Ólafur Arnalds - Eulogy For Evolution

Artist:Ólafur Arnalds
Album:Eulogy For Evolution
Year: 2007
Genre:Piano,Ambient
Country:Iceland

Beatifull album!!Olafur Arnalds is only 21 years old!!Absolutely recommended!!

Ludovico Einaudi meets a lyric-less, down tempo Sigur Ros

"

Icelandic composer and multi-instrumentalist Olafur Arnalds is bound to find himself met with comparisons to his fellow countryman Johann Johannsson: Arnalds' highly cinematic approach has that same instantly digestible quality that Johannsson, and for that matter Max Richter, are able to tap into. After its initial string swells, the sweetly sorrowful opener '0040' starts to sound vaguely reminiscent of the mournful piano music at the end of the '70s Incredible Hulk movies, and that certainly isn't intended as a jibe, it's lovely stuff, if rather dramatised. The ensuing pieces maintain this wistful, downbeat sound, riffing on various permutations of string and piano arrangement, only for Arnalds to whip the rug from under your feet with the brash guitar distortion of closer '3704/3837' which features some seriously histrionic quiet-loud post-rock action, only for all the drums and fuzz to crumble away abruptly for the lonesome, organ-fuelled coda. Gorgeous."(boomkat.com)

Rumillajta - "Lo Mejor", "Sity of Stone"

Artist:Rumillajta
Albums:""Sity of Stone",
Lo Mejor" (a collection)
Year: 1984,2000
Genre:World
Country:Bolivia

Rumillajta means 'city of stone' in Quechua, the language of the Incas. It conjures up the monumental stone ruins of ancient Andean cities such as Tiwanaku, Machu Picchu, and Iscanwaya.RUMILLAJTA WAS FORMED in Bolivia in 1980. The group's five musicians continue to live and work in Bolivia and remain actively involved in their culture.

Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa

Artist:Arvo Pärt
Album:Tabula Rasa
Year: 1977
Genre:Classical
Country:Estonia

One of the most amazing creative minds of our time. 2007 winner of the Sonning Music Prize, which is Denmark's highest musical honor.Arvo Pärt (born September 11, 1935 in Paide, Estonia), is an Estonian composer of classical music. Continuing struggles with Soviet officials led him to emigrate in 1980 with his wife and their two sons. Pärt lived first in Vienna, where he took Austrian citizenship; and then he re-located to Berlin where he still lives.Arvo Pärt is one of the most important living composers of concert music..more

An absolute music gem!

"Arvo Part's "Tabula Rasa" is an absolutely astonishing piece of music. It is part prayer, a part meditation and a part love letter, burning with passion and sufferring. It is at the same time filled with yearning and longing for a higher state of being and every listening puts my mind in a very unique, spiritual and meditative state...Its like a piece of music made in heaven and completely transcends our normal mundane experiences."

Album Description
Recorded 1977, 1983 and 1984
Personnel: Gidon Kremer - (violin), Keith Jarrett - (piano), Dennis Russell Davies conductor Staatsorchester Stuttgart, The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Tatjana Grindenko - (violin), Alfred Schnittke - (prepared piano), Saulius Sondeckis conductor of Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra

James - Pleased To Meet You

James are a band from Manchester, England, formed in 1981. The band had a number of hit singles throughout the 1990s, the most popular including "Sit Down" and "Laid". Following the departure of lead singer Tim in 2001, the band have promised to return with new material.

more on Wikipedia...







Year:2001 -Bit rate:192Kbps -Country-England


This album was widely regarded as one of their best pieces of work. .

WIM MERTENS - RETROSPECTIVES VOLUME 1

Year: 1992
Genre:Minimal
Country:Belgium
Bit Rate:192 Kbps Mp3














Wim Mertens (b. Neerpelt, Belgium, May 14, 1953) is a Belgian composer, countertenor vocalist, pianist, guitarist, and musicologist.Mertens studied social and political science at the University of Leuven (graduating in 1975) and musicology at Ghent University; he also studied music theory and piano at the Royal Conservatories of Gent and Brussels.

more on Wikipedia...

A realy work of Art.

Immanu El -They'll Come They Come

Artist:Immanu El
Album: They'll Come They Come
Year: 2007
Genre:Post Rock,Indie-Pop,Ambient
Country:Sweden

Immanu El is a young Swedish band with a sound of guitar and keyboard soundscapes, low key, captive singing and with somewhat of a moving nordic presence. The music is focused on post/indie rock sounds in variated dynamics.Debut album "they'll come, they come" was released in the fall of 2007.

Atmospheric indie-pop with post rock influences

"Immanu El is a post-rock band from Sweden that was formed when a couple of high school friends decided to make music in the Summer of 2004. Like many other Swedish Post-Rock bands, Immanu El's music focuses on vocals even more so than bands like Logh, Ef and September Malevolence. Their first release was an CDR EP in 2005 called, "Killerwhale". After doing some live shows and touring with different artists such as Sigur Rós and the previously mentioned Ef they struck a deal with And The Sound records. In August of 2007 they released their full-length debut, "They'll Come, They Come".
Immanu El's music can be seen as a combination of ambient, Indie Pop (mainly because of the vocals) and Post-Rock. The vocals are somewhat similar to Jonsi's from Sigur Rós and are sang in English. The music is very atmospheric and prefers to stay subtle and not loud. Highly recommended for fans of Sigur Rós, Ef, Gregor Samsa and other Post-Rock bands that emphasizes on vocals."(Ruben Dario)

Toumani Diabaté - The Mandé Variations

Artist:Toumani Diabaté
Album: The Mandé Variations
Year: 2008
Genre:World
Country:Mali

Toumani Diabate is a Malian master of the kora.The kora is a 21-string harp, of sorts, crafted out of a halved calabash gourd, cow skin and fishing line. Watching someone play it is not unlike watching someone weave, with the results as beautiful as an intricate tapestry.. 'The Mande Variations' is only his second solo album although Toumani has been a guest of various artists such as Ali Farka Toure('In The Heart of the Moon'), Bjork('Volta'), Taj Mahal('Kulanjan') and Roswell Rudd('Malicool').

This beautifully recorded acoustic album is a masterpiece of traditional African music which should appeal to a wide audience and deserves to be a strong contender for World Music record of 2008.

A masterpiece of musical virtuosity

"Toumani Diabaté chose a more minimalistic approach to his music on this one compared to its predecessor Boulevard d e l'Independance. In fact on this record, it's only him. And his kora of course. One easily forgets about electric guitars and synths when hearing the beautiful sounds coming from this 21-stringed harp, especially when it's played by one of its greatest masters, Toumani Diabaté. What characterizes this record is the fact that it allows the listener a lot of space to focus on the music - the complicated melodic structures and the polyrhythms. In other words this is not a record to be played in a background while you're attending other business. To feel the beauty and tunefulness present here, you really have to listen carefully. But in the end you're rewarded, of course, because all 8 tracks are hauntingly pretty - highlights being the precious tribute track "Ali Farka Touré" and the intense melodic evolvements of "Si Naani".(rateyourmusic.com)

Worrytrain - Fog dance, my moth kingdom

Artist:Worrytrain
Album: Fog dance, my moth kingdom
Year: 2007
Genre:Post Rock,Neo-classical,Ambient
Country:Luxemburg

Worrytrain (Joshua Neil Geissler) is this kind of solo artist who plays a lot of different instruments, sending them through many effects and mixing it together into a mind-boggling ensemble. Fog Dance, My Moth Kingdom is Worrytrain’s fourth album, and it tickles the brain with fifteen miniatures that owe as much to experimental classical music as to movie soundtracks, which is why it shouldn’t surprise that Mr Geissler is also active in cinematography composition.
This album attempts to balance modern classical composition with harsh electro noise, two fields that he feels can reach the same level of intensity and emotional dialect for those willing to try it and one that he plans to explore more in the future
Main instruments are the piano and the cello, although you get to hear also string sections and probably some further unlisted gear. The use of effects and the very special production put this release into the territory of electro-acoustic music. Most tracks have no apparent rhythm, and if you allow yourself to close your eyes, you will see how Worrytrain’s music is paining pictures inside your closed eyelids!!

Messer Für Frau Müller - Second Hand Dreams

Artist:Messer Für Frau Müller
Album: Second Hand Dreams
Year: 2001
Genre:Electronica,
Experimental,
Electro-pop
Country:Russia

This is a russian band with a german name, doing some sort of trashy-lounge-electronic music.Formed in St. Petersburg, Russia, Messer fur Frau Muller (translated as Knife for Mrs. Muller in German) creates a sound that is self-described as “post easy-listening.” The band draws on samples from 50’s and 60’s-era pop-culture and builds on it with bass, guitars, synths and additional programming to create an incredibly unusual and compelling sound. Messer fur Frau Muller’s Oleg Gitarkin is already known in the U.S. through his solo project Messer Chups.

Alaska In Winter - Dance Party In The Balkans

Artist:Alaska In Winter
Album: Dance Party In The Balkans
Year: 2007
Genre:Electronica,
Experimental,
Electro-pop
Country:United States

Alaska in Winte

r came about when art student Brandon Bethancourt spent a semester recording music in an isolated cabin on the south coast of Alaska. Upon arrival back in New Mexico, he teamed up with Zach Condon of Beirut, Heather Trost of A Hack And A Hacksaw (a Neutral Milk Hotel side-project), and Rosina Roybal (who played viola in the Kanye West symphony), and thus finished the album Dance Party in the Balkans.Brandon takes much of his influence from all his early years of growing up in the (American) South West, immersed in the musical low-rider culture of Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as a slight Arabian influence on the part of his parents and their Byzantine church music.

a wonderous mix of lush instrumentation, electronica and understated vocal harmonies

"The main man behind the Alaska In Winter project is Albuquerque, New Mexico native Brandon Bethancourt, who decided to take his laptop and spend an isolated winter recording in a log cabin in Alaska, he then got together with a number of musicians including the acclaimed duo of Zach Condon (Beirut) and Heather Trost (A Hawk And A Hacksaw) to pepper his musicial visions and complete this evocative album.

Dance In The Balkans is a joy to hear from start to finish, each and every track helps your mind create vast landscapes of stunning imagery, the music takes you on a journey of discovery without you ever having to leave the comfort of your own home, the impressive instrumentation and beautiful vocals help form a true aural and visionary delight.

The opening track on here, The Homeless And The Hummingbirds sets the tone rather wonderfully, it begins with a gorgeous slice of muted trumpet and a lightly tinkered piano before branching into a mesmeric work of electronic beauty complete with understated vocal harmonies and laidback throbbing bass. From the opening few bars the music captivates the listener and from here on in Alaska in Winter never let go.

Your Red Dress (Wedding Song At Cemetery follows directly on, continuing the grove that Brandon has set, out only this time he adds a few vocal treatments to the mix drawing the listener further into his musical landscape.

The Beautiful Burial Flowers We Will Never See somehow manages to better all that proceeds, it's a beautiful yet mournful piece that opens with strings before taking in wordless vocal harmonies, crashing cymbals and a brief blast of that lone trumpet, the track invokes images of sollutide and remorse and yet somehow still manages to be uplifting in a strange way.

Elsewhere Brandon employs a combination of barely audible and choral vocals, majestic instrumentals and bubbling electronica to further entrance the listener, the title track once again employs those epic trumpets, combining them with harder beats and soulful, uplifting vocals. Whilst Harmonijak mixes an isolated piano with what sounds like an accordian, a crashing cymbal and a haunting vocal wail that urges the listener to block out any outside interference, plug in their headphones and immerse themselves into the sounds of Alaska In Winter."(rbfanzine.co.uk)

Atahualpa Yupanqui - Pasaban los Cantores

Artist:Atahualpa Yupanqui
Album: Pasaban los Cantores
Year: 1979-Sortie en CD en 1996
Genre:World,Folk
Country:Argentina

Greatest referent of Argentine folklore music. An author, composer, guitar player, singer and lyrics collector. From an early age, he composed and played music in the Northeast of Argentina and the Altiplano area. He researched the ancient native cultures. As from 1950, he started travelling to Europe and shared the stage with Edith Piaf in Paris. His performances were highly appreciated in Argentina, the rest of Latin América, Europe, the Middle East, and Japan. (Fundacion konex)

Jakob - Solace

Artist:Jakob
Album: Solace
Year: 2006
Genre:Post-Rock,Math-Rock
Country:New Zealand

Solace is the third album by the New Zealand post-rock band Jakob. It was released in New Zealand on September 11 2006.Jakob, consisting of Jeff on guitar, Maurice on bass guitar and Jason on drums have produced a masterpiece of post rock ambience here. Complete with wonderful, powerful crescendos, multiple loops and delays, a powerful bass line, all backed by a strong drum beat.

"Jakob, a relatively unknown rock band from Napier, New Zealand released their third full-length Solace in 2006. Further progressing on their sonic soundscapes of instrumental rock, Solace is a refined and solid record. Despite their obscurity, Jakob manages to create some of the most captivating songs while marking themselves as one of the best instrumental rock bands during their time.
Although the band relies on the usual crescendos and wall of sound approach of many post-rock bands, they manage to deliver a sound straight to the point yet downright mesmerizing. Opener Malachite introduces you to a lone guitar echoing soft chords before floating in a flurry of delayed notes. Pneumonic will appeal to fans of the heavier side of instrumental rock, where sludgy bass lines meet a wash of sweeping, distorted guitar along with ambient echoes.

Lonesome starts off with a hazy and laidback beginning before slowly rising into a noisy climax. Oran Mor and Safety in Numbers is where the band finally gets it perfect. Full of delayed guitar and bass chords amidst ambient atmospheres, we're left to trip inside the music before being pummeled into a perfectly executed climax. Safety in Numbers, probably the most accessible and structured song on the album, is also one of their finest moments.
Despite Everything All of the Time being a nine-minute epic, its like laid back movie music. It actually features vocals – if you listen carefully during the climax of the song. What closer Saint lacks in variety makes up for in sheer emotive power. It's the closest you'll get to a "ballad" for a band like this. What's really impressive is that there are only three people behind this band. Guitarist Jeff Boyle utilizes his delay pedal in the most captivating way in recent memory.

Jakob may shine through instrumental rock bands with their distinct, polished sound and beautiful sonic environments, but the fact is that they are still an instrumental band. Chances are you'll have stopped paying attention half way through a song if it didn't grab you from the beginning. If Isis eliminated their vocals, their sound would come out something along the lines of this record."(sputnikmusic.com)

Tobias Lilja -Time Is On My Side

Artist:Tobias Lilja
Album: Time Is On My Side
Year: 2007
Genre:Dark Ambient,Experimental,
Country:Sweden

"Time Is on My Side” is Swedish experimental composer Tobias Lilja’s second full-length album and first on n5MD. This follow up to his sonic debut “Ex-leper” (nonresponse) has all the controlled visions of decay as its predecessor but with the addition of Tobias’ desperate yet controlled vocals. These vocals bring to the fore-front a humanistic layer of melody to the tonal blizzard of Tobias’ music yielding new dimensions which are to most, unclassifiable. Said by the artist to be somewhat loosely inspired by some of David Sylvian’s recent work, this comparison though is almost a moot point due to Tobias’ originality in his instrumental composition and his vocal delivery, melody and cadence. “Time Is on My Side” is truly in a world of its own. A teetering balance of contradictions… Frigid yet in some way invitingly warm, desperate with a false sense of hope, other-worldly yet somehow familiar, this balance is where Tobias Lilja excels and is proof of an artist who has found “his” sound. “Time Is on My Side” is one of those rare works of art that comes along to help you through those dark times when everything seems hopeless…

*****Reviews*****


" Swedish musician Tobias Lilja recently completed a two year course in Sound Engineering which resulted in his disillusionment with the clinical sound of electronic music. Where his 2003 debut album “Ex-leper” depicts a stark picture of a town in decay, “Time is on My Side” sees him experiment with adding vocals to his desolate electronic soundscapes. Vocals and electronic music often don’t mix but in Lilja’s case there is a certain hypnotic tone to his voice that helps add an intimate narrative quality to his music. Each track unfolds like a story being told in a half spoken, half sung style that bears an almost folk-like storytelling theme. The often quite lengthy tracks let their tales of time, choices and longing unfold as Lilja relates his tales over icy sonic soundscapes. At times, such as on “Blood Tracer” or “Dreams of Movement”, the combination creates a potent mix of powerful atmosphere and heartfelt lyrical content. The building drones, layers of synth tones and sweeping melodies further enhance the mood of his impassioned lyrics on tracks like “Gas of Forgiveness” or the Coil-esque “To Be Thought Of”. Lilja continues to experiment and expand on his ideas for combining his unique vocal delivery with experimental electronic sensibilities and “Time is on My Side” is a more than excellent first attempt at the concept." (http://www.side-line.com/)

"Tobias Lilja, a graduate of audio engineering sought to infuse his latest electronic work with more spontaneity and personality via the inclusion of lyrics. Yet the resultant effect is provocative rather than warmth. Imagine Helios arranged by David Sylvian. If 4AD house project, This Mortal Coil, had continued and evolved to this day, it might have sounded something like this. ‘A ruthless beast’ a descendent, perhaps, of Come Here My Love? Like a masterwork of fiction, this is a record that captures the imagination, pulling the listener into its world - a landscape that might have been conjured by Ballard or Shelley; Mervyn Peake or TS Eliot. Alternately dark, yet hopeful, Time Is On My Side is a concept album, whose themes explore choices and longing while reflecting upon the cost in lost opportunities. At 71 minutes, this is not for the jog/shuffle as each consecutive piece builds and develops on those preceding. "(http://www.evilsponge.org/)