"Universal Citizen" is dedicated to an open­minded approach, spanning beyond cultures, religions, nationalities, countries and habits. It is a call for the reunification of human civilization; a celebration of the universal thread binding us all. I chose the title Universal Citizen for the album and for one of the compositions of this album, to describe the importance of being beyond a nationality, a religion or a community. This aspect of being open-minded and universal is a key for living in our world today. We are of course all different, with many many different habits, knowledge, opinions, but we are all looking to the same goal; life and happiness. Around this common goal, there is no geographic boarders that can separate people, we all want the same. I wrote the music of this album in this sense and I feel extremely thrilled about releasing it, because it expresses my need to unify people through music, my passion.

Cosmic Games: The higher we get, the less earthly boundaries matter. It is to heaven, therefore, that Cycle aspires. Here, three rarely combined instruments – organ, saxophone and piano – are suddenly speaking as one. Already in the late-70s, Jan Garbarek and Kjell Johnsen explored similar territory on the ECM album Aftenland. Compared to their stark, radical experimentalism, however, Cycle feels more like a meditative, brightly illuminated energy space – fittingly, since Rain Sultanov and Isfar Sarabski's home of Azerbaijan is frequently referred to as the 'land of fire'.

This album has been in the making for at least four years since this Northern Irelander’s last release, In Transition in 2014, but for Linley Hamilton it seems as though this collection of arrangements has been developing for much longer. Inspired by Freddie Hubbard’s large ensemble on Ride Like the Wind, his new album is a concoction of tunes that have been arranged for woodwinds, strings and a rhythm section – with Hamilton’s melodic trumpet line at the forefront.

GRAMMY® winning music icon Charlie Daniels released a new album titled Memories, Memoirs and Miles – Songs of a Lifetime. The album is the musical companion to his forthcoming memoir ‘Never Look At The Empty Seats’. The 14-track project features two bonus tracks, “Long Haired Country Boy” and “Still In Saigon,” and is dedicated to the man and friend who taught him his first guitar chord, Russell Palmer.

Alannah first gained international attention in 1989 with her first album that produced four Top 40 hits including the number one international smash "Black Velvet". She went on to earn a Grammy for Best Female Rock Performance as well as reaching at least Platinum status in the U.S., Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Austria, and twice in Germany and Canada. Having tallied albums sales in excess of 11 million units sold worldwide over her illustrious career it is only fitting to start this one off where it all began.

Hypnos are one of the strongest live acts from the contemporary Swedish rock scene. After two album releases on Crusher Records the band now returns with an eight track live session. It combines the best material from the studio albums with the intensity from the bands praised live shows. Hypnos have recorded some of their most popular tracks and a cover of ABBA. The album also showcases the two new tracks Aint No Fool and Looking Out from the bands upcoming studio album, set for release autumn 2018. GBG Sessions (The Gothenburg Session) shows a band that is getting closer and closer to it´s peak and leaves you longing for the band to return to both the studio and the roads… GBG Sessions is a special album as it both shows a live experienced band at the same time as it features the bands new singer Linus Johansson for the first time.

If you want to understand how Swedish metal act Bullet works, you only have to take one look at the ancient tour bus that the five musicians have been conquering the world with for years. The black, white and red 1964 Volvo B63508, lovingly referred to as the “Bullet Bus”, with its indestructible six-cylinder engine and countless miles under its frayed seats, the band’s mobile hotel. Mind you: perhaps hotel isn’t quite the operative word, (youth) hostel would be more to the point, the van’s interior having accumulated an attractive odour composed of petrol, sweat, beer and a diverse range of tobacco blends in its interior.

Continuing a trend started with their 2013 release, "No More Hell To Pay", Stryper's 10th studio album, "God Damn Evil" sees the band offering up their heaviest release yet! Opening track, "Take It To The Cross" features a guest appearance from Matt Bachand (Shadows Fall, Act Of Defiance) on death growls, yes, death growls, and immediately shows you that Michael Sweet and company have zero intentions of mellowing with age. The next two tracks, "Sorry" and "Lost", are classic Stryper anthems, but with a modern heaviness and edge that carries the band's sound into the 21st century and beyond. The title track, as with all previous Stryper releases, proves to be an instant classic and surely will be a setlist staple on the upcoming tour cycle.

The band formed in late 2014 and has been busy writing songs and honing their craft ever since. Perfect Plan is amusical mixture of classic Scandinavian AOR (think Work of Art, Treat, early Europe) with nods to legends like Giant, Foreigner, and Journey. Their debut album will include influences from both the modern and classic AOR/Melodic Rock of the 80's. The band features the extraordinary new singer Kent Hilli together with Rolf Nordstrom on guitar, P-O Sedin on bass, Fredrik Forsberg on drums and Leif Ehlin on keyboards. Kent Hilli says, "I am so proud and happy to be a part of this journey together with my dear friends in Perfect Plan and i really hope to see you all soon at a stage somewhere. Remember, everything is possible if you want it bad enough!"

Growing up with a single mother in San Benito, Texas, the hometown of Tejano star Freddy Fender was not easy for blues singer Charley Crockett. Hitchhiking across the country exposed Crockett to the street life at a young age, following in the footsteps of his relative, American folk hero Davy Crockett, who lived a wild life on the American frontier. After train hopping across the country, Crockett set off to travel the world and lived on the streets of Paris for nearly a year before searching for home in Spain, Morocco, and Northern Africa.Charley returned home to Texas and released his debut solo album titled A Stolen Jewel in 2015, receiving critical acclaim and landing him a Dallas Observer Award that year for "Best Blues Act".

Walter Wolfman Washington is a soulful musician of rare talent, as well as a deep thinker and hip philosopher, and his hometown is New Orleans. Walter has cut his teeth for the last 50 years playing everywhere from European festivals to bars that Google Maps will never find. New Orleans is notorious for its wildness, parades, and celebrations. New Orleans is Mardi Gras, but it’s also the uptown class of Allen Toussaint and hip style and language of Dr. John. Walter has always embodied both, but finally we have a set of songs that reflects the yin to Walter’s bring-the-party yang. This is the record that we all have known he has in him. This is the night after that party, or maybe just the after party. He’s been given free rein to express himself, and that’s special.

While many couples can trace the real time rise and fall of their relationship back to social media feeds and harried phone calls, Aleksa Palladino and Devon Church have channeled the highs and lows of their storybook courtship into something else entirely: the explosive, discomforting confessionals of Exitmusic. The mercurial project started the year they got married (2004) and allbutimploded during their recent divorce, but not before the duo wrapped its most fully realized collection of beautifully damaged music yet titled The Recognitions.

Lord Huron to release new album, 'Vide Noir,' on 4/20 via Republic Records. Pre-order will launch on 2/16 alongside new single 'Wait By The River,' which will impact Triple A and Alternative radio on 2/26. The album follows critically lauded EPs, Strange Trails and Lonesome Tails, which has garnered over 400M streams to-date. Previous single 'The Night We Met' is best known for featuring in Netflix's '13 Reasons Why.' The band is currently on an extensive USA headlining tour through Summer 2018.

Grammy award-winning American Roots band Old Crow Medicine Show return with their latest studio album, Volunteer. The album was recorded at the historic RCA Studio A and produced by Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson). Since the release of their last Grammy-winning studio effort Remedy, Old Crow Medicine Show has taken their versatility to another level, by not only reinterpreting Bob Dylan’s seminal album Blonde On Blonde, but also collaborating with pop sensation Kesha.

An enigmatic sound, a storyteller's narrative and a live performance style imbued with rat pack moxie singer and writer Robin McKelle is a genre-blurring musical alchemist, taking listeners on a sonic trip to the old south, sprinkling in hints of the Motown era or even a Sade album, and mixing it together to create her inspiring 'melodic canvas' of soul, jazz, gospel and more.