Category: Eclectic

VARIOUS - YULE (11/23/10)

11/28/2010

1. The Amidons: It's Good To Be Kind—mangled by Nico Muhly
2. Nico Muhly: The Only Tune—Son Lux Remix
3. Ben Frost: The Gravity of Numbers
4. Valgeir Sigurðsson: Focal Point—Kippi Kanínus Remix
5. Sam Amidon: Kedron (acoustic)
6. Puzzle Muteson: Parachute
7. Daníel Bjarnason: Night Music
8. Valgeir Sigurðsson: Vetur
9. Nico Muhly: Wonders—MaJiKer Remix
10. Valgeir Sigurðsson: Dark Christmas
11. Daníel Bjarnason: Stars
12. Ben Frost: There are no others, There is only us
13. Nico Muhly: Bells For Zach
LABEL SITE 14. Valgeir Sigurðsson: Air
COMPILATION INFO

Ah, always happy to enter a new country and see what they're doing for Christmas. This collection comes to us from the Bedroom Community, an Indie label in Iceland. "Yule" is available as a free download--from now thru New Years--with every purchase made through the label's web store. So it's not really free; more like a Christmas Bonus. And most of the music isn't really Christmas music, though some is; it's more like exclusive and unreleased tracks and mixes. Leaving Bjork aside for the moment, the music of Iceland tends to be very religious and they love their epic tales. Some of their music can be as icy and dark as an Iceland winter, but some goes the other way to the extreme. And, for a relatively small country, they've got quite a lot of Folk, Rock, Electronic and Pop bands playing there. Nico Muhly is an electronic band, Ben Frost is an ambient composer of long standing, and Sam Amidon is a little more of a roots/folk artist, for example. Bedroom has an artists' page so you can sample some of what they do, though they have no specific samples from the album itself. And while it's likely you'll decide that this is something you can do without, unless you're an independent film producer looking for unusual mood music, isn't it nice to know it's out there?

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Various - THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS 2010 (10/11/10)

10/27/2010

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1. Joy To The World……Christine Anu
2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas……Troy Casser-Daley
3. I Wish Christmas Day Would Last All Year……Vanessa Amorosi
4. O Holy Night……Stan Walker
5. Send Me Back My Dad……Katy Steele
6. Grown Up Christmas List……The Veronicas
7. Merry Christmas Baby……Diesel
8. Last Christmas……Tina Arena
9. Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)……Mark Vincent
10. Little Drummer Boy……Delta Goodrem
11. Street Parade……Chris Cheney
12. We Three Kings……Gabriella Cilmi
13. White Wine In The Sun……Kate Miller-Heidke
14. All I Want For Christmas Is You……Haley Warner
SONG SAMPLES AT iTUNES (AUSTRALIA) 15. Christmas Time Is Here……Paul Dempsey
MYER STORES

Australian Christmas music might represent the best of all possible worlds when it comes to International holiday sounds--being half a world away and yet sharing a common language.

"The Spirit of Christmas" CDs are a charity venture put out each year by the Salvation Army and sold exclusively through Myer stores, with proceeds going to support at-risk children in Australia. The series began in 1993 and they haven't missed a year. They routinely feature a line-up of the biggest stars on the Australian music scene, across all genres, though many of the names might be unfamiliar to we here in the states. Among regular contributors to the series are Glenn Shorrock (Little River Band), John Farnham (Australia's Cliff Richard), Delta Goodrem (star of the Australian soap Neighbors), Judith Durham (The Seekers), and Jimmy Barnes (Cold Chisel, Diesel, INXS). Yes, Olivia Newton-John has been featured as well, as have Kate Ceberano and Kylie Minogue.

This year's volume gives us The Veronicas, Chris Cheney (The Living End), Katy Steele (Little Birdy), and a great Blues/Rock rendition of "Merry Christmas Baby" by Diesel.

This year, for the first time, "The Spirit Of Christmas" is also being sold through iTunes (AU), which still doesn't help any of us American mates. The hard copy CDs should show up at Myer stores in mid-November--about the time of the annual Myer Christmas parade. But the likelihood is that those in this country looking to purchase this one will have to wait until it turns up on eBay.

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LINDA LAMPENIUS - ANGELS (10/30/10)

10/27/2010

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1. O Holy Night
2. Silent Night
3. Panis Angelicus
4. Ding Dong Merrily
5. Angels We Have Heard
6. Bach/Gounod, Ave Maria
7. Sylvian Joululaulu
8. Jul,Jul,Strålande Jul
9. När Det Lider Mot Jul
10. Sancta Lucia
11. Away In A Manger
12. När Juldagsmorgon Glimmar
13. Ser Du Stjärnan I Det Blå (When You Wish Upon A Star)
14. Gläns Över Sjö Och Strand

ARTIST'S SITE
PURCHASE CD THROUGH CDON

Linda Lampenius is a Finish violin player. She's played both Classical and Pop styles and has often incorporated rock, celtic, jazz and folk influences in her classical playing. Still, she's likely best known by her stage name of Linda Brava and for posing in Playboy back in 1998. That's right. Playboy. In addition to her music, Linda Lampenius has also managed careers in modeling and acting--appearing in the pages of Elle, GQ, Maxim, Esquire, and the aforementioned Playboy, among others. She also appeared in a single episode of "Baywatch". This Christmas cover doesn't do her justice; she's really quite striking. But, back to the music, she's also extremely talented. And I mean extremely. I've never heard anyone make a violin sing--or weep, or laugh--the way Linda can.

I'm not very much of a classical music buff, but there are a few artists in the genre that I absolutely adore and this is one of them. Most classical music, to me, sounds rather stiff and emotionless, overwrought. Imagine if every artist who sang Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" sang it exactly the same way, at the same tempo and with the same arrangement. Oh, it already sounds that way to you? Then you know how most classical music sounds to me. But when Linda Brava plays, she puts her heart and soul into the music. It sounds fresh and full of passion. And it helps that she's not afraid to try something a little different. Case in point....

There's currently one track from the forthcoming album featured on Linda's MySpace page. For the most part, Linda's rendition of "Panis Angelicus" is straight forward enough, Linda's violin rising from from the harmony of a string quartet and then the gentleness of the interplay with a harp. Finally, halfway through, a single muted horn joins in--playing a counter line, complete with subtle jazz flourishes. I think its amazing.

The rest of "Angels" features traditional carols from many countries, including America, arranged for solo violin, string quartet, harp, guitar, and female choir. Among the remaining tracks are Linda's takes on "Ave Maria", "O Holy Night", "Away In A Manger", "Sancta Lucia", "Jul, jul, strålande jul", "När det lider mot jul", "Sylvian joululaulu", and"Ding Dong Merrily On High".

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MALENA ERNMAN - SANTA LUCIA: EN KLASSISK JUL (11/17/10)

10/27/2010

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1. JUL, JUL STRÅLANDE JUL (Bright Shining Yule)
2. NÄR DET LIDER MOT JUL (Christmas Draws Nigh)
3. ALLELUJA
4. PIE JESU (FAURÉ)
5. SANTA LUCIA (with Charles Castronovo)
6. LAUDAMUS TE
7. STILLA NATT (Silent Night)
8. LAUDATE DOMINUM
9. KOPPÅNGEN
10. ETERNAL SOURCE OF LIGHT DIVINE
11. BRED DINA VIDA VINGAR (Spread Thy Wide Wings)
12. PIE JESU (WEBBER)
13. BETLEHEMS STJÄRNA (Star Of Bethlehem)
14. AVE MARIA (with Martin Frost)
15. MARIAS VAGGSÅNG (Maria's Lullaby)
16. DEN SIGNADE DAG (O Blessed Day)
ARTIST'S SITE
PURCHASE CD THROUGH ARTIST'S SITE

Malena Ernman initially made her name in Opera but has moved more and more towards Cabaret Pop. Ernman's most recent albums have contained elements and performances of both, which can be a little of a disconcerting juxtaposition, though Ernman blends the two fairly well. And, in the 2009 Eurovision competition, she went full-on Techno Pop with her poperatic performance of "La Voix". I'm not a big fan of any of those genres but, based on the little I've listened to, I'd have to say Ernman is an exceptional Opera singer, bringing an uncommon delicacy to her vocal performances. But "La Voix" is really quite catchy in spite of itself, putting a uniquely European spin on the old Phil Spector kitchen-sink "Wall of Sound" concept.

The track list, here, looks to be a combination of Traditional Swedish Christmas songs and Classical. "Jul Jul Stralande Jul", for example, is practically Sweden's "White Christmas". Song title translations are mine, but hopefully accurate.

If a Malena Ernman Christmas album is something you've been pining for, you can pre-order an autographed copy from her website for roughly $22.50 (149 kronar), plus 55 kronar shipping (about $8.30).

Above, we gave you a performance of "Pie Jesu (Faure)", which appears on "Santa Lucia". But I'd truly be remiss if I didn't also include "La Voix". I promise you it's great.

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VARIOUS - YULE (11/23/10)

Various - THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS 2010 (10/11/10)

LINDA LAMPENIUS - ANGELS (10/30/10)

MALENA ERNMAN - SANTA LUCIA: EN KLASSISK JUL (11/17/10)

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