Kungs Club Azur

From way back in 2002 Club des Belugas has become one of the leading Nu-Jazz bands in Europe, most probably in the world. Now theypresent their 8th studio album featuring a ton of women power! This fantastic and outstanding album shows another side of Club des Belugas music, which is revealed by its distinctive and original cover artwork style. Less Jazz and Latin, and more Electronics, Guitars and Trip-hop elements!
Taking 2 years to produce in their new state of the Art studio, Club des Belugas takes us, the listener on the next journey into the future sounds of Nu-Jazz and Electro…

This aptly titled release from '80s art rockers and Talking Heads side project Tom Tom Club is indeed good, bad, and funky. Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz have explored a stunning amount of musical styles within the confines of this album, with every song sounding like it was produced by a different group. The use of a variety of vocalists, including Weymouth, who at times sounds like a 16-year-old Japanese girl instead of her more mature self, as well as Mystic Bowie and Charles Pettigrew only seems to heighten the variety of sounds offered. The lyrics are simple, yet clever, and laid over a variety of sampled tracks, scratching, and other turntablism and live instrumentation. The resulting sound ranges from dub to dance-pop to spacy funk. The variety does allow for some unevenness, however, though duds like the repetitive and spare "Time to Bounce" are more than balanced by gems like "Happiness Can't Buy Money" and the instrumental cleverness of "Lesbians by the Lake," among others.

Life was a long time coming. Culture Club began work on a reunion album in 2014, recording a bunch of tracks with Youth, but that project was scrapped by 2016. Instead, the group decided to retain some of the songs, pluck a few tunes originally planned for a Boy George solo record, add some new cuts, and record all of them as Life, their first album in nearly 20 years. Two decades is a long time and that distance seems even greater thanks to how Culture Club faded after 1983's Colour by Numbers, scoring some hits while George and the rest of the crew figured out how to navigate their seismic international fame. The remarkable thing about Life is how doubt never seems to be part of their equation, either in the composition or the recording.

Club des Belugas is one of the leading Nujazz bands in Europe, perhaps in the world. They combine contemporary European Electro, Lounge & Nujazz Styles with Brazilian Beats, Swing and American Black Soul of the fifties, sixties and seventies using their unique creativity and intensity. Since 2002 they released 10 studio albums, a 2CD live album, a live DVD, 10 singles and 1 EP.

The Gardening Club is a progressive rock band infused with plenty of other styles and influences, founded by Martin Springett, the band has released three albums, the Gardening Club, the Riddle, and Boy On A Bike. Based in Toronto Ontario and Victoria BC. 2018 The Gardening Club returns with their self-released sophomore album The Riddle featuring multi-instrumentalist Norm Macpherson, and James Macpherson, on drums and synthesizers. Liner notes and illustrations by Martin Springett.