The Secret Love compilation series is now moving into it’s eight year and sixth anthology. This highly acclaimed, and successful collection, is becoming a landmark of what a well selected compilation can still achieve. Even in a world where most everything can be found at the click of a button, Secret Love proves that someone expressing their own love and dedication to music, and showing this by hand picking a selection of tunes (that you just have to hear!), still matters and interests even the most cynical and jaded of us. The sixth installment of the Secret Love compilation follow the tried and tested formula of seeking the perfect balance between soul, pop and folk (and anything else that may catch an ear)- from yesteryear to the current day. Sonar Kollektiv’s A&R and renowned DJ Alex Barck and Adrian Hoenicke (of Finger Magazine fame) have selected fifteen outstanding tunes that make this, the newest installment of Secret Love quite possibly the best in the series until now. Secret Love 6 picks up where the five predecessors left off. Collecting some of the best music that is floating around, be it old or new. And what is the selection criteria? Simply quality music that will stand the test of time. Contributions by known artists like EL PERRO DEL MAR, CARIBOU, JORI HULKKONEN, TIM KNOL, TREMBLING BLUE STARS, CANTOMA are interspersed with songs by some remarkable newcomers like PRINCETON, LOVE INKS, PSYCHEMAGIK and LOOSE FIT.
MARIO & VIDIS’ cover version of BON IVER’s “Re:Stacks” and “Dark Souls” by UNFORSCENE are two exclusive tracks only available on this compilation! Furthermore LUC COUSINEAUS La Premiere Fois from 1976 has it’s compilation debut right here on Secret Love 6. Valley Of Paradise by British production duo PSYCHEMAGIK smoothly kicks things off. You can never go wrong with a David Crosby vocal contribution! Following this is Half-Light by TREMBLING BLUE STARS. A tale about a late Novembers evening – more an erotic reference than a seasonal theme. A pure love song sneaks in next with Dutch singer TIM KNOL’S “Days” (the title track off his latest and highy recommended album). One of the real highlights of this compilation (at least when it comes to raw pop appeal) is given to us by Gothenburg’s EL PERRO DEL MAR with her recent release, the instant classic “Change Of Heart”. Let us now take a step back in time, to 1976 to be exact, for the next choice. “La Premiere Fois” is the title of this beautiful guitar hum-a-long song by LUC COUSINEAU. Amazingly the first time it has ever been featured on a compilation. Moving forward again we find this winning combination. A LEXX remix of a Phil Mison aka CANTOMA laid back Cafe del Mar-induced slo mo house track (“Gambarra”). Tightly followed by another Balearic gem, “Tell Them” by Swedish band SECONDS is also one of those tunes you will always pack into your bag when you’re heading for the beach. Next up is an inclusion by newcomers LOVE INKS from Austin, Texas. “Leather Glove” is a sexy little tear jerker, textbook style but especially glorious because of this reason. UNFORSCENE from the UK bring us the next track and bring the tempo back up. “Dark Souls” is modern pop music at it’s absolute best. (this exclusive track will also be available on the accompanying EP with an Alex Barck remix). The MANUEL TUR remix of LOOSE FIT’s “Magnetise” takes a leap into futuristic territories with a twisted approximation of some symphonic dream. California based outfit PRINCETON puts another perfect and supertight pop song on display for us, “To The Alps”. When it comes to foreward thinking techno JORI HULKKONEN from Finland has been a quality guaranty for almost twenty years now. Here he throws in a melancholic ballad (“I Am Dead”) that anyone suffering from a broken heart should probably avoid listening to at all costs. More of a soothing love song follows with “Apostrophe” by JED AND LUCIA in a jaunty SHAWN LEE remix. The next tune has been on heavy rotation on most every music fan’s iPod over the last four years or so. But the FOUR TET remix of “Melody Day” by CARIBOU is still gong to be a major highlight on any compilation and indeed any time it is heard. Bringing Secret Love 6 to a perfect end in an exclusive contribution by MARIO & VIDIS with a stunning cover version of Bon Iver’s “Re:Stacks”.
