Marble House were founded in Bologna upon the basis of an idea conceived by Filippo Selvini and Giacomo Carrera in the summer of 2012. In May 2015 the two founders' invited Daniele Postpischl and Matteo Malacarne to give the way for their creativity. After lots of gigs around Bologna, a new keyboardist Leonardo Tommasini joined them in the summer of 2016. They've got started in earnest for recording material of the debut album upon December 28, 2016. Sadly one of founders Selvini left the combo upon March 26, 2017 - just the last stage for the opus - but their debut album titled "Embers" has been launched via Lizard Records upon September 21, 2018.

The conflict and correlation between dark and light is a universal theme with a historically rich history. Musically, perhaps no band in the 21st Century has mined that relationship more consistently or effectively than Japan’s MONO.
Across 10 albums in 20 years, MONO have convincingly reflected the quietest and most chaotic parts of life through their music. Their ever-expanding instrumental palette - which began in earnest in 1999 with the traditional guitar-bass-drums rock band setup - has evolved to include as many as 30 orchestral instruments. Now, on Nowhere Now Here, the band add electronics to their repertoire - perhaps inspired by guitarist/composer Takaakira ‘Taka’ Goto’s recent collaboration with John McEntire, the beguiling Behind the Shadow Drops…

When Phil Sheeran burst onto the instrumental scene in 1990 with the Top 5 radio smash Breaking Through, his melodic, Brazilian-tinged strings seemed to perfectly capture the subtle intimacies and breezy boisterousness the acoustic guitar is noted for. After a several year layoff following the similar success of his follow-up Standing on Fishes, Sheeran is back for the long haul with the eclectic excitement of It's a Good Thing, a collection that also marks the debut release from the artist-friendly label Passage Records. One of the most identifiable strands running through his first two albums was Sheeran's great love for Brazilian music and rhythms, which were cultivated through years of studying the greats like Luiz Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim, as well as a six-month stint living in the South American country.

Fourth album from the subtle Erskine Trio continues to explore space and texture and what the dummer-leader refers to as the "underside of music-making". As on previous showings, pianist John Taylor's still-undervalued compositional skills are to the fore, but Erskine and bassist Danielsson also contribute material - ranging from a waltz to a 12 tone piece - and the tradition of including a Kenny Wheeler piece on each disc is also brought up to date. Down Beat described this as a "Zen" trio; Erskine says "We never solo but we always solo."

Drummer Matt Wilson refuses to be pigeonholed into any one category on this wide-ranging CD. With keyboardist Larry Goldings, bassist Dennis Irwin and trumpeter Terell Stafford (who doubles on flugelhorn), Wilson and company obviously enjoyed themselves in the studio. Goldings' quirky post-bop "Sticky Mack" inspires some of the best solos of the date, followed by Wilson's slightly funky "Free Range Chicken." The group also delves into works by departed greats, including Jaki Byard's infrequently heard ballad "Aluminum Baby" and drummer Tony Williams' unusual hymn-like "There Comes a Time," with Goldings' driving organ, Stafford's saucy trumpet, and guest Curtis Stigers' potent vocals…

Since The Big Chill, too often directors and film producers have taken the easy way out in creating soundtracks for their big-budget Hollywood movies by licensing a couple handfuls of hits either from the catalog of yesteryear's pop giants or from hungry up-and-comers. It's a formula almost. Thankfully there are still film scores, though they all seem to be written by the same five men. Both of these poles sees to lie in stark contrast to Robert Rodriguez's approach to creating an audio environment both to accompany and stand apart from his films. On Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Rodriquez took matters into his own hands and procured a series of rather obscure existing tracks that viscerally underscore defined themes in his movie – such as Juno Reactor's "Pistolero," Brian Setzer's ass-kicking "Malagueña," and Manu Chao's "Me Gustas Tu." He also commissioned several tracks to actors and wrote others for his players. Thus Tito Larriva's haunting "Flor de Mal," or Johnny Depp and friends under the moniker Tonto's Giant Nuts offer "Sands Theme," while Rubén Blades and Antonio Banderas helped to flesh out their own character's themes musically as well as dramatically.

Ask a lover of Spanish cinema what Spain's equivalent of Hollywood is, and the obvious response will be Madrid; most of Spain's top actors and directors are based in Spain's largest city. Barcelona, meanwhile, is the city that dominates the Spanish porn industry; if Madrid is Spain's Hollywood, Barcelona is Spain's San Fernando Valley. But some excellent non-porn movies have been filmed (or partly filmed) in Barcelona, ranging from Pedro Almodóvar's Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother) to American director Whit Stillman's clever Barcelona. Stillman isn't the only American director who has filmed in Barcelona; the capitol of Cataluña (or Catalunya in Catalan) is where Woody Allen filmed his romantic comedy/drama Vicky Cristina Barcelona (starring Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, and Scarlett Johansson). In the liner notes, Allen explains that this soundtrack called for Spanish music but candidly admits that Spanish music isn't something he is terribly knowledgeable about. However, Allen obviously did his research, and the recordings that he chose are excellent. Although this 42-minute disc contains two sensuous vocal offerings by the Barcelona-based group Giulia y los Tellarini ("Barcelona" and "La Ley del Retiro"), most of the soundtrack focuses on instrumental flamenco guitar – specifically, flamenco of the nuevo flamenco variety.

RADIANT is an AOR/Melodic Hard Rock from Germany and this is a review of their first full length, self-titled debut. It has all the hallmarks of the genre but Herbie must be commended for his performance. In essence, he sings his ass off; his vocals reminds me of a more melodic version of styles by AC/DC and ACCEPT. Markus Beck comes in a close second for this album’s MVP, his exceptionally melodic bass shines through on each track…