Antena’s mini-album has been faithfully restored from its unsung past, exposing an invigorating mix of synth pop and bossa nova jams to new ears

Mini-album Camino Del Sol is outsider music pulled outside of its time (1982) and blasted into today by eclectic Chicago label Numero Group. French three-piece Antena weren’t so much ahead of their time, as out of joint with what was expected from electronic transmissions during the early 1980s. The future may have been in the process of being written, or at least programmed, in certain quarters during the period, yet incorporating bossa nova into such experiments was apparently enough to confuse rather than fill with wonder. As a result, Camino Del Sol didn’t make enough of a contemporary mark, but ensured its place as a lost and found classic down through the years.

“Achilles” is the perfect illustration of Antena’s particular fusion. Bass drum and carnival whoops open the track and appear near its conclusion, yet do not dictate its passage. Thirty seconds in and a beautifully repetitive, ice-cold Kraftwerk synthesiser groove is established. “Achilles is an only child”, declares Isabelle Powaga again and again over the shimmering electronics, like Nico navigating jump-cuts in a Jean-Luc Godard picture. It’s a glorious slice of sun-drenched, open-minded post punk magic.

Dropping the tempo, “Silly Things” is crepuscular Tropicalia that nevertheless picks up the pace and finds its Balearic rhythm. The irresistible dream synth workout “Camina Del Sol” is surely a future template for or at least an anticipation of Stereolab. I like to think that “Sissexa” makes Basement Jaxx weep uncontrollably every time they hear it, imaginations momentarily running wild as to how it really should or rather can be done. There’s a lightness of touch throughout that makes for unforced experimentation; it all seems completely natural and feels just right. Camino Del Sol may be a short record from an unsung past, but it has had a significant impact on the present and deserves to be (re)discovered well into the future.  

numerogroup.com

Stewart Gardiner
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