Search "It\s A Musical" 284 Items

A gas generator, a hi-fi system, a semi-abandoned house, and 20 hastily printed flyers. That's how, almost without realizing it, Lapsus was born in 2004.

Over the course of two decades, we've ridden a rollercoaster of emotions: from soaring epiphanies, convinced that nothing could stop us, to moments of near defeat when we almost threw in the towel. Let's be honest:

Making a career out of music is not exactly choosing the easy path. But epic tales aside, today we look back with pride at having created something that, in our humble view, is genuine. To celebrate Lapsus' journey and what lies ahead—and also keeping an eye on what is yet to come—we've gathered some of the artists who have joined us along the way, musicians we consider friends and for whom we have the deepest admiration. In a way, Vint (Catalan for “twenty”) is like a sonic photo album, a tracklist that tells our story better than we could ourselves, a collection of unreleased music that celebrates the fact that we've made it this far. Leading this outstanding compilation are forward-thinking producers, with contributions from some of the most respected names in cutting-edge electronic music (a-z): Claraguilar, Gazzi, Kettel, Kode9, Le Motel, Lord Of The Isles, Marina Herlop, naemi, Nueen, Pépe, Plaid, Seph, Simo Cell, Suzanne Ciani, Wordcolour, and μ-Ziq.

Vint is our way of thanking you for your unwavering support over these 20 years. We hope you enjoy it!

Factory Benelux presents a box set collection of the first five albums released by the celebrated Factory Classical imprint in 1989, featuring modern classical works composed by Benjamin Britten, Elliott Carter, Paul Hindemith, Theodore Lalliet, Gyorgy Ligeti, Steve Martland, Olivier Messiaen, Francis Poulenc, Dmitri Shostakovich and Michael Tippett.

The new Factory Benelux clamshell box set includes a 24 page booklet featuring the original Factory commissioned liner notes from 1989, as well as a contemporary essay by writer Stuart Huggett and an interview with Tony Wilson. Each individual CD is housed in a card wallet which reproduces the original artwork by designers Peter Saville, Trevor Key, Ben Kelly, Mark Farrow, Neville Brody and Trevor Johnson.

The 5 CDs have been newly re-mastered in 2022 by Peter Beckmann at Technology Works.

Curated by Durutti Column viola player John Metcalfe, the performers include the Kreisler String Orchestra, German pianist Rolf Hind, The Duke Quartet and oboist Robin Williams, with Steve Martland’s material performed by Residentie Orkest Den Haag and pianists Gerard Bouwhuis and Cees Van Zeeland.

Explained Factory founder Tony Wilson: ‘The idea I had in mind was people like Peter Saville, the Factory designer, and his girlfriend - art school kids brought up with Bowie and Roxy Music, into punk, maybe they find acid house interesting, but they’re looking for something else. For people like them or younger, there is no easy way into classical music, because it’s all quite exclusive. They’re scarcely likely to read Gramophone magazine, or make head or tail of it if they did.’

‘I was a relatively angry young man at that time,’ adds Metcalfe, ‘and chose to channel some of that into a rather naïve disapproval of standard classical industry practices. The white tie and tails and very, very boring, reproductions of Constable paintings on album covers, all that stuff. So I had a chat with Tony and he said, “Off you go, fill your boots”.’

Largely drowned out by relentless Acid House beats and faddish Madchester guitar rock in 1989, the bold, contrarian Factory Classical catalogue is now ripe for re-appraisal by much the same audience identified by Wilson. Indeed since 1989 Metcalfe has worked as an arranger for artists such as Peter Gabriel, U2, Blur, Coldplay and Bat for Lashes, as well as performing and recording with the Max Richter Ensemble. Sadly contemporary composer Steve Martland passed away in 2013.

The latest in a brilliant run of releases from the 130701 label this year, ‘The Sea at The End of Her String’ is a seven-track EP that highlights three adventurous, hugely talented female artists from the current roster of FatCat’s pioneering 130701 imprint. Featuring seven exclusive new tracks, the EP is available both digitally and in a limited edition, one-time-only vinyl pressing of 300 copies to be sold exclusively on a short, triple-bill UK tour this Autumn. Both tour and EP feature the same three artists – French pianist / composer Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, Polish cellist Resina and Swedish-Iranian pianist Shida Shahabi, whose debut LP, ‘Homes’, will be released in mid-October.

The Layers are a collection of compilations by 7K! Records to support a range of contemporary classical music. Duet Layers pays tribute to the first edition of Piano Layers, String Layers, Ambient Layers and Wind Layers. In this new compilation, each track is made up of two musicians merging their musical expressions together. The result is a collaborative record between twelve of the most interesting artists from around the world, sharing their sonic landscapes. Featuring: Hania Rani, Colin Stetson, Niklas Paschburg, Bryan Senti, Simon Goff, Dobrawa Czocher to name a few.

In celebration of Specialty Records’ 75th anniversary, a new Sam Cooke compilation featuring tracks from his Specialty catalogue focusing on his pop-leaning tracks plus the live recordings from the legendary 1955 Shrine Concert that has never been available on vinyl before. 3x10″ released in a triple-gatefold jacket, featuring replica flyers and other ephemera included as inserts in the packaging.

Unreleased Neo Classic tracks by Max Richter. Hauschka, Johann Johannsson, Dustin O’Halloran, Sylvain Chauveau, etc. on Fat Cat's sub label 130701.

Copy close to NM