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Various

Sky Girl

Efficient Space (ES002)

Release date: Jul 8, 2016, Australia

A sentimental journey through folk-pop, new wave, and art music micro presses, compiled by DJ Sundae and Julien Dechery. From Warfield Spillers' modern soul to Karen Marks' icy Oz Wave, Sky Girl resonates on a wide spectrum historically, geographically and stylistically, uniting in a singular, longing, almost intangible ambience.

"People who are sort of more the outcasts of society tend to tell it like it is" – Scott Seskind, 2015.

Sky Girl is a mysteriously unshakeable companion, a deeply melancholic and sentimental journey through folk-pop, new wave and art music micro presses that span 1961-1991. A seemingly disparate suite of selections of forgotten fables by more or less neverknowns, Sky Girl forms a beautifully coherent and utterly sublime whole deftly compiled by French collectors DJ Sundae and Julien Dechery.

From Scott Seskind's adolescent musical road movie to Karen Marks' icy Oz-wave, the charming DIY storytelling of Italian-American go-getter Joe Tossini and the ethereal slow dance themes of Parisian artists Nini Raviolette and Hugo Weris, Sky Girl resonates on a wide spectrum historically, geographically and stylistically. It unites in a singular, longing, almost intangible ambience.

If the names sound wholly unfamiliar that doesn't matter, the nature of the compositions swiftly nurtures an intimacy with these lonely, poignant, openhearted wanderers. Most were available in a very limited capacity at the time of their release, some were never really released at all - Gary Davenport declined to release Sarra after he split with the girl for whom the track is named - years later a friend convinced Davenport to allow him to put 100 copies online to sell and DJ Sundae was quick enough to snare one. Beyond their scarcity, these tracks are bound together by a certain raw beauty that's achievable when music is made and no one is listening.

Sky Girl comprises of fifteen officially licensed songs, a two year international scavenger hunt through long-folded home label operations, the depths of internet forums and traceless acetates. Both compilers are well trained record sleuths - DJ Sundae's labels Hollie and Idle Press have reissued Arthur Russell affiliate Nirosta Steel and DIY relic Pitch, while Julien Dechery previously compiled 'Fire Star', a retrospective on Tamil film composer Ilaiyaraaja, for Bombay Connection.

Released by Noise In My Head offshoot Efficient Space, Sky Girl is enriched with artwork from Perks and Mini mutant Misha Hollenbach and appropriately elegant sleeve notes courtesy of Ivan Smagghe.

A1

Linda Smith - I So Liked Spring

A2

Karen Marks - Cold Café

A3

Bruce Langhorne - Leaving Del Norte

A4

The Seraphims - Consciousness Of Happening

B1

Gary Davenport - Sarra

B2

Some Of My Best Friends Are Canadians - Feeling Sheepish

B3

The Rising Storm - Frozen Laughter

C1

Warfield Spillers - Daddy's Little Girl

C2

Joyce Heath - I Wouldn't Dream Of It

C3

Joe Tossini And Friends - Wild Dream

C4

Scott Seskind - I Remember

D1

Angel - Driving (Down)

D2

Nini Raviolette - Slow

D3

Nora Guthrie - Home Before Dark

D4

Once - Joanna