Label feature: Palms & Charms chat with us in advance of new release

Palms & Charms return with their eighth instalment later this month, a dreamy four-tracker from Lithunia’s Miskotom. Here we offer a taster of the release, and speak to label bosses Sam and Barney to learn a little more about their work.

Article written by Rocco Universal.

Husband and wife outfit Miskotrom have released a sprinkling of delicious deep house and Balearic tinged offerings in the last few years, on labels including Pleasure Unit and Dreamtime. For this outing, they continue their high-quality output with four unique, gentle and superbly produced gems. To set the mood for our Q&A with the guys behind Palms & Charms, we decided to play you the delightfully quirky (and imaginatively titled) ‘Berenice’s Hair’. Press play and read on to find out more.

Tell us a little about yourselves, where you're based and how long you've been there, any favourite places you perform/ have performed, and any productions you've released?

Sam: We’re brothers; I’ve been in Tokyo for almost 10 years, Barnaby has been based in HK for about 14 years. We’ve both been involved in producing and performing music for a long time; Barney is an Afro-Cuban percussionist, I play some trumpet and guitar.

Bonobo’s legendary built-for-Mancuso console.

Sam (Tokyo): My favourite little club, and place to DJ, is probably Bonobo, in Meiji Jingumae. Great atmosphere and lovely sound-system and rotary mixer (originally built for David Mancuso on his first visit to Japan in the 80s), and wonderful staff. Zero is also a lot of fun.

Barney (Hong Kong): Open Space, great location up in the hills of Lamma Island. Always an open-minded crowd who’ll dance to anything you throw at them.

We’re getting ready for our eighth vinyl release on the label, and we’ve also done a few digital-only releases to get more music out. Sam usually produces under the name Mallorquín. Barnaby goes by the elaborate and unlikely nom de plume Barnaby Bruce.

Excellent work, we’ll have more on the release in a moment. And yes, I love Bonobo too and was lucky enough to play there myself a few years back. So, what are the music scenes like in Hong Kong and Tokyo, any favourite venues, hangouts or promoters?

Sam: Haven’t been out much recently! But in Tokyo, as mentioned, I like Bonobo (Especially Lone Star with Max Essa/Ken Hidaka/Dr Rob/Gordy), Deus Ex Machina has had some great DJs recently, I also love Sunday Afternoon at Contact (with Toshiyuki Goto). Cosmopolitan Dance do some great events.

Barnaby: In Hong Kong, there are some great new venues like Minh, and I like Potato Head for its great sound system and Oma for late-night dancing. There are also some cool warehouse spaces, such as Acadana. On the radio front, Fauve are making giant strides.

Sounds great! We also love the Lone Star crew in Tokyo and are big fans of what Potato Head and Fauve are doing. Now, back to the label, how did Palms & Charms come to life, and how long have you been running?

We wanted to start releasing some of our own music on vinyl, so we started the label in 2014. We also wanted to release music by other artists we liked. We’ve had some cracking releases from Masanori Ikeda and Max Essa. After the first couple of years, we had a bit of a hiatus, but are now back with a new distributor and some great releases lined up; stay tuned.

We certainly will. Can you please describe the sound of palms & charms?

Somewhat tropical and often downtempo. Eclectic, with a combination of electronic sounds and ‘real’ instruments. Percussive and life-affirming. Warm sounds by the pool. Makes you want to move your limbs, or lie down.

Having my life-affirmed, laying down by a pool, and indeed moving my limbs are some of my favourite things to do. So, what’s the ideal setting for a palms and charms record to be played?

The Mediterranean Sea glistening under the setting sun, while palms sway and magical incantations are recited. Or if not available, just a room, a good crowd and a few drinks.

Now, who are some favourite artists of yours (musicians, producers or DJs)?

In no particular order: Visti & Meyland, Wally Badarou, Kate Bush, Bill Laswell, Dr Robert, Khruangbin, Norman Connors, Max Essa, Private Agenda, Nick J. Smith, Jonathan Wilson, Retiree, Ruben Blades, Cesar Pedroso, Chaka Khan, Robin Lee, Kapote, HoboBrazil, Paul Murphy, Phil Mison/Cantoma, Peter Brown & Patrick Adams, Sylvester, Balearic Mike, Matt Johnson, Gil Scott-Heron, Spike and Roedelius… are some that spring to mind.

A wonderful list, some personal favourites and Balearic heroes of mine on there too. Now, Balearic music is a terrifically broad and ever so slightly mysterious genre. Are you able to summarise what makes a record Balearic?

Sam: Erm...tricky... For me it’s something with depth and emotion, generally with a mid or downtempo groove, often crossing genres but still something you want to dance or move to.

Barney: Sounds about right!

This sounds like a very strong definition. Do you have an all-time favourite Balearic record?

Sam: For dreaming: Quintus Project – Night Flight (Original or Lexx Edit) / Old school banger: Tulio De Piscopo – Stop Bajon

Barney: Horizontal intensity: Phil France – Transition / For the dance floor: Visti & Meyland – Leave Your Worries (Sportloto Delta Mix)

Great, a couple there for me to research as well as some of my favourites. My original copy of Stop Bajon had to be put into retirement and replaced with nice new re-issue. Onto the new record, can you tell us how this release came about, how did you connect with the artist, any back story?

Mik and Andra sent us a demo of these tracks a while back. Barney and I both liked the sound and felt it was a good match for the label. Took us a while to get the release out, but now it’s finally here!

I love it, and it’s been warmly received in the Cosmic Tiger HQ. We all wish you the best of luck with it. Do you have interesting plans for the future of the label, forthcoming releases etc?

Sam: I’ve got a new project under the name Canebrake, which ventures a little more uptempo into house and more electronic-disco territory (but also a good dose of piano/guitar/trumpet when required). We’ve got some other exciting stuff lined up for release on the label over the coming months, including an EP of dancefloor-destroying percussion dubs from Barnaby.

This all sounds awesome and I look forward to hearing it. Finally, is there anything else you'd like to talk about?

Thank you very much for your interest in our label!

You’re most welcome. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Miskotom ‘Aegean Cruise EP’ is due for release on 25th October, you can buy it here.

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