Golden Age

Kinobe scored one of the biggest chill-out club hits of the 2000s, the deathless "Slip Into Something More Comfortable". Known from dance floors, club backrooms, bars, radio spins, Café del Mar compilations and TV spots the world over (most famously the "femme fatale Kronenbourg beer advert), "Slip..." established the duo at the forefront of a scene that includes Groove Armada, Air, Röyksopp and Zero 7. Now Kinobe are back in a big way; founding member and songwriter Julius Waters is joined by Chuck Norman, multi-instrumentalist, producer and programmer who has worked with the Pet Shop Boys, Peter Gabriel, and Robbie Williams. Norman has beefed up the classic Kinobe sound, while adding a pop sensibility to a raft of sparkling new material destined to soundtrack 2018 and beyond on Golden Age, the first Kinobe album in nine years. Lead single "Little Words" might just be one of the tunes of year, a Donny Hathaway-esque, soulful slice of too-slow-to-disco that nods towards '60s hipster grooves. At once instantly familiar and brand-new, the single is a heartfelt three-and-a-half-minute pop-dance floor-filler with a hook that once heard is never forgotten. Elsewhere the Stephen Hague-mixed "End Of The Road" is a huge gospel-tinged ballad destined to own daytime radio, "Skyhigh", is a gorgeously haunting sundowner, "Heartstring" is all cosmic soundtrack strings while "Sunray" is Kinobe at their very best, with it's irresistible hooks, washes of melody and down-tempo beats. Golden Age is shaping up to be the chilled album of the year, a thirteen-track soundscape of sparkling songs and idiosyncratic instrumentals that is vintage Kinobe. Welcome to the Golden Age. CD version includes a second disc with all tracks as a continuous mix.