Enta Omri (You are My Life)
Umm Kulthum
Born as Fatima Ibrāhīm as-Sayyid al-Biltāǧī on an uncertain date (December 31, 1898 or May 4, 1904 – February 3, 1975) in a small village in the Nile Delta, Umm Kulthum was an internationally renowned Egyptian singer, songwriter and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s She equalled Aretha Frankling or Ella Fitzgerald not only in popularity but also in the range of her voice as well as in her emotionally expressive way of singing. The ‚Star of the Orient’ (Kawkab El Sharq) was an icon far beyond her native Egypt. Here we hear her accompanied by a classical Arabic orchestra comprising traditional as well as modern western instruments. Long introductions are habitual.
ca. 1965
Sardanapalo by Frantz Listz
How Liszt’s Lost Opera was Rescued
Based upon a narrative originally written by Lord Byron, as well as a painting by Delacroix, and another unexpected recent discovery in music after John Coltrane’s lost recording turned up (introduced in the August issue of our goodnews), Sardanapalo, a lost Opera by the mature Frantz Listz, transports the theme of war and peace to ancient Assyria, where the people are conspiring to overthrow the King. We don’t know why Liszt – far better known as a virtuoso pianist and symphonic poem composer whose celebrity status in Europe at the time led to the coining of the term Listzomania – failed to complete his only, wildly romantic opera.
Cambridge University, June 2018
Top 100 Brand New Country Songs and Hits
Great sound, crystal clear, accompanied by strong, melodious and convicing voices. We hear Scotty McCreery, who won the tenth season of American Idol, in May 2011, Keith Urban, an Australian with a strong career in the US these days, Jack Owen, from Florida, Clay Walker, from Texas and many more. They are all excellent and play the entire gamut of what I like in country music. But where are the ladies, Kayla Heeney? Does she know? It’s her compilation. 120 songs and not one woman’s voice! Or am I wrong?
Vevo & others, June 2018
Indie/Pop/Folk Compilation
Alex Rainbird is a one-man-industry – recently joined by his girlfriend. He started the Alex Rainbird Music youtube channel in the 2011 as a hobby while still in school. The channel currently receives around four million video views per months, deservedly so, I’d like to add. The sound promoted by alex is upbeat, varied and of high artistic quality. Even if you don’t like each and every track, you are going to find sounds that agree with you, and you will be introduced to music you might not have found by yourself – just like me, of course. There is a lot to chose from here.
www.alexrainbirdmusic.com, September 2018
Collapse
Aphex Twin
Richard P. James is always good for s surprise – this time the hard and fast beats making up the core of this upcoming new production, meaning that the middle section of this track is extraordinary, the rest reminding us that we are listeining to Aphex Twin’s indiosycratic style of ambient music. It’s alter ego, Richard David James, was born in Ireland but grew up in the English countryside. He began publishing music at age 12, inspried by a prize he won the year before for a «composition», of which he says that was just diddling around, As meticoulous as always, Aphex Twin’s Collapse EP will be released digitally as well as on CD, cassette, vinyl, and a limited edition LP in a Procédé Heliophore silver foil sleeve.
Warp, September 2018