Esoteric Antenna is please to announce the release of the new studio album by Nick Magnus, keyboard player in Steve Hackett’s band for five years, Nick was also a member of The Enid and his skill as an arranger and writer graced legendary Hackett albums such as "Spectral Mornings" and "Defector".
With his album "N’Monix", Nick Magnus has been joined in the studio by Steve Hackett, Rob Townsend and vocalists Pete Hicks, Tim Bowness (No-Man), Kate Faber, Tony Patterson, Andy Neve and James Reeves and lyricist Dick Foster to produce a collection of songs and music in the finest tradition of his past work with Steve Hackett. "N’Monix" is one of the outstanding Progressive Rock releases of 2014.

Euterpe: Studio Rehearsal Tapes 1977 - Magickal sounds from Deya. A rehearsal for the 1977 Gong reunion gig at Hippodrome in Paris, recorded at Daevid's 'Bananamoon Observatory' studio in Deya, Majorca. This is an indespensible release - a quite wonderful late-Deya period recording… Brainville - Live Canterbury Power trio. A most eccentric 3 piece jazz rock outfit from the Canterbury school - Daevid, Pip Pyle and Hugh Hopper… Daevid Allen was one of the founders of the British progressive rock band the Soft Machine in 1966. After recording just one album with the group, he became the founder/leader of Gong, which he left in 1973 to begin a solo career (though his first solo album, Banana Moon, was released in 1971 while he was still in the group).

Monomyth stands for "thrilling instrumental soundscapes", a rollercoaster ride in which the listener can lose themselves. It is the sound of five people searching for their musical boundaries and then moving beyond them. Monomyth transports you to another world, a place that feels both new and familiar. In the ranks, we find five people from different creative and musical backgrounds. Monomyth’s music is a complete experience, a collective statement by five like-minded identities. The Monomyth sound contains all the ingredients of rock & roll, but in a totally unique way. The band wants to draw their audience into a trance, caused by shifting patterns, repetitions and drones. The result is a stirring brew with links to Pink Floyd, Hawkwind and Tool, but with the innovative force of modern techno and ambient. It is rock you can dance to and lose yourself in…

On the occasion of its 40th anniversary (1974-2014), the Arditti Quartet, one of the most famous groups in contemporary music, has chosen to record, for the second time and this is an occurrence sufficiently rare that it bears emphasizing , the complete string quartets of Brian Ferneyhough. The pieces on these discs immediately weave an auditory spell and well illustrate this composer's brand of complexity, i.e., writing reputed to be unplayable for the instrumentalists but providing a definite pleasure for the listener, caught up in the headiness of a universe without limits or vanishing point. This 3-CD set will not only be one of the indispensable releases of 2014 but also the best way to apprehend the music of a fundamental composer whose intense writing, emancipated heir of Schoenberg, remains radically expressive, chaotic in appearance but sublimated here by the freedom and excellence of the interpretation.

Bass & Mandolin is the 2014 collaborative album between Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer. This was released by Nonesuch.

'L’incoronazione di Dario' must be considered one of Vivaldi’s most successful operas. Immediately opening with exceptional arias, it moves at a rapid pace, holding the listener’s attention throughout. Recitatives are interspersed with arioso interludes and there no less than eight 'big' numbers sure to join the ranks of 'Vivaldi’s best opera arias'. The excellent cast acts out this drama with conviction: Anders Dahlin’s sings Dario, with impeccable intonation and stunning coloratura passages; Sara Mingardo, as Statira, brings great depth and beauty, most especially in her Act 2 solo Cantata accompanied only by viola da gamba.

This 80 page 12x12 hardback book includes: 4 x CDs and 1 x DVD “Tanx” and “Zinc Alloy” and the contemporary singles remastered by producer Tony Visconti, Demos and outtakes, Brand new liner notes by Tony Visconti and acknowledged expert Mark Paytress, Plus photographs of ‘Tanx’ and ‘Zinc Alloy’ period 7” singles from around the world, previously unpublished photos, sheet music and press cuttings…

Acoustic Classics, a collection of newly recorded timeless Richard Thompson songs, features 14 tracks culled from his 40 plus year music career. For the first time ever, acoustic versions of songs like "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" and "Dimming of the Day" mingle with cornerstone classics like "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" and "Beeswing" as well as other acoustically rendered gems. "I really wanted to have something that would reflect the acoustic shows," Richard explains, "But we didn't have anything like that. Just some old, slightly scratchy recordings of solo sets that I wasn't really happy with." His last proper solo acoustic release was the live Small Town Romance, and that was more than 30 years ago! In the meantime, the acoustic shows have evolved as a full parallel to his band tours. Thompson was named by Rolling Stone Magazine's as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of all time and considered one of the UK's most outstanding songwriters and musicians.

Supertramp came into their own on their third album, 1974's Crime of the Century, as their lineup gelled but, more importantly, so did their sound. The group still betrayed a heavy Pink Floyd influence, particularly in its expansive art rock arrangements graced by saxophones, but Supertramp isn't nearly as spooky as Floyd – they're snarky collegiate elitists, an art rock variation on Steely Dan or perhaps a less difficult 10cc, filled with cutting jokes and allusions, best heard on "Bloody Well Right."…

Jimmy Thackery created a distinctively raw, powerful guitar style and established a reputation as a spectacular soloist who is widely considered to be one of the finest guitar players of his generation. These newly re-mastered recordings chosen from three long out of print albums dating from 1992 to 1998 represent one of the most creative periods of his illustrious career.

Steve Gunn's Time Off was one of the great surprises of 2013. Not because it showcased his already considerable skills as a guitarist, but because he discovered his strength as a songwriter too. Way Out Weather, written during his global travels over the last year, is ambitious. Its musical architecture is more focused yet its production is more spacious. Gunn employs a larger band here – drummer John Truscinski, bassist/producer Justin Tripp, banjo player and soundscape artist Nathan Bowles, harpist Mary Lattimore, Rhyton's Jimy Seitang, and multi-instrumentalist/engineer Justin Meagher. Gunn has gained considerable confidence as a singer.

As the first album the band recorded after guitarist Henry Garza suffered a serious spinal injury when he fell off-stage during a concert, 2014's Revelation finds Los Lonely Boys revitalized. The Texan trio has never been constrained by genre, but here they let their imagination wild, dabbling in every sound or style that's ever tickled their fancy, easing into proceedings with a teasing bit of traditional Tex-Mex – "Blame It on Love" opens with little more than guitar, accordion, and voice – before diving into every roots or rock style they've ever hinted at in the past. This does include melodic AOR adult pop – "Give a Little More" could be mistaken for the great lost outtake from Santana's Supernatural – and one of the pleasures of Revelation is the ease with which Los Lonely Boys can do this kind of soft rock without losing earthiness.

Mozart's Requiem is one of the truly iconic works in the history of music. A prime reason for this is of course its musical qualities; but even before that, legends had begun to form around the work - that it was written to fulfill an anonymous commission received through 'an unknown, grey stranger' - is the stuff of mystery novels, while the fact that Mozart fell ill and died while composing it has been exploited to great melodramatic effect. One thing that we know for certain is that its first performance took place at a memorial service for Mozart only days after his death. The performers used the composer's incomplete autograph, but very soon attempts to complete the work were set in motion by Mozart's widow. In 1800 the Requiem, in Franz Xaver Süssmayr's completion, appeared in print; it is this version that is still by far the most widely performed. Many have tried to improve on it, however, or make their own versions based on the autograph. For this recording, Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan commissioned a new performing edition.

This CD presents five world premiere recordings of acoustic and electronic works by the Danish composer Rune Glerup (b. 1981). Instead of offering a narrative flow of music, Glerup uniquely allows the listener to move around among independent three-dimensional blocks of sound with powerful energy fields between them.

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s landmark series of Beethoven’s complete sonatas. Bavouzet has taken this programme to the most prestigious venues around the world and continues to perform it. Gramophone has nominated him several times for its Artist of the Year award, arguing that "Bavouzet’s chronological journey through the Beethoven sonatas has not been surpassed in the last 30 years. Yes, it’s that good."