First recognized as the dance duo behind the club hits "Stakker" (as Humanoid) and "Papua New Guinea," Future Sound of London later became one of the most acclaimed and respected international experimental ambient groups, incorporating elements of techno, classical, jazz, hip-hop, electro, industrial, and dub into expansive, sample-heavy tracks, often exquisitely produced and usually without easy precursor.
Notoriously enigmatic and often disdainful of the press, the group's Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans worked their future-is-now aesthetic into a variety of different fields, including film and video, 2- and 3-D computer graphics and animation, the Internet, radio broadcast, and, of course, recorded music…
From start to finish this album defies categorical classification. It employs the best of R&B, Afro-beat, folk, and blues while remaining true to the Blind Boys' gospel roots. And with a tasteful selection of material by Tom Waits, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and Ben Harper, in addition to their usual array of traditional gospel hymns and folk tunes, it will appeal to generations of listeners. Though varied in its stylings, the album works as a whole due to the high-quality production, arrangements, and musicianship throughout.
In the brilliant history of the Chamber Choir of the Moscow Conservatory a separate chapter is connected with the musical legacy of Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998). Both compositions are united by the subject of faith and contemplation of what Is spiritual and spiritless. Despite the fact that chronologically the Requiem (1975) Is an earlier work than the Cantata (1983), on the CD they are presented in reverse order: following Alexander Solovyev's conception, the narrative of Faust’s tragic death, coming as retribution for his sinful earthly life, must be followed by a memorial prayer, the Requiem. The compact disc documented “live” performances: the Requiem was performed on September 17, 2013 at the Small Hall of the Conservatory, while the Cantata sounded out on September 29, 2014 at the Grand Hall of the Conservatory.
Still disenfranchised about American society and riled up about it, the former Dead Kennedys singer takes issue with Wall Street, Hollywood, consumer nature, fast food, and white people in general on Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine's third album, White People & the Damage Done. Backed by a musically fierce band that includes Ween/Butthole Surfers bassist Andrew Weiss, drummer Paul Della Pelle, and guitarists Ralph Spight and Kimo Ball, the 54-year-old frontman sounds as spirited as he did in his early days. In fact, for the fast, furious "Road Rage" and "Mid-East Peace Process," he and his band match the blistering energy of early-'80s American hardcore staples like Black Flag (good to see that Keith Morris' OFF! isn't the only group carrying the torch) and, yes, the Kennedys.