A Deeper Kind of Slumber moves Tiamat even farther away from traditional heavy metal, with synthesizers dominating the arrangements and Johan Edlund doing completely away with metal growling in favor of an unearthly croon. Although it's not very metallic, the music is quite heavy in its own way, creating a numb, sleepy ambience that feels both introverted and resignedly pessimistic; perhaps this is due to Edlund's conceiving the album at home with little outside input, and his relationship difficulties at the time…

“Him alone did they call the Father of all musicians, to whom the Germans were indebted for enabling them now to bring music to a standard equal to that of the Italians, if not even higher”. So wrote Johann Mattheson in 1740 in praise of Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672), the most revered German musician of his generation. On this CD the ensemble inAlto present works by Schütz himself, but also by some of his students, which show why Schütz was such a good teacher, who handed on his talent to the following generation.

Brass Groove Brasil came up with the ideal of highlighting the wind instruments as main soloists in a differentiated proposal in the state of Santa Catarina. The album "Sopro brasileiro" has the participation of the legendary trombonist Raul de Souza. His compositions and re-readings present a peculiar dialogue between the melody and the counterpoint, which serves as a basis for the construction of the arrangements, creating a polyphonic texture with differentiated sonority in the current scene of Brazilian music.

The most extreme thing about Deafheaven’s remarkable fourth album is how subdued it sounds. It suggests devastation without placing you at the center of it.

Exclusive artist at Deutsche Grammophon, Julie Fuchs follows in the footsteps of her illustrious predecessors and invests songs and iconic tunes from the jewels of the stage and cinema of the roaring twenties. The texts in the spotlight develop themes widely discussed after 1918 pacifism, feminism and liberation of morals, birth that find a new resonance after the war in Poulenc's opera-bouffe, whose modernity and irrepressible fantasy plunge their roots in the vibrant interwar years when Paris was still the capital of the world.

March, 1973… A quartet known for its psychedelic inclinations delivered a fortress of an album: The Dark Side of The Moon was a musical UFO featuring the most advanced technology of the period, a stratospheric record which mirrored society and our errant human ways. Pink Floyd was about to write an essential chapter in rock history and enjoy planetary fame; even today, their album is still one of the greatest sellers of all time.

One of the least-heard but most beguiling albums to emerge from the British progressive rock era, the sole, self-titled album by East London band Grannie was recorded at a demo studio in late 1971 and then issued on vinyl in a total pressing of just 99 copies…

Over 36 songs this fantastic collection presents more than two hours of Celtic-themed music, both vocal and instrumental. Blending highly traditional and boldly contemporary styles, we invite you to sample the very best in Celtic songs and melodies.

In conjunction with compiler and highlife researcher Dr. Markus Coester, Soundway Records present a very special release. Highlife On The Move includes the two first ever recordings by a certain Fela Ransome Kuti with his band The Highlife Rakers. Recorded by Melodisc in London in 1960 both tracks have been unearthed after more than fifty years in hiding.

Nina Revisited… A Tribute to Nina Simone, which arrives at a time of renewed interested in the pianist and singer's life and art, was co-executive produced by Ms. Lauryn Hill and features interpretations by Hill along with Usher, Mary J. Blige, Common, and others.

Not just another early Detroit Soul compilation. This is the cream of that transitional, pre-Hitsville era, when Detroit's labels, artists and producers were putting out popular, black dance music that they hoped might get noticed and sell enough to make them rich and famous. This is a CD to play over and over from start to finish. Every track a gem - no duds guaranteed!

Through the 1930s, Coleman Hawkins growth is exponential, especially in his ballad playing. Buttery warm and cozy, he finds notes that always work within the chord and are clearly there for anyone to find. But he's the one who finds them. And what is there to say about his solo on 1939's "Body and Soul" that hasn't already been said? This is the music that has proven so inspirational to generations of tenor saxophonists since; the endless possibility when taste and intelligence take on exceptional material. Our jam-packed set on eight CDs includes 190 tracks, 12 never before released. Included is material from Coleman's earliest days with Mamie Smith and her Jazz Hounds, his time with Henderson including various pseudonym bands and offshoots that shared personnel, the Mound City Blue Blowers, Benny Goodman's orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter, Count Basie, co-leader sides with trumpeter Henry Red Allen, Cozy Cole, and a variety of all-star dates for Metronome, Leonard Feather, and Esquire, as well as recordings as a leader of his own dates. Our research has corrected many discrepancies in previous discographies.

With 80/81, Pat Metheny took one step closer to his dream of working with The Prophet of Freedom (a dream he finally achieved with 1985’s Song X), and what better company than Coleman alumni Charlie Haden and Dewey Redman, both fresh off the boat of Keith Jarrett’s newly defunct American Quartet and both welcome additions to the extended Metheny family. Along with the technical mastery of reedman Mike Brecker and drummer Jack DeJohnette, plus a dash of post-bop spice, the result was this still-fresh sonic concoction. The atmospheres of the opening “Two Folk Songs” invite us with that expansive pastoralism so characteristic of Metheny. This makes Brecker’s highly trained yet raw stylings all the more marked, bringing as they do a sense of presence that explodes into a million pieces.

Nonesuch Records releases What’s It All About—a solo acoustic album from guitarist and composer Pat Metheny—on June 14, 2011. After nearly 40 recordings under his name, this marks the first time there is not a single Metheny composition represented. Rather, What’s It All About comprises 10 classic songs, some very well known, that hold personal meanings for the guitarist.

Although this is essentially a solo bass date, Eberhard Weber's use of overdubbing and an echo unit turns his bass into an orchestra of sorts. Since he is a strong composer, covering a wide span of moods during this set of melodic originals and avoiding the use of his effects as gimmickry, Weber creates an introverted but accessible program whose appeal should stretch beyond just lovers of bass solos.