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The inspiration for "Magic Sounds" comes from the many traditional throat singing cultures whose shamans and indigenous peoples have been singing harmonics to mesmerise and heal for thousands of years. The artists hope that "Magic Sounds" can help to elevate the listeners moods and horizons, contributing to a sense of peace - inner peace.
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IRIS, the second CD release from the duo Evidence (Stephan Moore and Scott Smallwood) on the Deep Listening label, is also their first video release. The DVD has the same sonic material as the music on the CD, but it features video pieces by the duo's favorite live-video performers, including Benton-C Bainbridge, Betsey Biggs, Fi$h2000, Madeleine Gallagher, Dawn Haleta, David Lublin, Jonathan Lee Marcus, Olivia Robinson, skfl, Diana Reed Slattery, Jack Turner and Walter Wright. These pieces emphasize the spontaneity of the artists' live performances, the practice of using "found" materials, and suggest the emergence of a regional aesthetic stemming from the recent hotbed of media performance centered around Troy, New York. This release contains both a CD and DVD. |
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This is a deluxe double CD limited edition issue of composer Edward Artemiev's opera based on Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment.. The edition includes full libretto in Russian. The work on this opera engaged almost thirty years of Artemiev's life and was finally completed in 2007. The CD was released in 2008 in a strictly limited edition. The idea of the musical arrangement of the novel belongs to Andrey Konchalovsk, who wrote the libretto in co-authorship with Yuri Ryashentsev and Mark Rozovskiy. The opera is sung in Russian and the sleeve notes and libretto are also in Russian.
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"Though an unlikely combination - accordion and koto - it is not so much about the instruments as about the energies of the music that comes from the intensity of listening -- listening as close to 'now' as possible. We know that our consciousness is delayed by a fraction of a second that the brain interprets as now -- however the body is instantaneous in its perception. Thus the phenomena [sic] of playing and becoming conscious of what has played - been played - is a continually surprising experience in such improvisation." - Pauline Oliveros |
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The Five Sound Installations audio DVD contains five computer-generated musical pieces plus a main control application from which to choose a piece to listen to, set up audio, etc. This is a remarkable innovation in audio experience - these sound installations (for which a computer with sound system attached is required) are different every time they are played. This is because each uses a set of algorithms to combine and manipulate sound based on a large library of sound samples. Please note - this is a set of computer programs to generate music in real time - NOT an audio CD, or a video DVD. The DVD format is used because the installation uses 5 Gb of data which have to be installed on the computer's hard disk to operate. |
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Fingering an Idea (a phrase pulled from a Chris Mann piece) resulted from a Phill Niblock invitation to make a double CD for bagpipe and guitar. A bagpipe CD is a particular challenge. A high beam spatial explorer, it is the kind of unstable phenomena [sic]that is hard to enjoyably reproduce on your stereo player. The first pipe recording session was an ensemble piece, the score including walks around the concert hall. The second, a solo multi-track session. The third with Rob Ramirez, recorded material was played back in the concert hall through an eight-channel MSP patch. A carnival of colliding pans, exits and entrances, re-recorded for stereo. For "Sinister", an old cassette recorded at Amica Bunker was the original germ. A sequence of re-tuning and de-stringing, starting with six strings pitched across a whole-tone and ending with an improvisation on one string. David Watson, commenting on the CD. |
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A true storyteller who uses smooth and intoxicating riffs that envelop the senses of listeners in order to tell his tales. His voice echoes that of Paul Kelly yet Williams' tunes are far more textual in their craftsmanship. Blending folk, country and rock, Williams transports you to a place a harmony and tranquillity. Williams displays a depth worthy of admiration. (BMA) |
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TARAB - Travels with my guitar is Carl's first book of road stories and will be in all good Australian bookshops from July 1 2008. This CD is a compilation of Carl's songs related to the stories in the book. Carl's nomadic past results in highly original songs which have won many awards in world & roots categories - most recently, MUSICOZ & Australian Songwriters Association - BEST FOLK SONG AWARDS. Carl's unmistakable guitar style was learnt from Brazilian players, bluesmen, Bert Jansch & Caetano Veloso, from the American banjo and the arabic oud. Traces of Brazil, Africa, folk and blues are the spice in the stew of Carl's songs which range from polyrhythmic exuberance to intimate subtlety, the personal to the political. |
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This DVD in Tibetan language is a recording of a presentation of Buddhist precepts given in 2006 by the Dalai Lama. There are English subtitles, and the format is PAL DVD. In the discourse, the Dalai Lama answers simple questions such as "Who was Shakyamuni Buddha? What counts as Buddhist faith? What are the Three Jewels? What are the Four Seals? How does on become enlightened?" His Holiness urges to use our unique human intellect to gain insight into these questions. He emphasises the development of compassion - the source of well-being and happiness for all. |
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Following on from his first album, the acoustic/folk Sands of Time, [2005] and the limited release live album Speak the Truth, [2006] the Bard has now released his third album, In a Golden Dawn. This latest work confronts and deals with universal issues, backed up by a heavier rock style in some songs, departing from his earlier album which was more introspective and moody. |
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The 2008 release from globe-trotting Aussie muso Fred Smith is now available. He's been stateside for a while and this CD is the result of his stay in the Lone Star state .... The songs form a snapshot of 21st Century America - from Fred's uniquely satirical and commercially uncompromising viewpoint. |
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Takasitar (Taka Kurihara), Japanese trackmaker and student of sitar and Indian classical vocals, has produced this excellent fusion of Indian sounds and electronica. Mellow laid-back grooves, Indian rhythmic and melodic elements, samples from India, plus sitar, vocals, harmonium and tabla combine in an engaging and occasionally quirky journey sure to please hip Indophiles. Fans of Nitin Sawhney or Talvin Singh will be sure to love this album! |
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Taro Terahara performs Indian classical music on bansuri (Indian bamboo flute), accompanied on this CD by world-renowned tabla maestro, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee. Taro is not only well-versed in a wide range of ragas, capable of fast and exciting melodic flurries and spontaneous improvisation, but he balances this with a devotion to the beauty of the sound and the emotion of the Raga. His music both touches the heart and engages the mind. |
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Taro Terahara performs Indian classical music on bansuri (Indian bamboo flute), accompanied on this, his first CD by world-renowned tabla maestro, Pt. Anindo Chatterjee. Taro is not only well-versed in a wide range of ragas, capable of fast and exciting melodic flurries and spontaneous improvisation, but he balances this with a devotion to the beauty of the sound and the emotion of the Raga. His music both touches the heart and engages the mind. |
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"Rei-Mei" ("Daybreak")
Indian Classical Santoor and Tabla CD
"Rei-Mei" ("Daybreak"), is the second CD of Japanese santoor artist Setsuo "Jimi" Miyashita, a senior disciple of the santoor's leading light, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. Jimi-san is accompanied on this CD by Australian tabla player Shen Flindell. Live concert recording made in Varanasi, India. |
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"To stand out from the horde of singer-songwriters in the world of music you need something that marks you as being special; something that causes listeners to realise that they are not hearing more ho-hummery from wailing, angst-ridden, guitar-toting hopefuls. Jay Fraser demonstrates on this CD that he does have something special; that particular something having been developed over the years, and which is reflected in his impressive credentials prior to this release." |
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Homeland: echoes of the journey is the much awaited second CD from Tasmanian Contemporary Celtic Fusion group Ethereal. Nominated by Tasmania's 2008 Amplified Awards for Best Contemporary Classical CD, all tracks on this latest CD are original in both composition and improvisation. The compilation, featuring Ethereal's increasingly diverse line-up of harps, cello, violin, flute, Celtic whistles, alto recorder, harmonium, keyboard, guitar and djembe drum, includes several long-play meditative tracks taking the listener on a delightfully serene journey of evocative and reflective harmonies. |
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In 2007, blues veterans Gerry “GB” Balding and Ian “Croft” Beecroft recorded this collection of tracks at Croft’s bush property at Molesworth, with musician and mixer Malcolm Brooks engineering the live recording onto tape. The result is thirteen tracks of raw, natural and unpretentious blues, cutting a fat slice across this genre. This is a great CD, rounded off eloquently by the “Sporting Life Blues” (which, in an allegorical way, seems to sum up the whole genre), and would make a wonderful addition to the library of any blues aficionado. - Mike Raine 2008 |
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"There are songwriters I call street-writers, whose songs reflect urban life in poignant vignettes. Paul Kelly is one of these, and so too, I have discovered, is Neil Robertson. The twelve tracks on Wake up the dead give us an insight into the whimsical and slightly fatalistic urban philosophy of Robertson ... This is a CD I enjoyed listening to very much, and will join my list of favourites. It really is a wonderful creation, and it has been my pleasure to review it. "
- Mike Raine, 2008 |
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They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and I guess the same applies to CDs. However, I think I've found an exception to this rule. King Marong and Afro Mandinko's eponymous CD has a cover that is bright, clean and colourful; a perfect description of its contents. From the kora (a 21 string African harp) opening the first track to the melodica dying away to conclude the last, this is a quality CD; recorded and mixed brilliantly, and performed by a group of highly talented musicians -traditional West African music and instruments merge with Western and other influences in a seamless sonic fusion, bringing out the best of these diverse cultures. Mike Raine
“With their tight world-roots rhythm section varying their approach from song to song and two koras in the mix, King Marong and Afro Mandinko have produced one of the best Australian-African CDs to date. Lucky Oceans, The Planet ABC Australia.” |
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Lynda is proud to announce the release of her new cd “Where Our Waters Meet”. This CD is a lush tapestry of world music on harp, soprano, alto and bass silver flutes, Native American flutes, voice, guitar, and world percussion, with special guest musicians Jami Sieber on electric cello and Dale Innskeep on mandolin. This CD is relaxing, yet spicy and adventurous, taking the listener through different worlds and moods including Spain, the Middle East, and South America. |
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This is the debut recording from Tasmanian troubadour Jay Fraser, a collection of his own songs performed "al fresco", alone with his acoustic guitar and the odd toot of harmonica. There are plenty of gorgeous moments on this album, simple love songs and honest memos from the heart, with melodic vocals both strong and sweet, and guitar delivered with plenty of feel. The production quality is crystal clear, lending a sunny sparkle to Jay's uncomplicated fingerpicking and strumming style, and the songs are delivered with true innocence and sincerity, a rare commodity among many nu-folkies. |
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The Next Turn, the long awaited third CD release from Melbourne-based Trouble in the Kitchen amply demonstrates why they are now widely considered to be Australia's finest trad Irish band. The selection of tunes range from driving reels to beautiful waltzes and marches. Traditional material is complemented by newly composed tunes of great beauty and vigour, which will surely be accepted into the tradition. An essential CD for any lover of traditional music, played on acoustic instruments, with verve, attack, joy and precision. |
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Released April 1996, this recording from Adrian Barker and Ben Stephenson is a showcase of their research into the National Library of Australia's Oral History collection. Adrian and Ben were awarded the NLA Festival Fellowship Award in 2005, and set about listening to the NLA's archived recordings of Irish music in Australia. From recordings of Irish expatriates and Australians who had learned Irish music through the tradition, Adrian and Ben selected tunes and created sets from individual players' repertoire. Many tunes, though common in the Irish tradition, have been given new colour while being passed down in an Australian context.
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Phil Gunter is a Melbourne-based musician who specialises in Turkish and Arabic oud music, as well as medieval and renaissance music for lute. Philip was a founding member of the medieval group Cantigas, and has also contributed to the Al Jadida and Yalla! ensembles. On this album he presents a captivating collection of solo pieces for oud (Arabic lute), with occasional self-accompaniment on various Arabic and Indian percussion. This is a very intimate recording, capturing the oud at its purest, unadorned by other instrumentation and laid bare to the ear in all its beauty. |
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SARS - "A fiery flamenco-tango-jazz ensemble, SARS' interpretation of the rich harmonies of Argentine tango, the wild improvisations of gypsy jazz and the fire and grace of flamenco, is exhilarating. Evocative of a 1920s Paris cafe scene filtered through an edgy and contemporary sensibility, SARS is a celebration of the musical passions of its members - renowned violinist John Rodgers, sensual flamenco dancer & fiery percussionist Simone Pope, ferociously cool jazz bass player Andrew Shaw and laid back guitar virtuoso Andrew Veivers. SARS second self-produced recording - Segundo - "slinks onto your stereo, impeccably clad and very well heeled, demanding your head twist twice to take in its smooth delivery. Special guest vocalist Kacey Patrick (Stringmansassy) lends her angelic tones to a mesmerising remake of the Duke Ellington tune 'Caravan' and the hypnotic 'Historia de un Amor'. Inspired and exciting." Tsunami magazine |
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Melanie Gent is a remarkable young Tasmanian singer/songwriter, with several songwriting awards under her belt and now this stunning debut release. All original acoustic songs, crafted with care and subtlety, featuring Melanie’s interesting chordal structures and the sympathetic addition of second guitar & vocal harmonies from Kate Burke (Trouble In The Kitchen, Kate & Ruth). This is music of heartwrenching beauty, steeped in the yearnings of a soul in search of itself, reaching through the deep tangles of the heart to transmute pain into something exquisite. |
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Released in December 2007, Temporary Shore is the second EP release from Dream Awake, the third from frontman / guitarist Josh Rubin, and Josh's musical vision just gets more finely-honed with each new turn. This is thoughtfully-crafted, intelligent acoustic rock, that carries a muscular power yet reveals many subtleties in its composition and delivery.
well.
Overall this is yet another great release from a confident, intelligent & original trio with a strong sense of themselves despite their youth - not afraid to shine in the face of so much contemporary rock mediocrity. Buy both EPs and pretend you have an album!
Bradfield Dumpleton 2008
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This EP release from Pete Hawkes is dedicated to those musicians who have achieved fame posthumously. It's ironic and happens often that artists struggle in life and then are recognised or 'discovered' after their death. Pete is joined on this piece, which is a short suite in several parts, by electric guitarist Phil Emmanuel. " ... this makes for an interesting enough (albeit brief) musical interlude that swells and recedes with different moods, offers rich textural layerings of acoustic & electric guitar, and will no doubt captivate enthusiasts of guitar sonics & fans of the Pete Hawkes? musical journey."
Bradfield Dumpleton 2007 |
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"The kings of retro-acoustic are back with their second album. A couple of them (Angus Grant and Luke Plumb) might play in Shooglenifty, but this is a different kettle of fish. For a start they've got songs. From Hoagie Carmichael, Rory Gallagher, Bill Monroe, Willie Nelson, self-penned and, er, Talking Heads. Gentle on the ears, sophisticated and often tricky instrumentally, the FSB create a unique, charming sound." Scotland on Sunday, 2007 |
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Recorded in Australia with Rob Long on guitars and drums and Liz Frencham on double bass. Rob engineered and produced the CD too. Review in NZ Magazine...... "her style is classic and her own, her voice ageless and agile. Don Macleans 'And I Love You So' is an emotive listening experience, as are most of the tracks. Her performances are captivating on the first listen and only get better after that. A magical little gem that is easy to love." |
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VulgarGrad - Popular Street Songs of the Russian Underclass. VulgarGrad bring you a highly alcoholic and volatile blend of the old songs of the Russian thieves (called blatnie pesny or blatnyak), along with punk classics of the Perestroika era and a strong dose of contemporary St. Petersburg swearing ska. The band delivers this music with style, raucous menace, stripy shirts and a smattering of grim smiles (very important).
" ...this is a great slab of music – energetic & fun, well-played and imminently danceable, although possibly even better to get very drunk and hurtle to. 10/10 " |
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Chris Kayana Gudu hails from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe where he grew up not only playing musical instruments and singing with his brothers, but actually making the instruments, namely guitars and drums. "I even remember one time when my brother made a microphone which worked really well" he recalls.
The recording is tight and full on listening enjoyment. The up tempo and exuberant music Chris performs is what is often referred to as township jive music. It is better known back in southern Africa as Umbaqanga music which sometimes presents a touch of Afro jazz. Umbaqanga music originates from the streets and shebeens of Soweto, spreading all through and across southern Africa..
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Dean Haitani has been no secret to the blues cognoscenti for a long time. And with his earliest influences ranging from classical & jazz to country, he exemplifies the ability of the blues genre to absorb and blend & make whole. Haitani is a gifted guitarist/vocalist & songwriter who grew up on the VIC/NSW border & began learning music from his father at the age of five, soaking up those diverse styles. By 15 he had his first band, & by 17 was offered the guitar spot in Tania Kernaghan's band. Cover bands,blues bands and solo gigs have honed his craft to a polish that reflects a bright future in the crystal ball. This is Haitani's first album & it's fifty minutes of listening pleasure. - Rhythms Magazine Oct 2002. |
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Dean Haitani is a well established singer and guitarist in Australia, and over time many fans have asked him to release a CD of some of the covers he performs in concert. Dean has several CDs of self composed material out and this release complements these. |
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Compiled in 2007 by Australian indie label Hardrush, this is a feast of blues in all its varieties and styles - folk acoustic to electric to country to cabaret. A class line up of artists from the masters to generation Y makes this something so very special, if blues is your style, there's 79 mins of excellent indie blues on offer here. |
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The 2002 album from Newcastle NSW band The Steelville Cats features many of Australia’s leading musicians, including Brien McVernon, Mark Hoppe, Steve Sowerby, Bob Spencer, Grant Walmsley, Steve Cowley, Rupert Jenner, Dennis Butler, Ngariki, Les Hall, Ross Flynn & Mark Tinson amongst others.
This is a superb CD with styles ranging from rock, through jazz, blues and rockabilly. The opening track Pistolero won a MusicOz award, whilst the next Jealousy is a classic jazz blues track.
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The latest project from Australian musician Pin Rada features a number of musicians from Melbourne together with a several based in Istanbul. The material is mostly new music written by Rada, whose previous band credits include most notably Zarafa, the Melbourne gypsy fusion band. Pin also has several international collaborations which are ongoing and some are featured in this CD. On this new album, Rada's depth of research and learning on a number of different instruments is apparent, including the north Indian saranghi, the Turkish ney, and Cretan lyra. This is far from being a one-man show though, and a line up of a dozen or so other musicians from Melbourne and Istanbul are also an integral part of this music. CD available now. "This is a world class production, with precision-calibre musicianship, a resounding testimony to Melbourne’s deep appreciation of the many global roots that flourish in that city’s (and Istanbul’s) rich garden."
- Bradfield Dumpleton 2007 |
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Melbourne musicians Mia Shaw and Linda Laasi perform as Soteria Bell, producing music that sits on the interface between a cappella. ambient and electroacoustic. Dreamy and floating, the atmospheres evoked by Soteria Bell weave in, amongst highly original vocal lines, threads of overtone singing, accompanied by tastefully subtle and spacious guitar and ambient effects. I was reminded of various styles and musics as I listened, including Gregorian chant, mediaeval harmony, and the music of Huun Huur Tu. "Their voices complement and contrast each other in thrilling ways. They have a strong sense of history as well as great improvisational skills which make them sound ancient and modern at the same time" - Paul Kelly |
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Carl Cleves, songwriter and guitarist with The Hottentots, ethnomusicologist and author, winner of the Australian Songwriters Association Award for best lyrics 2007, has released his first album of story songs, called All Alone. The album is populated by refugees, addicts, a child beggar, a drunk driver, the smell of money, the tears of broken hearts, the rage of obsession and the joys of solitude & travel. A fine array of musicians support the songs, amongst them: Cleis Pearce on viola, John Hoffman on flugelhorn, oud player Yuval Askar, Carl's partner in The Hottentots Parissa Bouas, Leigh Ivin on pedal steel, Steve Russell on piano, drummer Rik Cole and bass player Kamal Engels.
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Melbourne based duet, Mandy Keating & Helen McLachlan have played music together for over a decade. Our Town is their first release as an acoustic duo, and covers a range of bluegrass, celtic, folk and gospel standards as well as an original apiece. The recording has an honest homegrown singalong quality to it, with Mandy and Helen sharing vocals as well as several instruments, including guitar, banjo, whistle, mandolin and percussion. ... This is unabashedly simple folk, heartfelt and warm, no frills playing and a consistently pleasant listen that could well suit a lazy summer afternoon.
review by Bradfield Dumpleton, 2007 |
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I made a new friend is the debut EP from one of the rising stars of the Australian indie scene. Enola Fall - an indie/folk/whatever band from Hobart, Tasmania. Described by Triple J's Robbie Buck as "One of the top ten independent bands to watch out for this year." They have supported the likes of Eskimo Joe and Something for Kate among others, and toured Germany with UK band Turin Brakes. Enola Fall play music best described as 'howling, melancholy drenched indie pop, with just enough humour and romance to keep the wolves off'. In stock now. |
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Spreading Wings, Songs of the Heart and Soul. A peaceful yet powerful journey through exquisitely varied music on soprano, alto, and bass silver flutes, harp, native American flutes, guitar, hand drums, and a touch of gentle vocals. Lynda composed most of the music for the CD and performs on harp, soprano, alto, and bass silver flutes and vocals. This CD is a collaboration with native American flutist, Jan Michael Looking Wolf, a renowned native American flutist who has been a finalist in several different music awards, including the Independent Music Awards. Also featured on the CD is Keith Sommers on guitar and Leta Lillard on congas. This CD is loved by massage therapists, yoga instructors and anyone ready to take a break from a busy day to slow down and savour life and the moment.
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"Timeless Pulse sometimes recalls the soundscapes of Gunter Muller, Butch Morris, David Shea and AMM, and is thus recommended to fans of them and harmonious (yes, that's right, with harmony) free-improv." - Mark Keresman. |
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Thousand Year Dreaming (1990) was commissioned by Essential Music and was written with the musicians on this recording, their particular strengths and inclinations, very much in mind. It grew out of an improvisatory piece, Nautilus, which Art Baron, Scott Robinson and Lockwood realised in 1989. They found that the sound of conch shell trumpets, didjeridu and frame drums really flowered in the resonant spaces they were using for the piece. Lockwood started imagining the sonorities possible with four didjeridus, gongs, conches and trombones and frame drums, all shaped by the penetrating and sensuous edge of oboes and clarinets. |
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"No, not our Smith, but a young singer/ songwriter/ raconteur/ political commentator Fred Smith, who currently calls Canberra home but has lived in five different countries in his young life to date. Wherever he might have previously lived however, his sharp intelligence has obviously honed in on the unique personality of his current home, Australia, as you can hear in the selections of his songs he released late last year as his debut album, 'Soapbox'. After a very successful performance at this year's Woodford Festival, where the punters seemed to have decided he was "the freshest thing there", Smith and the band followed Fairport Convention to Sydney and supported them at the Basement and Three Weeds." - Drum Media, 1999 |
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Melbourne musician Nick Tsiavos treats us to six pieces for solo contrabass. The pieces, ll improvisations, were all recorded in the same studio session. Nick Tsiavos' CD liner notes: - "This sequence of improvisations was recorded in the evening of Tuesday, 3rd of July 2007. The months prior to this night were filled with a growing tension in my day to day thinking, a desire
to create music again with just one's own instrument, and explore what new possibilities may unfold in the experience of the moment.
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This is backwoods soul music: melodic, lyrical and contemporary, yet rooted in an older, mythic soil; a rich and ancient sediment of storytelling and folk memory. Karl threads his bruised tenor voice, alternately warm and honeyed or scuffed and worn as a favourite old leather jacket, through acoustic and resonator guitars, drums, double bass, Hammond, Wurlitzer, fiddle and mandolin. Whether testifying like a revival tent preacher or intimating in a tender falsetto, his finely-crafted songs take you on a journey from the grit of working-class Dublin, through the peat bogs of an Irish glen to the red earth of the Australian bush; from the cool of a back porch in the Appalachians to the funky heat of the Mississippi delta.
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Dream Awake are a young trio formerly from Tasmania and now based in Melbourne. Their sound has been described as acoustic folk rock, but that really does little justice to the startling maturity of their innovative music. Sure they have an electric bass and a drum kit, but on this EP the effect is rich, warm and certainly not abrasive as the ‘rock’ tag sometimes suggests. |
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SARS - "A fiery flamenco-tango-jazz ensemble, SARS' interpretation of the rich harmonies of Argentine tango, the wild improvisations of gypsy jazz and the fire and grace of flamenco, is exhilarating. Evocative of a 1920s Paris cafe scene filtered through an edgy and contemporary sensibility, SARS is a celebrationof the musical passions of its original members - sensual flamenco dancer & fiery percussionist Simone Pope, ferociously cool jazz bass player Andrew Shaw, laid back guitar virtuoso Andrew Veivers and renowned violinist Shenton Gregory." |
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Whispers in the Moonlight is Ethereal's first CD, released in Hobart, Tasmania in December 2006. It is a culmination of a year's work exploring traditional Celtic, original and improvised music. The mystical ambience of this CD enables the listener to enjoy a range of instrumentation from stringed instruments(harps,violin,cello,guitar),flute and whistles to vocals and spoken word. The sense of aesthetic unity and the combination of instruments work beautifully together to create a soothing sound, taking the listener on a journey into an ambient world.
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[After release from prison camp in 1943, Werder] worked for a while as a jazz bassist in Sydney, before moving to Melbourne and beginning his musical career. In the 1950s, along with fellow composers Margaret Sutherland, Dorian Le Gallienne, and later, Keith Humble, they formed the core of Melbourne¹s small, but active new music scene. From 1955, Felix taught music and art history at the Melbourne Council of Adult Education, as well as privately teaching many generations of Australian composers, and he was music critic for The Age newspaper from 1960 until 1977. He became involved with radio in the mid 1970s, producing new music programs for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the 1970s, and community radio in the 1980s and early 1990s. For 20 years, his performance group, Australia Felix, gave concerts of new Australian music both in Australia and in Europe.- From the liner notes by Warren Burt |
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"Now this is a treat for the folk music devotee... not a sniff of
synthesis, expertly played, and with obvious audience rapport.
A fine listen". - NZ Musician 2006
Gillespie's most recent project is a live acoustic album with guitarist
Nigel Gavin and guests that was recorded at Devonport music venue
'The Bunker'.
Critics have compared him to: Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Lou Reed, Van
Morrison, Tom Waits, Suzanne Vega, Nick Cave, Steve Kilbey
(The Church), Paul Kelly and Jacque Brel. He's performed with: Suzanne Vega, Neil Finn, Chris Whitley, Margaret
Urlich, Dave Dobbyn, Shona Laing, D.I.G., Ed Keupper, Colin Hay,
Neil Murray, Redgum, Penelope Swales, Kaith Tait, Mahinarangi
Tocker and Dave Steel to name a few. |
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Peter Miller, a guitarist with a varied style of tapped and swept harmonics to 'metronomic' like thumbed bass lines with flurries of higher notes. Peter has said, 'I love the screaming solos of an electric guitar they're great fun, but there is something about the acoustic guitar that comes from the heart'. |
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The 2007 CD from Tasmanian based Peter Hicks is a blues album featuring Peter on vocals and slide guitar, fiddle player Ross Smithard and percussionist Jeremy Sibson. ... " In this collection, which includes some of my favourite blues, I've tried to capture a small part of that raucous pure spirit. The self-deprecating humour of Blind Willie McTell and of Blind Blake sits alongside the incredible virtuosity of their musicianship and the hardships they suffered and is a testimony to their enduring human spirit.
- Peter Hicks, June 2007 |
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Buy all four of Monsieur Camembert's CDs for A$120 -save A$20! This triple ARIA award winning band play amazing jazz/klezmer style music, and their latest double CD features their "Leonard Cohen special". You get two single CDs and two double CDs for A$120! (additional charge for postage depends on delivery location). NOT AVAILABLE TO TRADE PURCHASERS. |
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Minna Raskinen is a musician from Finland whose has mastered the kantele, an instrument in the zither family, and uses it to perform music of great beauty, inventiveness and delicacy. On this CD she plays her own original compositions for kantele which explore a variety of textures and tonalities, always with sublime technique and musicianship.
"I started to play the kantele at the age of ten. Within a short time I became attached to the instrument's unique sound- the tones, "colours"; on the one hand bright and thin and then on the other sometimes deep and dark. Kantele is a very quiet instrument. To me it is also soft, strong and even dramatic." Minna Raskinen |
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Wendy Ealey's solo album Out Of the Shower was recorded at Spring Studios with Harry Williamson and friends. It has a strongly vocal orientation, rich harmonies, pithy lyrics, from full arrangements to the essence of simplicity. |
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New South Wales band Wheelers and Dealers have released their second CD, Full House. The band venture into a variety of styles, from celtic tune playing in their own style, classic jazz tunes such as Nagasaki, and their own songs and tunes, where they are perhaps strongest of all. Chris Wheeler - vocals, whistle, Ged Corben - guitar, mandolin, Mike Kerin - vocals, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, Michael Vidale - bass. Plus guests Luke Robinson - percussion, Tinker Hungerford - accordion and Iain McLeod - accordion. |
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Available from 20th June 2007 - order now!Triple ARIA Award Winning MONSIEUR CAMEMBERT’s LONG AWAITED LEONARD COHEN SHOW CD!!!
Featuring special guest singers Abby Dobson, Ngaiire, Carla Werner & Elana Stone.
“If you like Leonard Cohen, you ought hear Monsieur Camembert’s Famous Blue Cheese. You more especially ought hear it if you dislike Leonard Cohen: here's your cure for received notions/ nonsense about Cohen as a byword for gloom! The ’live’ double-CD from Australia’s Monsieur Camembert and friends (including several fine female singers) is spirited, musically assured, eclectic and downright fun. They never imitate Cohen, but do right by him, with glee...and sensitivity.” (Doug Spencer, Weekend Planet, ABC Radio National)
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This is an immediate gem – a dazzling array of moods and sounds that whisk the listener through Eastern Europe, South America & Guinea without missing a beat (although pinning the beat down demands some serious concentration in some of these tunes!). The musicians are totally immersed in each cultural tradition and the playing impeccable, a genuine ensemble approach that never indulges overblown virtuosity.
All Nakisa’s members have trained intensively, travelled widely and been involved in a multitude of high-calibre collaborations, so the overall result gives total integrity to the spirit of the music, whatever style. ...
This is an album built on rhythm, harmony, authenticity & passionate collective musicianship. The CDs liner notes are clear, informative and sufficiently thorough. All the instruments are evenly placed in the mix (no mean feat for these sort) and the production is very clear. I give it 11/10 goats.
- Bradfield Dumpleton, 2007
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3 Nights is the 2007 release from Tatarstan-born singer and musician Zulya Kamalova. 3 Nights re-affirms Zulya's reputation as one of the most exotic and enthralling performers and songwriters in Australia. With songs sung in three languages - English, Russian, and Zulya's native tongue, Tatar - 3 Nights showcases Zulya and the Children at the Underground at their most magnificent: exquisite musicianship, superb songwriting and intricate arrangements, to say nothing of Zulya's sublime voice.
Most excitingly and for the very first time, after residing fifteen years in Australia, on 3 Nights Zulya sings her own songs in English. For listeners and fans familiar with Zulya's music who until now have enjoyed her songs in Russian and Tatar - the communication of its meaning and emotion going beyond language - this prospect is very exciting. |
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MacDara's début album is The Love Token. MacDara loves every aspect of music making and this comes across in his singing. He is a native of the Aran Island of Inisheer and is in tune with nature. He spots what is beautiful in his surroundings and recognizes the perfect song for him. Equally he has the ability to surround himself with the best exponents of Irish music creating a dream team of musicians. The album is co-produced by Máire Breatnach (Riverdance, The Chieftains, Rónán Keating, Christy Moore, Brian Kennedy), who also provides some beautiful musical accompaniment along with Johnny McDonagh (Dé Danann, Arcady), Bill Shanley (Paul Brady, Mary Black, Tommy Fleming), Ennis' own Danny Byrt, Paul Gunning, Mick O'Brien and MacDara's sister, singer Lasairfhíona. |
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Formerly from the UK and now based in New Zealand, blues singer Gilly Darbey is getting rave reviews for her latest (2007) CD release Blues Movin' In.
With a fantastic voice, huge vocal range, and an eclectic mixture of material, Gilly has been favourably compared to the late Eva Cassidy. "...she has the grace, talent, heart and voice to make your day", "a tonic for the senses", "I don't know how anyone can fail to fall in love with the feel, sensuality and emotion in Gilly's voice" |
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"A Fresh Wind is well named - it really does offer an invigorating listening experience. Etsuko Sakai's thirteen string Japanese Koto and Tasmanian Cary Lewincamp's seven-string guitar combine beautifully in an east-meets-west synthesis. The resultant alchemy is neither one style nor the other; it hangs together beautifully with an equal measure of Lewincamp's well-crafted classical and folk-orientated tunes and traditional Japanese pieces. The odd track out, 'Over The Rainbow', shows just how well the two instruments blend. The ancient koto, which is plucked like a harp but played horizontally, brings a new dimension to Arlen & Harburg's hardy perennial. Stand-out piece 'Akatonbo'('Red Dragonfly') doubles as an excellent tremolo study."Tony Hillier, Rhythms, Aug 2007. |
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Masala are Roman Astra (sitar, esraj), Nigel Hope (six string bass) and Jules Witek (acoustic and electronic percussion). This CD released in 2007 comprises music created for the "Ten Days on the Island" arts festival in Tasmania 2007. Astra comments of their spontaneous performance style 'You can't step into the same river twice'. |
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Buy the new Shooglenifty CD Troots and get a copy of the live album Radical Mestizo for a ten dollar saving! (applies to retail orders only).Order now to receive both CDs for only $47.50 (extra postage charges depending on destinations apply). CDs also available separately. Troots is the long awaited new studio recording from world reknowned Scottish band Shooglenifty. This band have a unique approach that takes elements of traditional, contemporary music and rock to make a dynamic music with many layers. "The globetrotting Scots band demonstrate their musical ability and imagination in another album packed with their trademark melodic grooves ... Troots once again proves Shooglenifty's talent for music rooted in home traditions but with proven international appeal." - Norman Chalmers, "The Scotsman". Included in this bargain price deal is the 2004 live CD from Scotland's kings of 'acid-croft' - featuring of course Australian demon mandolin and banjo player Luke Plumb - 21st century rock 'n reel. Listen to the new dimensions of the live Shoogle sound as they toured in Mexico, the USA, Glasgow and Skye. "The key aspect of Shooglenifty performances that does shine through is the band's seemingly inexhaustible ability to ring fresh changes and thereby re-invent even their most familiar and favourite tunes combined, of course, with the vividly drawn melodies and barnstorming rhythmic drive of the tunes themselves" - Sue Wilson, Sunday Herald. Don't miss out on this great price. |
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Haram Homebrew is the second CD release (March 2007) from Sydney based band Okapi Guitars. The band is a collaboration between John Laidler and Bernhard Huber, who met as the guitarists of the Okapi Guitar Band. From 1986 to 1993 the Okapi Guitar Band performed guitar-based African pop music. The group drew their repertoire from recordings of bands from East Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Zaire and Guinea. Based in Sydney, the band also travelled to Melbourne and Brisbane, and many inland towns in New South Wales. The band released a cassette in 1988 and a CD in 1991. The Okapi Guitars carry forward this enthusiasm for the popular electric music of urban Africa. |
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A true blend of opposites, Liz Frencham's warm, open countenance, honey voice and double bass contrasts with Fred Smith's dry wit and award winning songwriting. 'Love Thongs' is the second album from this dynamic duo, performing together since 2004. |
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This CD is a selection of guitar and fiddle arrangements for original (DADGAD) compositions of airs, reels and pipe tunes by Pete Hawkes.
Musicians: Pete Hawkes, Michael McClintock, Sandy Gibney, Dave Swarbrick, Pip Thomson and Ian Blake. |
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Pete Hawkes is best known as an acoustic guitarist and composer, now based in Victoria, Australia. This 2 CD set showcases a variety of his work covering ten years. " Pete Hawkes manages to turn many genres into his own, making the listener feel they are witnessing something innovative and fresh, but still familiar to the feels and traditions of the genre. This double album, highlighting some of Pete's instrumental works over ten years is absolutely amazing! "
- Tony Bates |
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An album of pure delight as one of the foremost fiddle players of the day in the area of Irish traditional fiddle music is accompanied by undoubtedly one of the finest guitarists in traditional music circles. Kevin Burke has a long pedigree with bands such as the Bothy Band, and both he and Ged Foley (ex The House Band) are members of Patrick Street. Burke's fiddle style is relaxed, masterful, never showy, always full of lyrical beauty, and Foley's guitar is a perfect and precise counterpoint that lifts the music. On Ged Foley's songs, Kevin Burke plays accompanist with equal grace. No CD collection should lack this disc. "Burke imparts a rhythmic intensity that is remarkably powerful...a superior instrumentalist in any idiom...impressively virtuosic"
- The New York Times |
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Prolific Melbourne-based guitarist & composer Pete Hawkes offers up a lush sumptuous feast of string-driven ambience with this latest recording. Collaborating with chamber players Michael McClintock, Louise Woodward & Gareth Skinner on violin, viola & cello respectively, the result is an album of classical folk instrumentals that nods in the direction of players like John Renbourne and John Martyn. Hawkes’ acoustic guitar never commands space, but rather nestles in alongside the classical strings, and dances reverently with them. While there is not much that obviously defines the tracks from each other, the total effect is of a soothing wash of sound that is very relaxing. The string arrangements are sensitive, allowing the guitar to sparkle through in spaces, other times becoming a little more strident or highlighting the throatiness of the cello. There are moments when the playing feels quite delicate, and a tone of stately beauty carries throughout. |
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Melbourne space-rock band Brainstorm released their second CD in 1995, entitled "Earth Zero", revealing a new and more complex sound for the band. The songs on this album represented a new plateau for Brainstorm, and were subsequently to be remastered and rereleased in 2001. Even now they form a very strong statement of the band's music at the time, as well as a clear reflection of a continuing preoccupation with science fiction and space as vehicles for the development of lyrical and thematic ideas. This version of the CD is the 2001 re-mastered edition. |
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Voiceplay diva, Helen Rivero is an award-winning performer in the world music scene. Her singing style combines elements of jazz, cabaret, traditional music and experimental performance, described as intense and humorous. Her new album, Yes Capitan, released in 2007, is a collection of original bilingual compositions (English and Spanish), combining the flavours that have inspired and influenced Helen's musical endeavours over the years. Pure peasant girl cabaret! A jazzy folky blend of songs that are whimsical and explore themes of longing, love, treachery and the unspeakable bliss of it all! Intimate and edgy vignettes about searching, finding, suspicion, lingering memories, disturbing obsessions and unexpressed dilemmas. Slightly absurd, personal ballads with a naive artist's love for co |
