Essentials 2016

Bebe Rexha is one of music's most daring and dexterous cross-genre stars. After cutting her teeth as a songwriter for the likes of Selena Gomez, Cash Cash, and Eminem, the native New Yorker—armed with a blockbuster multi-octave voice—stepped out of the shadows on club-pop collaborations with David Guetta and Martin Garrix. She had her first solo hit with 2016's “I Got You” and followed it up with two EPs that featured Ty Dolla $ign, Gucci Mane, and Lil Wayne. But it was her gigantic duet with Florida Georgia Line—a catchy-as-hell piano ballad over a hip-hop beat—that catapulted her to a new level of fame: “Meant to Be” earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Country Group Performance and set the stage for her debut album, 2018's Expectations, a brooding, thoughtful pop project that demands to be taken seriously.

Strictly DJs Only, DMC Christmas Mixes and Remixes! December Song is a Christmas single commercially released by George Michael. The track was written by George Michael and longtime writing partner David Austin. During the Gerry Ryan show, David Austin confirmed that the song had originally been written with the Spice Girls in mind. After a few failed deadlines, the song was going to be given to Michael Bublé but George Michael decided to keep it for himself.

Every year the Most Rated Ibiza edition consolidates the breakout DJ essentials with the tastemakers underground gems alongside the bona-fide hits of the season in one well-considered package. The album comprises over 30 full-length, unedited, unmixed house tracks plus two continuous bonus mixes featuring everything from Purple Disco Machine to Jamie xx. Its a tough job going to all the major clubs around the world, speaking to the DJs, getting every tip and leaving no rock unturned or record bag unexamined, but thats what weve done. With another Ibiza Season well underway, we present a collection of the very finest, most talked-about records from the White Isle: its Most Rated Ibiza 2016, setting the standard held by Ibizas most influential selectors.

House music has enjoyed an incredible year, and 2017 looks set to continue to provide yet more outstanding additions to the genre. Defected presents Most Rated 2017 celebrates the wealth and variety of house created, played and enjoyed on dancefloors worldwide, showcasing the records doing the business in clubs right now, previewing the hits of the year ahead, and reflecting on the big tracks from the past twelve months that are destined to become tomorrow’s classics.

From his emergence in the mid-Eighties to the present, pianist Cyrus Chestnut has declared himself a committed stylist completely infatuated with his instrument and the art he’s sworn allegiance to, jazz. Chestnut has consistently shown himself an improviser of rare ingenuity and grace, yet what most distinguishes him from other gifted pianists of our era may be the sheer pleasure that radiates from all that he plays. While the characteristic cheer that Chestnut displays on "Natural Essence" can be attributed to his undiminished vigor and attentiveness, the presence of his notable cohorts also contributes to the leader’s focus. With the dynamic Lenny White on drums and the redoubtable Buster Williams on bass Cyrus & company breathe new life and vitality into that most venerable of jazz ensemble formats, the piano trio.

When guitarist, improviser and composer Kim Myhr had an opportunity to collaborate with the never-stagnant Trondheim Jazz Orchestra for the second time, he invited Jenny Hval to join him. He had known her for several years and had wanted for a long time to work together with her.

The singer of R&B and soul known as Yolanda Arrey has released her latest LP record, “The Bayou.” It consists of 15 tracks for an approximate total listening time of one hour. It has been proudly published as an independent release without the direction of the corporate music industry. Built on grooves, blues, beats, and the clarion singing of this contemporary chanteuse from Cameroon, “The Bayou” proves Yolanda Arrey to be one of today’s most evocative singers.

Fariborz Lachini has been creating music for over three decades. While in his twenties, Lachini had already achieved success in the world of pop music, writing for some of today's Persian pop icons as well as music for children. After the revolution, Lachini moved to France to study music and computers.

None of this jazz standard band name ending again on the term "quartet", although it is in fact this is a classic cast molds with piano, bass, percussion and wind instruments. Instead, only Haberecht 4. Without Kerstin. Nothing to indicate whether there is a woman or a man wielding the scepter. "Something would distract from the essentials," finds the old and Sopransaxofonistin. "I want to avoid that people see the group only from this point. it would be me prefer to be simply judged because of my music. "