Decca レコード& CD

Review: Sizzling-hot hip-hop duo Blue Lab Beats are on everybody's lips now, thanks at least in part to the announcement of their latest full-length album, Blue Eclipse. Heralding an exciting new era for the duo, these 12 songs reveal the depth and breadth of producer NK-OK, and multi-instrumentalist Mr DM's musical ambition. Throwing back to their debut EP 'Blue Skies', which even pre-dates their involvement with record labels, Blue Eclipse signals a circling back to their origins while also embracing the new; the pair's usual jazztronica remit is lent the utmost contemporary spin, with notes of drill, neoclassical, trap and Jersey bounce - all still prevalent styles - peeking through in these latest productions.

Review: Bedroom jazz mastermind Jacob Collier delivers the fouth volume in his Djesse series, a celebration of past-explored and fresh musical worlds. Centring on the human voice, the project makes use of over 100,000 vocal sources aka the "Audience Choir", the term Collier uses to refer to his resampling his own audience's collective voices during his live shows. Alchemising the full spectrum of human emotion, this latest addition to the series is a global celebration of the power of musics from every corner of the world.

Review: Released in 2001, I Giorni paved way for the rise of Ludovico Einaudi to mainstream success. This beautifully melodic record contains only solo piano, but captivates throughout with its gorgeous phrasing, urging the listener to join Ludovico himself on a journey of self-discovery. Quite aptly, the album contains the title track 'I Giorni', which has now been certified as a gold record in the UK; the piece is about as romantic (lowercase r) as you could get on the piano, flourishing with an ultimate, life-reviewing, tearful-montaging sense of resolve. It's this unbridled romance that surely propelled the album to popular renown, though the album's further pieces, 'Samba' or 'Limbo', perhaps, are just as arresting.

Review: Punctuation aside, The Rolling Stones set a precedent with Get Yer Ya Ya's Out. At the time, concert albums were still something of a novel ideal, but when the iconic British rock 'n' rollers unleashed this it proved to the industry just how much people wanted on-stage magic captured for posterity. The first live record to hit number one in the UK charts, it was recorded at shows in New York City and Baltimore in 1969, just ahead of the landmark Let It Bleed LP arriving. It also proves the power of a bootleg, with an unofficial record, Live'r Then You'll Ever Be, reportedly persuading the band's then-label, Decca, to cash in on the clear demand for the group's exceptional live show, on vinyl. Captured on their first tour with Mick Taylor, Brian Jones having left, it presents the outfit as they sounded at the very top of their game - energetic, rule breaking, and packed with the soul of blues six stringers.