WALLY BADAROU – Colors Of Silence (2023 Reissue) – LP – Vinyl

LP – 140g Black Vinyl.Over the years, Colors Of Silence has become a true cult record for the ambient/Balearic heads. First time vinyl release.

Synth pioneer and musical polymath, Wally Badarou is a genius. But you know that already. A vinyl version of his majestic Colors Of Silence has been craved by the Balearic cognoscenti ever since its low-key 2001 release. Indeed, when they first started work on Be With, they asked some pals with exquisite taste what their dream release would be. They asked Balearic legend Moonboots and, without hesitation, he said Colors Of Silence by Wally Badarou. They didn’t know Wally had made this album. And most still don’t. But that’s about to change.

Colors Of Silence is ostensibly a new age album. As ever though, Wally’s sophisticated synth textures and expressive keyboard runs are so full of character, so full of life, that this work of art transcends any easy genre categorisation. It’s simply stunning, throughout. It sounds like A.r.t. Wilson or Suzanne Kraft, with traces of CFCF and Jonny Nash. But it was made a good decade earlier than the work of these modern giants. Sometimes, it doesn’t seem far from some Larry Heard albums.

Tracklist:

Side A
1. Dance In The Dust [1:01]
2. Amber Whispers [4:45]
3. Keep On Trying’ [3:45]
4. Where Were We [3:30]
5. The Lights Of Kinshasa [3:31]
6. Pictures Of You [2:50]

Side B
1. Serendipity For Two [3:49]
2. Smiles By The Millions [1:18]
3. Higher Still [3:40]
4. Oriental [3:25]
5. Days To Wonder [3:55]
6. Dawn Of Europa [2:05]
7. Crystal Falls [2:08]
8. Purple Lines [1:45]