can hear their influence in the music of bands like Stereolab, or the eclectic experimentation of Beck or David Byrne. It's fascinating stuff, such cold renditions of warm music. Handling the vocals is Isabelle Antena, who went solo when the band fell apart soon after releasing the EP, and her voice is a big part of the band's charms. Here is their very oddball renedition of the old classic "Girl From Ipanema", changed to The Boy From Ipanema. A much warmer sounding track is the lovely Seaside Weekend with it's breezy melody and doo-bee-doos. This is one of those reissues that really makes you thankful for whoever took the time to get it together - in this case the recently formed Numero label, a specialty label that only does remastered reissues of "lost classics".