Matmatah Hypnagogia

Featuring their modern take on the traditional Breton genre known as Kan ha Diskan, La Ouache is the debut album from French quartet Matmatah. Influenced by Alan Stivell's Again LP, their 1998 debut, which combines Celtic rock with Middle Eastern folk, was produced by Claude Chamboissier and features the hit singles "Lambe an Dro" and "Les Moutons" alongside the rousing instrumental closer "Ribette's" and the hard-hitting "Troglodyte."

You can often judge musicians by the company they keep. Float the Edge, the latest album from pianist-composer Angelica Sanchez, features her alongside two of the most sought-after rhythm-section musicians on the scene: veteran bassist Michael Formanek and rising-star Tyshawn Sorey, both acclaimed leader-composers in their own right. To be released via Clean Feed Records on March 25, 2017, Float the Edge sees this earthy, expansive trio perform Sanchez’s compositions, as well as several free improvisations. “A lot of what we do as a trio and what each of us does living a life in this music is take things to the edge, taking the risk to jump off without really knowing where you’re going to land,” the pianist says. “When it works, you feel like you’re floating it’s beautiful.”

While singer and multi-instrumentalist Bonnie Bloomgarden and guitarist Larry Schemel knew their intention for the album before a single note was written, the actual nature and direction of the music was a mystery. The initial inspiration for the record came from the jubilant spirit of Ethiopian funk records the band had been listening to on tour, but once they began to channel the songs it seemed like the music came from somewhere not in the past but in the future. In the weeks leading up to recording, Death Valley Girls relied on their subconscious and effortlessly conjured Under the Spell of Joy’s eleven tracks as if they’d tapped into the Akashic Chronicle and pulled the music from the ether.

Buckethead, born Brian Patrick Carroll on May 13, 1969, is a highly eclectic guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, known for his eccentricities, such as literally wearing a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on his head. With over 150 studio albums, Buckethead has collaborated with dozens of other artists, including Les Claypool and film actor Viggo Mortensen. In addition, he has composed and performed music for a number of major motion pictures, including Saw II, Mortal Kombat, and Beverly Hills Ninja. This expansive curriculum vitae has earned Buckethead a place on various lists of distinguished guitarists, including Guitar World's 25 All-Time Weirdest Guitarists.