House Music Has A Home

So this is going to be a deeply personal review for me as Paul Moran returns with his outstanding album Aurora 5 ‘Ibiza Chill Vol.1’. Departing from our traditional fodder of pure House Music, Paul Moran delivers up a magnificent collection of laidback songs which take you to a different place and time. Hauntingly beautiful with the rhapsody of the experience reaching into the catacombs of the soul, Paul Moran’s music is reminiscent of the soft undulant waves that lap at the shores of the White Isle.

When you consider his global reputation as a highly acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, accomplished Jazz musician, Musical Director for Van Morrision and his ability to elicit every single emotion as they dance upon the keyboards, you immediately understand why this album stands eminently aloft compared to what is readily available on the current electronic music scene. As the title would suggest, this stunning body of work is overflowing with emotive sunset-ready chilled grooves, offering a vibrant spectrum of downtempo Jazz, Balearic and Worldly inspired soothing sounds. Performing on keys, trumpet and flugel horn, the album also features British percussion legend, Snowboy, and captivating vocals from Jo Harrop.

In the tradition of days gone by when it was the experience on Ibiza that heralded long summer days relaxing on the beach without the constant commercialism invading your space, this is an album that exquisitely celebrates life. Having worked with Natalie Cole, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Tom Jones, George Michael, Jos Stone, Mavis Staples, Bette Midler, Sister Sledge, Mark Knopfler, Tony Gilbert O’ Sullivan, Chrissie Hynde and Jools Holland, it is clearly evident that the listener is in the presence of a maestro in his element. 

From the opening bars of Tantric Meditation where the percussion and keys simply liquefy the spine and leaving you in an endless embrace, this is an album destined to be played on repeat. Navigating a cascading richly textured waterfall of sound, the ten tracks are breathtaking. For me, Summer Your Lips and Are You Ready To Fly tick every single box but all of the tracks are so magnificently crafted that to pick out the best is like choosing a favourite child. The musicianship is simply superb, casting long images of sumptuous bliss that will rarely be repeated.

This is chill on the grandest of scales, expertly produced to extract that sense of love and sunshine that is sorely needed in a world of troubles. Take the journey and discover a place where only the gods of the music industry fear to tread. Paul Moran has not just knocked the ball out of the park, he has restored my faith in an industry that so sorely needs artists that engage every part of your being.

“This album was a labour of love, influenced by jazz, world music, funk and downtempo dance grooves'… Going back to my roots creating jazz influenced club music”. – Paul Moran

Track Listing

1. Tantric Meditation

2. Forever

3. Summer On Your Lips

4. Cosmic Journey

5. Feels So Good

6. Are You Ready To Fly

7. La Vida

8. Miles Higher

9. Reflejo En El Paraiso

10. Lost In Time