Petrola 80, headed by duo Lyra Valenza, cap off their three-part compilation tape series ‘Expand, Embrace, Exchange‘, pinched from a Microsoft internal growth strategy and repurposed by the label to continue their boundary-pushing release schedule.
The final instalment in the series, ‘Exchange‘, sees Copenhagen favourites and upstarts collaborating with each other to produce the kind of music which feels right at home on the label — fringe music built from a host of influences, sometimes leaning towards indie-pop (Mussi – ‘Racing‘), sometimes toward Modern Classical (Astrid Sonne & Minais B – ‘Mistakes‘), and more frequently than not towards the dancefloor (Gramrcy & De Grandi – ‘Sea In Air‘).
With plenty of great music on offer, there’s plenty of places to pick as your starting point, and any move in one direction brings the attention away from the total spectrum of music on offer. However, our suggestion is Main Phase & Lille Høg’s collaboration, ‘Hold On‘ — a 90’s UK rave throwback that could have fallen unnoticed off the track list for a jungle compilation from back in the day. Terse breaks dance around wavey synth leads with just the right amount of pensive tension, the track is less of an all-out throwdown than a polished tool for weaponised mixing techniques.
‘Exchange’ is scheduled for release 19 February via Petrola 80. Order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1. Tristan & Yearling – Voicen
2. Mussi – Racing
3. Gramrcy & De Grandi – Sea in Air
4. Main Phase & Lille Høg – Hold On
5. Astrid Sonne & Minais B – Mistakes
6. Clarissa Connelly & Johan Polder – The Rider
7. Splash Pattern & Misantrop – Body Above The Law
8. Piag3t & Tristan – Curved Spring
9. Yuurself – Transformers
10. Perko & Ferox Maw – Utility Hack
11. Lyra Valenza & Søren Gade – Hold Fast