Welcome to a New Year special edition of THE SUNRISE SESSIONS, kicking off the new year with a lovely mix from Norway’s First Lady of all things eclectic, ambient and cosmic, Helene Rickhard. Helene is a record collector, DJ and producer from the coastal town of Arendal in southern Norway, where she lives with her synths, records and a cat called Enya.
Well known for her eclectic musical taste, she is often to be found behind the decks at clubs and festivals across the Nordics, most notably Camp Cosmic, Zone Disco Autonome and Skogsfestivalen in Sweden. Her cassettes and mixtapes for Dream Chimney, HMD Records, Origin Peoples and Dublab are definitely worth checking out.
Check out the official video of her most recent track ‘Melodi Os2’ which appeared on the Drum Island Records compilation album Sommer 3 – Ambient, Balearic & New Age from Norway compiled by Rune Lindbæk.
A big thanks to Helene for finding the time to record this mix for the series!
Volume One, kicks off the new series with a mix from Plastic Fantastic. Here’s what they’ve got to say about the session;
‘This mix is very much a hats-off to José Padilla as they’ve included several records that he played at the Café Del Mar in Ibiza back in the good ol’ days. By the way, if you haven’t already watched In Memory Of José Padilla – The Godfather Of Chill on Youtube, I highly recommend seeing that first as this mix is kind of a follow-up to that.
José Padilla was and still is a huge influence on me as a DJ, particularly his late eighties to mid nineties period as resident DJ at the iconic Café Del Mar where he would provide an eclectic, emotive, chilled and yet simultaneously powerful soundtrack to the sunset. Anyone who was lucky enough to be there back in the day will eagerly testify that they experienced something special. José Padilla sadly passed away last year. His musical legacy and pioneering spirit will not be forgotten.
You may recognise some familiar records in this mix, such as Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ (theme from The Exorcist) and ‘Moments In Love’ by Art of Noise alongside plenty of perhaps lesser known gems. Just to mention a few, Propaganda’s opus ‘La Carne, La Morte E Il Diavolo’, and the rather blissful ‘Island Sunrise’ by Software. The Balearic connoisseurs amongst listeners will enjoy Elkin & Nelson’s sublime latin jam-out ‘Vamonos’, and yes of course I play the record in its entirety (nine glorious minutes!). This record by the way is an absolute Ibiza classic; Alfredo would frequently drop it at Amnesia back in the 80s, truly powerful stuff. Jazz guitar virtuoso Pat Metheny’s ‘Sueno Con Mexico’ closes the mix on a dreamy note, quite literally… Fun fact, Metheny recorded the LP that particular track was taken from right here in Oslo.’
The Chill Out Tent 