Just Dropping It Onto My Tongue

William Orbit - Water From a Vine Leaf (Spooky's Xylem Flow Mix)

When the Balearic Classics Panel* meet later on this month to decide the next batch of records to be inducted into its hall of fame, I have a suggestion for them. The Xylem Flow Mix of the Madonna and Blur producer William Orbit's Water from a Vine Leaf by progressive house legends Spooky. I'm not sure what the exact criteria is for a Balearic classic - it's an eclectic, freeform genre that takes in a diverse range of artists and music including The Blow Monkeys, Talk Talk, Nitzer Ebb, The Woodentops, The Beloved, The Grid and erm, Mandy Smith and the theme tune from Hill Street Blues - but I'd imagine any song that can provide the soundtrack to chilling as the sun sets at Café del Mar and larging it on the terrace at Space fits the bill. Spooky absolutely nail that brief with this one, transforming Orbit's slight piece of whimsical chill-out (from the third instalment of his Strange Cargo series) with vocals from Beth Orton, into a euphoric dancefloor destroyer - still retaining the delicate melodies of the original. When the exquisite acid droplets rain down at about the 4-minute mark the only people without their hands in the air are those wearing straitjackets. Prog-house heads in the audience might recognise the tune from its inclusion on the seminal 1996 Sasha and Digweed mix album Northern Exposure.

* This only exists in my imagination - Alfredo chairs the meeting, and DJ Harvey and Danny Rampling are on the panel.

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William Orbit website
Spooky website - still going strong!
DJ Alfredo's 25 All-Time Balearic Classics here
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