Not often bands can evolve and present two stunning albums in a relatively short time frame, but this is exactly what DGM have done, offering a new album which is a substantial departure compared to the acclaimed "Life" which was released in late 2023.
"Endless" is a conceptual album that chronicles one man's imaginative journey to understand the choices that shaped his life. Through vivid storytelling, the album explores the eternal question - how might life be different if I had taken another path?
Musically the "Endless" offers a different side from the band which exposes a lot of different influences ranging from 70’s Progressive Rock (from Kansas, to Yes and Jethro Tull) even with a dash of Italian Progressive Rock (think Banco or PFM)…

Preservation Act 1 (1973). Preservation is Ray Davies' most ambitious project - a musical that used the quaint, small-town nostalgia of Village Green as a template to draw the entirety of society and how it works. Or, at least that's what the concept seems to be, since the storyline was so convoluted, it necessitated three separate LPs, spread over two albums, and it still didn't really make sense because the first album, Preservation, Act 1, acted more like an introduction to the characters, and all the story was condensed into the second album. Davies intended all of Preservation to stand as one double-album set, but he scrapped the first sessions for the album, which led to record company pressure to deliver an album before the end of 1973 - hence, the appearance of Preservation, Act 1 in mid-November…

Jimmy Dawkins is a true original. A one of a kind artist whose distinctive guitar style is instantly recognizable. His chilling killer tone, his deep, complex, innovative solos and his intense playing approach have made him revered amongst his peers and won fans around the world.
1975 session that captured the essence of Jimmy's club performances, contains 4 never before released tracks.

A 10 CD box set with all the albums of the legendary Dutch Prog Rock Formation Earth and Fire. The nine albums packed in a monumental box, some albums of which no longer available for years, specifically for this release packed into replicas of the original sleeves. Besides there is an extra bonus CD with non-album singles, special single releases, b-sides and more. The accompanying booklet includes rare photos and clippings from the private archive of singer Jerney Kaagman.

Laila Biali is an award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist whose recording Wintersongs offers an immersive journey into the delicate beauty and serene power of winter all through the lens of her jazz and classical roots. With two exceptions, all tracks were composed by Biali in a cabin surrounded by snow-capped mountains in the heart of Canada's Rocky Mountains. Many of Biali's usual collaborators participated in this production, including drummer Ben Wittman, renowned flutist and soprano saxophonist Jane Bunnett, accomplished trumpeter Kevin Turcotte and organ wizard Sam Yahel along with Detroit-born singer Wade O. Brown }}, among others.
The winter theme is not just a seasonal nod but a broader metaphor for stillness, reflection, and the beauty of quiet moments, which begins with the opening track "Drifting Down Ice"…

This is a worthwhile electronic/synthpop/darkwave debut album from a two-member German band.
Wolfsheim is one of Germany's inveterate synth pop groups, a band that has outlived numerous rock & roll trends by remaining committed to their original sound. The group was formed in 1987 by siblings Markus Reinhardt and Olli Reinhardt and Pompejo Ricciardi (vocals). However, Ricciardi departed from Wolfsheim shortly after they recorded their first demo; he was replaced by Peter Heppner, a singer who was already familiar with the brothers since they were all raised in the same area of Wilhelmsburg, Germany. Olli eventually left the band as well, turning Wolfsheim into a duo. Heppner started writing new tracks, and Wolfsheim distributed two more cassettes to record labels…

Erg sounds like a true blending of black metal hostility and post-metal worldbuilding, albeit one that’s presented in a predominantly post-black framework. The songs blur boundaries as they craft their atmospheric layers, providing the listener with a journey that’s both harsh and expressive. It’s an aggressive base that Agrypnia build upon, but they do so with melodic colour and well-structured texture. It’s a mood-rich album, with a few different flavours spread out across the tracks. Some of the music sounds quite earthy and stripped back, whereas at other times it can be more complex and sophisticated.

Avid Jazz continues with its Five Classic Album series with a re-mastered 2CD release from Dakota Staton complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details. “Late Late Show”; “Dynamic!”; “More Than The Most” “ Crazy He Calls Me” and “Time To Swing”.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dakota Staton attended the famed George Westinghouse High School, (alumni include pianist Ahmed Jamal, possibly at the same time!) and went on to study music before entering the music scene through that tried and tested, and very tough route, of the night club circuit. From a young age she was travelling around the country appearing in night clubs from Detroit to Indianapolis to Cleveland and to St. Louis and to Harlem in New York, where she was discovered by Capitol Records producer Dave Cavanaugh…

Akikaze, Japanese for autumn wind, is the electronic exploration of Pepijn Courant.
In High Places (1993). The title refers to Hoogoord, the name of the building in south-east Amsterdam were Pepijn Courant then lived. This CD, as all music by Akikaze, was recorded at home and was mainly inspired by mankind’s great achievements such as the conquest of the moon and the climb of the Mount Everest. The guitar parts were performed by guitarist Dirk Zeeman, a blues musician, who appeared on a CD for the first time.
Fantasmagora (1996). The prestigious project “Fantasmagora”, using many of his oldest compositions. The music had a classical, symphonic rather than cosmic touch. Musical inspirers were, among others, Pink Floyd and Mike Oldfield and the music was based on acoustic instrument samples with a leading part for Pepijn’s first instrument, the piano…

The Samurai Of Prog, featuring Italian composer Marco Grieco, announces their new concept album, “The Time Machine.” This progressive rock release blends symphonic arrangements with Moog synthesizers, electric guitars, and orchestral instruments like flutes and violins. The bumper guests include Roine Stolt, Clive Nolan and Tina Booth.
The album offers an immersive journey through time, starting from the dawn of humanity and spanning to the present day. Each track explores significant historical moments and reflects on humanity’s choices. Highlights include encounters with historical figures like Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein, and a tribute to Nelson Mandela through a poignant piano solo. The album concludes with a hopeful reflection on the future.

Later hailed as one of the key goth rock albums of the '80s and considered by many hardcore Cure fans to be the band's best album, Pornography was largely dismissed upon its 1982 release, witheringly reviewed as a leaden slab of whining and moping. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in between: Pornography is much better than most mainstream critics of the time thought, but in retrospect, it's not the masterpiece some fans have claimed it to be. The overall sound is thick and murky, but too muddy to be effectively atmospheric in the way that the more dynamic Disintegration managed a few years later. For every powerful track like the doomy opener "One Hundred Years" and the clattering, desolate single "The Hanging Garden," there's a sound-over-substance piece of filler like "The Figurehead," which sounds suitably bleak but doesn't have the musical or emotional heft this sort of music requires…

As one of the finest mallet players of his generation, Dave Samuels has treaded a wide and multifarious path. From Double Image (his gorgeous project with David Friedman) to the exciting territories of his work with the Caribbean Jazz Project (some of the best Latin jazz around), not to mention his fruitful years with Spyro Gyra, Samuels brings a signature delicacy to his playing that is comforting and domestic. His first two intersections with ECM, Dawn and Gallery, are both sadly out of print but make a flowing trilogy of sorts with 1981’s Skylight, which thankfully is still available and marks his last appearance on the label. Joined by one-and-onlys Art Lande and Paul McCandless, Samuels shows us his compositional brilliance in the airy title cut. Not to be outdone, Lande and McCandless offer two tunes apiece. Lande’s territories are more contradictory in their energies, at once twilit and dripping with morning dew, and undeniably engaging…

With 1984's Discovery, Mike Oldfield seems to be back on track, utilizing the vocal power of Maggie Reilly and the drum playing of Simon Phillips to create some rather appealing selections. "The Lake" is a simply gorgeous instrumental inspired by Switzerland's Lake Geneva, the location in which the album was recorded, while "To France" is a powerful pop/rock tune based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Both Reilly and Barry Palmer share the vocal duties throughout the tracks, signifying Oldfield's subtle emergence into a more pop-infused atmosphere. "Tricks of the Light" is a wonderful instrumental that relies on the keyboard to give it energy, while even so-so efforts like the title track and "Poison Arrows" come off as upbeat and inspired. Discovery peaked at number 15 in the U.K., and even though it didn't garner much attention elsewhere, it serves as one of Mike Oldfield's most entertaining releases from the decade.

This album's color cover photo is an action shot, showing Magic Sam in the process of choking and bending his strings, a good hike up the fretboard. It isn't clear exactly what he is playing from the picture, although that certainly didn't stop dozens of pimply hippie guitar players from trying to figure it out. In the meantime, the record goes on and the first soloist out of the gate is Eddie Shaw, playing tenor sax. He is blowing over the top of an R&B riff that, although not out of the syntax of Chicago blues, would also have been quite fitting on a Wilson Pickett record. It is unfortunate that Magic Sam's recording career came to such an abrupt end, as he was one of the best artists working in the musical area between the urban blues tradition and newly developing soul music forms. This fusion was on the minds of many blues artists during the late '60s, and not just because it was aesthetically conceivable…

With this release Major Records and re-flexion start a compilation series of a special kind. Nearly all tracks are unreleased or rare club-remixesfrom your favourite artists with their official approval. The remixers did their very best to make those wonderful tracks shine in a different light and not to destroy the original magic of the songs. Some of the tracks used to be successful singles, others were album tracks originally, but they all have one thing in common: we love them!
Soft Cell, Erasure, Boytronic, Alphaville, De/Vision and many more.