Mercury KX レコード& CD

Review: Erland Cooper has always been concerned with the world around him, the Guardian dubbing him "nature's songwriter" as a result of his focus on trying to interpret Mother Earth through sound. Of course, she's not in the best shape right now, and even stopping to appreciate the smallest details of her mastery can often make us fill with dread and regret.
The fact that it's still not too late to change the future we've been ruining for ourselves over the past 200 or so years is also important to note. And it's this juxtaposition, between hope and hopelessness, dystopia and utopia, that seem to define this incredible collaboration between Cooper and the Scottish Ensemble - a live recording from a concert that really shows off the emotional power of classical strings in their most contemporary form.

Review: Northern (Redux) hears an intriguing collaboration come to light. On it, we hear songwriter and composer Jeremiah Fraites (The Lumineers) team up with ambient musician and sound artist Taylor Deupree, for a complete reimagining of Deupree's acclaimed 2006 album of the same name, albeit featuring new piano contributions written and recorded by Fraites, along with renewed versions of the original tracks composed by Deupree. The result is a hypnotic, majestic album filled with sweeping atmospheric melodies and rich, transformative soundscapes.

Review: It would be pushing it to say many of us were expecting Pablo Larrain's movie about Princess Diana to be the way it was. Or is. In fact, it would be pushing it to say anyone was expecting any film to ever be made about the late-British royal in such a surrealist way. Nevertheless, Spencer is a bonafide work of art and a creative triumph. As such it was always going to come with a great score.

At the risk of repeating ourselves, though, it would also be pushing it to say people predicted just how incredible Jonny Greenwood's soundtrack was, and is as a standalone record. It's the sound of free jazz meeting the baroque tones of a palatial dance. It's the noise of uncertainty, exclusion, difference, and struggle, married to an atmosphere of sophistication and refinement. It's a trip. It's a classic.