French lifeguard and sonic artist Roméo Poirier’s long sold out debut tape finally gets a vinyl reissue. “Plage Arrière” is a deep sea meditation on a constellation of Greek beaches across three islands. Trumpets, echo-clicks and Harold Budd-esque shimmer piano whirl together on these seductive scapes, which recall the sub-aqeaous ambitions of Jürgen Müller or Jan Jelinek inspecting a coral reef. 
 
Like sand-caked postcards, or pieces of seaglass tumbled and re-engineered by their surroundings, each piece exists a keepsake from the song's namesake beach. These missives glide in and out of earshot, bustling like miniature engines, finely tuned and rhythmically confounding. They echo the factory sampling work of YMO on Technodelic: industrial but somehow good-natured, a symbiosis of machinery and wildlife - like an artificial reef or propeller blades smothered in algae.
 
Plage Arrière is Roméo’s second album this year following “Kystwerk”, where he joined forces with the Norwegian poet Lars Haga Raavand. Plage also marks the inaugural release for SWIMS, a new experimental-focused imprint of Cold Blow, who are releasing the LP alongside London label and NTS residents Kit Records.
 
The album has been remastered for vinyl by Sam Annand of Esk. Building on its original artwork, the vinyl edition features new photography by Roméo himself.
 
~
 
'necessary vinyl edition of a much-adored tape release, likely to charm the pants off Jan Jelinek and To Rococo Rot fans with an intoxicatingly heat-hazy ambient collage inspired by Aegean sojourns' - Boomkat
 
'a future classic, no doubt' - All Night Flight Records
 
'a constantly compelling record' - Norman Records
 
'blissful and soothing, it’s a treat for the ears' - Bandcloud
 
'absolutely enchanting' - Beach Sloth
 
'the only cassette I'll play in the car ... it's beautiful and will guide us through the night' - Robert Lippok