Pier Pressure
After finding their feet with a couple of remixes for Before I Die, Talking Drums ditch their sea legs and swap the pirate booty of their cult edit series for a five-track EP of original productions, each swimming in LinnDrums, digital chimes and synth-vox sunshine. Summer sounds abound as the crew refract house, disco, ambient and dub through shimmering sea glass, bringing the beach to the bar, club, garden or grotto.
Inspired equally by tropical Sceneries (but Not Songs), Ecco the Dolphin and Echoes of Wally, as well as a few tall tales about trendy whales, this 16-bit caper makes a splash from wave top to bikini bottom. Written and produced as a cohesive EP over three sun-baked weeks in 2025, and stitched together with field recordings and found sounds from Sicily, rural France, Japan and Singapore, Pier Pressure sees each track flow into the next: distinct seas that make up one larger ocean.
Opener ‘Fashionable Whale’ surfaces with mystic motifs and dreamy pads arcing above the spray before a purring low end and drum-box shuffle plunge us into Balearic house depths. A rippling breakdown, bookended by insistent arps, provides respite from the rhythm before the low-tempo pulse returns to take us home. Sticking with Zone 2 cardio, ‘Salmon Hats’ serves wonky disco at Valium pace, its beatific vox and glittering sequences underpinned by a hip-swivelling bassline and topped with a future-primitive melody. After drifting into dream house for a sunset lull, it’s back to the beat and the enduring question of how best to dance on a lilo.
‘Mangrove’ offers an intertidal intermission as tuned percussion finds a place among the cicadas and lapping waves, gently unfolding into an RPG-ambient ode to humid languor. Refreshed, albeit ailed by a sunstroke haze, we’re back on the dance floor with the optimistic motifs and jolly polyrhythms of ‘Flutti Di Mare’, an uptempo, Afro-adjacent house workout designed to inspire mile-wide smiles. Then the EP sails off into the sunset with the fathoms-deep delight of ‘Squid Dub’, a Cousteau-coded cod-reggae stepper with digi-dub bass, pound-shop marimba and all manner of THC-tinged FX. Don’t be deceived by the loose and limber opening: a solid sequencer emerging at the midpoint sees the Squid squeeze every bit of bump out of the finale.
Forget ATOL protection - Talking Drums deliver your summer holiday directly to your stereo.
Mix 020 - Tropical Pop
Whoa ho! Just in time for the weather to go back to shit - A new mix has bubbled up from mysterious TD member (just how many of us are there?!) Lazer Ramon especially pour vous.
Celebrating the new Tropical Pop 2 release and featuring both tracks on said release, this is a perfect cocktail and overall taste of what the term ‘Tropical Pop’ entails.
Get your grenadine, lemonade and continental lager, mix it all together and take a big old gulp while you peer sadly out the window at the grey and listen to a mix which would have been absolutely perfect if I’d done this write up a week ago when it was pure scorching.
This is a mix to waft the bedroom door back and forth because you don’t have a fan. Or air conditioning. Or a bowl of ice. Or a blackout blind. Or a TD member gently wafting palm leaves towards you while you gently sleep, smiling, lulled perfectly by this mix playing very loud in the background.
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Phwoar! TD go four for the floor on Volume 9, letting loose with a set of sure-shot hits from all corners of their sonic spectrum. A tag team match up, this action spectacular trades peak-time pump, Balearic cool, Italo thrust and dance-punk theatrics on its way to snatch the championship.
Obviously TD ooze subtlety and taste, so as we sat sipping Schnapps from our Stanley cups, we couldn’t help but take a little inspo from our kitchen decor. “Live Love Pump” - what a mantra. In musical form, this philosophy takes the shape of a capital D-isco delight, equal Pats Cowley & Adams, EQ-freaked and filtered into something Dafter than a pair of chrome clad millionaires. Big room mirrorball magic if ever we’ve heard it. The A2 sees the drunk AOR funk of “Sure Line” take a leisurely stroll down the coast, a Gauloises in the gob and tattered Baldwin in the back pocket, flipping and flopping along the prom to buoyant bass, melting brass and more than a little melancholy.
Booting off the B-side, “Un America” is a massive mid tempo chugger replete with laser fire, synth scree and nipple high guitar. Powering along on a serious bass sequence armed with hooks-a-plenty, mostly incomprehensible lyrics and a groove which won’t quit, this has all the ingredients required for an Italo all timer. The finale finds us in the company of some punk pioneers at their absolute silliest, bringing the kind of whacky vocal vibe, surf-centric style and off kilter groove the B-52s made a career of. Add in animal chatter and scratchy guitars and you’ve got the sort of secret weapon the Idjuts unleash waaaay post peak.
Limited Press - Numbered Insert - Drum Fun Guaranteed
Mix 019 - Golden Lion
Whoa! Okay, so we’re really not far off our party at Golden Lion with Chum Neil Diablo. Excited? We certainly are. Patrick definitely is, and in all the excitement, has blown a load of tracks crafted together into a very enjoyable mix to get oneself in the mood. Some big-name disco, some big vibe house and some big things to come?
That Deee-Lite track is a turn up for the books - a recent new find from Patrick’s grabbing claw eliciting a collective ‘ooooh’ from the TD goon squad.
Give it a blast through, and in a week you can exclaim, ‘I have been chosen! Farewell my friends. I go on to a better place (The Golden Lion)’
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Hot on the heels of Luv (LuvLuv) comes a sublime new Drum Chums from midlands madlads Wrekin Havoc. Over the years we’ve shared great tunes, fun times and A-grade dance floor debauchery with these permanent party people (our first encounter almost exactly like that Spiderman pointing meme) so it made more sense than we usually do to invite them aboard the V*nga bus for some Balearic-disco edit excellence.
Things kick off with the sexy throb of “Shine A Light”, a stonewashed funk workout complete with Paisley guitars, Troutman bass grunts and some big time blue-eyed soul vocals. It’s a bit like an extended and unheard collaboration between George Michael and Tears For Fears recorded immediately after a particularly heavy night at Future. Unsurprising perhaps that this one’s been getting a whole lot of love from DJ Harvey.
“Mars Bar Party” grabs you by the hips from the first bar of its swaying Mediterranean house rhythm, then tugs at every single one of your heartstrings with melancholic pads and a silken vocal croon. Fuuuuuuckin’ hell! Sorry, was totally bewitched by the primal power of piano house magic - it’s like John Rocca was in the room for a second. Armed with an awesome arrangement and clocking in at ten massive minutes, this may be the ultimate Balearic house journey.
If all this weren’t enough to have you stocking up on 5-HTP and sinus rinse, those crafty cats close the set out with the shimmering disco euphoria of “Leccy Meet Her”. The bottom end pulses endlessly, Cowley synths trill and crystal clear Vox soar above, sending us far off into mirrorball orbit. If this isn’t a hit at Horse Meat, we’ll neck a bottle of poppers and never eat a tomato again.
Each and every track Wrekin Havoc touch is a pearler, but we’re particularly chuffed with ourselves for snapping this top trio up.
100% Drum Fun Guaranteed.
Mix 018
Phwoar yeeeah!! Joss straight out of the gate dropping a new Talking Drums Radio mix like a proverbial hot beverage right into your lap. Jesus! What are you going to do!?! Tenting your trousers, frantic scrabbling about for napkins to try and mop it all up but I’m afraid the damage is done. Third degree burns all over your nethers. But this time it feels… good?
That’s right. Housey heaters all the way through. Taken up and down and all round the… houses(!?) A quick glance over that tracklist tells you everything what this is all about.
Listen, download, stream on our website. Link in bio.
T-shirt 003 - Phantasy
A Phantasy T-shirt from our friends and dreamers in the Talking Drums goon squad, the beloved crew’s design is “based on the idea of a fantasy record dig”, translating our beloved ‘sensational spelling’ to any number of phantastic song titles through musical history. Totally incorrect, yet oh so right all over, “a design and concept made in ph/fantasy land”.
Fulfil your fantasy now and pre-order Phantasy (Various), ethically printed on 100% cotton and packed in bio-degradable bags, across all sizes.
You can also revisit Talking Drums contribution to the Phantasy mix series, the ideal sonic accompaniment for your new threads.
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Punching our ticket for the tenth trip on the Drum Chums line, we rattle past the control centre, where Approach Release delivers another masterclass in genre-blurring brilliance. Darting through emotional New Beat, psychedelic soul, stomping Afro-disco and coastal cosmic, AR keeps things right on track and perfectly off the rails.
"So Wrong" starts the party with a growl and a gurn, all gnarly sequences and robotic drums until that mournful vocal moves us into a land of Lynchian longing. Teardrops on the dance floor, clouds in your coffee, it's, it's, Goth Italo folks. Shifting tone like McCrae shifted gears, Approach Release moves on from Main-Room Gloom into the smooth and sensual soul of "LuvLuvLuv". Low-slung, lilting, loose and lysergic, this versatile version-excursion works wonders as warm up and rub down, its brilliant bedroom vocals floating atop the synthetic and psychedelic groove.
Over on the B-side, "E-Killa" bursts out the speakers with about 100,00 volts of Afro-disco energy, each one perfectly harnessed to whip a crowd into a grinning frenzy. Armed with an unstoppable arrangement, vital vocals and a stomping rhythm section, this delicious drink of tropical pop just keeps on fizzing. For an encore, Approach Release drops the deeply dramatic "Lou Cee", a full-hearted bit of Balearique-brilliance stacked with enough synth strings, faux-accordion and earnest outpourings to give Chris Rea a run in the anthem stakes.
100% Drum Fun Guaranteed.
Mix 017
Well now. It’s been proper ages since we pumped out a TD Radio mix. Very off the cuff and loose approach to it. Head round Patrick’s gaff and knock it out. So what? Some of the mixing is also off the cuff and loosey goose? What of it? We had fun.
Opening with @approach_release ‘So Wrong’ - maybe my favourite. When the guitar comes in? Get out of here. Pure heartbreak. Left field creepster disco then frankly all over the shop as far as selections go. Something for everyone! Tunes from Caravan off one of our fave labels @planettriprecords , Robert Palmer, @mark_grusane , Fiona Franklin, Dazion… you know the score.
Special mention to the closer on good friend @backyardbalearic label Melodies Of Love 12” - bonefied.
Stream and download off the TD website.
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Team TD get back to it... paying their own oddball homage to some of our DJ deities in the form of Talking Drums Volume 8.
Keeping things diverse-yet-disco, this little mover grooves through Muzic Box pump, Lofty symphonics and a Ku-curveball with a smile on its face and a pep in its step.
Limited Press - Numbered Insert - Drum Fun Guaranteed.
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We interrupt our regular Drum Chums programming to bring you a little V/A tackle via the ‘Percussion Pals’ project. These razor sharp cuts come from friends near and far, old and new, each one primed to upgrade your record collection.
Debuts abound on the A-side, first via international man of mystery DJ Poufsouffle and his Balea-rock disco stomper "Totally Manic". Brimming with Flash & The Pan style pub-rock wonk this one boasts a growling vocal, sparkling keys and an uplifting chorus which doesn't quite break the spell of extreme silliness. On the A2, Bristol’s Spice Route rescue a nebulous reggae gem from Library obscurity, swinging the scalpel and working the desk to turn out an unstoppable groover. Built around an irresistible rhythm section, “Gruler Dub” keeps on getting higher as the space-based vocals and trilling synths turn your brain inside out.
The B1 brings the return of Drum Chum extraordinaire Neil Diablo, who follows the Balearic brilliance of his last label outing with a cosmic caper into pure oddball pop. "Starry Night" slinks along in a chromed out catsuit, purring weirdo vocals over robo-chug and mechanical drums before indulging in a catchy chorus packed with addled innuendo. Not only is this as arch as Gina X doing a forward fold, but it also boasts some serious bass weight in the later half - you have been warned. We're delighted to finally feature a little magic from Australian Italo wizard Hysteric, who brings the curtain down in utterly emotional fashion via AOR disco dream "Pinball". A steady beat, infectious bassline and glistening chords play host to a swooning vocal, which reminds us to go with the flow and follow fun at all times.
Library Card
We dug this from the pound bins on one of our semi-regular visits to a musty record basement with our boy Bobby Snacks. While he was surfacing in a sea of top yachters, we found a stash of Library rejects hidden amongst the hard house. This was the pick, but of course, was way too short. So we sliced it real nice and applied a lysergic lather, turning out a hyper boogie winner with a hint of Italo drama for your peak time needs.
Happy Bandcamp Friday folks.
Narcissique
Say la whaaat? Dig a little deeper and you'll see that France's first lady of Balearic cooked up some seriously freaky mutant disco before her Club Med megahit. Here's the disco-mix that never was - an extended punk funk oddity with angular guitar, wonky bass, hot horns and lyrical sass. Happy Bandcamp Friday folks - tip jar is above ;)
Mix 016
Another addition to our mix series comes from the ever-lovable @bobby.snacks_ This time celebrating that GARIES white label that came out a bit ago. First of a two parter (@approach_release is rolling out the second) this is the ‘Coming Up Mix’ - make of that what you will.
This one features the GARIES tune by the mysterious BS. Who also happens to share the same initials as our very own Bobby Snacks. Funny that.
Either way our very own b-boy has turned it out and delivered a solid gold performance. Give it a blast off our website.
Mix 015
The second part to the GARIES mixes is here people. The first go at it from @bobby.snacks_ is answered by @approach_release with his ‘Coming Down’ mix.
Featuring the Spice Route track off the new Percussion Pals record as well as the AR ‘Comin’ Apart At The Edit’ off that GARIES white label a few weeks back.
Give it a gander
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An article published today about how @boardnado @beforeidieprojectsltd label brought our 'post punk masterpiece' to life with tantalizing additions from @talking_drums_sound and @synkromusik and bonus feature, the brand new @khartombmusic promo video with all the key players interviewed.
Carry on spreading the word Khartombees!
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Slip this delirious disc out of the lime/slime green sleeve and you're up close and personal with the new chapter in the TD saga.
A dance floor triptych of such seismic scale that the crew spent two years trying to wrangle the tracks on wax, finally finding a plant with the power to press them up.
Sprawling across the A-side is the devastating 'Doner Summer', an instrumental extension of some lost Munich disco masquerading as an Anatolian excursion. Ditching the vocals and cutting the kase, the crew lay down a galloping groove topped with Turkish licks and disco strings, take us into the psychedelic swirl of a tumbling drum breakdown before hitting the big red button marked banger for a searing second half. Firing up the hardware, TD blast this one further into the Phuture, dropping technoid sequences, nagging 303 and Cowley-style FX fuckery for a full on club assault.
In the alternate B-side universe, Hans Zimmer lost his dread note and Denis Villeneuve was forced to turn to Talking Drums for the Dune soundtrack. They obliged with the sci-fi rai of 'Chaba Ranks', reshaping an Algerian OG with a dancehall kick, off beat vamps and star-crossed synths, then letting loose with a heavy bass tone.
|In time honoured fashion, the team also drop a dub version, cutting out the vocals and focussing on those additional elements for the wildly cosmic 'Chaba Skanks'.
Now who's getting the spice in?
Limited Press - Numbered Insert - Drum Fun Guaranteed !
Society! Remix
You scream! I scream! We all scream - everything's awful!
Everything, that is, apart from this, the second 'Society!' remix from mighty yapping percussionists Talking Drums. It's tight discotheque tackle built on a bedrock of sprechgesang vocal samples, music-box melodies, and more cowbell than you can shake a drumstick at. Throw in some oldskool e-piano and post-production trickery, and there you have it: 'Society!', TD-style.
Safari Suit
We swung the scalpel through this Italo-esque oddity half a decade ago, then kept it to ourselves until Loose FM wanted something spicy for their Loose Change fundraiser. Since we've had a few folks asking for it, we thought we could drop it on here as a 'name your price' Bandcamp Friday treat.
Mix 014
It’s not a phase mum!!1! Turns out we’re not quite over our Gothy guff brought on by the Miserymix record. New mix for March. Springy pumpers made by fools in time for fools spring? Weather is shit so it’s something nice to mope to at least. We’ve opted for the lesser known downwards curve technique as well - start fast and end slow. See how that works for you