Woolfy vs Projections

California-based electronic duo Woolfy vs. Projections draw equally from dubby space disco, lite funk, and yacht rock, conjuring up images of palm tree-lined beaches as well as the cosmos. The duo's midtempo neo-disco tracks typically feature tasteful guitar licks, hazy vocals, and relaxed, atmospheric synthesizers, but with a slightly surrealist sci-fi bent.

While U.K.-born <a href="spotify:artist:2NVP4dYPgjHOpt2QFsQIll">Simon James</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:115rMfffKYQgrhzmGT7fTw">Woolfy</a>) and Dan Hastie had been making music together as <a href="spotify:artist:3W8dralHmc6PqvM9Ws9S83">Projections</a> since the late '90s, releasing several singles as well as 2002 full-length Between Here and Now on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Guidance+Recordings%22">Guidance Recordings</a>, it wasn't until they began exploring the saga of Captain Starlight, the titular hero of Zazu's 1979 cult disco classic of the same name, that the duo established themselves at the forefront of the Balearic revival. Expanding their moniker to Woolfy vs. Projections, the pair released 12" single "The Return of Starlight" on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Permanent+Vacation%22">Permanent Vacation</a> in 2007, followed by the full-length The Astral Projections of Starlight in 2008. <a href="spotify:artist:115rMfffKYQgrhzmGT7fTw">Woolfy</a> released solo singles on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Rong+Music%22">Rong Music</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22DFA%22">DFA</a>, and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Mindless+Boogie%22">Mindless Boogie</a>, as well as a solo album, 2009's If You Know What's Good for Ya!!, while the duo participated in funk group <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Orgone%22">Orgone</a>. In 2012, Woolfy vs. Projections delivered their second full-length space odyssey, The Return of Love, which featured a track co-produced by <a href="spotify:artist:75nC6MXUalYZSOd7OfNkwq">Tensnake</a>. After a few more solo singles by <a href="spotify:artist:115rMfffKYQgrhzmGT7fTw">Woolfy</a> on labels such as Public Release and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Future+Classic%22">Future Classic</a>, Woolfy vs. Projections released their third album, Stations, in 2015. Fourth album Destinations arrived in 2019, taking their West Coast disco revisions to new, dark places that included an eerie cover of <a href="spotify:artist:3sc7iUG1Wwpwx7bHeZolgx">Bananarama</a>'s 1984 hit "Cruel Summer." ~ Paul Simpson