Paco Sala

Formed in the early 2010s by London-based Antony Harrison while he stepped away from his glitchy experimental ambient alias Konntinent, Paco Sala operates as a duo whose dreamy lo-fi abstract pop draws from Italo-disco, trip-hop, contemporary R&B, juke and footwork, and additional sources. Their opening statement came as the limited cassette Radial Sundown on Digitalis, which carried a contribution from Félicia Atkinson and leaned more heavily into sci-fi soundtrack textures than Harrison’s earlier Konntinent material. Work soon commenced with Berlin-based vocalist Leyli, real name Marie-Pascale Hardy, whose voice appeared throughout the duo’s first proper album Ro-Me-Ro, another Digitalis release that drew notice from FACT and Ad Hoc. A further experimental limited cassette titled The Fog appeared in 2013; afterward Hardy adopted the name Birch and the pair delivered their second album, 2014’s Put Your Hands on Me, which brought melodies and beats into clearer relief while preserving the earlier ethereal character. With Digitalis no longer active, the third album Der Gast surfaced on Night School in 2015. Home Normal released the 2016 split Rough Imaginary, which placed Paco Sala tracks alongside material from ISAN, A New Line (Related), and R. Elizabeth. The duo then joined German label Denovali Records for the EP Ko Yo later that year, followed by the full-length The Silent Season in 2017.