Audio 2 1993

Dreamfish (1993). Galactic tides of white noise usher in an expansive trip from Pete Namlook with the UK's silver-suited Ambient space cadet, Mixmaster Morris, whose eclectic DJing graced many a comedown party at the time. If Dreamfish now feels anchored in its era, it's still one of the best surviving examples of a moment when new Ambient lived a utopian dream of a technologically enlightened borderless society, sharing immersive virtual experiences around the world wide web's global campfire. There's a minty freshness and optimism about “School of Fish," while the shorter (nine minute) “Fishology” features the synthetically treated voice of Terrence McKenna, Hawaii-based futurologist and author of Food of the Gods, whose shamanistic theories of techno-paganism and extraterrestrial ancestry fit right in with the stew of ideas and New Age psychedelics which fertilized much of the early '90s Ambient scene…

Here was displayed for the first time the many variants of IDM, showing that there was much more to Ambient than just atmospheric instrumental tracks: from the deep moody electronica of David Morley or Biosphere, to the dub-influenced collages of the Orb's remix of Electrotete, and the Detroit techno of Model 500 at its most subtle, every track here is a gem, making it an unrivalled release.

The Best Of Manfred Mann's Earth Band is a compilation album released in 1993 by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. After a very successful period in the 60's with the pop group named after him and a much less successful intermezzo in Jazz with Chapter Three, the South-African born keyboardist Manfred Mann turned towards Rock music. In 1971 he formed Manfred Mann's Earth Band (MMEB). Mann's use of the Moog synthesizer was key to the sound of this band. MMEB had a very successful area during the mid 70's and early 80's but was disbanded by Mann in 1987 after being fed up with trying to produce hit records. He started a project which was based mostly on the music of Native American Indians named Manfred Mann's Plain Music and which released one album. After this Mann reformed the MMEB in 1991 and was starting again to release records with them occasionally but also to be a regular live band with extensive tours mostly in Europe until today.

Urban Soul Grooves - rare and slick. City Soul - move to the groove. Jazz 'n Dance - the mix with tricks. The coolest mixture around with some of the best kept secrets in the world of European new house swing bands. The soul is in the music and nobody's gonna stop it, if you care to listen. Dancing Fantasy, TeeKay, Quiet Force, George Bishop, Software, Terry Marshall, Frank Fisсher and more.

The Unauthorised Live Recordings … John Lennon - Live Vol. 2 - Live 1960's, 1970's, 1980's.

The Unauthorised Live Recording … Guns N' Roses - "You Could Be Mine" (Vol. 2): Live In USA 1993 (Part Two).

Urban Soul Grooves - rare and slick. City Soul - move to the groove. Jazz 'n Dance - the mix with tricks. The coolest mixture around with some of the best kept secrets in the world of European new house swing bands. The soul is in the music and nobody's gonna stop it, if you care to listen. Dancing Fantasy, TeeKay, Quiet Force, George Bishop, Software, Terry Marshall, Frank Fisсher and more.

Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin was born on March 6, 1914, in Russia. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1936, and worked as conductor at the Maly Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Leningrad from 1936-1943. He moved to Moscow in 1943 and worked as the conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre for 16 years. In 1960 Kondrashin was appointed the Artistic Director of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. He conducted the premiere of the Symphony No. 13 "Baby Yar" by Dmitri Shostakovich and Yevgeniy Yevtushenko in 1961. He left the Soviet Union in 1975 and took a post of principal conductor of Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1979. Kondrashin is known for his numerous recordings of the music of Soviet composers for Melodiya label during the 60's and 70's.

The playing of the excellent National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland - another Naxos discovery - is polished and sympathetic to the Tchaikovskian ardour… A fine, super bargain.

Mendelssohn's First Piano Concerto is much more popular, and more frequently played, than his Second. When you listen to this disc, you'll find out why. The First is an inspired piece with memorable themes, enjoyable but not ostentatious display for the piano, and a great sense of fun. The Second has unmemorable themes and a similar style without conveying the sense of fun. For those who like lesser Mendelssohn better than I do, this disc is very well played throughout, although the piano takes Howard Shelley's attention away from conducting and the orchestral playing isn't as distinctive as the piano playing.