Unknown Pleasures

Jesus rock pioneers the Wilson McKinley are a fascinating footnote in the annals of psychedelia – minor legends in their native Pacific Northwest, they are generally considered the first secular band to forsake the ample pleasures of the flesh in favor of forging lives and music devoted to spreading the Christian gospel…

With "Cinematic Lounge", Lemongrassmusic presents a fascinating audio experience, set up to trigger moving images of the mind. All selected tracks seem to be composed for movies but are actually created for your own inner visions. Some tunes are dreamy, some playful, some caressing, some compelling, some mysterious and some straightforward surprising. A trip through an unknown metropolis, a journey through an impressive landscape, an adventurous trip on your own or a timeless moment with your lover are all part of the overall scheme. Volume 6 of this compilation series embraces some of the best cinematic works presented on Lemongrassmusic during the past few years, adding up to 2 hours of stimulating listening pleasures, brought to you by artists from Germany, France, USA, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Kenya, Russia and Romania…

Carlo Gesualdo might get all the attention when it comes to colourful composer biographies but Alessandro Stradella (1639-82) gives the murderer-composer more than a run for his money. A fraudster, playboy and serial seducer (wimples no object), Stradella was the subject of at least one failed murder plot and was eventually stabbed to death by an unknown killer. If his music can’t quite live up to the thrills of his life, it’s still got plenty to recommend it, as this latest recording from Ensemble Mare Nostrum demonstrates.

Pink Martini follow the around-the-world-in-a-dozen-songs thrills of Hey Eugene! with Splendor in the Grass, a mellower, simpler set of small pleasures. These are relative terms, however; the group's music is still well-traveled, with China Forbes singing in five languages (English, Spanish, Neapolitan, French, and Italian) instead of the six or so on Eugene!. However, Pink Martini opt for a more unified sound here, one that draws on the more straightforward lounge-pop of their debut, Sympathique, and the mellowness of '60s and '70s pop.