27 February 2026

PEEL, PALMER, TAUSIG & GOULD – Synesthesia (2026, LP, Fruits de Mer Records)

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Fruits de Mer Records

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Splatter Vinyl

Release Date: 15 Mar 2026

Some records are born out of strategy… Others emerge as accidents of fate… And then there is “Synesthesia” — a record that seems to have materialized from a shared hallucination, somewhere between a fish course and a wedge of English cheese (!!!)

Due for release on March 15 via the ever-restless explorers at Fruits de Mer Records, “Synesthesia” finds Icarus Peel, Steve Palmer, Jay Tausig and Rob Gould operating less as a “supergroup” and more as a secret society of colour-benders. The story, depending on which version of reality you subscribe to, either begins with Peel’s neurological flirtation with chromatic perception — guitars dissolving into Ferrari reds and shark-skin greens — or with a charming dinner conversation where four ten-minute instrumental pieces were casually conceived between courses.

What followed was a long-distance exchange of musical thoughts: Palmer sketching immaculate soundscapes, Peel countering with further sonic provocations, ideas travelling back and forth until multi-instrumentalist Jay Tausig was elegantly drawn into the orbit providing drums, and Rob Gould crowned the proceedings with impeccably placed keyboards. No vocals. No concessions. Just four expansive pieces saturated in hue and atmosphere.

The result reportedly feels like a long-lost early ’70s UK progressive artifact — something you might expect to find on Harvest or Vertigo after decades in a dusty attic. (Fruits de Mer: Apparently the music is influenced by Tangerine Dream, Burnin’ Red Ivanhoe, The Damned, Steve Hillage, Jeff Beck, Krautrock, Canterbury Rock, Vertigo, Vegetarianism, Arthur Koestler and Gustav Klimt, although not all at the same time).

“Synesthesia” contains 4 tracks, 2 on each side of the vinyl album. The curtain rises in a soft-focus haze with “Coral Correlation”: lo-fi textures and gently pulsing electronics sketch a serene, almost aquatic landscape that immediately nods to the early–mid ’70s British underground progressive scene. Dreamlike sequencers (or whatever beautiful machinery is humming beneath) generate a melodic mist, while the electric guitar injects a measured dose of Heavy-Prog gravity. The keys steer everything deeper down that familiar rabbit hole — vintage in spirit… On “Superpurpleshine”, the quartet dives further into the labyrinth. Multi-layered and unapologetically exploratory, the composition unfolds like a Daedalian structure of interlocking themes and improvisational detours. It quite literally shines — glowing with an old-school prog radiance while subtly embracing the spacious sensibilities of today’s progressive and New Age inflections. It’s expansive, curious, and remarkably self-assured.

Side ‘B’ opens with “The Ochre Cobra”, a simmering, glowing guitar motif coils its way through the entire track, dominant yet never oppressive. The keyboards once again guide us into that warmly familiar proggy terrain, but it’s the rhythm section that truly elevates the piece — dynamic, muscular, and constantly shifting in intensity. Improvisation feels central here… The album comes to an end with “The Turquoise Shads Of Atlantis”, a personal highlight. After a three-minute atmospheric invocation, the piece blossoms into a full-blown Progressive elegy. Nostalgia permeates every bar. Dream-laden guitar lines and trippy, oceanic keys weave an enchanted tapestry of sound. Majestic, reflective, and deeply transportive, it closes the album on a spellbinding note…

In the end, after listening to “Synesthesia” you get the feel of a rediscovered relic from a parallel 1973 — lovingly dusted off and pressed onto wax in 2026. And before the needle finally lifts, a quiet word of gratitude is due to Keith and Fruits de Mer Records — the catalyst behind this unlikely convergence. Without FdM’s restless spirit and unwavering devotion to the outer edges of MUSIC, these four musicians might never have “found” each other in this particular constellation. “Synesthesia” stands as proof that inspired labels still create the space where kindred minds can meet, experiment, and leave behind something timeless… TimeLord Michalis