China White Serpentine (2003)

One of Stereolab's many spin-offs and side projects, Monade (pronounced mon-ard) originally featured Laetitia Sadier and Pram's Rosie Cuckston. The duo began collaborating in the mid-'90s, and Sadier recorded the first Monade tracks in 1996 at Pram's studio, with Cuckston playing and also helping to engineer the session. Some of these tracks were released by Duophonic as the Sunrise Telling and Witch Hazel/Ode to a Keyring singles. Sadier continued to record at Stereolab's own studio without Cuckston, and one of these tracks, "Cache Cache," ended up as a B-side on Stereolab's Calimero single. In between her Stereolab duties, Sadier completed enough material for Monade's debut album, Socialisme Ou Barbarie: The Bedroom Recordings, which was released by Duophonic in Europe and by Drag City in the U.S. in spring 2003.

The Best of Ultravox is a fairly comprehensive compilation that disregards the era during which guitarist Robin Simon and vocalist John Foxx were in the group. It's actually comprehensive to a fault, since it's a little too fair to the group's later and lesser singles off 1986's U-Vox – an album that was almost as poor as its title…

Loren Stillman - Gin Bon (2003) {Fresh Sound New Talent FSNT163CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 380 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 149 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 19 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2003 Fresh Sound New Talent | FSNT 163 CD
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

Gin Bon reunites gifted young saxophonist Loren Stillman with the inspired rhythm section of Russ Lossing, Scott Lee and Jeff Hirshfield from last year's acclaimed How Sweet It Is ; and, on half the session, guitarist John Abercrombie, the altoist's band mate from the group Jackalope. Stillman's sumptuous sound and well-developed technique are matched by his remarkably mature aptitude for composing engaging melodies in variety of forms and feelings.

Steve Lacy - The Beat Suite (2001) {Sunnyside SSC3012 rel 2003}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 334 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 121 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 58 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2003 Sunnyside Communications / Universal Music | SSC3012
Jazz / Modern Creative / Avant-Garde Jazz / Third Stream / Saxophone

Soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy's The Beat Suite is an ambitious attempt to set beat-era poetry by some of the genre's most iconic progenitors to Lacy's idiosyncratic jazz stylings. Featuring the vocals of Lacy's wife and longtime collaborator, Irene Aebi, the group also includes George Lewis adding counterpuntal touches on trombone, bassist Jean Jacques Avenel, and drummer John Betsch. While fans of such beat writers as William S. Burroughs, Robert Creeley, and Jack Kerouac may find this interesting, the real success of The Beat Suite rests largely in the listeners' interest in hearing Aebi.