Friday, October 16, 2009

..:|:Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra:|:..

Antibalas (pronounced approximately "ahn-tee-BAH-las", from the Spanish for "bulletproof") is a Bushwick, Brooklyn based afrobeat band that is modeled after Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra. Although their music is primarily afrobeat, it incorporates elements of jazz, funk, dub, improvised music, and traditional drumming from Cuba and West Africa.






Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Security [2007]

1. Beaten Metal
2. Filibuster XXX
3. Sanctuary
4. Hilo
5. War Hero
6. I.C.E.
7. Age









Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Government Magic [2005]

1. Go Je Je
2. Government Magic
3. Out With The New In With The True
4. Che Che Cole [Makossa Mix]
5. K-Leg
6. R.O.C.
7. Dub Je Je






Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Who Is This America? [2004]

1. Who Is This America Dem Speak Of Today
2. Pay Back Africa
3. Indictment
4. Big Man
5. Obanla'e
6. Elephant
7. Sister









Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Talkatif [2002]

1. Gabe's New Joint
2. Talkatif
3. Hypocrite
4. World Without Fear
5. War Is A Crime
6 Nyash
7. N.E.S.T.A. 75.






Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Liberation Afrobeat, Vol.1 [2001]

1. Si, Se Puede
2. Dirt And Blood
3. Battle Of The Species
4. N.E.S.T.A. [Never Ever Submit to Authority]
5. Musicawa Silt
6. Uprising
7. El Machete
8. World War IV

..:|:Utada Hikaru:|:..


Utada Hikaru is a J-pop artist born in New York in 1983, she is also known as Hikki, Utada and Cubic U. Her combined record sales of over 52 million put her in the top 10 list of highest selling Japanese artists.
She began her career in the US, moving to Japan where her work was truly appreciated. Her debut release in Japan was "Automatic/time will tell", sales of which were top five in Japanese music history. Her debut album First Love was the first of a successful string of releases, surpassing 10 million sales, with her first three albums placing her in the record books as the most popular singer in Asia.
Her 2004 album, the Timbaland-produced Exodus, was released in the US. The album, which incorporated dance and hip-hop, sold well in Japan while in the States it made No.160 on the Billboard 200, promoted by the single "Devil Inside".
Utada is a classic example of how truly talented artists/musicians can go totally unappreciated by U.S audiences, who tend to allow the radio to stunt their musical experience.





Utada - This Is The One [2009]

1. Come Back To Me
2. Me Muero
3. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
4. Apple And Cinnamon
5. Taking My Money Back
6. This One [Crying Like a Child]
7. Automatic Part. II
8. Dirty Desire
9. Poppin'
10. On And On
11. Simple And Clean
12. Sanctuary [Opening]
13. Sanctuary [Closing]






Utada - Heart Station [2008]

1. Fight The Blues
2. Heart Station
3. Beautiful World
4. Flavor Of Life [Ballad Version]
5. Stay Gold
6. Kiss & Cry
7. Gentle Beast Interlude
8. Celebrate
9. Prisoner Of Love
10. Flavor Of Life [*]









Utada - Ultra Blue [2006]

1. This Is Love
2. Keep Trying
3. Blue
4. Nichiyo No Asa Ga Kanaukoro
5. Making Love
6. Dareka No Negai
7. Colors
8. One Night Magic
9. Kairo
10. Wings
11. Be My Last
12. Eclipse [Interlude]
13. Passion








Utada - Exodus [2004]

1. Opening
2. Devil Inside
3. Exodus '04
4. The Workout
5. Easy Breezy
6. Tippy Toe
7. Hotel Lobby
8. Animato
9. Crossover Interlude
10. Kremlin Dusk
11. You Make Me Want To Be A Man
12. Wonder 'Bout
13. Let Me Give You My Love
14. About Me








Utada - Deep River [2002]

1. Sakura Drops
2. Traveling
3. Shiawase Ni Narou
4. Deep River
5.  Letters
6. Play Ball
7. Tokyo Nights
8. A.S.A.P.
9. Uso Mitaina I Love You
10. Final Distance
11. Bridge
12. Hikari









Utada - Distance [2001]

1. Wait & See
2. Can You Keep A Secret
3. Distance
4. Sunglasses
5. TV Series
6. Eternally
7. Addicted To You
8. For You
9. Throw It Away!
10. Parody
11. Time Limit
12. Indescribable Feelings
13. Hayatochi [Remix]









Cubic U - Precious [1999]

1. My Little Lover Boy
2. Lullaby
3. How Ya Doin'
4. I Don't Love You
5. Promise
6. Ticket 4 Two
7. Take A Little Time
8. 100 Reasons Why
9. Work Things Out
10. Close To You
11. Precious Love
12. How Ya Doin' [Rap Version]

..:|:Arctic Monkeys:|:..

By distilling the sounds of Franz Ferdinand, the Clash, the Strokes, and the Libertines into a hybrid of swaggering indie rock and danceable neo-punk, Arctic Monkeys became one of the U.K.'s biggest bands of the new millennium.






Arctic Monkey - Humbug [2009]

1. My Propeller
2. Crying Lightning
3. Dangerous Animals
4. Secret Door
5. Potion Approaching
6. Fire And The Thud
7. Cornerstone
8. Dance Little Liar
9. Pretty Visitors
10. The Jeweller's Hand
11. Red Right Hand [Japanese Bonus Track]
12. I Haven't Got My Strange [Japanese Bonus Track]









Arctic Monkey - Favorite Worst Nightmare [2007]

1. Brianstorm
2. Teddy Picker
3. D Is For Dangerous
4. Balaclava
5. Flourescent Adolescent
6. Only Ones Who Know
7. Do Me A Favour
8. This House Is A Circus
9. If You Were There, Beware
10. The Bad thing
11. Old Yellow Bricks
12. 505









Arctic Monkey - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not [2006]

1. The View From The Afternoon
2. I Bet you Look Good On The Dancefloor
3. Fake Tales Of San Francisco
4. Dancing Shoes
5. You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But you Were Looking Straight At Me
6. Still Take You Home
7. Riot Van
8. Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured
9. Mardy Bum
10. Perhaps Vampire Is A Bit Strong But...
11. When The Sun Goes Down
12. From The Ritz To Rubble
13. A Certain Romance


Thursday, October 15, 2009

..:|:Return To Forever:|:..

Return To Forever were at the forefront of Jazz/Rock fusion in the '70s and, like their contemporaries Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra, were formed by a former Miles Davis sideman, in this case the great Chick Corea. Return To Forever hit their commercial and artistic peak with a string of albums in the mid-'70s featuring the line-up of Chick Corea on keyboards, Stanley Clarke on bass, Al Di Meola on guitar and Lenny White on drums. In 2008, this classic line-up reunited for their first tour in 25 years and proved that their musicianship and the chemistry within the band was as strong as ever.






Return To Forever - Returns [LIVE][2009]

Disc 1

1. Opening Prayer
2. Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy
3. Vulcan Worlds
4. Sorceress
5. Return to the Pharaoh kings
6. Al's Solo
7. No Mystery


Disc 2

1. Friendship
2. Romantic Warrior
3. El Baya de Negro
4. Lineage - Lenny's Solo
5. Romantic Warrior [continued]
6. Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant
7. 500 Miles High
8. BBC Lifetime achievement award to RTF as presented by Sir George Martin, including performance of Romantic Warrior


..:|:Adele:|:..

U.S. only 2 CD edition includes a bonus disc with five live tracks;Right as Rain, Melt My Heart to Stone, My Same, That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On and Chasing Pavements. 19 is the debut album from Adele, also her age at the time of it's release. Citing her influences as diverse as Etta James, Jill Scott, Bjork, Dusty Springfield, Billy Bragg, Billie Holiday, Jeff Buckley, The Cure and Peggy Lee, Adele is a truly unique new artist. With her mix up of R&B and Soul served up with a healthy dash of feisty London attitude, she spins beautiful dark stories of loves won and lost and sometimes just daydreamed about.






Adele - 19 [Deluxe Edition [2008]

1. Daydreams
2. Best For Last
3. Chasing Pavements
4. Cold Shoulder
5. Crazy For You
6. Melt My Heart To Stone
7. First Love
8. Right As Rain
9. Make You Feel My Love
10. My Same
11. Tired
12. Hometown Glory


*Live Tracks

1. Right As Rain
2. Melt My Heart To Stone
3. My Same
4. That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On
5. Chasing Pavements


..:|:Hiromi Uehara:|:..

Mentored by giants like Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal and Chick Corea, Hiromi's roots are in jazz but her music explores a world of new ideas by blurring the boundaries of pop, rock, classical, avant-garde and other genres. Trust me when I tell you that Hiromi is one of the most brilliant pianists on the jazz set today. Don't believe me? WATCH THE VIDEOS!!!




Hiromi's Sonic Bloom - Newport Jazz Festival [2009]

1. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
2. Led Boots
3. Claire de Lune
4. Unknown
5. Piano Solo
6. Caravan
7. Unknown









Chick Corea and Hiromi - Duet [2009]

Disc One

1. Very Early
2. How Insensitive
3. DĂ©jĂ  Vu
4. Fool On The Hill
5. Humpty Dumpty
6. Bolivar Blues


Disc Two

1. Windows
2. Old Castle
3. Summertime
4. Place To Be
5. Do Mo - Children's Song #12
6. Concierto de Aranjuez/Spain









Hiromi's Sonic Bloom - Beyond Standard [2008]

1. Intro: Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
2. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
3. Clair de Lune
4. Caravan
5. Ue Wo Muite Aruko
6. My Favorite Things
7. Led Boots
8. XYG
9. I've Got Rhythm









Hiromi's Sonic Bloom - Time Control [2007]

1. Time Difference
2. Time Out
3. Time Travel
4. Deep Into The Night
5. Real vs. Body Clock = Jet Lag
6. Time And Space
7. Time Control, Or Controlled by Time
8. Time Flies
9. Time's Up









Hiromi - Spiral [2006]

1. Spiral
2. Music For Three-Piece Orchestra: Open Door - Tuning - Prologue
3. Music For Three-Piece Orchestra: DĂ©jĂ  Vu
4. Music For Three-Piece Orchestra: Reverse
5. Music For Three-Piece Orchestra: Edge
6. Old Castle, By The River, In The Middle Of The Forest
7. Love And Laughter
8. Bonus Track: Return Of The Kung-Fu World Champion









Hiromi - Brain [2004]

1. Kung-Fu World Champion
2. If...
3. Wind Song
4. Brain
5. Desert On The Moon
6. Green Tea Farm
7. Keytalk
8. Legend Of The Purple Valley









Hiromi - Another Mind [2003]

1. Xyz
2. Double Personality
3. Summer Rain
4. Joy
5. 010101 [Binary System]
6. Truth And Lies
7. Dancando No Paraiso
8. Another Mind
9. Tom And Jerry Show 


Wednesday, October 14, 2009

..:|:The Revelations [feat. Tré Williams]:|:..

Raw, funky deep soul from Brooklyn based Tre Williams and the Revelations -- with a sound rooted in the classic southern sounds of Hi Records and others, but feels fresh and current -- not so much in the throwback vein of others in the soul and funk underground -- but a timelessly gritty sound!





The Revelations [Feat. Tré Williams] - The Bleeding Edge [2009]

1. Stay Free
2. Graceful Bow
3. The Truth Shall Set You Free
4. Let's Straighten It Out
5. How Do I Tell Him
6. Sorry's Not Enough
7. Everybody Knows
8. I Don't Want to Know
9. Because Of You
10. Cheatin'/Secret Lovers
11. It's Too Late
12. Remember The Last Time
13. I Won't Let Go
14. Heavy Metal Blues
15. He's A Hustler


..:|:Mia Zuniga:|:..

Slick, but above all, soulful R&B: polish without pretense, barefoot and pretty, like the girl in the cover photo. Love Music, the name of the Pittsburg native's record label, is a perfect fit, for Stories Such as These is a total pleasure.





Mia Zuniga - Stories Such As These [2007]

1. 6 A.M.
2. Stories Such As These
3. Innocence
4. Walk Or Stay
5. Older Days
6. Who's To Blame
7. Between The Lines
8. Intelligent Design
9. Lamentations
10. Rise
11. Intelligent Design [Instrumental]

..:|:Mutya Buena:|:..

Mutya Buena has been an international star since the age of 15, when she enjoyed her first hit with the British pop group Sugababes, but it wasn't until 2007 that she stepped out on her own as a solo artist. The album includes collaborations with George Michael (whose only previous female collaborators were Aretha Franklin and Mary J Blige, so she's in good Soul-girl company!), Amy Winehouse on "B-Boy Baby" and Groove Armada.




Mutya Buena - Real Girl [2007]

1. Just A Little Bit
2. Real Girl
3. Song For Mutya [Out Of Control]
4. Breakdown Hotel
5. Strung Out
6. It's Not Easy
7. Suffer For Love
8. Not your Baby
9. Wonderful
10. B Boy Baby
11. This Is Not [Real Love]
12. Paperbag
13. My Song




..:|:K'Naan:|:..

Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, just as the civil unrest that rocked the country was beginning, rapper K'NAAN spent the early years of his life trying to avoid death and listening to the hip-hop records sent to him from America by his father, who had left Somalia earlier. When K'NAAN (whose name means "traveler" in Somali) was 13, he, his mother, and his two siblings were able to leave their homeland and join relatives in Harlem, where they stayed briefly before moving to Rexdale, Ontario, where there was a large Somali community. As soon as his English started improving, he began rapping, and in tenth grade he dropped out of school and traveled around North America for two years, performing occasionally. In 2002, he met Jarvis Church, part of the Track and Field Productions team that helped propel Nelly Furtado to fame, a connection that eventually led to a record. The Dusty Foot Philosopher came out in Canada in 2005, and was followed with tour spots with Mos Def and Talib Kweli, as well as a performance at Live 8. In 2007 the live album On the Road appeared and then, two years later, the album Troubadour became K'NAAN's first for the major label A&M.






K'Naan - Troubador [2009]

1. T.I.A.
2. ABC's
3. Dreamer
4. I Come Prepared
5. Bang Bang
6. If Rap Gets Jealous
7. Wavin' Flag
8. Somalia
9. America
10. Fatima
11. Fire In A Freetown
12. Take A Minute
13. 15 Minutes Away
14. People Like Me









K'Naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher [2008]

1. Wash it Down
2. Soobax
3. What's Hardcore
4. My Old Home
5. Moment [Interlude]
6. I Was Stabbed By Satan
7. My God [Interlude]
8. Smile
9. If Rap Gets Jealous
10. Dusty Foot Philosopher
11. Strugglin'
12. In The Beginning
13. Hoobaale
14. African Way
15. Voices In My Head
16. Boxing My Shadow
17. For Mohamoud [Soviet] [Interlude]
18. Until The Lion Learns To Speak
19. Blues For The horn
20. Till We Get There









K'Naan - The Dusty Foot On The Road [2007]

1. Wash it Down
2. The African Way
3. What's Hardcore
4. In The Beginning
5. Smile
6. Strugglin'
7. Be Free
8. Until The Lion Learns To speak
9. Voice In My Head
10. Is It A Myth
11. My God [feat. Mos Def]
12. By The End Of The Day
13. Soobax

..:|:Melody Gardot:|:..

The story of vocalist Melody Gardot is as remarkable as any who perseveres against abject adversity. Born in New Jersey in 1985, she took up piano and played as a youngster on the nightclub scene of Philadelphia, influenced by jazz, folk, rock and pop musics. At age 19 she was a fashion student at the Community College of Philadelphia. But, on a fateful day, while riding her bicycle, the driver of a Jeep made an illegal turn, hurdling into Gardot and leaving her in the street for dead. Hospitalized for months with multiple head injuries and pelvic fractures, her love for music was the best therapy she could receive. Her music could be described as a cross between Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, Eva Cassidy, and Shania Twain, but goes deeper than mere pop convention. Gardot is hypersensitive to light and noise, thus she wears dark glasses, and uses a cane to walk. On-stage she requires a special seating unit, and wears a Transcutaneous Electro-Nerve Stimulator, a TENS device, to assist in alleviating her neuralgic muscle pain. As amazing as her story is, what is more evident is that she possesses a blue style and persona that reflects not only her afflictions, but conversely the hope and joy of making personalized music that marks her as an individual and original.




Melody Gardot - My One And Only Thrill [2009]

1. Baby I'm A Star
2. If The Stars Were Mine
3. Who Will Comfort Me
4. Your Heart Is As Black As Night
5. Lover Undercover
6. Our Love Is Easy
7. Les Etoils
8. The Rain
9. My One And Only Thrill
10. Deep Within The Corners Of My Mind
11. Over The Rainbow
12. If The Stars Were Mine [Orchestral Version]









Melody Gardot - Worrisome Heart [2008]

1. Worrisome Heart
2. All That I Need Is Love
3. Gone
4. Sweet Memory
5. Some Lessons
6. Quiet Fire
7. One Day
8. Love Me Like A River Does
9. Goodnite
10. Twilight


..:|:JazzyFatNastees:|:..

"They got they're start with the Pharcyde and the Roots, but they're more jazzy/hip-hop soul [think Mary J.'s "My Life" only smoother]. Vocally the JazzyFatNastees are superior to ALL the new artsy divas who everyone THINKS can sing. (Don't make me start naming names.) Plus their lyrics are truly deep. . .I mean Marvin Gaye "What's Going on" deep. No, I'm not tripping . .. This album is an ALL-TIMER, if radio wasn't such a joke you would hear the Jazzies all day, every day. THEY SHOULD BE #1 on BILLBOARD but it'll probably never happen. Because people like you wait for BET, THE BOX and MTV to tell you what's hot. Basically if you don't have this album you're playing yourself. If you haven't heard their album, you'll never understand."


~A Hip-Hop Fanatic/Some Say Addict







1. Should I
2. Hear Me
3. Won't Take It
4. El Medio
5. Can't Go On
6. The Worls Is Coming
7. Little Black Dress
8. Don't You Know
9. 1-2-3







1. Something In The Way
2. El Medio
3. All Up In My Face
4. Four Lives
5.  Adolescent Blues
6. Compelled
7. Tumbling
8. Show Your Face
9. Tortoise And The Hare
10. Give A Dog A Bone











1. The Wound
2. How Sad
3. Breakthrough
4. Unconventional Ways
5. Hear Me
6. Sail The Sea
7. Rekated To Me
8. Once and the Future
9. Why
10. Let It Go [feat. The Roots]