Live Review: Love Deluxe defines modern disco on his dance-ready second EP, 'Fata Morgana'

Sydney's Mike O'Connell AKA LOVE DELUXE has spent the  last few months teasing his biggest project yet. Fata Morgana is the name of the producer's second EP, following his stellar 2017 debut, Silk Mirage. This one's out via Melbourne label, Soothsayer. This new project sees him hone in on his campy musical demeanour one track at a time. The four-tracker leaves nothing to the imagination, painting nothing but vivid pictures throughout.

The EP began to take shape in 2018 when he packed his bags and found himself on the coast of Calvi, Haute-Corse in the French region of Corsica. Armed with a makeshift studio and the island's hypnotic energy, this is where Fata Morgana was born.

We're plunged in straight away with his previous single, 'Campari & Coke', a carbonated affair, with bubbly percussion, rolling rhythms and one hell of a vocal sample. It's both something for your fitness playlist and something for the peak of the dancefloor, giving off high-energy, but showcasing Love Deluxe's immense ear for improvisation.

This new era of Love Deluxe saw him come back with the EP's first single, 'Dance Of The Lizard People'. Grungy, yet disco, this narrative-driven fantastical tale traverses through wobbly synths and arid rhythms. There's a blindingly psychedelic element to this track that goes hand in hand with its story-like structure.

Track three, 'Souvenir', features the vocals of Miyako Koda from Japanese act, dip in the pool. “Souvenir went through a lot of changes in the writing. The idea of working with a vocalist floated to me so I made a list of singers that I would have loved to collaborate with and Miyako Koda was at the top of that list. Her and Tatsuji, also from dip in the pool agreed and send me back a bunch of vocal ideas, which I structured to the rest of the song. A little bit backwards maybe, but it really helped the creation of this one".

This hypnotic, meditative number sees Love Deluxe working within new parameters, the track allowing for him to think outside of his usual structures.

And finally, we're left to ponder the insanely diverse journey we've taken so far with 'Paraiso', a deep disco cut driven by the track's sustained vocal line. Choir chords float airily against the clunky percussion, eventuating into a blissful, meditative release.

Fata Morgana reflects more than just Love Deluxe's insanely genius musical mind. It's a reflection of the potential electronic music has to be both popularised and respected. The EP harnesses old conventions in new ways, giving old sounds a modern facelift, something that Love Deluxe has become synonymous with throughout his journey as a producer.

Words by CAITLIN MEDCALF

LISTEN TO MORE NEW MUSIC HERE

SEE ALSO

GET MUSHY WITH LOVE DELUXE & SOOTHSAYER AT THEIR LOVERS BALL THIS AUGUST

SIT BACK WITH A ‘CAMPARI AND COKE’ & LOVE DELUXE’S NEW CLIP

LOVE DELUXE TAKES US TO A DISCO WESTERN IN HIS ‘DANCE OF THE LIZARD PEOPLE’ CLIP