Various Artists - Sky Girl

Efficient Space

£29.05

Format: 2 x LP
Catalogue No.: ES002
Barcode: 4260038313961
Release Date: 24 Jun 2022
Genre: Singer-Songwriter/Folk-Pop/Lo-Fi/Private Press

2022 REPRESS OF MUCH LOVED COMPILATION….

‘’Like the very best of rediscovered private press records, Sky Girl is unavoidably personal and profoundly affecting (and with more of a throughline than most concept albums)—a true high-water mark of a compilation. Haunting, intimate, and with something to offer for anyone who’s loved or lost. ‘’ Aquarium Drunkard

2LP, full colour sleeve with digital download card. Liner notes from Ivan Smagghe and artwork from Misha Hollenbach (Perks and Mini).

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.

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. Garry 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 and Hugo Weris – Slow D3. Nora Guthrie – Home Before Dark D4. Once - Joanna