Marxist Love Disco Ensemble – MLDE (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 44:00 minutes | 522 MB | Genre: Disco, Boogie
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Mr Bongo
Sounding simultaneously from the past, the present, and the future, the debut album ‘MLDE’ by Marxist Love Disco Ensemble seeks to eradicate both the trite from disco and the sobriety from political music. Half poetic, half tongue-in-cheek, this stunning compact eight-track album is influenced by Eastern European and Mediterranean 70s disco records. In the words of band member Paolo, ”it was written in response to hearing ‘I love America’ by Patrick Juvet. The song prompted the question: why does disco, a genre originally created by oppressed minorities, eventually become synonymous with Western capitalist excess?” MLDE seeks to break this connection.
(more…)
Marija Bokor – Piano Works by Bartók, Vaughan Williams & Yusupov (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:14:47 minutes | 1,00 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Prospero Classical
An exceptional piano recital recently recorded by the Swiss pianist Marija Bokor: Works by Bartòk, Vaughan-Williams and Benjamin Yusupov (1962).
Benjamin Yusupov’s compositions are based on both Western and Eastern musical traditions, drawing especially on musical traditions of various Jewish-ethnic communities with the aim of creating a new style of Israeli music. Marija Bokor has chosen the following works for her recital: Subconscious Labyrinths, Metaphor, Melancholy & Crossroads No.2. Exciting music worth discovering!
(more…)
Madilyn Bailey – The Magic of Christmas (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 18:46 minutes | 242 MB | Genre: Christmas
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Madilyn Bailey Music
Madilyn Bailey is a Wisconsin-raised singer, songwriter, and creator now residing in Los Angeles. She has fostered a dedicated global fanbase of over 18 Million (9.3M on YouTube alone) with her unmistakable voice and creative artistry.
After receiving a major viral response to her “Hate Comments” songs, which display her expertise in songwriting, Madilyn grabbed the attention of NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Her outstanding performances on last year’s Season 16 took her all the way to the semifinals.
(more…)
Martti Vesala Soundpost Quintet – Landmarks (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 43:48 minutes | 975 MB | Genre: Contemporary Jazz, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Ozella
Undercurrents can be unpredictable and violent on occasion. This was certainly the case for Martti Vesala’s new Soundpost album: “I really intended for the music to sound more Nordic, to give it a sense of calm, longing and space,” he recalls. “I’m drawing inspiration from more varied sources now.”
(more…)
Margret Köll – Silent Dance (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 56:18 minutes | 1,14 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Accent
Since 2020, Margret Koell, a proven specialist in historical harps, has been in possession of a Welsh triple harp. It is a copy of an instrument by the famous harp maker Evans, whose original from 1736 is kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
This wonderful harp was the occasion for the present recording with works by the two famous British composers John Dowland and Henry Purcell. Despite the long harp tradition on the British Isles, there is no original literature for the harp from this period. Margret Koell had to resort to literature for lute or keyboard instruments, which she makes sound on the harp without major changes.
The pieces by Dowland and Purcell are characterised by a melancholy that was popular in their time, often combined with a light, dance-like impression. Margret Koell takes us on a “silent dance”, into the mood of a fading early autumn summer day.
(more…)
Melissa Stylianou, Gene Bertoncini, Ike Sturm – Dream Dancing (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 47:15 minutes | 775 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Anzic Records, LLC
VOCALIST MELISSA STYLIANOU JOINS GUITAR MASTER GENE BERTONCINI AND VIRTUOSO BASSIST IKE STURM FOR AN INTIMATE TRIO ENCOUNTER
Dream Dancing documents the trio’s effortless rapport as they explore well-loved standards and a moving Bertoncini original, “For Chet” (an homage to the guitarist’s one-time employer, Chet Baker).
It was Sturm who facilitated the first meeting of Stylianou and Bertoncini, in roughly 2008. “When I first met Gene we played ‘My One and Only Love,’ it was the very next thing after ‘hello,’” the singer recalls. “That moment changed my life. I didn’t yet know about Gene accompanying my vocal heroes like Nancy Wilson, or recording with Wayne Shorter, or playing with Benny Goodman. I just knew I was in the middle of something special. I knew that day I had found a generous master to learn from, a kindred spirit in melody, someone I now call family.”
(more…)
Marc Minkowski – Nouvelle Symphonie (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:03:16 minutes | 1,13 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Château de Versailles Spectacles
Marc Minkowski makes a delighted return to Rameau: the rich colours of the orchestra, the irrepressible energy and a remarkable sense of melody showcase extracts from his greatest lyrical tragedy in all their glory, like different points in an anthology. The renowned overtures and exquisite symphonies paint a scintillating portrait of Rameau as a master of orchestration: this is a festival of oboes, flutes, clarinets, horns and bassoons. Pyrotechnics, tempests and rockets spring forth, and cloaked in the splendours of the night or bathed in dazzling light, Rameau’s work once again leaves us awestruck. Florian Sempey unleashes his masterful voice, by turns truly regal as he appeals to the Sun or monstruous as the ogre, but always with an unparalleled finesse in both sorrow and love. Dynamic yet mysterious, Minkowski’s revival of Rameau orchestra is sumptuous, lively and exhilarating!
(more…)
Maria Briggs – Winter Evening (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 53:14 minutes | 848 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Centaur Records, Inc.
Soprano Maria Briggs is joined by pianist Drew Quiring and Violinist Limor Toren-Immerman for a programme of works by Rachmaninov, Tchaikowsky, Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky, Arensky, Medtner and more!
(more…)