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The Beach Boys open archives for career-spanning compilation

– June 11, 2013Posted in: New releases

The Beach Boys have opened their archives for a new career-spanning, six-CD collection titled “Made In California”, capping the legendary band’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. To be released worldwide on August 27 the set features more than seven and a half hours of music, including more than 60 previously unreleased tracks.

Produced by The Beach Boys and the Grammy Award-winning team of Mark Linett, Alan Boyd, and Dennis Wolfe, “Made In California” chronologically charts the 50-year career of the band, from their earliest demos to their most recent recordings. With huge hits and rare gems including never-before-released original songs, home demos, alternate takes and mixes, and live concert, television and radio performances, the set showcases the breadth and diversity of The Beach Boys’ recorded catalog and illustrates the band’s unique and evocative West Coast story.

Previously unreleased and long sought-after recordings include “Goin’ To The Beach,” “California Feelin’,” “Soul Searchin’,” “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” and “You’re Still A Mystery,” among others. The set also debuts 17 unreleased live recordings, including “Runaway” (1965), “Friends” and “Little Bird” (1968), “Wild Honey” (1972), “It’s About Time” (1973), “Wonderful” and “Vegetables” from The Beach Boys’ legendary 1993 acoustic tour, and a 1995 rendition of “Sail On, Sailor” featuring a soulful lead vocal by the late Carl Wilson.

The set also features a special ‘From The Vaults’ disc of rarities selected by the band and the producers with longtime Beach Boys fans in mind. Among the disc’s highlights are a cappella mixes of standout vocal recordings for songs including “This Whole World” and “Slip On Through,” alternate versions of “Don’t Worry Baby” and other Beach Boys classics, session highlights and instrumental tracks, plus newly-discovered BBC Radio live recordings from 1964 of “Wendy,” “When I Grow Up (To Be A Man),” and “Hushabye.”

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Tags: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys

“Country Soul Sisters 2″ out now on Soul Jazz Records

– June 7, 2013Posted in: New releases

“Country Soul Sisters 2″ is Soul Jazz Records’ second guide to the great female country singers who helped define a musical genre as artists such as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette attained staggering commercial success in the previously male-dominated musical world of country music.

The album features a stunning line-up of classic female country artists – Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Bobbie Gentry, Kitty Wells, Wanda Jackson and many more. The album comes with extensive sleeve-notes in accompanying large outsize booklet that also includes photography from the Getty picture archive.

As well as the CD edition there is a limited heavyweight double gatefold vinyl edition, complete with full sleeve-notes and super-loud pressing.

Buy Soul Jazz Records releases from Amazon.com

Tags: Soul Jazz Records

Brian Wilson working on new solo album

– June 6, 2013Posted in: New releases

Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson has returned to Capitol Music Group and he is currently recording and self-producing his 11th solo studio album at Hollywood’s Ocean Way Studios. Wilson has been joined in the studio by friends he personally invited to record with him, including guitar icon Jeff Beck.

Wilson has also asked his former Beach Boys bandmates Al Jardine and David Marks to join him in the studio, as well as session all-stars Don Was and Jim Keltner. He has brought in Vinnie Colaiuta and Tal Wilkenfeld, who for several years have toured and recorded as Jeff Beck’s rhythm section, and members of Wilson’s longtime touring band, including Jeffrey Foskett, Scott Bennett, Paul Mertens, Darian Sahanaja, and Probyn Gregory, have also participated in the sessions.

Last year’s Beach Boys 50th anniversary reunion made headlines around the world as one of the year’s top entertainment stories. The band released their 29th studio album, That’s Why God Made The Radio, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and embarked on their 50th Anniversary Tour, the band’s first major outing to include Wilson in more than two decades.

Wilson continued to write new songs throughout The Beach Boys’ whirlwind anniversary year, which also included a Grammy Award win for him for The Beach Boys’ long-awaited SMiLE Sessions release. He told family, friends, and journalists around the world that he had a rock & roll-driven album in mind, and he looked forward to returning to the studio when he got back home to California.

Installed at Ocean Way, Wilson and his hand-picked band of friends have taken a fluid, woodshedding approach to the recording process, letting collaborative creativity drive the sessions. Wilson is working with longtime collaborator Joe Thomas to hone the arrangements, often assembling pieces from various takes. Details about the album and its release will be shared soon.

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Tags: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys

Composer/arranger Bob Thompson dies

– June 4, 2013Posted in: Obituaries

The mainstream music press hasn’t paid much attention to this, but our sources inform us that composer, arranger and orchestra leader Bob Thompson passed away on May 21, aged 88.

Irwin Chusid reports: “I just spoke with Paula Thompson, who informed me that her husband Bob passed away in a nursing home on May 21. I can’t find any obits online. Bob had been in poor health for years, and except for avid Exotica enthusiasts, his work has been overlooked. But as a musician-arranger-conductor, he was a class act.”

Bob Thompson (born 1924, San Jose, California) was a composer, arranger, and orchestra leader from the 1950s through the 1980s. Active in Los Angeles, Thompson scored film and television soundtracks, and wrote commercial jingles. He is considered a prime exponent of what has belatedly been termed “Space age pop,” or “Space Age Bachelor Pad Music.” This style of breezy, experimental orchestral music became popular in the 1950s and 1960s following the introduction of the long-playing microgroove record and the advent of high-fidelity and stereo home audio systems, which allowed enhanced sonic reproduction.

Thompson composed, arranged, and conducted orchestra for such artists as Rosemary Clooney, Mae West, Julie London, Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters, Duane Eddy, Judy Garland, Jerry Lewis, Van Dyke Parks, and many others.

His classic RCA Victor albums, recorded in Los Angeles, featured many of the top session talent from the late 1950s west coast jazz scene, including drummer Shelly Manne, percussionist Emil Richards, alto saxophonist Bud Shank, trombonist Frank Rosolino, trumpeter Al Porcino, guitarist Al Hendrickson, and bassist Red Callender.

Tags: Bob Thompson

For Your Ears: Fusée Dorée – Home

– May 31, 2013Posted in: For Your Ears, New releases

We still have fond memories of her live performance at our tenth anniversary party last year, so we’re happy to share this cool new video by Fusée Dorée with you. Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do.

More stuff at www.fuseedoree.com.

Tags: For Your Ears, Fusée Dorée

For Your Ears: Bruno Heinen Sextet – Karlheinz Stockhausen Tierkreis

– May 28, 2013Posted in: Downloads, For Your Ears, New releases

Pianist and arranger Bruno Heinen was heavily interested in composer Karlheinz Stockhausen from an early age. The luminous presence of wind-up music boxes from his childhood are at the heart of his exquisite arrangements of Stockhausen’s Tierkreis.

<a href="http://babel-label.bandcamp.com/album/karlheinz-stockhausen-tierkreis">Karlheinz Stockhausen Tierkreis by BRUNO HEINEN SEXTET</a>

Both Bruno’s parents – cellist Ulrich Heinen and violinist Jacqueline Ross – had worked with the composer and electronic music innovator Karlheinz Stockhausen in the 70’s in Germany when he composed Tierkreis (1974-5) for 12 music boxes. Bruno’s father had acquired 4 of the music boxes, and Bruno’s fascination with the piece began in the family home.

Tierkreis (meaning “the signs of the Zodiac”) has 12 melodies based on tone rows, one for each star sign. Heinen has adhered to Stockhausen’s brief instructions for the popular work, allowing for any combination of instruments, but that the performance should begin with the melody falling under the star sign of the selected date, and end with a repeat of the opening melody.

Heinen brings his classical training and jazz sensibility, with traces of funk, west coast flavour and Blue Note inflexions, to his substantial reworking of the composer’s ideas. Certain movements include improvising with the melodies and music boxes, while others involve reharmonising. His sextet of distinctive players bring their diverse experience to their readings and improvisations.

Stockhausen was a great believer in improvisation, and his influence rubbed off on a wide array of jazz musicians during his lifetime and since, including Miles Davis, Cecil Taylor and Herbie Hancock.

It’s five years since Heinen first arranged Tierkreis for a jazz sextet, but in 2010 he also arranged the work rather differently for cello, double bass and piano for a performance that also included his father Ulrich Heinen, the long time principal cellist of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Tierkreis recorded with Markus Stockhausen’s blessing, in April 2012 at Eastcote Studios, was produced by Philip Bagenal and Bruno Heinen. The album is dedicated to Heinen’s former teacher, the pianist and composer, Pete Saberton, who died in 2012.

More info here.

Tags: Bruno Heinen Sextet, For Your Ears, Karlheinz Stockhausen

Book about “industrial musicals” out in november

– May 22, 2013Posted in: Books

From the 1950s into the 1980s, American businesses commissioned a vast array of lavish, Broadway-style musical shows that were only for the eyes and ears of employees. These improbable productions were meant to invigorate, motivate, and educate the sales force to sell tractors, typewriters, bathtubs, insurance, soda, air-conditioners, and a thousand other products and services. Though many of these shows were lost to the universe, some were recorded and distributed to convention attendees via souvenir vinyl recordings.

The little-known world of industrial shows is reconstructed through the record collection of author Steve Young, who has spent some twenty years finding the extremely rare souvenir albums as well as tracking down and interviewing the writers and performers. Through the records themselves as well as behind-the-scenes stories, a new perspective on American history, culture, and business emerges. Eye-popping visuals, samples of confounding and hilarious lyrics, and witty commentary by Young and co-author Sport Murphy (who also contributes original artwork) bring the topic to vivid, astonishing life. The book will be published in november 2013. A companion website will offer streaming audio of the songs.

Pre-order “Everything’s Coming Up Profits: The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals”

Tags: Industrial Musicals

For Your Ears: Paul Hayworth – Ultra Violet

– May 14, 2013Posted in: Downloads, For Your Ears, New releases

“Ultra Violet” by Paul Hayworth was recorded on cheap home 4-track tape machine, left to gather magnetic radiation scars for two decades and then slowly roasted in a walkman, re-mastered on 16 track digital and now turned into an ‘atmospheric supernova’ on Bandcamp. So there you go.

<a href="http://paulhayworth.bandcamp.com/album/ultra-violet">Ultra Violet by Paul Hayworth</a>

Tags: Electrocuted Wilma Tunes, For Your Ears, Paul Hayworth

50 Years of James Brown at The Apollo celebrated with new compilation

– May 13, 2013Posted in: New releases

Fifty years after the release of the acclaimed “Live At The Apollo” LP, Universal Music is releasing a James Brown new compilation: “Best of Live at The Apollo: 50th Anniversary”.

James Brown released three live albums recorded at The Apollo during his prime years as a recording artist: the 1963 original and 1968′s “Live At The Apollo Volume II” (both released on King Records) and 1971′s “Revolution of the Mind: Recorded Live At The Apollo Vol. III”, released by Polydor Records. “Best of Live At The Apollo” will feature the highlights of those three original Apollo LPs, and two tracks from another, ultimately shelved fourth LP, recorded in September 1972.

Both of those unissued tracks – the instrumental “Hot Pants Road” and “There It Is” – have been remixed for this new compilation. The live take of “There It Is” previously appeared on the 1988 compilation Motherlode, and the original LP mix of the track appeared on a Record Store Day single last year.

“Best of Live At The Apollo: 50th Anniversary” will be released on June 25.

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Tags: James Brown

Syrian born singer-songwriter releases EP for charity

– May 13, 2013Posted in: New releases

In a crisis that has left 70,000 plus dead, countless more injured and over one million refugees fighting to stay alive, it is imperative to find a common ground and to gather all efforts to decrease the level of suffering. The New York Based, Syrian born singer-songwriter Rami, via his project Tristâme, hopes his charity release “Common Ground” will inspire others to take notice of the civil war that still grips his homeland.

The crisis in Syria and the urgent need for help and resources was the motivation to compose a 4-song digital EP based on themes connected to Syria, personal experiences, its past and hope for its people’s future. As the title of the EP implies, the intention of the collection is to find a common ground far away from politics and conflict.

The EP was co-produced, recorded, and mixed by Jonathan Jetter at Right Angle Recording, New York, NY. in February and March 2013. “Common Ground” is a powerful sonic journey from beginning to end. The heaviest and quietest moments of the collection are found in the track “Distant Brothers”, about the turmoil of sectarianism and a plea for unity. The EP closes with the positive pop-rock track “Age of Hope” written about the simpler times during Rami’s childhood in Damascus, Syria. The song includes the last vocal melody Rami ever wrote on Syrian soil.

Common Ground is available through CD Baby and all major online digital music retailers worldwide. All proceeds from the sales of the EP will go to organizations helping Syrian refugees.

Tags: Rami, Tristâme

More Frank Zappa vinyl coming this summer

– May 13, 2013Posted in: New releases

We recently reported that the Zappa Family Trust will reissue two classic Frank Zappa titles on vinyl in june. Hot on the heels of this news comes the announcement of yet another Zappa vinyl release: a limited edition 12″ on red vinyl, including the original mono version of “Who Are The Brain Police?”.

The track listing for this 12″ is as follows:
Side 1: HELP I’M A ROCK / IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE – Original Stereo 1966 Mix
Side 2: WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE? – Original Mono Release
WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE? – Basic Trackings

This item is expected to ship in the week of 4 July 2013 and can pre-ordered here.

Tags: Frank Zappa

Soul Jazz Records reissue classic Acid House compilation

– May 10, 2013Posted in: New releases

Following on from their recent “Acid-Mysterons Invade The Jackin’ Zone” compilation, Soul Jazz Records are re-releasing this long out of print classic album “Acid – Can You Jack? Chicago Acid and Experimental House 1985-95″.

The extensive sleevenotes to this release – avaible on double CD, heavyweight 180gm double vinyl and as download – charting the phenomenal rise of Chicago’s house and acid music are written by Tim Lawrence, author or the the definitive book on dance music ‘Love Saves The Day’. Lawrence also wrote the text for “Voguing and The House Ballroom Scene of New York, 1989-92″, also published by Soul Jazz Records/Books.

The album features all-time classic full-length 12″ tracks such as Phuture’s ‘Acid Trax’ and Sleezy D’s ‘I’ve Lost Control’, Jamie Principle’s ‘Baby Wants to Ride’ alongside many rare and experimental tracks including Marshall Jefferson’s “Go Wild Rhythm Tracks”, Virgo’s ‘Take Me Higher’ and many more.

Buy Soul Jazz Records releases from Amazon.com.

Tags: Acid, Experimental House, Soul Jazz Records

Composer Steve Martland dies aged 53

– May 7, 2013Posted in: Obituaries

British composer Steve Martland has died on May 6th at the age of 53, his publisher Schott Music has announced. Liverpool-born Martland studied composition under leading Dutch composer Louis Andriessen in the Hague.

“We are very sad to announce that Steve Martland, one of the outstanding voices in British music since the mid-80s, died in his sleep on the night of 6 May,” his publisher said in a statement.

The composer’s music, described by Schott as “often amplified, muscular and powerfully rhythmic”, has been extensively choreographed in productions including Drill, for the Sydney Opera House, Crossing the Border, for the Dutch National Ballet, and Danceworks, which was premiered by the London Contemporary Dance Theatre.

His publisher said he rejected “academic dogma in favour of plurality of musical influences, both ancient and modern, serious and vernacular” and had frequently worked with artists “outside classical institutions”.

He collaborated with the band Spiritualized, in 1998, for Edinburgh’s Flux Festival. In 2008, he wrote Starry Night for percussion and strong quartet for the Tromp music festival in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Choral works include Street Songs, written for King’s Singers and percussionist Evelyn Glennie.

The composer, whose own Steve Martland Band tours his music internationally, also wrote Tyger Tyger, for charity Youth Music’s Sing Up campaign. His scores for TV include Granada children’s show Wilderness Edge and he wrote and co-directed A Temporary Arrangement with the Sea, a film about his mentor, Andriessen, which was shown on BBC TV.

[Source: BBC News]

Tags: Steve Martland

The Metropole Orchestra plays Esquivel

– May 7, 2013Posted in: New releases

Dutch label Basta Music has long had a fondness for pioneering orchestra leaders, composers and arrangers. The label has released music by such legends as Leroy Shield, Raymond Scott, Les Baxter, Roger Roger, André Popp, Ferde Grofé, Gordon Jenkins, and Russ Garcia. But one name was overlooked. Until now.

Basta proudly announces the release of an album featuring newly recorded versions of music arranged and composed by sophisticated Latin-jazz maestro Juan Garcia Esquivel (1918-2002). Often called the King of Space Age Pop, Esquivel was a visionary perfectionist who controlled every aspect of his wide-screen sound in the studio.

In the late 1950s, Esquivel was renowned for his explosive arrangements and dynamic use of stereo effects. His music featured exotic percussion, wordless vocals (such as ‘pow-pow’ and ‘zu-zu’), shimmering keyboard glissandi, and crystalline piano fingering. On a technical level, his orchestrations made his recordings instantly recognizable. His style reflected his personality: brash, confident, mischievous, sexy.

Unfortunately, Esquivel’s original sheet music arrangements cannot be located. The Metropole Orchestra (a.k.a. Metropole Orkest), based in the Netherlands, commissioned new arrangements based on Esquivel’s RCA Victor recordings. While capturing Esquivel’s idiosyncratic colors and textures, the Metropole arrangements take the maestro’s magic in new directions. The Metropole employs a full string section, which Esquivel rarely used. “Mini Skirt,” one of his most popular tunes, had only been recorded by the composer with a small ensemble. The Metropole recording represents the first time this work has been arranged for full orchestra.

The package, designed by Piet Schreuders, includes liner notes by Irwin Chusid, who helped launch the first Esquivel revival in 1994 by producing the first CD compilations, and who served as Esquivel’s last business manager. The booklet also features a number of rare photos of the maestro from his private collection.

“Perfect Vision: The Esquivel Sound” will be released on June 10, 2013.

Buy Esquivel albums from Amazon.com

Tags: Esquivel, Metrolope Orchestra

For Your Ears: Stick Up Boys – Getaway

– April 30, 2013Posted in: For Your Ears, New releases, Video

Brighton, UK based production trio Stick Up Boys will release their new single “Getaway” on June 4, 2013. The video for this catchy track is available now for your listening and dancing pleasure.

Tags: For Your Ears, Stick Up Boys

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Discovering the darkest corners of the musical universe since 2001.

The Beach Boys open archives for career-spanning compilation

“Country Soul Sisters 2″ out now on Soul Jazz Records

Brian Wilson working on new solo album

Composer/arranger Bob Thompson dies

For Your Ears: Fusée Dorée – Home

For Your Ears: Bruno Heinen Sextet – Karlheinz Stockhausen Tierkreis

Book about “industrial musicals” out in november

For Your Ears: Paul Hayworth – Ultra Violet

50 Years of James Brown at The Apollo celebrated with new compilation

Syrian born singer-songwriter releases EP for charity

More Frank Zappa vinyl coming this summer

Soul Jazz Records reissue classic Acid House compilation

Composer Steve Martland dies aged 53

The Metropole Orchestra plays Esquivel

For Your Ears: Stick Up Boys – Getaway

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