The Mannerist Mind, Francisco González de Canales

Formed in 1991, The Spacious Mind have since become known as one of the world's leading psychedelic bands. Their music owes as much to the acid haze of the San Francisco ballrooms in the late 60's, as it does to the unknown areas of space, heart and time. The twin guitars are battling over a steady drums/bass background, while the atmospheric keyboards are swirling in and out of your mind, and together they create a melancholic tapestry of sounds that should please anyone into consciousness raising or simply the message of Love.

As a defining point of the U.K. psychedelic/progressive rock crossover, the Open Mind's sole album is the perfect specimen. With a singing style rooted in the freakbeat era, rather than the operatic tenor screams hard rock ushered in, and acidic duel guitars, heavier than those of a typical psychedelic act, The Open Mind filled the gap between the beginning of one era and the end of another. "Magic Potion" is unarguably their greatest moment. Its monotonous rhythm guitar anticipates the stoner rock of Hawkind while double bass drum fills and doom-laden fuzz guitar ragas combine bombastic rock power with Eastern-influenced psychedelia. Magnificent! "Girl, I'm So Alone" - a remake of early Open Mind lineup, mod band the Drag Set's "Get out of My Way" - harks back to a 1967 feel, as do a number of other songs that show the band being not quite as progressive as they intended…

Featuring an all-star eclectic ensemble of like-minded musicians–Jesse Sykes (acoustic guitar, vocals); Dave Alvin (electric guitar); Victor Krummenacher (bass guitar); David Immerglück (guitar/harmonium/mellotron); and Michael Jerome (drums/percussion)– The Third Mind 2, this supergroup's second album, reflects the band members varied musical histories with a “no safety parachute” recording approach using free-form studio techniques, no rehearsals, no preconceived arrangements, and recording spontaneous group improvisations live in studio.

Little is known about the life of Francisco António de Almeida, but he occupied a central position in Portuguese life in the first half of the 18th century and was able to learn the Italian style in Rome thanks to the ambitions of King João V. The rarely recorded La Spinalba ovvero Il vecchio matto (Spinalba, or the Mad Old Man) is a comic opera which follows the buffa tradition of intrigue and romantic complexities, and is filled with superb cantabile arias as well as a rich variety of original and dramatic orchestral effects. The cast is led by Ana Quintans, a much-in-demand soloist on the early music scene, and the highly regarded Portuguese ensemble Os Músicos do Tejo is directed by its co-founder Marcos Magalhães.