Venuto al Mondo (2012) [re Up]

Forty-fifth anniversary box set release from The Velvet Underground & Nico featuring the latest remastering. Set consists of 6 discs includes 29 unreleased tracks in a 92-page hardcover book packaging with a sticker of banana. Japanese edition features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player). The set includes both stereo and mono versions of the album "The Velvet Underground & Nico" (Disc 1-2), as well as Nico's 1967 solo debut CD "Chelsea Girl" (Disc 3), a studio session at Scepter Studio recorded to acetate, and unreleased recording footage from rehearsal at Andy Warhol's Factory in January 1966 (Disc 4), and a live show from Columbus, Ohio (Disc 5-6).

Asaf Avidan is a singer-songwriter and musician from Israel. His vocal - sounding very much like the legendary Janis Joplin - is unmatched; and he sings primarily in English.
In 2006, he recorded his debut EP, Now That You're Leaving, a six-track record dealing with his breakup with his long-term girlfriend. To promote the self-released EP, Avidan put together a backing group (featuring bassist Ran Nir, drummer Yoni Sheleg, guitarist Roi Peled, and cellist Hadas Kleinman) and went on to perform as Asaf Avidan & the Mojos. Avidan's first full-length album, The Reckoning, followed in 2008, followed by Poor Boy/Lucky Man in 2009. A licensing deal with Sony/Columbia resulted in official European re-releases of both albums in 2010 and 2011, respectively…

Hungarian pianist-composer HAVASI’s life has revolved around the piano since the age of four, when he had his talent and perfect pitch discovered. During his studies he was extremely motivated by challenges and competitive situations. He would practice for ten hours a day to make the most of himself. He learned the trade of classical music with respect and humility, studied the lives and works of various masters, and graduated from Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Hungary. He came to recognise the huge responsibility involved in teaching, and taught in Budapest’s conservatory for years. As a performer of classical music he built up a vast repertoire, gave concerts in several towns across Europe, and won various piano contests.

When the studio of ever-groundbreaking Krautrock pioneers Can was sold to Germany's Rock n' Pop Museum, the entire space was disassembled and moved, and in the process, reels and reels of poorly marked and seemingly forgotten tapes were found buried amid other detritus in the studio. These tapes held over 30 hours of unreleased music from Can spanning a nine-year period and including work from both vocalists Malcolm Mooney and Damo Suzuki. Edited down to just over three hours, The Lost Tapes still includes an extensive amount of unheard studio, live, and soundtrack work from the band, and at its heights is as revelatory and brilliant as the best material on their well-loved albums…

This EP is a cover of Pink Floyd's famous masterpiece - available from January 9, 2012 - limited edition of 100 copies.
Daal is an Italian duo, formed in 2008 by two veterans of modern Italian Prog: Davide Guidoni and Alfio Costa. They're both experienced musicians on Italian Prog rock scene - Guidoni is a drummer who had been working with Taproban, The Far Side, Gallant Farm, Nuova Era, Ozone Player and others. Costa (Tilion, Prowlers, Colossus project, Dark Session) plays keyboards - mostly vintage ones, as well as some softsynths. It's not surprising their music (mostly instrumental albums) is rich in lush textures, with emphasis on a multitude of layers; a heritage of Italian Progressive Rock movement is evident, as well as various other influences.

The US band is finally presenting an official release of their famed and reverently discussed Portal tapes! After splitting up, Cynic members Paul Masvidal, Sean Reinert and Jason Gobel formed the short-lived project Portal together with Chris Kringel on bass and stunning vocalist Aruna Abrams. Aruna’s beautiful and haunting voice combined with Paul’s clean vocals is the perfect fit for these laid back and subtle songs that have more in common with the sound of Porcupine Tree and The Gathering than their original Progressive Death Metal roots. This genre was shaped by Cynic’s full-length debut “Focus” (1993). Yet since their reunion in 2006, Cynic have moved via the Progressive Metal of their highly acclaimed second album “Traced in Air” (2008) towards ever more open soundscapes combining many stylistic influences. With “The Portal Tapes” the missing link in Cynic’s evolution is now available.

Both of Young Flowers' studio albums (1968's Blomsterpistolen and 1969's No. 2) are included in their entirety on this two-CD compilation, which also has a 1967 non-LP single and the three songs they contributed to the 1970 Quiet Days in Clichy soundtrack, as well as three live September 1969 recordings. With English-language liner notes, it's the definite collection of this Danish psychedelic group. As the back cover points out, they were "the first Danish hippy band, the first home-grown rock band to sing in Danish (though the majority of their recordings were in English), and the first to play the States." These are substantial achievements, so it makes a reviewer feel like a party pooper to point out that in many respects, they were a run-of-the-mill late-'60s act. Their debts to Jimi Hendrix and Cream, in both the song structures and the guitar distortion…