Cycle Torque From July 2015

Delmark recording artist Rockin' Johnny Burgin is the new modern king of Chicago West Side blues. He recorded "Greetings from Greaseland" with the cream of the crop of the San Francisco Bay blues scene at California's funkiest studio, Greaseland. This CD, his sixth, features Aki Kumar on harp, Kid Andersen on gtr, Vance Ehlers on bass and June Core on drums. It also features the first recordings of Johnny on harp. There's some great chemistry and blues feeling on display on his first ever California recording with these great Bay area blues players.

Harrison Kennedy is a Black Canadian electric blues, R&B, and soul blues, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for being the lead vocalist on the Chairmen of the Board song, "Chairman of the Board", but has had a varied solo career since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the 2016 "Blues Album of the Year" Juno Award for his release, This Is From Here. It was Kennedy's sixth nomination for that Award. He is also a Blues Music Award, and multiple Maple Blues Award nominee.

Lindsey Stirling brings her futurist world of electronic big beats fused with violin, dance, and animation to London s Forum Theatre. Filmed live during her Shatter Me World Tour, the 90 minute live show features her smash single Shatter Me along with several other tracks from her sophomore album which debuted at #2 on Billboard s Top 200 album chart.

Max Richter’s landmark 8.5 hour work SLEEP in an abrdiged 90 min. version. The SLEEP project explores new ways for music and consciousness to interact, a “personal lullaby for a frenetic world…a manifesto for a slower pace of existence.”

Filmed at London's Forum Theater in 2014, Live from London is electronic violinist, dancer, and YouTube sensation Lindsey Stirling's first concert DVD/CD. Filmed and recorded during her 2014 tour in support of her second studio album Shatter Me, which reached number two on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, the 16-track collection features dynamic performances of some of Stirling's most resonant classical-pop confections, including "All of Me," "Crystallize," "Beyond the Veil," and "Stars Align."

Thomas Søndergård's hybrid SACD of Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 2 in D major and his Symphony No. 7 in C major is an audiophile showcase that presents two contrasting sides of the composer with optimal clarity. The comparatively lush orchestration of the Symphony No. 2 probably has never sounded better in any recorded format, and the multichannel reproduction of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales brings out its vibrant bass, velvety strings, and sumptuous winds in a resonant acoustic, all of which are essential ingredients in the young Sibelius' post-Romantic sound. Yet the Symphony No. 7 presents the sparer counterpoint and leaner textures of Sibelius' mature phase, so the recording brings out the transparency of the timbres, and the clean separation of parts gives an added spatial dimension. Søndergård's interpretations of both works are wholly sympathetic and masterful, and the orchestra plays with the commitment and vitality that make these symphonies compelling. One hopes this is the first installment of a Sibelius cycle, which would be a great addition to Linn's catalog. Highly recommended.