Beyond O.k.

The Queers are an American Punk Rock band formed in 1982, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Queers play pop punk as it was originally intended. Raw, fast with infectious beats and catchy, light lyrics. Technically, they play a Ramones-derived style of Punk Rock. Much like the Ramones, common lyrical themes are girls, idiots, alcohol and having fun. Musically the band deviates slightly from the driving rhythm guitar sound of the Ramones and intensify their songs with bubblegum vocal harmonies, handclaps, keyboards and melodic guitar solos. Their style a multiple times has been described as "The Ramones meets The Beach Boys". The band also well known for the variety of cover versions they include on their records and in live appearances. Consistently touring the USA, Europe, Japan and Australia the Queers have gained a large cult following in the punk underground. Today, The Queers have remains the last active group from the "Holy Trinity of Old School Pop Punk"…

Beyond Sensory Experience is a dark ambient music project created by Drakh and K. Meizter in Uppsala, Sweden 2001. The foundation of Beyond Sensory Experience developed during long intoxicated discussions about the correlation between numbers, music and life. These three areas would serve as the corner stones for the creation of the Beyond Sensory Experience philosophy. During 2002 episodes of different musical contexts were tried out until the final concept evolved in collaboration with the Italian label Old Europa Café. "Tortuna", which is the first album of a trilogy covering the three basic areas, is the result of an intense creative process performed in the nordic absence of sun and was released in early 2003…

At 61, Steve Hackett continues to fly the flag of early Genesis-style British progressive rock on his ambitious 2011 studio album, Beyond the Shrouded Horizon. He reminds listeners of his majestic approach to electric guitar playing at the outset on "Loch Lomond," and then alternates the heavy rock playing with delicate acoustic work, starting with the brief "Wanderlust," actually an introduction to the longer "Til These Eyes." Some of the songs have vocals with ethereal lyrics, on which Hackett's modest singing voice is supported by several others, including that of his brother, co-songwriter, and flute player John Hackett. A Middle Eastern flavor is added on "Waking to Life" (with guitarist Amanda Lehmann on vocals), while "Looking for Fantasy" has a stately, classical feel, with Hackett contributing nylon-string guitar, leading into the Renaissance-styled "Summer's Breath"…

The making of Congo Funk!, our long-awaited journey to the musical heart of the African continent, took the Analog Africa Team on two journeys to Kinshasa and one to Brazzaville. Selected meticulously from around 2000 songs and boiled down to 14, this compilation aims to showcase the many facets of the funky, hypnotic and schizophrenic tunes emanating from the two Congolese capitals nestled on the banks of the Congo River.

Brahms had already decided to retire as a composer when, on a journey to Meiningen in 1891, he was inspired and challenged by clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld’s beautiful playing. The two Sonatas, Op. 120 are part of a late flowering that resulted in some of Brahms’s finest chamber music. Brahms himself explored these pieces beyond the clarinet, and Karl-Heinz Schütz’s arrangements are based on the composer’s own alternative versions, seeking out the ideal of two equally matched instruments in constant dialogue. Also included is a selection of ‘songs without words’, further expanding the flute repertoire with arrangements of these much-loved Lieder.

The modern-instrument ensemble of the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra plays stylishly and with commitment… For anyone with an interest in the music of this time and place, especially as several of these pieces are here receiving their very first recordings. –MusicWeb International