Roy Orb

Longtime Mad Professor fans only need to take a look at the jaw-droppingly great track list to declare Method to the Madness a major success, one that serves both as an excellent introduction to the man's work and a wonderful roundup of tracks that saves veterans the trouble of carrying a large stack of CDs and CD singles. Sanctuary has been working the Trojan catalog hard with a generally great series of reissues, but the label has outdone itself this time by reaching outside the Trojan catalog for a change and offering the first ambitious Mad Professor compilation to the world. The U.K.-based reggae producer is often characterized as a crazed dubman, but Method to the Madness is also filled with lovers rock that mixes in some new wave attitude, urgent ragga that's synthetic musically but roots lyrically, along with the trippy, free-spirited experimental dub the man is famous for.

Composers: Ralph Vaughan Williams, Georg Friedrich Händel, Matthew Locke, Sir Edward Elgar, Sir William Walton.

Verve Records Relaunches ‘Verve Remixed’ Series. ‘Verve Remixed: The Hits’ gathers 21 tracks from the label’s catalog, plus a new rework of Billie Holiday. Verve Remixed: The Hits gathers 21 classic tracks from the series’ catalog, including songs from Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, and Astrud Gilberto. Remixes come from the likes of Diplo, Toro Y Moi, Masters At Work, Felix Da Housecat, Bassnectar, Postal Service, Jaffa and Gotan. The album also closes with an all-new remix, a reimagining of Billie Holiday’s “You Go To My Head” by Henry Green. The melancholic producer and singer-songwriter Green has collaborated throughout his career with artists like Kygo, Christian Loffler, and more. He’s also done plenty of remixes, but none quite so high-profile as this one featuring the iconic Holiday. His take on the song is warm and enveloping, mirroring the song’s love-struck lyrics.

Relaxation albums are designed to help the listener relax through listening to the gentle music. It shares the basic structure and sound of many contemporary instrumental records. The difference is the intent and marketing – while other contemporary instrumental albums may help the listener relax, relaxation albums are specifically designed to do so. Ambient music evolved from the experimental electronic music of '70s synth-based artists like Brian Eno and Kraftwerk, and the trance-like techno dance music of the '80s. Ambient is a spacious, electronic music that is concerned with sonic texture, not songwriting or composing.