Imagined Villages

Personally curated by Paul, McCartney III Imagined features an A-List assortment of friends, fans and brand new acquaintances, each covering and / or reimagining their favorite McCartney III moments in their own signature styles. The result is a kaleidoscopic reinterpretation of an album Rolling Stone accurately tagged “an inspiration to us all”—one that serves as an extension of the instantly beloved McCartney III while standing on its own as brilliant and adventurous milestone in the McCartney discography. The all-star lineup Includes Anderson .paak, Beck, Blood Orange, Damon Albarn, Eob, Josh Homme, Khruangbin, 3d Rdn From Massive Attack, Phoebe Bridgers, St. Vincent and more.

Originally reached no.13 in the UK charts in 1996 – taken from the top 30 album DEAD CITIES and loosely based on “Rachael’s song” from BLADERUNNER by Vangelis. Now 22 years later the group have recreated the track in 10 new compositions, seamlessly flowing together the journey, it travels from ambient rock to a land of electronica.

This is the second recording by BIS of Sally Beamish’s music, and the four pieces it contains confirm utterly her high standing. Her work is thoughtfully lyrical, intense, individual, instinctively dramatic, in ways that remind me somewhat of Nicholas Mawmusic. Like him she has a particular gift for expressive harmony and timbre. The earliest piece here is No, I’m not afraid (1989), six poignant poems written from prison by Irina Ratushinskaya spoken – by Beamish herself – against sparse but hugely effective instrumental backgrounds and interspersed with five purely instrumental interludes. The disc opens with The Caledonian Road of 1997. The name of this piece refers not just to the north London thoroughfare remembered by Beamish from childhood but to her own pilgrimage northward to Scotland, where she now lives. The music resonates with a sense of ritual, of something inevitable. By contrast, the work that follows, the unabashedly poetic The Day Dawn (written for a summer school organised by Contemporary Music-making for Amateurs in 1997, and revised in 2000) derives from a Shetland fiddle tune, and is all about new beginnings.

In what will be 25 years since the release of Enchant's debut album "A Blueprint of the World", the San Francisco-formed progressive rock group will celebrate with a special limited 10 CD boxset compiling all of their studio albums, from the aforementioned debut, right up to 2014's "The Great Divide". The package also features 2 discs of bonus tracks that include a selection of demo versions, live tracks, acoustic versions & instrumentals, plus extensive liner notes covering the entirety of the bands career up to now and brand new interviews with various members past & present.
Enchant are renowned for their catchy melodies, driven by Ted Leonard's excellent vocals. The build-up of their compositions brings to mind acts such as Rush, Dream Theater and Kansas among others, but in their long career they have clearly developed their own sound.

Blue Note Re:imagined returns in 2022 with a new 16-track compilation featuring fresh takes on music from the illustrious Blue Note vaults recorded by a heavyweight line-up of the UK jazz, soul and R&B scene’s most hotly-tipped rising stars. Arriving off the back of the widespread international success of the first volume, which topped jazz charts around the globe in 2020, Blue Note Re:imagined II once again infuses the spirit of the new UK jazz generation into the legendary label’s iconic catalog, balancing the genre’s tradition with its future and reflecting the melting pot of talent and diversity within the current scene. The second volume presents covers of classic Blue Note tracks by Donald Byrd, Grant Green, Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk, Bobbi Humphrey, Marlena Shaw, Chico Hamilton, Chick Corea, Joe Lovano, Cassandra Wilson, and Norah Jones by a rollcall of acclaimed talent including Yazz Ahmed, Conor Albert, Parthenope, Swindle, Nubiyan Twist, Ego Ella May, Oscar Jerome, Daniel Casimir, Theon Cross, Maya Delilah, Kay Young, Venna & Marco, Reuben James, Binker Golding, Cherise, and Franc Moody.

Landscapes, whether real or imagined have been a recurring theme in the chamber music of Judith Bingham, performed here by the internationally renowned Chamber Domaine and the supremely talented Korean soprano Yeree Suh.

Blue Note Re:imagined presents classic Blue Note tracks, reworked and newly recorded by a selection of the UK scene’s most exciting young talents today. Representing a bridge between the ground-breaking label’s past and future, the project will feature contributions from a rollcall of internationally acclaimed jazz, soul and R&B acts – Shabaka Hutchings, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Mr Jukes, Steam Down, Skinny Pelembe, Emma-Jean Thackray, Poppy Ajudha, Jordan Rakei, Fieh, Ishmael Ensemble, Blue Lab Beats, Melt Yourself Down, Yazmin Lacey, Alfa Mist, and Brit Award-winning Jorja Smith.

Michel Legrand, who has been loved around the world since his death in 2019, celebrates the 90th anniversary of his birth on February 25, 2022. Musician of many classic films such as "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," "The Girls of Rochefort," and "The Skin of the Donkey," Legrand was a music legend who broke down the boundaries between jazz, symphonic music, musical comedy, and popular music, and a three-time Academy Award winner who, over the decades He has left behind many works with themes that remain in people's memories. A tribute album to Legrand's music, "Legrand (Re)Imagined," will be released by Decca Records.