Rkodr Transient Stellar

Astral Projection is an electronic musical group producing goa trance and psychedelic trance music based in Israel. Its current members are Avi Nissim and Lior Perlmutter. Although the majority of their releases have been done through their own record company, Trust in Trance (which later merged with Phonokol), they have also released records with other labels including Transient. In addition to an extensive discography, the group has an extensive worldwide touring schedule. A precursor to Astral Projection, SFX, was formed in Israel in 1989 and originally consisted of Avi Nissim and Lior Perlmutter…

Monuments Emerge chronicles the work of Asian-American composer Nicholas Vasallo (b. 1979). Fusing Western classical music, Asian classical music, and heavy metal, Vasallo's work plumbs the inner depths where these traditions unite, finding their roots in order to draw them out into vast sonic landscapes. Vasallo is pulling threads together, even as he seeks to push at the boundaries that have traditionally separated musical traditions.

Miami's Transient Force head honcho AS1, well known for his crazy designs work for Schematic a.o., drops a cool electro. A dark spheric journey into the black depths of the Transient Force underground.

Andy Grammer returns with a new CD that may be the most rewarding and introspective recording of his career. The disc features 13 stellar performances, all of which Grammer is credited with co-writing. Bookended with singles "Smoke Clears" and "Give Love", the album features stellar grooves and the positive vibes that Grammer is known for, but there are plenty of tunes which celebrate the complexity of being a human being. Life is messy seems to be the message of some of these selections. On the stellar "Workin' On It", Grammer opines "we all got monsters that don't see the daylight, skeletons you're hiding ain't going to leave overnight", concluding that the best we can do is to be "workin' on it". The title song "The Good Parts" actually refers to the failures and faults that we hide deep inside, insisting that we need to be vulnerable enough to not "leave the good parts out".

Born in Switzerland, Moraz studied music at an early age and would eventually join Yes for the Relayer album in 1974. From there he embarked on a solo career that would have him release some classic progressive albums in the 70s. When progressive music started on a downturn in the 1980s Moraz joined the Moody Blues for a few albums. His new album, Change of Space, is his first album in five years and fifteenth overall. Apparently Moraz wanted to show his progressive side with this album. The question is did he succeed?

Original Album Series contains the first five albums from the mighty Dayton funk band Slave: Slave (1977), The Hardness of the World (1977), The Concept (1978), Just a Touch of Love (1979), and Stone Jam (1980). Each disc is in a thin cardboard pouch with reproductions of the original front and back sleeve designs. Since the series limits itself to five discs, the band's phenomenal sixth album – Show Time (1981) – couldn't fit, but this is a convenient way to snap up the majority of the output from one of the planet's best funk bands. Not even the two-disc The Definitive Groove Collection covers all the great singles and album cuts featured within this small box.