Buscar:silent em

Vier Stücke des estnischen Komponisten Arvo Pärt, eines Pioniers des ,heiligen Minimalismus". Im Mittelpunkt des Albums steht eine bisher unveröffentlichte Interpretation von ,Silentium", dem zweiten Satz von Pärts berühmtestem Concerto "Tabula Rasa", gespielt vom Kammerorchester A Far Cry aus Boston. Die Gruppe spielt ,Silentium" in fast der Hälfte der Geschwindigkeit der bekanntesten Version, die 1984 bei ECM veröffentlicht wurde. Das Stück, das für seine heilende Wirkung auf Sterbende bekannt ist und oft in Palliativeinrichtungen verwendet wird (ein Patient bezeichnete es als ,Engelsmusik"), ist bei halber Geschwindigkeit atemberaubend und scheint die Zeit selbst zum Stillstand zu bringen. Das Album enthält einige der beeindruckendsten Interpretationen von Pärts Musik, die je aufgenommen wurden. ,Vater Unser (Arr. für Posaune & Streicherensemble)" ist irgendwie warm und streng zugleich. Ein Miniatur-Epos. Pianist Marcel Worm's Soloversion von ,Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka" ist so schön, das man kaum Worte dafür findet. ,Fratres for Strings and Percussion" ist eines der berühmtesten Werke von Arvo Pärt. Diese Version des Orchesters der Ungarischen Staatsoper ist ikonisch, voller Emotionen, an der Grenze zum Romantischen, aber nie kippend. Pärts Herangehensweise an die Musik und das Leben ist so spärlich wie die Kompositionen, die er schafft. Er sagte einmal: ,Ich habe nichts zu sagen... Die Musik sagt, was ich zu sagen habe. Und es ist gefährlich, irgendetwas zu sagen, denn wenn ich es bereits mit Worten gesagt habe, bleibt vielleicht nichts mehr für meine Musik übrig." Silentium setzt die Faszination von Mississippi Records für diesen großen zeitgenössischen Komponisten fort. Hochwertiges, schweres Vinyl, gepresst bei Smashed Plastic in Chicago, präsentiert in einem luxuriösen Reverse-Board-Jacket mit einem Artwork von Pärts heilig-minimalem Zeitgenossen Eduard Steinberg.

Vier Stücke des estnischen Komponisten Arvo Pärt, eines Pioniers des ,heiligen Minimalismus". Im Mittelpunkt des Albums steht eine bisher unveröffentlichte Interpretation von ,Silentium", dem zweiten Satz von Pärts berühmtestem Concerto "Tabula Rasa", gespielt vom Kammerorchester A Far Cry aus Boston. Die Gruppe spielt ,Silentium" in fast der Hälfte der Geschwindigkeit der bekanntesten Version, die 1984 bei ECM veröffentlicht wurde. Das Stück, das für seine heilende Wirkung auf Sterbende bekannt ist und oft in Palliativeinrichtungen verwendet wird (ein Patient bezeichnete es als ,Engelsmusik"), ist bei halber Geschwindigkeit atemberaubend und scheint die Zeit selbst zum Stillstand zu bringen. Das Album enthält einige der beeindruckendsten Interpretationen von Pärts Musik, die je aufgenommen wurden. ,Vater Unser (Arr. für Posaune & Streicherensemble)" ist irgendwie warm und streng zugleich. Ein Miniatur-Epos. Pianist Marcel Worm's Soloversion von ,Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka" ist so schön, das man kaum Worte dafür findet. ,Fratres for Strings and Percussion" ist eines der berühmtesten Werke von Arvo Pärt. Diese Version des Orchesters der Ungarischen Staatsoper ist ikonisch, voller Emotionen, an der Grenze zum Romantischen, aber nie kippend. Pärts Herangehensweise an die Musik und das Leben ist so spärlich wie die Kompositionen, die er schafft. Er sagte einmal: ,Ich habe nichts zu sagen... Die Musik sagt, was ich zu sagen habe. Und es ist gefährlich, irgendetwas zu sagen, denn wenn ich es bereits mit Worten gesagt habe, bleibt vielleicht nichts mehr für meine Musik übrig." Silentium setzt die Faszination von Mississippi Records für diesen großen zeitgenössischen Komponisten fort. Hochwertiges, schweres Vinyl, gepresst bei Smashed Plastic in Chicago, präsentiert in einem luxuriösen Reverse-Board-Jacket mit einem Artwork von Pärts heilig-minimalem Zeitgenossen Eduard Steinberg.

Quiet Village announces new label, The Quiet Village, and new single, ‘Reunion'. Matt 'Radio Slave' Edwards and Joel Martin's critically acclaimed project's first official single under the Quiet Village name in seventeen years!

Beginning life as a 'heady 6/8-time urban jazz odyssey, 'Reunion is a stunning piece of modern, Hi-Tech Jazz that draws influences from Pat Metheny, Timeline, Innerzone Orchestra, and Clyde Stubbelfield's drumming.

While previous Quiet Village material was hewn from a myriad of samples extracted from Edwards' and Martin's notorious digging, 'Reunion' and its follow-ups are drawn from a tight-knit crew of session musicians, including the likes of Jon Hester and Thomas Gandey, adding further depth and feel to the QV sound. Already a firm favourite with Gilles Peterson and Luke Una, the latter of which leaked a clip of the release via his inimitable Instagram presence and called it 'something so fucking beautiful. Tony Allen, Sun Ra meets Carl Craig, Underground Resistance, house, tech, funk, everything rolled into one'.

'Reunion’ is the first single on The Quiet Village, Quiet Village's new imprint. Despite continually producing new music and a slew of remixes, most recently for Running Back and Isle of Jura, the long-term friends and collaborators have been unable to release under their Quiet Village moniker since their LP 'Silent Movie' in 2008. While a few releases under QV and their sometime DJ aliases of Maxxi (Edwards) and Zeus (Martin) have emerged, 'Reunion' is the beginning of a new and re-energised Quiet Village that will see more original material and remixes, DJ and live touring that began in Japan in May and curated compilations of treasures, old and new, in the coming months and years.

Cross Record's new album, Crush Me, is steeped in the pressures and wonders of existence—a profound statement, especially coming from artist and death doula Emily Cross. A two-and-a-half-year gestation period offered challenges, disappointments, and joys reflected in the cramped space of the album, which explores how we handle the weights we carry. Emily Cross had held hundreds of Living Funerals and was as many episodes deep into her podcast, What I’m Looking At. She was five years into serving clients as a death doula and fresh off a tour with Loma, her band with Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater) and Dan Duszynski, when she began work on her fourth album. After moving from Austin, TX to Dorset, UK, she established the Steady Waves Center for Contemplation (named after a track from her second record, Wabi-Sabi ), where she hosted Living Funerals, met clients, scheduled mindful tea sessions, and showcased experimental music nights. All the while, she was scribbling down song ideas. Cross’s Tascam four-track demos finally reached readiness, and she sent them to an interested major independent label. She was encouraged to push her imagination to the limits of what a record could be. So, unlike her usual process of recording as inexpensively as possible, she prepared a two-week recording session in Germany with a group of skilled musicians from around the world. True to her previous work, Cross left plenty of room in her demos for experimentation, collaboration, chance, improvisation, and complete obliteration, then resurrection when necessary. Comfort and traditional structure were eschewed in favor of unaccountable magic, prayers whispered into The Void. Cross is comfortable with the chaotic and unpredictable, a perspective demanded by her work and writing style. The Berlin Airbnb was packed with people, instruments and luggage. During a ride down in a tiny elevator to the studio, Cross realized how central the sense of being crushed was to the album. “I thought of it later and it dawned on me that ‘Crush Me’ perfectly embodied the record,” says Cross. Yes, the weight of a body laying limply atop yours, or the tight squeeze of a hug, can be pleasant. Go too far, and you’re in the hands of a cruel, adolescent god. Upon leaving Germany, the record was unfinished, and without a roadmap. As passages were recorded as isolated parts, Cross and musician Marcin Sulewski collaborated, facing a haphazard brick pile, waiting to be assembled. Work dipped in and out of view like a buoy bobbing in a violent sea over many months. During that time, the aforementioned interested label went radio silent, suddenly not seeming so sure of a thing. Collaborators disappeared, continuing the themes of abandonment, surrender, and disarray that followed the project. Cross physically felt her entire body go numb: In a twist of fate, the record was rescued by long-time friend and supporter Ben Goldberg at Ba Da Bing Records who was eager to help realize the project. Cross worked for months on the album, all the while nursing a pregnancy and continuing her full-time funeral work. The last minute participation of Seth Manchester of Machines with Magnets, who mixed and mastered, was an essential liferaft. He gave true final form to the abstracted songs. Crush Me has the effect of a spell being cast, with songs balancing heaviness and levity. Vocals, guitars, and keyboards float above, as drums and upright bass (often bowed) lurch beneath. On “Rolling Backwards” percussion wanders about while feedback squeals and persists in the distance. “Dorset Area Of Natural Beauty” starts with a thick, unhinged church organ progression punctuated by the disquieting sounds of laughter reaching the point of hysteria. “God Fax” is a slow-moving panic attack, with shallow breaths in and out framing a guttural cacophony like a wooden freighter encountering increasingly turbulent waters and vocals struck emotionless by autotune. The album ends with “Twisted Up Fence,” a reflection on life from outside the wall--wistful, warm, and comforting. Cross, likely with a smile on her face, sings: “You say it’s an endless abyss” “And I say the abyss is the best”

Armagedda’s “Ond spiritism” (2004) is held in the same regard as the iconic releases by black metal contemporaries such as Funeral Mist, Watain, and Deathspell Omega. Boasting one of the best productions ever to emerge from Necromorbus Studio, the unique tonal quality of the guitars casts a hollow, haunting resonance – impeccably conveying the wistful, folk-infused dissonance. Creative basslines weave through sinister melodies, seamlessly integrated with the minimalist yet masterful percussion.

Artwork by E. Danielsson (Watain)

When Shadows Dance is the new album from Eyolf Dale’s acclaimed trio with Per Zanussi and Audun Kleive, building on theexcitement of his previous trio album Being the Wayfarer, and his recent collaboration with the Norwegian Radio Orchestraconducted by Miho Hazama. Dale’s compositions and performances have been praised for their cinematic scope, blendingflowing lyricism with atmospheric depth, and this new release promises to push those boundaries even further.This album reflects Dale’s unmistakable style—rich in melodic and emotional narrative—while showcasing his sophisticatedcompositional approach. The trio creates dynamic landscapes, shifting seamlessly between delicate, impressionistic textures andmoments of energetic intensity. As always, Dale’s music draws from his deep connection to the Nordic tradition, while exploringnew and evocative sonic territories. His ability to craft music that feels both ethereal and grounded ensures that When theShadows Dance resonates with listeners, inviting them into a contemplative, poetic space.Known for his wide-ranging collaborations, from his trio to working with orchestras, Eyolf Dale continues to innovate, blendingelements of jazz, classical, and folk in a way that feels timeless yet forward-thinking. With the support of Per Zanussi’scommanding bass lines and Audun Kleive’s masterful percussion, this album is poised to captivate audiences, solidifying Dale’sposition as one of Norway’s most versatile and visionary musicians.

2026 Repress

MOLA's music is the unadorned antithesis to a rosy world. She celebrates herself to death, pulls you into her inner chaos and does without the usual romanticising transfiguration of the merciless disorientation that catches up with you on the way home after the last cigarette.

MOLA knows better than anyone that she is a border commuter - and she has never made a secret of it. Perhaps it was fate that the course of events abandoned her shortly after her birth in Erba, Italy, in Germany's most austere metropolis. In Munich, where flying free and falling free are a little more complicated than in the cesspit of Berlin, where one would naturally place Isabella Streifeneder and her music if one didn't know better.

Temporarily reduced to intimacy, then escalating into iconic 80s "Purpel Rain" pathos, MOLA illustrates the emotional chaos that the inner dialogue of left and right brain triggers in her. Unconventional pop music that bundles the nonchalance of great soul anthems, the grace of the Italo-disco of the eighties and the ingenuousness of lascivious hip-hop bangers instead of trying to sound modern by force.

MOLA celebrates defeat, exposes life lies, criticises adulthood, documents radical mood swings. She balances along the abyss in her ball gown, jokes about things you don't joke about, praises and curses intoxication and love - "Vino Bianco no longer tastes like dolce vita, it only tastes like losing".

You can now see MOLA supporting Fatoni, Roy Bianco & the Abbrunzati Boys, Mayberg and Kaffkiez in a flurry of strobe lights after sold-out "nothing breaks me" shows in Munich, Cologne, Berlin & Hamburg. In addition to a festival season that couldn't have been more beautiful, they finally have a big tour of their own coming up for their next album, which will see the light of day in September.

After more than 40 festivals "Snow in Summer" on well-known stages like Lollapalooza Berlin, Rocken am Brocken, Puls Open Air, but also as support for Udo Lindenberg at the Hermann-Hesse-Festival, "Life is Beautiful", the darned second record, sounds almost cynical, ironic or simply naive? In the end, it doesn't matter, because when you are overcome by this spontaneous feeling that is far removed from any rationality, you don't ask any questions. It tastes like the melancholy of a summer in its last breaths, like the last drink of an uncompromisingly insane night.

There is sweating, pogoing and feeling together. Even where it hurts.
You are not just an onlooker or a silent spectator, but part of this empowering feeling of "we".

Max Richter, der gefeierte Komponist, der dafür bekannt ist, traditionelle Orchestrierung nahtlos mit modernen elektronischen Elementen zu verbinden, bereitet sich darauf vor, sein mit Spannung erwartetes Album
zu veröffentlichen. Dieses Album markiert eine bedeutende Entwicklung in Richters musikalischem Werdegang, da er sich intensiver mit Themen wie Optimismus und der Polarität des Lebens und menschlicher
Emotionen auseinandersetzt, begleitet von einer tieferen Erkundung elektronischer Klänge und Feldaufnahmen.
Mit seiner jahrzehntelangen Karriere und prägenden Projekten wie SLEEP oder Vivaldi Recomposed kann
Max Richters Einfluss auf Musik und Kultur gar nicht hoch genug eingeschätzt werden. Seine unvergleichliche Fähigkeit, tiefgreifende menschliche Erfahrungen in musikalische Kompositionen zu übersetzen, hat
ihm weltweit eine treue Anhängerschaft eingebracht.
Seither begeisterte Max Richter weltweit ein Millionenpublikum und berührte damit nicht nur bewährte
Kenner, sondern auch völlig neue Generationen von Hörern, sei es in Filmen wie Ad Astra, oder Serien, wie
zuletzt in den Netflix-Erfolgsformaten Bridgerton oder The Crown.

Balancing mystic pop, psychedelic ambiance, and pulsating electronica, her debut LP weaves a divine, harmonic universe



Ghent-based singer-songwriter and composer Nele De Gussem (Uma Chine) has today announced her debut solo album The Loom Of Longing, out February 7 2025 on Viernulvier Records.



De Gussem has delivered a sensational album of mystic pop, psychedelic ambiance and pulsating electronica. To shape her divine harmonic universe, she has a preoccupation with soundscaping that involves using her sensual voice and electronic/analog instruments as a sort of palette of rich textures where she’s the auteur, as opposed to the cog in a bigger machine as she’s been with her band, Uma Chine.



“This album celebrates having found desire as a compass in my life and as a medicine to quell fear, holding back and keeping silent.”

— NELE DE GUSSEM



The cracking first single from the album - ‘Wonder’ comes with an eye-popping music video by Belgian visual artist Victor Verhelst (STROOM). Verhelst crafts a unique collage of 90s computer game-inspired motion graphics, which has an otherworldly appeal and highly symbiotic relationship with the music. Rarely do the marriage of visual and musical arts come together so invitingly.



Of the single’s feel, Nele De Gussem says: “‘Wonder’ is about the paradoxical situation of being at a party and finding stillness within. Introspection amid exuberance; tranquillity amid joy. It’s like being swept away by a rush of light - feeling our head in the clouds - but feeling equal magic in the corporeal self.”

While 1995's Washing Machine LP moniker was a thinly-veiled jab at the corporate aesthetic ("no, you cannot turn Sonic Youth into a household appliance brand", the band even considered changing its name to Washing Machine but settled on the album title instead), their major label relationship was indeed a curious buzzpoint of talk on the street after their intake to DGC in 1990. It wouldn't be fair to say that this state of existence propelled the band to reinforce its independent mindset by releasing a series of opaque-looking, French-language-dipping, highbrow-looking releases on their own that focused on the more abstract improv/compositional side of the band; in all truths they had been heavily steeped in self-releasing spillover material prior to that. But after a pressure pot of the early 90's indoctrination into a new operational mode for the band and its visibility, and the forces around it attempting to shape their direction, it seemed like a good time to create a strong show of radical concept.

The Anagrama EP became the first in a series of the SYR label's Perspective Musicales releases seemingly cementing Sonic Youth's connectivity to an increasing public awareness in experimental composers of the 20th century (French or otherwise). The irony was that many of those original avant composers being rediscovered by the indie audience (Partch, Neuhaus, Reich, Messaien) often found themselves on major labels anyway! So, perhaps this reverse approach was a necessary concept/comment given the music biz climate of the 90's. Regardless of how apples and oranges fell in Xenakian probability/theory, it was clear that both Sonic Youth's stature in progressive music, aided by now unlimited taperoll time thanks to a home base studio downtown established after their Lollapalooza stint, gave the band plenty of trailblazing time for their self examination of untraveled avenues.

"Anagrama" unfolds into nine minutes of delicate textures, starting with thick drone segueing into moments reminiscent of the post-crescendo flutter/comedown of "Marquee Moon's" trail-out; Thurston, Lee and Kim's guitars all circling round each other taking delicate pokes and stabs before drifting into some post-rock rhythmic moves tapered with delicate percussive guidance from Steve Shelley. "Improvisation Ajoutée" reaches further out into dissolve with whirring oscillations, guitars hissing and clanking radiator-style in a short blast format that continues into "Tremens" and a spooked-out landscape of gelatinous notes snaking up slowly. The sparseness of attack is colorful, textures emit and linger, silent spots shine, all flanked by tasteful drumming that provides the thread to all the abstraction. Shelley's approach here is interestingly sideways to any kind of usual rock action, it's tempered, mutant and metronomic simultaneously. The finale track "Mieux: De Corrosion" is a real pedal-palatte showcase. Here, Plutonian guitar wash flanges upwards to buoy a myriad of colorful eruptions of amp-spuzz, chopped up tone blasts and general confusion. Out of the blue, some metallic one-note choogle kicks in and threatens to explode into some Judas Priestly motion, before it all sputters into aural glass showers, clang, and finally a ferocious wave of more flange hiss that crashes down on a dime.

This initial foray into SY's Perspectives Musicales series continued onward with releases featuring other co-conspirators, peaking with the ambitious 2CD Goodbye 20th Century that finally connects the band into full-on interpretations of other composers' pieces (as well as displaying their own new ones). The whole series is not so much an outlet for another "side" of the band, but a run that went hand in hand building new approaches of songcraft onto their own, more overground direction which included Jim O'Rourke (who hopped on during SYR3), adding additional density to A Thousand Leaves and other LPs of his era. Fans of the '86 Spinhead Sessions as well as the recently-exhumed later jams of In/Out/In will take in the sounds of SYR1 with glee.

On his third album as Etelin, Alex Cobb explores the intricacies of separation and belonging using field recordings and electronics, reconfiguring the dividing line between what is artificial and natural in the process. Maintaining a sense of playful reverence and lurking melancholy in its glitchy pastoralism, Patio User Manual hums with a meticulous and singular energy. From the loops and static pulses of "The Chemistry of Cobalt" to the tension and release of "Electrical Sailing," the listener is pulled into a sound world at once ambivalent and radiant, reaching its denouement in the lovely melody that closes the final track, "Picnic at Gas Station Park". Although the album might bring to mind the nuanced and imaginative ambient music published by labels such as Mille Plateaux, Sonig, and Silent Records in the 1990s, it is, in the end, a world of its own and very much of today. The patio as a stage for alienated life, pyrrhic in its isolation, deceptive in its promise of distinction. Orientation as disorientation, often unseen inside the frame but felt in the bones. What is out there, anyway, other than the thing we fear the most?



"Another day of weird weather and screens. What type of perfume did Philip Johnson wear when he designed Glass House? Is it actually possible to flee to the country when you’ve internalized a lifetime of intellectualized urban living? When you buy a DIY patio kit, you get instructions for how best to embed concrete or brick or flagstone into the natural world. The patio will make you enjoy your environment more. It will become yours. You can stand on it and think “this is Mine.” The structuralists talked about the importance of fixed camera position, but didn’t properly interrogate it because to do so would be impossible. It’s hard to believe that it really wasn’t long ago that computer music seemed exciting, novel, even radical. We’re now thoroughly estranged from eating what’s in season. Walking around the woods in southern Ohio in spring, I thought about the curious imperative of the patio, how my kids get excited about picking oyster mushrooms, the dynamics of switched capacitor filters, and how adequacy is tethered to doubt." - AC, May 2024

Rhythm Section International, the impossible-to-define label founded in South East London by Bradley Zero in 2014 has reached the ripe old age of 10 years.Spanning 6 discs and 30 tracks, the compilation begins by taking us on a walk down memory lane and presenting one track from each year of the labels output

Rhythm Section International, the impossible-to-define label founded in South East London by Bradley Zero in 2014 has reached the ripe old age of 10 years. Funny thing is, it feels like it could have been almost double that. It’s hard to imagine the Landscape of the London music scene without this foundational force whose influence is felt more than ever.

With this special anniversary release, the label takes stock at this milestone to present a compilation in 3 parts: PAST, RE-IMAGINED AND FUTURE: honouring the labels tradition of always paying homage to what has come before while setting sights firmly forwards.

With 100-odd releases in their extended back catalogue covering every imaginable style and boasting influence in every inhabited continent on earth, it’s been quite a decade for the independent label, which began on a shoestring budget with funds made via the now legendary Rhythm Section pool hall parties in Peckham.

From humble beginnings to an era defining output - few would have predicted the slow and steady rise of the imprint and the impact it has had on generations of Dj’s, musicians and listeners - at home and abroad.

Spanning 6 discs and 30 tracks, the compilation begins by taking us on a walk down memory lane and presenting one track from each year of the labels output - highlighting some forgotten classics from the archives over the first 2 discs. For discs 3 & 4, the label invited it’s stable of artists to pick a track from the back catalogue to re-imagine in their own style. This process resulted in some incredibly playful contributions from the likes of Ruf Dug, Session Victim and Private Joy - whose playful reinterpretations add new depth to old material.

Finally, the last 2 discs are entirely new material for 2024, carrying the torch of the previous SHOUTS compilations - whose sole aim is to shine light on new music from emerging artists

Available for the first time on vinyl and reaching #2 on the iTunes Jazz Album Chart, CODE RED brings together hits like SILENT MOVIE and the title track CODE RED with newer songs including the sultry album closer ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE. The album is pure class from start to finish and has been the most requested vinyl issue on the FRESHLY SQUEEZED roster since its original digital release in 2021.

LEEDS based Little Violet is the writer, pianist and vocalist behind these impeccably rendered songs featuring her brilliant studio band. With its high quality contemporary production, vintage styling and superb musicianship, the album was described as "an instant classic of RETRO POP" that takes inspiration from the likes of Caro Emerald and runs with it to create something at once both modern and timeless. "If you think they don't make albums like they used to any more, this is probably one you should hear..."

The Holiday Album That Turned Mariah Carey into the Queen of Christmas: Featuring the Standard “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” the Singer’s Blockbuster Merry Christmas Exudes Joy, Spirituality, and Conviction
Sourced from the Original Master Tapes, Presented in Audiophile Sound for the First Time, and Strictly Limited to 3,000 Numbered Copies:

Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP Set Plays with Superb Detail, Openness, and Definition
1/2" / 30 IPS / Dolby SR analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

Mariah Carey didn’t become the Queen of Christmas just because of her fervent love of the holiday. Or as the result of a brilliant marketing plan. The iconic singer earned her title by way of her blockbuster Merry Christmas, a 1994 album that quickly joined the likes of Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song as an all-time holiday vocal classic. Featuring a balanced mix of inspired originals and well-chosen covers, Carey’s fourth studio record has only grown in stature as new generations discover its magic. Mobile Fidelity’s 30th anniversary edition reissue of Merry Christmas makes her spellbinding performances and upper-tier register come alive like never before.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, the pioneering label’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set of Merry Christmas plays with superb detail, depth, and dimensionality. Available in audiophile quality for the first time since its original release three decades ago, and featuring the bonus track “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” the nine-times-platinum set breathes with a newfound openness and transparency that enhance the spirituality, passion, and festive tenor of Carey’s singing.

Benefitting from superb groove definition, a nearly inaudible noise floor, and dead-quiet vinyl surfaces, the music takes on a heightened energy and anticipatory emotion synonymous with the holiday season. Carey’s signature vocals explode with liveliness and dynamics, the full scope of her acrobatic range presented in clear, transparent sound that practically places her on a small stage in your listening room. This collectible version also breathes with the kind of warmth, intimacy, and coziness you want from a landmark vocal album.

Recorded when Carey helped put “diva” back into everyone’s vocabulary, Merry Christmas gave the New York native another smash right out of the box. What nobody knew at the time was the degree of the album’s staying power — and how, many years removed from its initial promotion cycle, its legend would still grow and even spark a 2010 sequel. Having re-entered the Top 200 charts every year since 2019, Merry Christmas ranks as one of the three most commercially successful holiday LPs ever made and, in due time, will likely earn the top distinction in that class. A global blockbuster, it seamlessly ties together Christian, gospel, and secular threads and speaks to a boundless audience, independent of denomination.

Most obviously, the record remains inescapably connected to “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” an uptempo anthem that towers as a holiday standard and one of the biggest-selling singles in history. Punctuated with celesta chimes, sleigh bells, springy keyboards, and joyous beats, the song echoes the simple albeit engaging melodies and doo-wop style of beloved holiday classics of yore — and blends such elements with contagious dance-pop rhythms to create an atmosphere rich in joy, wonder, and excitement. Radiant with golden soulfulness and sincere conviction, Carey’s exuberant singing and on-point phrasing put it all over the top. And how.

The song stands as the only effort in Billboard history to top the Hot 100 chart during at least three separate runs. Carey’s blockbuster has already hit No. 1 during five runs, spanning every year between 2019 and 2024. That’s just one of the many records the singer holds — and only one of the multiple highlights from Merry Christmas, which includes two other Carey-penned originals, “Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)” and “Jesus Born on This Day.”

Though slightly lesser known, Carey’s remarkable rendition of Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” further links her album with the big, lush, Wall of Sound heritage that helped inspire its production. Carey’s heartfelt take and transformation of the traditional “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” into an animated tune that even adults can believe, as well as her clairon reading of “Joy to the World” — cleverly augmented with bits of Three Dog Night’s 1971 hit of the same name — further reinforce her status as Queen of Christmas.

At the peak of her powers, Carey finds equivalent success when tapping more spiritual veins. Witness the reverence she brings to the timeless carol “Silent Night,” the piousness she invests in “Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child,” and the sacred feeling she conveys throughout “O Holy Night.” You’ll also never think of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)” the same way again after hearing Mimi pour her heart and soul into them, and pair the songs together.

Indeed, it’s Carey’s pliable voice, melismatic technique, and five-octave range — on display here in definitive fashion — coupled with her undeniable love for Christmas and understanding of the religious significance of the season that make Merry Christmas a must-have holiday staple. And on Mobile Fidelity’s LP, something you better add to your wish list.

The Peace Chant compilation series is a Temple, a reliquary of sacred harmonious statements made by enlightened artists throughout time. With Tramp Records' latest offerings, "Peace Chant, Raw Deep and Spiritual Jazz volumes 5 & 6, deeper, darker, and even more remote chambers of this already exalted temple are brought to light. The team at Tramp, with their torch of love and with reverence for those builders who came before, have returned from their quest with musical treasures unfathomable. Indeed, some of these tracks sound as if they may have literally been plucked from the ancient hands of some towering golden idol. But this quest was no looting effort, no. The Gods, as well as the artists and their families were fairly compensated through Tramp Records' rigorous and historically conscious licensing efforts.

Some of the treasures herein include, from Volume 5, a German gospel/modal jazz hybrid replete with flutes and vibes (and even a surprise gospel choir) reminding us not to 'speak when we should be silent' called "Ich Rede Wenn Ich Schweigen Sollte"; Indian jazz/rock fusion outfit Jazz Yatra Sextette's literal peace chant, "Shanti" led by Louis Banks (real name Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi), who worked with Embryo and John Maclaughlin; and Ron Wilson Trio's walking meditation and study on the beauty and rhythm of "Zimbabwe" in 3/4.

Nach ausverkaufter Welttour und Festivalauftritten bringen Mount Kimbie ihr von den Kritikern gefeiertes Album "The Sunset Violent" in neuer limitierter Jahresendausgabe auf Petrol Blue Transparent-Vinyl heraus. Das Album zeigt das Duo in ihrer gewagtesten und aufregendsten Form und featuret ihren langjährigen Kollaborateur King Krule auf mehreren Tracks.

- "Auch weil sie endlich wieder zueinander gefunden haben, schaffen es Mount Kimbie mit "The Sunset Violent" jetzt schon auf die Jahresbestenliste." - Kulturnews 14/24

Where would a painter paint if it were not on a white canvas? Where would a composer compose if it were not on the stave and the spaces in between the lines? How would a musician play his instrument if there were no melodies composed, written down, painted for him to follow?

The magic of art needs a frame, a somewhat solid container to hold the freedom that can only be found once we integrate some form of structure. And that also holds in every other area of life. We all need a frame, a structure, a rhythm, or else, we fall apart. This human form needs the body, and yet it transcends the limitations of the body - through art.

Consistency being one of them seems oftentimes less tangible, for it resides more in the act of doing, and showing up for the practice, for devoting energy and presence. Strangely, if we consistently show up for our practice, regardless of its form, the solid frame of the hour we devote to playing the instrument, learning a language, doing the sport, sitting silently for that meditation: It feels different every single time. It feels new every single time.

The repetitive consistency in being present again and again allows for nothing short of magic to happen. Magic feeds consistency. Consistency feeds magic. Consistency sets a foundation that strengthens over time. It allows us to slowly but surely develop any kind of skill, to find and hence to embody expertise. On the fertile grounds of such a solid foundation, creativity fosters, and innovation blossoms.

Establishing consistent rituals and routines can bring a sense of comfort and safety into every-day-life. For routine beholds repetition and its frame enables our experience within to change. In the familiar, we dare to explore, maybe even experiment, merely because a part of us remembers we depart from, and always return to, a safe space. We do not get lost. We do not fall apart. As we practice, again and again, we build resilience in overcoming obstacles or literally persevering through challenging situations and stretches of time.

While consistency gifts steadiness and stability, its overdose risks to result in what may appear as uniformity. It feels like constantly - consistently - dancing on the fine line of freedom within a structure. Life is filled with unexpected twists and turns, adjustments need to be made to accommodate change and avoid rigidity. By striking a balance between consistency and flexibility, we can create harmony in our lives, just like a beautiful melody that flows smoothly from one note to the next.

Within the magical waves of music, skills are needed, too. Consistency is key to show up and do the work. It frames the freedom of magic that resides beyond and only beyond effort. Learning to play an instrument, learning to sing, does never happen within the blink of the eye. It takes time. Time to show up for the practice, to do precisely that: practice. Again and again, every single time, again and again. Precision feeds perfection that falls apart inside the structure of a song, a line, a rhythm, dissolving into magic.

Consistency in practicing, in composing and sharing music with the world regardless of the form allows any musician to refine his style, to carve out his uniqueness. For any artistic expression is, after all: Unique. And this uniqueness is born inside the vessel of any structure, over and over again. Sharing music in the form of new releases and public performances nourishes the bond between artist and audience. And for that to unfold, both parties need to show up - while the underlying beat of this never-ending practice is presence fuelled by consistency.

"Le retour à la raison" is an ablum by Teho Teardo"s originally released in 2015. An album that brings together the music written for three Man Ray films. Not a traditional musical accompaniment but a kind of appointment in space with Man Ray. In space, music responds to only one law: truth. Here the relationship between the music and the films is perhaps the most intimate ever achieved by the composer and it is significant that it takes place with silent films in which the director cannot be present. The silent film directors are all dead, missing for decades, and must be intercepted in the cosmos, through the dreams, desires and emotional legacy of their works, like stars shining with their own light. The music is a constellation in a mysterious and seductive world and documents the experience of encountering Man Ray"s art. The project, recorded between March 2014 and May 2015 in Teardo"s Rome studio, mixed and mastered by Boris Wilsdorf at the Anderebaustelle studio in Berlin, was initially conceived for live performance. Presented at Villa Manin, the Maxxi in Rome and the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin, as well as the International Arts Festival in Galway, the album also features Joachim Arbeit (Einsturzende Neubauten), Joe Lally (Fugazi) and David Coulter. The three films by Man Ray that inspired Teardo are "La Retour à la Raison" (1923), "Emak Bakia" (1926) and "L"etoile de Mer" (1928) were also screened during the concerts that followed the album release.

Nach dem fantastischen 'The Reckoning Dawn' kehren die Meister des atmosphärischen Black Metal und bedeutendste UK-Black-Metal Kraft Winterfylleth mit ihrem brandneuen Album 'The Imperious Horizon' zurück, das am 13. September über Candlelight erscheinen wird.

Für Fans von: Emperor, Enslaved, Wolves In The Throne Room, Primordial