Buscar:classic man

If you ever wondered what ambient music of the 21st century could sound like, then you should explore the musical spheres of "ifsonever". This colorful debut-album draws a blueprint of an urban ambient club record of a parallel universe. A collage of beautifully improvised pieces, strictly recorded in "one takes". A gripping fusion that brings together the warm analog textures of classic vintage synthesizers and electronic urban ambiences.

Trying to appreciate the recent times of silence and deceleration, Daniel Helmer aka ifsonever has quickly developed a tonal language as a solo artist. With a non-compromising approach he would visit his studio, a cozy garden shed, to record one new track a day in strictly analog fashion as "one takes". His aim for this project was to capture the innocence and instinctive creative energy of the present moment. These 9 timeless pieces invite the listener to explore hypnotic and meditative atmospheres such as on the opener "transpose" or on "jonesy dreams of birds", as well as gloomy and almost mystical sounding tracks such as "total global" or "an unexpected error has occurred". ifsonever is a wonderful amalgamation of organic, laid-back sounds and electronic, club oriented elements.

Recorded at a time when social contact was forbidden and culture was at a standstill, many professional musicians felt challenged not to feel useless when performances and sessions in public were cancelled, while the need for expression, participation and communication persisted. What happens when you've read all your books, when you're tired of looking at screens, and when you're digitally saturated? Then the unbearable lightness of being will begin. Daniel Helmer decided to let his creativity flow into a picture depicting that moment in time. He gave himself the opportunity to reflect this period through the creation of music. Not always an easy thing to do when the only social interactions would be cats passing by or the sound of children playing nearby. However that can be exactly the perfect tranquil surrounding to ground oneself in the here and now and draw inspiration from the inside. This self titled album reflects a peaceful journey from start to finish.

Two old friends have been invited to contribute overdubs in hindsight. MillianX is a film composer and noise artist, a colleague from the viennese filmacademy. Both worked together on the film score for the science fiction movie "Rubikon" while the album was in its final stages. So a collaboration was an obvious choice. The creamy arpeggiated synthline created for "jonesy dreams of birds"' was extended by Millianx with some field recordings and a big cloudy synthwave that dips into a vast sea of noise.

Guido Spannocchi is a london based jazz musician. Both knew each other for several years but never had the chance to work together. When Daniel Helmer wrote "an unknown error has occured" he imagined a saxophone layer to accompany the existing synthline. But when the two musicians finally got together to record in the legendary jazz club "Porgy & Bess", Guido just let his creativity flow and jammed freely to the track with a totally unique jazz vibe.

Between film, music & sound Daniel Helmer is continuously searching for a spot to call his own. Expanding boundaries, pursuing the unheard and breaking genre definitions are byproducts of his curiosity and his drive to avoid repetition. Daniel Helmer resides in Vienna where he studied at the local film academy. He became one of the founding members of the techno-punk band "Gudrun von Laxenburg" with album releases on the legendary Skint label, collaborated with Sam Irl on "International Major Label" as the production duo "Mantra Mantra" and released an album as "Yogtze" on Gerd Janson's imprint "Running Back Incantations", together with Feater. At the moment he is focusing on his work as a film composer and is currently working on two feature films in Austria.

"ifsonever" offers a timeless ambience to help you slow down, reflect and enjoy the beauty of nothingness. It might help us to learn and accept a state of being unutilized without feeling futile and benefit from this rare silence.

The cover artwork is a collaboration between Jazz & Milk graphic designer Tim Schmitt and photographer Frank Hulsbömer. A scan of the artist's head, hand and foot was 3D printed, photographed and transformed into an otherworldly scenery that visualizes the musical atmosphere.

Melody Tomb is the first album in a new collaboration between Tokyo artist Teruyuki Kurihara and London drone pop band The Leaf Library. The nine tracks here have in common a metallic hum and a minimal, austere kind of beauty that recalls Teru's work on his 2020 Frozen Dust album (Mille Plateaux). Machine tones mix with static, noise and warm drones, whilst in other places the lineage of classic mangled Warp hardware is visible. In March 2020 The Leaf Library sent their friend Teru a batch of synth drones to play with in the hope a new collaboration would be born. "From the first time we heard Teru's music we knew we wanted to make something with him," say the band. "It has been such a pleasure seeing him take our minimal synth parts and turn them into something really strange and beautiful." The track Kite Beach was the first to arrive, featuring on The Leaf Library-curated Object Ten compilation on Objects Forever in 2021, with the rest of the album slowly appearing over the last year. The artists hope to continue the collaboration with another album in the near future.

For fans of: Autechre, Biosphere, Ben Frost

CHIARA CIVELLO'S NEW SINGLE ADDS NEAPOLITAN VIBES TO BRAZILIAN FUNK TO CELEBRATE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Four Flies is proud to present a new, exciting single by internationally acclaimed Italian singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Chiara Civello. Co-produced with Neapolitan pianist, beatmaker and producer Dario Bassolino and with lyrics by Civello and Sicilian artist Kaballà, "Sono Come Sono" is the first Italian adaptation of the Brazilian song "Olhos Coloridos", a celebration of diversity, mixed roots and inclusion written by Macau and made famous by singer Sandra de Sa. To respect the spirit of the original and its soul-funk sound, Civello decided to produce the song in Naples, a city with many similarities to Rio de Janeiro, including its multicultural history. The result is an irresistible eighties-inspired boogie-funk track brimming with positivity and joy.

"Sono Come Sono" comes out on 21 October 2022 as a 12" VINYL MAXI SINGLE containing the song plus three fantastic remixes by eclectic Neapolitan DJ/producer Whodamanny that add groovy and tribal influences to the mix and further enhance its dancefloor potential.

Civello's adaptation has been praised by the writer and singer of the original, as well as by another great name in Brasilian popular music:

"Cada Qual com seu Cada Qual, e muito Respeito pra Liberar Geral…" Chiara has expressed this idea truthfully, beautifully and with dignity. I'm very excited, proud and happy! This is a fantastic version of "Olhos Coloridos". "Limitar…, é humilhar o Infinito…" Thank you, sister" – Sandra de Sá

"Chiara, I couldn't contain my emotion when I listened to your Italian version of "Olhos Coloridos". Beautiful vocals… a beautiful brass arrangement… pure black-Rio! You put colors into my eyes and light into my soul with your magical performance, I have no words. I must really thank you for the joy you gave me. "somos o que somos", Olhos Coloridos, Sarará Crioulo"" – Macau

"Another smooth and super groovy creation by Chiara Civello, this is a perfect Italian version of the classic Rio de Janeiro soul-funk song, "Olhos Coloridos", made famous by Sandra de Sá. It respects the spirit of Black pride contained in the original lyrics but adds to it new sounds and meanings. Well done, Chiara!" – Nelson Motta

A NEW, STELLAR & ECLECTIC JOURNEY OF OLD METAL IN THE
DARKTHRONE ODYSSEY
From their formation back in 1986, to becoming one of Norway's finest musical
exports (with a number of highly revered black metal masterpieces released in
the early 90's helping to solidify their legacy), Darkthrone has continued to evolve
& challenge in equal measure, throughout their illustrious recording career
spanning over three decades. And now, the ever- productive duo of Nocturno &
Fenriz continue their own metallic saga with a new selection of fine, vintage
sounding headbanging classics in the making. 'Astral Fortress' is itself a swift
follow- up to 2021's 'Eternal Hails' opus, because of Darkthrone's consistent &
ongoing writing process, which has been in force for some years now. For
Darkthrone does not sleep - it only waits.
Carried on the brisk wind of eager rock, with foundations in black, thrash, doom &
heavy metal, 'Astral Fortress' is the latest album of stellar, eclectic old metal in the
Darkthrone odyssey. With a seemingly endless dungeon full of heavy metal
influences channelled through Darkthrone's dynamic riff-machine, plus also with
many increasing inspirations taken from their own past catalogue, Darkthrone
has truly become its own beast within the metal world. Even though sprinkled
with atmospheric touches such as synthesizers & mellotron on 'Astral Fortress' to
great effect, the Darkthrone sound remains stripped down to the core; always
primitive & organic.
'Astral Fortress' was recorded at Chaka Khan Studios in Oslo, the same location
used for the 'Eternal Hails' album, with Ole Øvstedal & Silje Høgevold.

Debbie Gibson is thrilled to announce the release of her first ever holiday
album, 'Winterlicious
' Ranging from a mix of sparkling originals and beautiful reimagined covers,
Gibson has enlisted her dream team of Sean Thomas ('The Body Remembers'/
Hallmark), Fred Coury (Cinderella/ Emmy award winning composer/ producer),
Sylvia MacCalla (Selena Gomez), Joey Melotti (Barry Manilow), Joey Finger
(Donny & Marie) and musicians Lydia Ansel (electric violin) and indie artist
BONZIE (accordion), to create an album that is sure to become a holiday classic.
This spirited and soulful album, Gibson's first in this genre in 36 years, features a
magical collaboration with her pop soulmate Joey McIntyre, who co- wrote the
new holiday anthem "Heartbreak Holiday" for those missing that special someone
during the holidays. Gibson's Daddy Joe joins her on a stunning new rendition of
"White Christmas" and her infectious, up- tempo, original song "Christmas Star,"
which came out in 2021, is also included.

Hitting play on SEAMOSS2, the latest missive from Portland noisetinkerers Sea Moss, is like punching the big red button on a cartoon
bomb before it explodes into a multicolored mushroom cloud
From the second Nap Time revs up, vocalist Noa Ver and drummer Zach
D'Agostino absolutely clobber the listener with a distorted hodgepodge of sounds
as raw and violent as they are winkingly playful, as if Black Dice and Melt-Banana
were caught in the middle of some kind of psychotic square dance together.The
duo's setup "which involves a primitive assemblage of hacked feedback
oscillators, colorful Rococo tin boxes, and a contact mic plugged directly onto
Ver's neck to capture her barking intonations " harkens back to an era of DIY
where live performance meant everything. Blurring the line between reckless
improvisation and tightly- knit compositions, the band achieves a disorientingly
complex interplay. Though Sea Moss's music may initially seem to be an act of
pure blunt force, the duo's true prowess lies in the intricacy of their rhythmic
interplay. As freeform as it all might seem, SEAMOSS2 contains the band's most
potent, precise compositions yet, refining the distinct style they forged on
disorienting releases like Bread Bored and Bidet Dreaming into a thrilling act of
controlled chaos.
In an era where the communal spirit of DIY feels more difficult to achieve than
ever, Sea Moss embody the classic ethos of weirdo punk music in all its absurdity
and wonder. It's this same sense of scrappiness that's earned them attention
from legends like Lightning Bolt and Machine Girl, and SEAMOSS2 illustrates why
they're every bit as deserving of their own trophy in the noise-rock hall of fame
one adorned in broken contact mics and scuffed-up scratches from one too many
bloody basement shows.

Red vinyl LP. Lars Finberg, confirmed genius guy and poet laureate of sunken 21st century Rock, acts as manager in perpetuity of THE INTELLIGENCE, primary vehicle for his prolific creative swirl and a project that has taken on new shapes across myriad trials and shifts. The project began in his Seattle bedroom – a lad and his Tascam cassette 8 track – with the classic Boredom & Terror and has now landed in his Los Angeles studio apartment – an urchin and his Tascam digital 12 track – with Lil’ Peril, a new album that finds Finberg 1000% back at the controls. Over the course of 11 albums (!), The Intelligence has established a backbone that boogies through revolutions, allowing each jam-crammed dispatch to feel and sound admirably unique. The angular sharp shocks heard in earlier years have steadily evolved into the ballooning grooves heard on more recent releases (including Finberg’s recent solo work). Lil’ Peril is a dreamy gamble that captures this current bubbling penchant in The Intelligence’s inaugural homemade mode. With inspirational templates as far-flung as LES PAUL, THE SPECIALS, LEE PERRY and MARY FORD, Lil’ Peril pulls off the absurd shift “from ‘No-Wave SANTANA’ to ‘SCREAMERS recorded by JON BRION’”. Playing shoulder parrot to studio engineers has no doubt informed Finberg’s approach to home recording, specifically in how much further he can go without wincing budget-minded eyes staring him down. This is immediately sensed on the opener “Maudlin Agency,” which begins with canned minimal bleep and closes with a full recreation of the “Brass Monkey” hook. These surprise-attack conclusions are a running current throughout the Lil’ Peril’s program and demonstrates that the main lesson Finberg has learned in The Intelligence is to never reel it in. Centerpiece banger “My Work Here Is Dumb” ranks among the finest Intelligence moments existent and an apex in Finberg’s songcraft, boasting a bonkers arrangement and a thematic gnaw that is both brutal and playful. The collection closes with the epic “Soundguys,” a suite cut-up that fuses CAN and STEELY DAN into one of the most dastardly tunes available for consumption in the plague age. As Finberg himself states, “They may say this is ‘lo-fi’, but I say it’s ‘no-CGI’”. “The band disintegrated, so it devolved back to the core idea: if I do every aspect, it’s indestructible.” 20 years on and Finberg has finally let everyone know what The Intelligence actually means! All those wily experiments and warm flubs have come back full circle and the shit’s pure goddamn gold. Proof positive that there is always some sort of cute trouble, farcical tragedy and Lil’ Peril at play with The Intelligence. - Mitch Cardwell, 2022. Tracklisting: 01 Maudlin Agency 02 70's 03 Keyed Beamers 04 Purification 05 My Work Here Is Dumb 06 Lil Peril 07 Frog Prints In Preset City 08 Portfolio Woes 09 Soundguys

Classic Black vinyl, Lyric insert + DL card. The Black Lips return with their 10th studio effort ‘Apocalypse Love’, scorched with their trademark menace, it cryogenically mutates all recognised musical bases; it spins yarns about vintage Soviet synths, Benzedrine stupors, coup de’ tats, stolen valor and certified destruction, all set against a black setting sun. Since the turn of the decade the band have transformed from austere country pioneers, into a set of Lynchian surrealists, hellbent on recalibrating the history of rock ‘n’ roll. Singer and saxophonist Zumi Rosow muses, “It’s a weird dance record, one that reflects the moment that the world’s in right now…” ‘Apocalypse Love’ is an album that emanates from a dive bar jukebox in the back of your mind; with a playlist that bends between tub thumping doom-glam, Plastic Ono singalongs, cocktail-shaken space age pop, Morricone reverberations and lo-fi outsider acoustic-punk, with mariachi horns, theremins, drum machines and harmonies filtering through the infectious melodies. Stand-out number ‘Among The Dunes’ is an amorphous platform-heeled anthem, a signature sax-fuelled stomper filled with trippy swagger. While opener ‘No Rave’ proffers a hypnotic locked groove, with Cole Alexander’s trademark snarl delivered over a sulphurous wall of distorted hedonism, a dystopian anthem for an apocalyptic manifesto. Meanwhile, the twisted exotica of ‘Whips Of Holly’ with its silver screen façade is like the soundtrack to a classic Theda Bara vamp-fest. As the band venture into their third decade, ‘Apocalypse Love’ is proof that The Black Lips show no sign of slowing down… “A wonderful new chapter… The world may be on fire, but at least we have Black Lips.” The Line Of Best Fit // “Simply masters in their field” NME // Track List A1 No Rave A2 Love Has Won A3 Stolen Valor A4 Lost Angel A5 Whips of Holly A6 Apocalypse Love A7 Operation Angela. B1 Crying on A Plane B2 Sharing My Cream B3 Among The Dunes B4 Tongue Tied B5 Antiaris Toxicaria B6 The Concubine

When Cypress Hill came with their debut self-titled album 30 years ago, they made an immediate spark that captivated the Hip Hop audience, critics, and then the world. Led by B-Real with his nasal, singsong delivery, and Sen Dog to play the perfect hypeman, Cypress’ debut fueled tales of revenge, revolution, recreational drug use, gangbanging, and cultural pride. Like Public Enemy before them, the production was also a key factor in what made this debut so groundbreaking. DJ Muggs was able to craft a blueprint that would change Hip Hop production with his innovative stoned-out beats. Cuts like "How I Could Just Kill a Man", "Pigs", "Stoned is the Way of the Walk" and "Hand on the Pump" made Cypress Hill an instant classic. Since its release, the album has won acclaim as one of Rolling Stone's Essential Recordings of the 90s and Top 100 Best Rap Albums by The Source Magazine.

Nashville-based instrumental rock combo Los Straitjackets have been
proving for years that rock & roll is a truly universal language by doing
away with vocals, but for this album the masked guitar manglers have
decided to focus on a more specific tongue - namely Spanish
For Rock en Español, Vol. 1, Los Straitjackets have recruited three talented friends
to perform a set of rock & roll classics in Spanish -- Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos,
Big Sandy of retro-country kings Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys, and Little Willie G.,
lead singer with legendary East L.A. soul-rockers Thee Midnighters. While most
folks will be familiar with these tunes in their English-language originals, many of
the versions that appear on this album were taken from Spanish rewrites
recorded in the '60s by Mexican teen groups such as Los Teen Tops, Los Locos
del Ritmo and Los Rebeldes del Rock. This 15th anniversary edition LP is the first
ever reissue of Los Straitjackets' 2007 classic album and is pressed on purple
vinyl.

Throughout the last decade, Strange Ranger have been crafting seamless
indie music that feels both already classic and precisely of its time
From Daymoon's strains of the Microphones by way of the Pacific Northwest-era
indie scene to the dark elation and Cure-reminiscent stylings of Remembering the
Rockets' they've become one of the rare standouts of a crop of bands that have
managed to grow up with us. More than just a stopgap along that progression,
the new mixtape entitled No Light In Heaven holds some of the band's most
experimental and ambitious work yet. Stitched together through a series of
sessions at both a house in rural NY and Strange Ranger's home studios in both
Philadelphia and NYC (where Eiger and Woodman moved in 2021, the mixtape
possesses something both abstract and astute; the product of a band in
transition and a group of people making something effortlessly transcendental
out of their new surroundings. Heralded as unpredictable and expansive, a
thrilling document of a band with an ever- changing muse,with songs that are
packed with hooks and an abundance of feeling (Stereogum). This outpouring of
evocative emotion makes the band's more traditional song structures read like a
new breed of pop music in its purest form. From Needing You 's effervescent
euphoria to string- laden album close It's You, the record seamlessly fuses
together a multitude of genres, where the industrial punch of In Hell sits
alongside the chopped up vocals and melodic keys of Get Right Up to the Mic.
"No Light in Heaven" marks the beginning of a bold new era for the band & the
groups first release with Fire Talk.

One of the most distinctive recordings of the early 2000s, Jon Brion's one
and only solo album Meaningless is a master course in power popinspired art rock songwriting and production
Uniting psychedelic rock, classic songwriters, tape loop soundscapes, and
chiming folk jangle, the record offers a vivid backdrop for Brion's wry
observations on love, reality, and the elusive quality of meaning €"all that plus a
mind-bending Cheap Trick cover. More than two decades later, its emotional core
remains undiminished by year's spent in the major label wringer, both before and
after its creation. Like his work with artists including Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple,
and Elliott Smith, Brion's songs offer depth and resonance, and like his
soundtrack work on films like Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love, I Heart Huckabees,
and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, its scope is widescreen. Remastered
and artist approved, Meaningless can finally be heard the way Brion intended.

Daniel Barenboim will turn 80 on November 15th. Warner Classics are celebrating the great musician, who has had tremendous success since the ‘60s both at the piano or conducting, with an album made in the mid-90s that is close to his heart and Argentinian origins, though aside of the classical repertoire. Tangos Among Friends - Mi Buenos Aires Querido (named after a tango by Carlos Gardel) proves again all the talent and swing Daniel Barenboim has, and has been a huge success since released by Teldec on CD in 1996.

“I spent the first nine years of my life in Argentina and only in Argentina. The rest of the world was far away. Everything Argentinian was close to my heart. The concepts of cosmopolitan existence or international thinking were not yet awakened. The air that I breathed was Buenos Aires, the language that I spoke was Spanish porteño and the rhythm to which I danced (figuratively speaking…) was the tango! My idol was Carlos Gardel. Nearly half a century later I came back not only to Argentina, not only to my childhood but especially to my Buenos Aires querido and many other wonderful melodies that make up this sentimental record.”
Daniel Barenboim – from album booklet


In an interview made in the 90s, Daniel Barenboim added: “In Argentina during the late 1940s there was no chasm between classical music and the tango, in the way there was a chasm between classical music and jazz. The tango is a basic part of Argentine popular culture; when you went to a restaurant or a party, that was the music you would hear. (…) Already as a child I was crazy about the tango. I still am.”

“The young Daniel found himself drawn to the bittersweet tales of passion, tragedy and nostalgia sung by Gardel, the tango singer and songwriter who exerted a major influence in popularizing the tango throughout the Western hemisphere and Europe. (…) Over the following decades Barenboim would regale friends at home or at parties with piano arrangements of tangos he heard in his youth. (…) Barenboim never thought of sharing his passion for tangos with the public until last year when he had returned to Buenos Aires for concerts with his Berlin Staatskapelle orchestra. At a reception he found himself talking tangos with a young Argentine. Learning of Barenboim’s interest in performing them, he offered to drum up a few local musicians with whom Barenboim could play tangos at home. That’s how he met Mederos and Console. “The first day we just played for fun,” Barenboim says. “Then we decided to make a recording. So we rehearsed for two days and made the record in one afternoon.” (…) Once he, Mederos and Console set out to record their tango program, Barenboim was surprised at how much of the characteristic tango rubato – a subtle alteration of rhythmic weight and accent – he still had at his fingertips, more than four decades after leaving Buenos Aires. That said, he insists on sharing credit for the success of the disc with his Argentine colleagues. “What they gave me was a pure sense of the tango, especially in the melodic freedom over a very strict rhythmic foundation. Performing tangos, you are constantly anticipating the downbeat or coming after it; this is part of the tradition. What I gave them was the necessity to rethink certain aspects – say, the volume and transparency of sound – so that playing tangos didn’t sound routine.”
– The Chicago Tribune, Oct. 1996

2 x 180 g black LPs

"Insieme" ("Zusammen") heißt das erste Duett-Album von Jonas Kaufmann und seinem Freund, dem französischen Star-Bariton Ludovic Tézier. Die berühmten Duette aus Opern von Verdi, Puccini und Ponchielli wurden mit dem Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia unter der exzellenten Leitung von Antonio Pappano aufgenommen. "Insieme" erscheint als Doppel-Vinyl (180g) am 11. November bei Sony Classical.Auf der Bühne sind sie oft Rivalen, im wahren Leben verbindet Jonas Kaufmann und Ludovic Tézier eine enge Freundschaft. Nach zahlreichen gemeinsamen umjubelten Live-Auftritten erscheint das erste Duett-Album der beiden Ausnahmesänger: "Insieme", Italienisch für "Zusammen" ist der Titel. Mit dem hervorragenden Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia unter Antonio Pappano präsentieren sie Duette, die sie zusammen auf der Bühne gesungen haben, und Stücke, die sie extra für dieses Album einstudiert haben.Seit ihrem gemeinsamen "Werther", 2010 in Paris, sind sie immer wieder Bühnenpartner in verschiedenen Produktionen; und wie bei ihrem Duett-Album spielen die Werke Verdis dabei eine zentrale Rolle. Als sie 2013 an der Bayerischen Staatsoper zum ersten Mal die Rivalen in "La forza del destino" verkörperten, war sofort zu spüren: da haben sich zwei gefunden, die sich gegenseitig anfeuern. 2017 standen sie in Paris in der französischen Urfassung von Verdis "Don Carlos" auf der Bühne; da ist es nur logisch, dass das berühmte Duett von Carlos und Rodrigue auf ihrem Duett-Album in dieser Fassung erklingt. Hier sind sie einmal nicht die ewigen Widersacher, sondern echte Verbündete, in einer der schönsten Männerfreundschaften der Oper. Außerdem sind die beiden hier zum ersten Mal zusammen in "Otello" zu hören. Bei Kaufmanns Debüt als Otello, 2017 am Royal Opera House in London, sollte eigentlich Tézier an seiner Seite als Iago debütieren, doch leider musste er absagen. Und so kam es, dass die Aufnahmesitzungen während des Lockdowns 2021 zum ersten gemeinsamen "Otello" der beiden wurden, noch bevor Tézier seinen ersten Bühnen-Iago an der Wiener Staatsoper "nachholte". Dass mit Antonio Pappano am Pult seines Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia einer der profiliertesten Operndirigenten unserer Zeit mit seinem exzellenten Orchester an Bord ist, ist ein weiterer Glücksfall für diese Einspielung.Beide Sänger sind hier erstmals in den großen Duetten aus Verdis "Les vêpres siciliennes" zu erleben, in der selten gespielten französischen Fassung. Auch das Duett aus Ponchiellis Verismo-Meisterwerk "La Gioconda" ist ein echtes Doppel-Debüt, dem bald auch eine gemeinsame Aufführung der kompletten Oper folgen soll. Puccinis "La bohème" hingegen haben beide bereits auf der Bühne gesungen, jedoch noch nicht gemeinsam; hier sind sie zum ersten Mal gemeinsam mit dem Duett aus dem 4. Bild zu hören.

"Ich muss sagen, dass ich dies für den großen vergessenen Zyklus der Klaviermusik des 19. Jahrhunderts halte. Vielleicht sind das große Worte, aber ich empfinde das so", sagt der Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes über seine neueste Veröffentlichung bei Sony Classical. Auf diesem Album präsentiert er die umfangreichste Klaviersammlung des großen romantischen Komponisten Antonín Dvorák - die zu Unrecht vernachlässigten Poetischen Tonbilder. Dem norwegischen Pianisten zufolge zeigen diese unentdeckten Perlen eine ganz andere Seite des für seine Sinfonien und Streichquartette bekannten Komponisten. Ich liebe diese Musik und niemand scheint sie zu spielen", sagt Andsnes, der sich 2017 mit der Veröffentlichung "Sibelius" auch für die selten gespielten Klavierwerke von Jean Sibelius einsetzte. Die 13 Postkarten für Klavier, aus denen sich Dvoráks poetische Tonbilder zusammensetzen, wurden im Frühjahr 1889 geschrieben und signalisieren eine Stilverschiebung von einem Komponisten, der sich von formalen Konstruktionen weg zu einer freieren, inspirierten Ästhetik bewegt. Zu diesen bezaubernden Stücken gehören Beschwörungen von Magie und Geheimnissen ("Das alte Schloss"), ländliche Tänze ("Furiant" und "Bauernballade"), nostalgische Stimmungsstücke ("Dämmerungsweg") und tragische Reminiszenzen ("Am Grab eines Helden"). Die Werke reichen von tiefgründig bis verspielt, von heiter bis wütend - "ich spüre in ihnen eine sehr starke, wunderbare Erzählung", sagt Leif Ove Andsnes, der fest daran glaubt, dass Dvorák die Stücke dieses "außergewöhnlichen" Sets als einen Zyklus konzipiert hat, der zusammen gespielt werden soll.Sur son nouvel album, Leif Ove Andsnes présente la plus importante collection pour piano du grand compositeur romantique Antonín Dvorák - les Poetic Tone Pictures, injustement négligés. Selon le pianiste norvégien, ces joyaux méconnus montrent une toute autre facette du compositeur connu pour ses symphonies et ses quatuors à cordes. « J'adore cette musique et personne ne semble la jouer », déclare Andsnes. Les 13 cartes postales pour piano qui composent l'oeuvre Poetic Tone Pictures de Dvorák ont été composées au printemps 1889, et signalent le changement de style d'un compositeur s'éloignant des constructions formelles vers une esthétique plus libre et inspirée. Parmi ces charmantes pièces, on trouve des évocations de magie et de mystère (In the Old Castle), des danses rustiques (Furiant et Peasants' Ballad), des pièces d'ambiance nostalgiques (Twillight Way) et des réminiscences tragiques (At the Hero's Grave). Les oeuvres vont de la profondeur à l'espièglerie, de la légèreté à la fureur - « Je sens en elles un récit très fort et merveilleux », dit Leif Ove Andsnes, qui croit fermement que Dvorák a conçu les pièces de cet ensemble « exceptionnel » comme un seul cycle à jouer d'un coup. L'un des pianistes les plus éminents du monde, Andsnes a eu l'idée de jouer de la musique tchèque lorsqu'un nouveau professeur est arrivé de Prague à son conservatoire de Bergen, en Norvège. Alors âgé de 12 ans, son énorme fascination pour les Tableaux de tons poétiques l'a conduit à présenter une partie du répertoire lors d'un concours pour jeunes pianistes. Des années plus tard, alors que la pandémie de Covid-19 frappait le monde, Andsnes a profité de ce temps d'arrêt pour se plonger plus profondément dans les tableaux de tons poétiques et communier avec leurs histoires. Il a trouvé des oeuvres d'un charme infaillible et de nombreux exemples de Dvorák déployant une largeur de couleur orchestrale à partir du piano - en plus de son utilisation excitante de rythmes croisés et de syncopes, à la manière des danses folkloriques tchèques.

Repressed !

We are proud to present a set of edits of this long-lost classic from the golden age of African music, from a figure who is still beginning to get his props internationally, Eji Oyewole.

Born to a royal lineage in Ibadan, Prince Eji Oyewole has had a career as a flautist, saxophonist and sometime bandleader spanning well over half a century. He trained both in Nigeria and then at Trinity the prestigious music school in London, and his life as an itinerant musician also saw him living for extensive periods in Geneva, Hamburg and in Lyon.

While for many years Fela Kuti (with whom Eji played) and King Sunny Adé commanded international attention to the exclusion of most other Nigerian musicians, as if there was only room for one Nigerian superstar at a time on the world stage, on the domestic scene things were very different. Eji was part of the huge craze for ‘highlife’, a generic term that in fact subsumed many different styles, united in their fusion of traditional west African forms with jazz influences and electric instruments, and in the bands’ working practices as entertainers at the nation’s numerous hotel / nightclubs. As this cracking album, recorded for EMI Nigeria at the tail end of the ‘70s and now remastered, reveals, Eji’s version of highlife was even more distinctive than most, eschewing the usual emphasis on guitars for a brasher, horn- laden sound, seemingly influenced as much by American funk as it was jazz, and of course with the heavy percussive undertow central to most African music.

This gave Eji a chance to shine, and there are some scorching solos as well as tight ensemble playing across the four lengthy (to ears accustomed to the three-minute pop song) songs. Eji also played piano on the session. The material has an element of social commentary (Oil Boom and Unity In Africa) and should help feed the seemingly insatiable appetites of the many who have been turned onto African music by the enterprising efforts of devoted collectors, labels and fellow fans.

Surely one of the few musicians who has played with Fela, Miles Davis and Bob Marley, Eji Oyewole still plays regularly in Lagos, recently had an album of new material out with his current band The Afrobars, and has been a member of Faaji Agba, a super-group that has toured internationally and been dubbed ‘the Nigerian Buena-Vista Social Club’.

Patricia Barber's 6th studio album is a fascinating collection of classic cover songs shaped by her inimitable downtempo intimacy into startlingly affective journeys through the human condition. Working with her band of the time (bassist Michael Arnopol and drummer Adam Cruz, augmented by star turns from guitarist Charlie Hunter, bassist Marc Johnson, and drummer Adam Nussbaum), Barber creates an atmosphere of austere trepidation that allows her long-time engineer Jim Anderson to hang her haunted vocals directly over top. Like all great jazz albums, Nightclub puts the highlighted artist front and center while carving out plenty of space for the supporting players to give emphatic support.

Impex's 1STEP process provides the perfect showcase for Anderson's peerless audio immersions. Nightclub was originally digitally recorded on a Sony 3348 multi-track and mixed through a Neve analog console to both digital and analogue mix-down masters. Bernie Grundman used the analogue mix-down tapes to assemble a new analogue cutting master exclusively for our 1STEP. Coupled with the incredibly detailed VR-900 vinyl formula, there is instrument detailing to spare, a Mariana Trench noise floor, and incredibly-focused low end. There is simply no better way to enjoy Barber's cool renditions of timeless classics than this one (including the exclusive, never-before-released bonus track "Wild Is the Wind"). Limited to 7,500 pressings!

The 1STEP Process:
The Impex 1STEP process relies on short, tightly-controlled runs that require a new lacquer after each 500 pressings. This unforgiving format has the lacquer skipping the regular father-mother process, going right to a single convert and then pressing. Though this dramatically increases mastering and production costs, it also assures each run is more consistent from disc to disc, with less noise, clearer details and deeper bass.

Reducing production complexity to just a single "convert" disc between the lacquer and the press greatly improves groove integrity, diminishes non-fill anomalies and increases signal integrity from the master tape to your system.

Mastered by Bernie Grundman from the Original Mix-Down Analogue Master Tapes
Pressed on VR-900 Super Vinyl for Incredible Detailing, an Epic Soundstage & Near-Silent Surfaces
Exclusive Ultra-Luxe Impex 1STEP Packaging
Deluxe 12-Page Booklet within a Three-Sleeve Monster Pack Jacket
Colour-Matched Slip Case
Never-Before-Released Studio Session Track "Wild Is the Wind"

Produced by Laurel Halo and released via Norway's respected Smalltown Supersound label, Anja Lauvdal's first solo release, From a Story Now Lost, is a gorgeous musical essay reflecting on time, its perception, and lost histories rediscovered. Finally exploring her own voice after more than a decade of collaborative improvisational playing - starting at her time in jazz conservatory in Trondheim - the album is a jewel of subtle beauty and innovative detail. A freeform musician on piano, synthesizers, and electronics, Lauvdal's discography stretches back to 2013 and includes her participation in a myriad of ensembles and collaborations exploring the limits of sound and music in many forms, including noise, jazz, and more. Following her move to Oslo after graduation, she became deeply embedded in the music community there, touring with Jenny Hval as well as playing on her records. When pandemic hit and isolation was the norm, Lauvdal began working on her own, recording her improvisations in an attempt to capture something new for herself. Connecting to Laurel Halo via Smalltown's founder Joakim Haugland, the acclaimed American artist agreed to work with Lauvdal in shaping her solo record, becoming integral to its creation through all of its stages. Lauvdal credits Halo as a deep listener and gentle "thought-provoker", who contributed ideas as well as helping to shape the finished versions (Halo also worked alongside Rashad Becker on the final mix of the album). Together, they found a method of recording Lauvdal's improvisations, making small loops from those, feeding them back into the synthesizers, and making synthesizers out of the improvisations, which Lauvdal would then re-improvise with. She describes the end result, "like seeing different pieces of time around in the universe." While the record is based on Lauvdal's improvisations, some tracks were inspired Agathe Backer Grondahl, a Norwegian classical pianist and composer from the latter half of the 19th century. Lauvdal notes that Grondahl is not widely known, although her best friend Edvard Grieg is still considered Norway's most famous composer. Yet now, partly through Lauvdal, her story resurfaces and persists. "From a Story Now Lost means the story is still there," Lauvdal explains. "It hasn't gone anywhere even though nobody heard it, or maybe you're hearing it for the first time. And actually it was told a long time ago - maybe you weren't ready to hear that story at the time." This hints at the limitless nature of her music, as well as its new emotional texture. Direct in its vulnerability, immediate in its tenderness, From a Story Now Lost is a sophisticated evocation over restrained artistry spilling over with meaning.

• Celebrating 40 years since the game-changing “For Dancers Only” LP, KENT 001, “For Dancers Forty” revisits the Los Angeles labels that have given us so much.

• Like KENT 001, the collection represents the broad church of the Biharis’ recordings and features soul stompers, rhythm & blues busters, girly grooves and heavenly harmony.

• Most tracks are new to Kent LPs and there’s a brand new 1966 soul recording from 50s Modern R&B artists Aaron Collins & the Teen Queens. Long-time Kent favourites Jackie Day, Z.Z. Hill and Johnny Copeland are included with some of their underplayed tracks – for Copeland it’s the first vinyl outing for his dancer ‘I Was Born To Love You’. As ever on our rare soul scene, it’s the lesser-known artists who we revel in and there are stunning tracks from the Simms Twins, the Marvellos, the Intentions and the in-demand (due to the Kent 45 being deleted) ‘I Got Love’ by the Other Brothers.

• Tommy Youngblood’s LP track ‘Tobacco Road North’ has been a sleeper, eventually being picked up by hip hop samplers for its atmospheric musical qualities – and we at last give its proper accreditation after decades of misinformation. Little Joe Hinton’s ‘Tired Of Walkin’’ is now looked on as an R&B dance classic, despite its poor sales on release.

• The Sweethearts adorn our cover with a recently discovered colour photo from the archives of Modern’s head engineer Bill Lazerus. Apart from their bouncy ‘This Couldn’t Be Me’, they provided backing for many of the stable’s 60s recordings.


• You Have “Only”, “Also” and “Forever” – make space for “Forty”

Out of the Fog is a masterpiece of divine beauty and charm from the Norwegian composer / performer Daniel Herskedal featuring fellow Norwegian singer-songwriter Emilie Nicolas (4 Times Norwegian Grammy Winner - 2014: Pop soloist of the year and new artist of the year. 2018: Album of the year and pop artist of the year). Crafted with a warmth and awe-inspiring finesse, it’s the blend of Daniel’s unequivocally trademark sound of multi-layered brass, empowering harmonies and soaring melodic lines, with warmth and emotive power of Song and the collaboration with Emilie Nicolas that gives this album its uniquely defining quality. Having emerged in recent years as one of the most prolific and exciting Norwegian composers, Daniel is adeptly capable of straddling Jazz, Classical, soundtracks and now High-Art Pop as well as being a performer who has pushed his instrument beyond its limits. As a consequence it has earned him numerous awards and accolades including a Norwegian Grammy for Best composer and seen him write music for a global Coca Cola ad, the film (The Last Black Man of San Francisco), and the soundtrack for the 9/12 podcast (nominated for Best Score And Music Supervision at Ambie Awards) as well as his own acclaimed albums. Featuring legendary guitarist Eivind Aarset and percussionist Andreas Helge Norbakken, Out of the Fog is an astonishing album from Norwegian Jazz and Pop royalty, with music that is long-lasting and that leaves you wanting more and more. It’s breathtaking and powerfully moving.