Beautiful modern rhythms mixed with fabulous chinese instruments.

Once upon a time, in the '70's, there was a genre of singers called "troubadors." Troubadors usually began their musical careers as folkies, and evolved into troubadors when they became better musicians. Yet, like folkies, they didn't sing songs; they sang stories. The finest of the Troubadors included Harry Chapin, Jim Croce, and Gordon Lightfoot. Today, only one troubador remains; Gordon Lightfoot. Now sixty, with a voice that has lost most of its resonance, Gord continues to make recordings. Yet, despite his loss of youth, he refuses to sink into maudlin self-pity, or pretend that he is still a young man. His title song "A Painter Passing Through" is the narrative of a troubador who lost his youth, found perspective, and still refuses to surrender, despite being past his prime.

One of the best introductions to Jarre's music is this live compilation of his most significant compositions of the "classical" period (1976-1990). Originally released in 1987 the only regret is that is too short to cover such a big event as the concert was. This live record goes some way to recreating the spectacle and atmosphere of the record breaking concerts in Houston, Texas and Lyon, France (1987) - with the majority of the incidental commentary and sound bites coming from the Houston concert. These concerts where both huge affairs which featured immense laser lighting shows and in many cases local highways and road were shut off.

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Heather Phares, All Music Guide wrote: New age composer/keyboardist Davol had an early interest in music, receiving classical piano training as a child and studying jazz and classical harpsichord in college. Electronic music also interested him, and Davol began writing and recording his own pieces as a hobby while he studied microbiology. Some of the tapes he passed out to friends made their way to Silver Wave Records, who offered Davol a recording contract. In 1989, he released his debut album, Mystic Waves, and also received his Ph.D. in microbiology. Though he continued to write and record music, including his 1992 album The Nature of the Beast, Davol worked as a medical researcher until 1996, when he began writing music for multimedia along with his new age works.

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It's hard to tell exactly where NYC duo Delia Gonzales & Gavin Russom fit into electronic music's grand scheme; their work references '70s electro-boffins Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno, but also deftly encapsulates the current state of urban electronic composition. Major players in both the NYC art-electronics circuit and the DFA's gradual diversification process, Gonzales and Russom had already carved out a name for themselves in film, sculpture and performance art circles before they unleashed the blissed-out and brilliant "Casual Friday" under the moniker Black Leotard Front. The mighty synth-burner "El Monte" followed, and before long the buzz was fully substantiated by loads of press and inclusion on the label's now legendary #2 compilation. This brings us to Days of Mars, a bubbling hot collection of modern electronic craft created on arcane technology by a pair of soulmates who still believe in the ideals of art over logic. It's a leftfield masterpiece, equal parts krautrock precision and late-night trance-rave chilldown; given the opportunity, it could be this generation's answer to Music for Airports.

"220 Volt Live" is a recording from Tangerine Dream's tour of the USA in 1992. It is also the companion CD to the "Three Phase" video of the same tour featuring the same music. All in all, the concert is an inspired mix of the traditional Tangerine Dream elements of massed synthesiser choirs over sliding sequencer-driven rhythms with the newer elements of Linda Spa's bluesy sax playing, Zlatko Perica's guitar lines and a heavy drum-kit driven rock beat, so characteristic of many 90s Tangerine Dream studio albums. The main set consists of nine numbers, played in the usual TD live manner of two half-hour seamless segues.

Exit marks the beginning of a new phase in Tangerine Dream's music: Gone were the side-long, sequencer-led journeys, replaced by topical pieces that were more self-contained in scope, more contemporary in sound. Johannes Schmoelling's influence is really felt for the first time here; Tangram, for all its crispness and melody, was simply a refinement of Force Majeure's principles, and the soundtrack to Thief not an album proper. On Exit, listeners are introduced to electronic music's next generation, notably on "Choronzon" and "Network 23," which brought the sound of the dancefloor into the mix (it hasn't left since). That's not to suggest that Tangerine Dream has stopped creating eerie, evocative music; both "Pilots of Purple Twilight" and the stately "Exit" will feel familiar to fans, and the opening "Kiew Mission" is a captivating commentary on nuclear war that includes vocals after a sort (a woman's voice reading locations in Russian).

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Rodney Batdorf, All Music Guide wrote: Underwater Sunlight was the first album Paul Haslinger recorded with Tangerine Dream and his presence is immediately felt. With Haslinger, the group relied more heavily on strict structures and jarring compositional flourishes, which is only appropriate, since he came directly from a classical background. The group hadn't quite figured out how to fully incorporate these techniques into their music, but the results on Underwater are nevertheless fascinating.

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"Cabin In the Sky" reunites the stalwarts of Tuxedomoon, sans Winston Tong. Brown, Principle, Reininger, Van Lieshout and Gedulig have regrouped to produce the first new work from Tuxedomoon in almost 20 years.

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Kamal is a renowned musician who was born in Germany. He lives in Australia Today and is considered as an established New Age artist, having a distinct style and sound of his own. After taking training in the classical music he took up bass guitar and played in a variety of jazz and rock bands. During the early 80s, he began experimenting with synthesizers and sequencers. He drew his influence from the environment and uses the natural sounds of the Earth and its many inhabitants as primary sounds and themes in his compositions and arrangements. His creations like Reiki Whale Song, Reiki Whale Dreaming are prime examples of his keen sense of tonality and ability to meld the essential sounds of the Earth with man-made instruments and melodies. Kamal was recently awarded the prestigious Dolphin Award for the Best New Age/Ambient Song for his "Enchanted World" from Reiki Whale Song.

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"The BOOSTER series supposed to be a musical side reflection - a hidden TD landmark not aimed for a TD mainstream success. But sometimes things were turned upside down. The whole cupdisc idea which now became a short note musical diary format plus some extras released on the two previous Booster volumes provoked such an enthusiastic reaction that you will have the chance now to experience the III. part of this series. It will follow the same philosophy like you know it from Booster I+II. Some tracks you will be familiar with, others are completely fresh from the recording desk here in Vienna. It truly will become one of your most enjoyable travel companion in your car, on your I-pod, mobile or whatever you prefer storing a piece of timeless music on."