Wav Alchemy

Against The Grain, Acoustic Alchemy's 8th album, was released October 11, 1994 under the GRP label. Despite having only ten tracks, Against the Grain manages to notch up a total play time of 53 minutes because of the band's experimentation with some longer, more drawn out tracks. The most successful effort from this release was "Lazeez", one of two tracks from this album to appear on the compilation album, "The Very Best Of Acoustic Alchemy" (2002).

Recorded over a series of live concerts in London, this double CD features an Acoustic Alchemy lineup of Greg Carmichael, Miles Gilderdale, Fred White, Greg Grainger, and Gary Grainger playing songs from 2011's Roseland as well as signature songs from the band's 16-album career, including "The Beautiful Game," "Jamaica Heartbeat," "One for Shorty," and "Lazeez."

Joy Division - Les Bains Douches 18 December 1979 (2003) {Alchemy Entertainment FACD 2.61 rel 2003}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 469 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 156 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 19 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1979, 2003 NMC Music / Alchemy Entertainment | FACD 2.61
Rock / Post Punk / Alternative

If Preston finally provided a live Joy Division experience that was worth the purchase price, Les Bains Douches trumped it and then some. Actually compiled from two differing dates – the title performance itself, in Paris, and a further show in Amsterdam two months later that had been heavily bootlegged – Les Bains Douches, with the benefit of clearer sound than Preston, finally presents the experience of live Joy Division as the explosive event it was. There aren't any noticeable technical problems with the performances either, unlike some of the problems noticed on Preston, and with everything running smoothly the foursome simply and totally let go.

Two of Australia’s hottest young guitarists take us on a trip through time and around the world of classical guitar.

This is a collection of Nick Webb's early recordings with his original partner, Simon James, who split to go solo and was replaced by Greg Carmichael. Webb and James may have been calling themselves Acoustic Alchemy, but really, AA didn't start as a stable and successful group until Webb and Carmichael recorded their first album, red Dust and Spanish Lace, in 1987; these tracks precede that. As Acoustic Alchemy's career progressed, they added other instruments to accompany their steel and nylon string guitars, but there is almost nothing here but acoustic guitar.

Alexandra Jackson's debut project: "Alexandra Jackson: Legacy & Alchemy" channels her 4 primary musical loves and experiences: Brazilian Music, American Jazz & Soul, NeoSoul, and London Soul Jazz ! into a music alchemy intended for contemporary audiences worldwide.

Cynics might roll their eyes at the album's title – there is nothing at all edgy about this duo's buffed-to-a-high-gloss music – but The New Edge is actually one of Acoustic Alchemy's most entertaining releases. There's a playfulness to these tunes, like the puckish electronic drums on the flamenco-tinged and downright catchy "Notting Hill Two-Step" and the tongue-in-cheek boulevardier pretensions of the closing "Rive Gauche," that suggests a pair of sharp wits behind the well-packaged sheen of this music. The songs are a consistently memorable lot this time out, with a much higher than usual ratio of interesting melodies to snoozy new age mush, and the production, for once, is not so Velveeta-smooth that the record actually becomes hard to listen to.

With the release of This Way, Acoustic Alchemy's guitarists Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale celebrate a remarkable two decades since Red Dust & Spanish Lace established the British ensemble as an ever-evolving powerhouse of contemporary jazz. Carmichael and Gilderdale's natural chemistry is very apparent on this set of loose and spirited songs, as is the soloing by the complementing musicians on such jazzy tracks as "Egg," which has a very British, blues-drenched, straight-ahead sound. By contrast, "Ernie" has an exotic Latin jazz flavor complete with great solos by Terry Disley, Jeff Kashiwa, and trombonist Dennis Rollins. Rick Braun makes a guest appearance on "Carlos the King," a racy rock, Latin, and blues fusion that also features Gilderdale's electric guitar and Greg Grainger's percussive energy.

The challenge for any smooth jazz artist over time is appeasing longtime fans with certain stylistic similarities, yet searching for ways to keep things unique and distinctive with each successive album. Guitarists Nick Webb and Greg Carmichael (the principals in Acoustic Alchemy) kept the reference point of their steel and nylon string chemistry intact while always venturing the new agey jazz trappings they became accustomed to. Their fifth album features sojourns into reggae, flamenco, blues, country-rock, samba, and jazz improvisation, adding up to their most styistically diverse outing up till that time.