Let Atlas Sound

Even when paying homage to the Moroccan music she grew up with, vocalist Natacha Atlas can't help but let the multicultural and modern seep in. With bossa nova, Western pop, and just a thin slice of electronica figuring into the mix, the "back to my roots" album Mish Maoul is a rich collection of music that doesn't sound decorated but natural coming from an artist who prides herself in being a musical nomad. Easy to believe a nomad's memories of her homeland would be foggy and sentimental, and easy to believe the modern nomad's soundtrack would sound something like this – only something like this because this is far and away Atlas' most personal album. Suitably, she seems totally in charge of its construction, making interesting production choices with the help of Temple of Sound, Timothy Whelan, and others. For someone who has worked with Transglobal Underground, Art of Trance, and Jah Wobble in the past, the restraint Atlas uses on the rhythmic and ritualistic "Hayati Inta" is surprising and creates an intoxicating tension with only a slight bit of electric guitar revealing this isn't a field recording.

3CD, 60-track set exploring the UK’s psychedelic scene in the late 1980s. A sequel to the critically acclaimed ‘Another Splash Of Colour’.

3CD, 60-track set exploring the UK’s psychedelic scene in the late 1980s. A sequel to the critically acclaimed ‘Another Splash Of Colour’.

Moorman and his band take the blues ethos, plant it in the garden of their own experience, and let it grow into something which is natural, unforced, blues-drenched, and rocks like crazy. More than just a Blues-Rock artist, award-winning guitar player Sonny Moorman balances his signature smoking-hot riffs with a hard-rocking precision and feel born deep in the Blues ethos. Seeming to channel inspiration from elsewhere, his world-class playing is at once both transcendental and firmly grounded in reality, captivating audiences nationwide. The music is original, complex and never stale, with relatable lyrics and a sound that conjures up masters like Duane Allman, Lonnie Mack, and Freddy King. Still, Moorman has forged his own intoxicating style throughout his decades-long career, which firmly establishes him as one of the last great authentic roadhouse players.

The set includes 17th and 18th century arias and songs from England by Purcell, Handel and Green, French art-songs by Debussy and Fauré, as well as canciones by Spanish composers including Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina.