Danny L Harle - Cerulean

In the decade-plus between the release of electronic producer and then PC Music pioneer Danny L Harle’s debut single and this, his self-proclaimed debut album, he has firmly cemented his otherworldly mix of ‘90s euphoric trance, ethereal wizardry, hyperpop wildness and standout pop. His output has attracted the likes of viral sensation PinkPantheress, French wildcard Oklou, and fellow PC Music collaborator Caroline Polachek (receiving a Grammy nomination for production on the latter’s stunning ‘Desire, I Want To Turn Into You’ ), all of whom appear as guests on the sprawling, 13-track ‘Cerulean’.

Much like his impressive list of famous friends, Danny leads a unique journey through electronic-adjacent pop, be it in the classically inspired ‘Bookends’, the rousing rave of ‘Laa’, ‘Island (da da da)’ - featuring his own daughter on vocals - standout Caroline Polachek-starring single ‘Azimuth’, or the unfiltered all-out dancefloor pop of the Dua Lipa collaboration, ‘Two Hearts’. On each he mirrors the carefully crafted juxtaposition of driving bass and synth on the very edge of the mainstream, a skill that ultimately saw him drive PC Music to the BBC Radio 1 A-list over a decade earlier with ‘Broken Flowers’. In reframing 2021’s ‘Harlecore’ to collective musings and experimentations, he delivers ‘Cerulean’ as his most cohesive work to date, finding parity in both its nostalgia and its modernity, and yes, through its forward-thinking and innovative collaborators. It’s a dance-pop album in parts, and a creative powerhouse in others, harking back to a time when mainland Europe dominated both the charts and the dancefloor, and one that truly celebrates some of the greatest of our time.