Coil Astral Disaster Sessions Un Finished Musics Vol. 2 (2020)

The initial 1999 version of Astral Disaster on Prescription was an ultra-limited release in a symbolic edition of 99 copies on vinyl only. The CD reissue of what must be one of Coil's more collectable cult items has been slightly remixed, and includes an extra track not on the original as a consolation to the fanatics who missed out on the Holy Grail LP version. Not comparable to the sublime brilliance the group achieved on Musick to Play in the Dark, Astral Disaster mines different territory altogether, and is a strong album that features a notable folk influence. With this approach transfigured through industrial and electronic means, the album bears striking similarities to Current 93 in its exploration of esoteric and mystical themes.

DJ Andy Smith returns to BBE Music with a second stunning installment of his compilation series ‘Reach Up – Disco Wonderland’, released on triple vinyl, double CD and digital formats.

Two types of records usually have the highest potential for embarrassment: "comedy" records and "scary" records. Unlike an awful pub rock mistake or a tuneless ambient workout, there seems to be nothing more obnoxious than listening to a record that tries – and fails – to be either funny or frightening. Coil's Musick to Play in the Dark 2 takes the latter stab into forbidding, blood-velvet territory and consistently bungles it up…

The second volume in this series continues to explore little-known examples of Auber’s elegant and refined operatic music. Julie was his first stage work, its fantasia-like beauty foreshadowing the operas, opéras-comiques and lyric dramas to come. Striking melodies and haunting episodes abound in these overtures and entr’actes, and there is restrained yet fragrant Iberian colour in the overture to Léocadie. The Violin Concerto is lightly scored and gentle, with a tarantella-like finale full of folk vitality.

Alexandre Tansman’s guitar music was almost exclusively created as the result of his friendship with the legendary Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia. The true extent of this catalogue has only recently become apparent, with unknown works emerging from archive sources. Performed after careful research into the original manuscripts, Andrea De Vitis’s programme brings together pieces that reference Tansman’s favourite musicians from history, in particular Bach and Chopin - masterfully intertwining personal affections with sophisticated techniques to create some of the most important guitar repertoire of the 20th century.

The Canadian pianist Louis Lortie returns with the second volume of his overview of the solo piano works of Gabriel Fauré. The two major works in this recital are the Ballade, Op. 19 and the Thème et variations, Op. 73. The earlier Ballade shows Fauré’s debt to Liszt, whilst the Thème et variations was modelled on Schumann’s Études symphoniques. The rest of the programme consists of shorter Nocturnes and Barcarolles, and is book-ended by the Pie Jesu and In paradisum from the Requiem – Fauré’s best-known work – in transcriptions by Louis Lortie himself.