Valleyheart Justin Rutledge

In October 2020, Justin Adams, whose post-punk approach has been en-riched by a passion for Arabic and African trance/blues, and Mauro Durante, a visionary inheritor of the Taranta roots of his native Puglia got together to make an intense and intimate album: Still Moving. They recorded live in the studio, without overdubs. Together they found what was essential in their common sound, reaching into traditional music from Italy (folk songs like 'Damme La Manu', classics like 'Amara Terra Mia') and America ('Little Moses', the Carter Family classic). Original songs, like 'Dark Road Down' mix the wild pizzica rhythm of Southern Italy and trance boogie, while 'Djinn Pulse' goes from serene instrumental minimalism to hypnotic catharsis. The title song 'Still Moving' evokes Mediterranean migration with the ancient frame drum and raw electric guitar providing a starkly beautiful landscape.

In December the trailblazing American-French conductor and harpsichordist William Christie celebrates his 80th birthday. Leading up to this major milestone will be a series of new releases and reissues celebrating Christie’s life and work. “Conversations” highlights Christie’s work as a mentor to the younger generation, with star player Justin Taylor playing duets of music by the unique compositional voice of Gaspard Le Roux.

Justin Townes Earle's previous records were promising – if uneven – offerings that revealed a considerable talent trying to find his own musical identity as a songwriter, apart from his parental heritage. It may have taken him three albums, but Harlem River Blues delivers in spades what his earlier offerings only hinted at…

In October 2020, Justin Adams, whose post-punk approach has been en-riched by a passion for Arabic and African trance/blues, and Mauro Durante, a visionary inheritor of the Taranta roots of his native Puglia got together to make an intense and intimate album: Still Moving. They recorded live in the studio, without overdubs. Together they found what was essential in their common sound, reaching into traditional music from Italy (folk songs like 'Damme La Manu', classics like 'Amara Terra Mia') and America ('Little Moses', the Carter Family classic). Original songs, like 'Dark Road Down' mix the wild pizzica rhythm of Southern Italy and trance boogie, while 'Djinn Pulse' goes from serene instrumental minimalism to hypnotic catharsis. The title song 'Still Moving' evokes Mediterranean migration with the ancient frame drum and raw electric guitar providing a starkly beautiful landscape.

Justin Townes Earle released Kids In The Street, his first record on New West Records, in May of 2017. The album received critical acclaim and further cemented Justin’s legacy as one of the best active songwriters in music. Songs like “Champagne Corolla” showcased his wry sense of humor as well as his deft ability to build upon the music that came before him while at the same time creating something unique and new. Familiar, inventive, creative, and clever.

It was when the young Haydn was appointed Kapellmeister to Prince Nikolaus Esterházy that he composed his Missa Cellensis, a work of vast proportions, whose popularity is demonstrated by the many surviving copies. In this interpretation full of vivid contrasts, the RIAS Kammerchor and the Akademie für Alte Musik confirm their extraordinary ability to reveal every subtlety of a composition that possesses almost operatic energy.

The RIAS-Kammerchor Berlin and its chief conductor Justin Doyle present Handel’s Messiah, together with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and an all-British quartet of outstanding soloists, consisting of Julia Doyle (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Thomas Hobbs (tenor) and Roderick Williams (bass). Messiah (1742) is not only Handel’s most famous work, but equally one of the cornerstones of British choral culture. Over the years, a tradition of mass performances full of pomp and circumstance took root, with the "Hallelujah" as a showstopper. This new period-instruments recording, however, aims to bring the piece back to the size and intimacy of the earliest performances.

Violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte and harpsichordist Justin Taylor, two of the most promising virtuosos of the new generation and founder members of the ensemble Le Consort, now present a duo album that pays tribute to a great eighteenth-century dynasty of musicians, the violinists and composers of the Francoeur family. The sonatas of Louis Francoeur (c.1692-1745), known as Francoeur the Elder, and those of his brother François (1698-1787) are dance suites featuring polyphonic effects produced by the use of double stopping. Justin and Théotime bring these varied treasures back to life with the energy and grace for which they are already well known.