2010s 147 Items

Blue - also Antony Costa, Duncan James, Lee Ryan und Simon Webbe -, das ist so ein Name, der einen automatisch in die Boygroup-Ära transportiert: Sie waren nicht nur einer der größten und erfolgreichsten Acts jener Hochphase, sondern vor allem auch einer der besten. Auf den drei Alben, die ihnen in den Nullerjahren Spitzenplätze in den Charts (u.a. 3x #1 UK, 1x Top-10 DE) und reichlich Platin bescheren sollten, verschränkten sie lässigen R&B mit hochauflösender Pop-Perfektion und emotionalen Balladen, was der im Jahr 2000 gegründeten Boygroup nicht nur 16 Millionen verkaufte Albumeinheiten bescherte. Auch zwei BRITs räumten sie ab im Königreich, wo sie gleich 11 Mal die Topregion der UK-Singlecharts aufmischen konnten und davon gleich noch drei Mal die #1 belegten.

Parallel zur Stadiontournee werden Blue im Herbst ihr sechstes Album Heart & Soul veröffentlichen - ihr erstes fürs neue Label Tag8 Music/BMG. Der neue Longplayer unterstreicht und zelebriert all das, was die Band während ihrer ersten Blütezeit ausmachte, denn er spielt immer wieder auf die Vergangenheit an, bringt aber auch kontinuierlich Neues ins Spiel. Ihr Trademark-Sound schwingt im sorglos-ausgelassenen Titelsong, der von MNEK (Beyoncé, Little Mix) mitkomponiert wurde, genauso mit wie in der gefühlvollen Ballade "Magnetic", bei der die Jungs mal wieder ihr ganzes umwerfendes Stimmvolumen auspacken dürfen. Mit der Leadsingle "Haven't Found You Yet" legen Blue einen Instant-Classic vor, der klanglich eher in Richtung Justin Bieber oder auch jüngere Coldplay-Hits geht. Man hört, dass sie unbedingt alles geben wollten für Heart & Soul.

In 2014 Dan Snaith aka Caribou released Our Love to overwhelming critical acclaim and massive fan support. Now Caribou returns with his seventh studio album Suddenly, an album about family and the changes we go though as those relationships evolve.
Suddenly is the most surprising and unpredictable Caribou album to date. Though it retains the trademark Caribou warmth and technicolour, this album is littered with swerves and left turns, and amazes with it’s yet unheard nuances, samples and hooks.
As Snaith puts it, “these albums are like photo albums for me – when I look back at the old ones, they’re a snapshot of my life at that time, full of people who are close to you”. This is the drive to continue to make Caribou albums. Full bodies of work where Snaith is able to evaluate things, look at those around him and celebrate them. As his passion and joy in music making remains as fresh as ever, Suddenly is the purest example of this yet.

Cover and vinyl are close to NM. CD is missing.

Dark Entries celebrates its 15th anniversary with legendary synth-punk deviants Crash Course in Science. Dale Feliciello, Mallory Yago, and Michael Zodorozny formed Ccis in 1979 after meeting at art school in Philadelphia. As a gesture born of equal parts punk irreverence and brute necessity, the band incorporated toy instruments and kitchen appliances into their aggressive, angular sound. Their anthems “Cardboard Lamb” and “Flying Turns” from 1981’s Signals From Pier Thirteen EP have been staples in adventurous DJ sets for over 40 years - yet some of their finest work is to be found on Near Marineland, a full-length LP recorded in 1981 but remained unreleased in its time. Near Marineland shows the band moving into more diverse and polished territory (although it’s still as abrasive as sandpaper). Tracks like “No More Hollow Doors” and “Jump Over Barrels” highlight Ccis’s singular knack for embedding infectiously monotone hooks in their stiff-yet-funky grooves. Elsewhere we see Ccis going fully unhinged, like on the searing “Someone Reads” or the demented “Pompeii Spared”, where a spray of honks is barely glued together by a frantic synthetic pulse. While this masterwork of malfunctioning analog electronics has surfaced on a few occasions - this first time stand alone remaster includes four never-before-released bonus tracks and includes a lyric sheet. Near Marineland is crucial listening for all devotees of synth-punk and minimal electronics.

Numbered limited edition of 3000 on 180 gram vinyl with 3D lenticular sleeve and 11" x 11" full colour 12 page booklet. Beginning seam split on top seam and sticker residue on the front cover, closer to VG+. Vinyl closer to NM. Copy n° 642

It would be fair to say that Leng co-founder Paul “Mudd” Murphy is a born collaborator. Since first donning the Mudd alias at the dawn of the century, Murphy has released numerous collaborative albums and singles with regular collaborators Ben Smith (as Smith & Mudd) and Kevin Pollard (Mudd & Pollard), as well as playing a key role in “super-groups” Paqua and Bison. “Susta”, which marks his first single on Leng since 2009, sees Murphy add some new names to his growing list of collaborators. It was made in cahoots with singer/songwriter David Harks, a regular Satin Jackets collaborator who also appeared on Jack Cutter’s superb “Serpent Strut” cut on Murphy’s Claremont 56 label.

“Susta” is a bubbly, evocative and ear-pleasing chunk of mid-tempo nu-disco pop featuring lead vocals from Jaanika Leino AKA JaneLy – a former X-Factor Finland contestant whose sultry and evocative voice simply soars above Murphy and Harks’ sparkling, life-affirming instrumentation. Rich in twinkling synth solos, rich Clavinet lines, chugging arpeggio lines and eyes-closed piano, “Susta” is a strong song that will squat inside your head and stay there for days. Our advice is to welcome it in – it’s as joyous and life-affirming a track as Leng has ever released. It’s accompanied by a predictably strong remix by British electronic music veteran Andrew Meecham (Bizarre Inc, Chicken Lips etc.), who dons the now familiar Emperor Machine alias to deliver a dub for the ages. Combining his own analogue and modular electronics with snippets of Leino’s vocal and some of the warmest instrumentation from Murphy and Harks’ original mix (think Clavinet and Rhodes for starters), Meecham offers up an epic slice of electronic dub disco that bubbles away for ten mesmerizing minutes. It’s a superb interpretation of a high quality cut.

Black & White Splattered Vinyl Edition.
Includes original inner sleeves and booklet.

2019 release from renowned mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. Songplay is sure to delight not only listeners of opera, but listeners of jazz and tango as well. The album brings together musicians from numerous genres, hand-picked by DiDonato in a band led by pianist and arranger Craig Terry. Among them are bassist Chuck Isreals, drummer Jimmy Madison, Lautaro Greco on the bandoneon, and trumpeter Charlie Porter. Joyce DiDonato greets you with a song in her heart and twinkle in her eye. The American mezzo-soprano's album Songplay unites world-class musicians from the varied worlds of opera, jazz and tango in the pure pleasure of improvisation, experimentation and exchange. Together they create their own musical language, surprising listeners with timeless melodies transformed and universal stories retold over centuries; songs in English, in Italian and - naturally - in the universal language of music. On Songplay, along with her hand-picked band led by pianist and arranger Craig Terry, Joyce draws inspiration from Cavalli and Chet Baker in equal measure. The languishing heart in Giordani's Caro mio ben is as emotionally charged as Jerry Bock's hopeful Will he like me?. Perhaps the most compelling reminder of how the music of Songplay breaks down divides is from DiDonato's experience leading vocal and composition workshops in the New York prison Sing Sing, where one of the men who is incarcerated was particularly moved upon hearing her rendition of Caro mio ben: 'I feel like I've known this song my whole life.'

Few paper scuffs. Cover is close to NM. with booklet.

This album is like a private and historical dive into Laurence Vanay’ work. The tracks had been selected by her own daughter, Marine Thibault (SEYES, Lia Moon, Wax Taylor), in order to (re)discover the sensitive and unique repertoire of an unknown artist but yet part of her time’s avant-garde.

This musical collection title, Ghost Notes from the Stone Vessel, directly refers to Mon Vaisseau de Pierre (My Stone Vessel) a goodbye song written by Laurence Vanay when she had to leave the Château d’Hérouville, a so called recording studio she headed with her husband Laurent Thibault. Moreover, all tracks had been written, composed and recorded at the Château between 1974 and 1985.