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Posted by James Michael on Wednesday, January 31st, 2024

The Offline’s new album, ” La couleur de la mer,” is a gem in the Tropical Exotica genre

I don’t know about you, but I got heavily into Tropical Exotica during lockdown. Maybe it was because we were all stuck in our houses and it was very appealing to close your eyes and transport yourself far far away to a distant paradise. Tropical Exotica as a genre does that so well — it’s nostalgic and cinematic and acts as the soundtrack to your journey to another time and place. Musically, it blends elements of jazz and soul and funk with a heavy dose of 60s and 70s influence.

Some of the musicians I’ve been listening to lately in this space include, Gianni Brezzo, Bon Voyage Organisation, Kolumbo, Sven Wunder, Nu Genea and so many more. If you are curious about this type of sound, another artist that check out is the German producer Felix Müller (aka The Offline).

We first featured Müller’s music in our underground psychedelic jazz mixtape in November 2022 with his single, “Plage Des Casernes.” What followed was his debut EP, entitled: En clair-obscur. The album introduced the world to his flavor of cinematic soul, funk and tropical exotica.

This year, Müller has returned with his second album, La couleur de la mer — 13 tracks of cinematic soul that is reminiscent of film scores from the 60s and 70s. It incorporates psychedelic spaciness, retro soul and hip-hop sensibilities informed by The Müller’s extensive record collection and crate-digging addiction.

“Ever since I was a child, I was fascinated by the soundtracks from the 60s and 70s,” explains Müller when talking about the new record. “I always wanted to make an album in the film score direction. I wrote about 30 demos, kicked half of it and stuck to the ones that felt right in the dramaturgical structure of the ‘movie’. Interestingly the main theme was set really early on while writing the album, which made the writing process much easier.”

Check out some of my favorite tracks from the album below, and head over to The Offline Bandcamp page to pre-order the second pressing of La couleur de la mer on vinyl.