New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records release The Blue Hour, a song cycle written collaboratively by the female composers Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw, and Sarah Kirkland Snider; this unique joint vision among a female collective is available October 14, 2022. The cycle was commissioned by, and is performed with, the Boston–based chamber orchestra A Far Cry. (Nova also is featured as vocal soloist.) Set to excerpts from Carolyn Forché’s epic poem On Earth, the music follows one woman’s journey through the space between life and death via thousands of hallucinatory and non-linear images. Exploring memories of childhood, of war, of love, and of loss, The Blue Hour amplifies the beauty, pain, and fragility of human life from a collective female perspective.
This collection documents the late Prince Far I's (aka Michael Williams) final period with the Trojan label. These are frequently referred to as his best years, despite the fact that Psalms for I and Under Heavy Manners are graded as his finest albums. But it comes down to track-for-track, the dub 12" singles, and the sound system tracks that he cut with one of the greatest bands in the history of reggae, the Arabs – mainly made up of the Roots Radics band with cats like Flabba Holt, Style Scott, Chinna Smith, and Bingy Bunny. Prince Far I's Cry Tough Dub Encounter albums are well known for their visionary quality and stridently spaced out effects. Far I was his own producer from 1977 on, and he did a better job than anybody who had worked with him previously, whether it be Adrian Sherwood, Joe Gibbs, or Bunny Lee. With the exception of the first cut on this two-disc set, "Heavy Manners" produced by Joe Gibbs, the Prince was at the helm for everything else here. Of the 40 selections, four complete albums are represented, and a few singles.
Far Corporation were a British band created by record producer Frank Farian, who created the bands Boney M. and Milli Vanilli. The name was shortened from "Frank Farian Corporation", which was originally put together to record a cover of the Paul Simon piece "Mother and Child Reunion" as a charity record and reached the top 10 in several European countries. That group's lineup included members of Barclay James Harvest, Toto, Boney M and Force Majeure.
From Boston, this was a heavy psychedelic outfit with free jazz influences. Except for the classic blues track, Sweet Little Angel, all the songs on their album were penned by the group and sung in a very rasping voice by Jere Whiting. The album was produced by Danny Weiss (Everything Is Everything) and recorded in New York. It's one of the few records issued on Vanguard Apostolic, the label managed by John Townley (from Family Of Apostolic).
From Boston, this was a heavy psychedelic outfit with free jazz influences. Except for the classic blues track, Sweet Little Angel, all the songs on their album were penned by the group and sung in a very rasping voice by Jere Whiting. The album was produced by Danny Weiss (Everything Is Everything) and recorded in New York. It's one of the few records issued on Vanguard Apostolic, the label managed by John Townley (from Family Of Apostolic).
The Far Side is from Rome, Italy and had one album released in 2002: 'Parallelebiped'. Before in the 80's and 90's the guitarist, vocalist and keyboardist Simone Montrucchio and drummer David Guidoni had played together in Invisible Sun alongside with bassist Emanuele Fasanelli. They changed their name to Crystal Gaze when the lead guitarist Lorenzo Fasanelli joined the band. They played around Rome some covers with their own original material when they stopped in 1995. In 1998, they reunite as a trio and with the name The Far Side. The music is influenced by Rush, Enchant and Fates Warning and contains some slower and symphonic songs with piano and synthesizers and some heavier and faster tempo kind of songs were guitars are dominant.
Far Corporation were a British band created by record producer Frank Farian, who created the bands Boney M. and Milli Vanilli. The name was shortened from "Frank Farian Corporation", which was originally put together to record a cover of the Paul Simon piece "Mother and Child Reunion" as a charity record and reached the top 10 in several European countries. That group's lineup included members of Barclay James Harvest, Toto, Boney M and Force Majeure.
Songs about birds & other things. Stories from Sweden, told by the band Alla får medalj.