'Beaubourg' is the fourth studio album, released in 1978, by former Aphrodite's Child member, the electronic composer Vangelis. It's a concept album inspired by the architecture of the homonymous complex area, Centre Georges Pompidou. It depicts life in the Beaubourg district, his place of residence in Paris. This album is, simply put, nearly 40 minutes of Vangelis noodling in real time on two Yamaha CS-80 synthesizers, his signature instrument at that time. This pure sounds of the synthesizer made 'Beaubourg' a real cult classic over the years. The musical value of 'Beaubourg' is a demonstration of the tonal possibilities of a good synth in the hands of a master.

This Friday Tom Waits will release the 20th anniversary limited edition vinyl reissues of his 2002 albums ‘Alice’ and ‘Blood Money’. New live performances of five tracks per record will also be made available digitally in a digital deluxe version.

Michael Chapman is often cited as one of the unsung heroes of the British folk music community, but that tends to shortchange the eclecticism of his approach. While the melodic sense of British folk plays a large part in Chapman's music, one can also hear much of the "American Primitive" sound pioneered by John Fahey, and like Fahey in his later years, Chapman has a strong taste for experimental sounds, and all of these elements make themselves heard on The Polar Bear, the third in a series of free-form releases Chapman has recorded for Blast First Petite.

2012 two CD compilation from the enigmatic singer, songwriter, musician and former leader of the British band Japan. A Victim Of Stars (1982 - 2012) brings together material from the last 30 years of David's solo career, encompassing material released with Virgin Records, along with his more recent work released on his own label samadhisound, as well as a brand new recording exclusive to this compilation. On his solo records of the '80s, Sylvian's explorations in music incorporated Pop-Funk, stylish Jazz, windswept Exotica, Ambient and so much more. His collaborators included leaders of progressive music, from jazzmen such as Mark Isham, John Taylor and Kenny Wheeler to the rock and fusion guitarists Robert Fripp, Bill Nelson, and David Torn. With the release of A Victim of Stars, Sylvian continues to confront the challenges, both personal and global, that have enriched his work for three decades. And he continues to follow this path - with patience, perseverance, and beauty.

Music for the silent film 'Man With a Movie Camera' (1929 - USSR) by Dziga Vertov, followed by 'Petite collection de rêves étranges et pièces plaisantes'. French avant-prog unit Art Zoyd formed in 1969 around the core of bassist Thierry Zaboitzeff, percussionist Jean-Pierre Soarez, and violin player Gérard Hourbette, with guitarist Rocco Fernandez, pianist Patricia Dallio, percussionist Daniel Denis (who later formed Univers Zero), and a changing lineup of half-a-dozen additional instrumentalists. In 1975, Zaboitzeff took over the group and changed its musical direction. The personnel would be narrowed to include two violins, electric bass, and trumpet, as evidenced by their debut full-length, Symphonie Pour le Jour Ou Bruleront les Cités, self-released in 1976.

Piero Umiliani is unquestionably one of the most consistent figures in terms of soundtrack music and library music worldwide. This precious 13CD box is dedicated to the period of greatest maturity and artistic freedom which coincides with the creation of his personal studio: the Sound Work Shop…

Heat is the soundtrack album to the 1995 film Heat. The score is compiled mostly with Elliot Goldenthal's orchestrations although there are a variety of other artists featured including U2/Brian Eno project Passengers, Lisa Gerrard, Moby and Terje Rypdal.

To view Francis Ford Coppola's epic masterpiece Apocalypse Now is to investigate the dark side of human nature, to probe Heart of Darkness. Listening to the soundtrack is to experience the film again in another, no less mind-bending light. Arranged by Coppola and his father Carmine, the music, dialogue and narration match the film's chilling descent into madness. The score, heavy on electronics and synthetic noise, dangles the listener in front of an abyss akin to the frightful mood evoked by the film's terrifying visceral psychedelics. Keeping with the sequence of the film's action, the soundtrack traces Captain Willard's trip up the river to meet Colonel Kurtz. From the opening helicopters' muffled whirls to the echoes of the unforgiving Vietnamese jungle, the sounds of Apocalypse Now amount to poundings and shrieks of synthesized paranoia, accurately capturing the confusion and discord depicted in the film.

Edward Ka-Spel is a singer, songwriter and musician. He is probably best known as the lead singer, songwriter and co-founder (with Phil “The Silverman” Knight) of the prolific underground band The Legendary Pink Dots.

Edward Ka-Spel is a singer, songwriter and musician. He is probably best known as the lead singer, songwriter and co-founder (with Phil “The Silverman” Knight) of the prolific underground band The Legendary Pink Dots.

A minimalist masterpiece a million miles from Nashville country, Kurt Wagner's latest Lambchop album pursues the electronica soundbed and vocoder vocals first employed on FLOTUS. The chilly sheen of its glitchy synth surfaces soon gives way to an envelopng warmth, enhanced by Wagner's crackly vocal, always teetering on the edge of distortion, its electronic soundscapes enhanced by spectral piano melodies, endlessly inventive bass and intiutive drumming from his trio of sidemen. With its melancholic mood and lyrics rooted in reflection and regret, this could be the birth of an entirely new genre - electro-jazz noir.

Michael Crétu's attempt at fusing everything from easy listening sex music and hip-hop rhythms to centuries-old Gregorian chants couldn't have been more designed to tweak the nose of high art, a joyously crass stab straight at a mainstream, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. The result is something that shouldn't exist, but in its own way results in as much of a cultural scramble and explosion as anything Public Enemy were doing around the same time, crossing over the Euro-disco and new age spheres with style. Credit Crétu for an open ear for whatever works, which is precisely why "Sadeness," the first part of a longer track called "Principles of Lust," turned into a fluke worldwide hit.

Ever since Björk's vital, effusive 1993 debut, her music has been increasingly intimate, gently private, and concerned with seclusion. It's typical then that Vespertine's first single is called "Hidden Place." The studious solitude is rewarding, though. Vespertine is a lush, gorgeous swell of midpace electronica, symphonic strings, and Björk's uniquely alien, spectral vocals. There are fantastical wonders here. "Cocoon" (another eulogy to withdrawal from the world) is delicate as a breath, Björk sounding too fragile to be flesh as she lauds "a beauty this immense." "Pagan Poetry" and "Aurora," likewise, are adrift in an enchanted reverie. When she chooses, she crafts killer tunes; "It's Not up to You" is as lovely as anything on Post. Yet, frequently, on such tracks as the yearning, glancing "Undo," Björk seems to be simply thinking aloud, reveling in this wildly rich and visceral music.

One underrated highlight of the classic 1984 science fiction film The Terminator was the marvelous synthesizer score by Brad Fiedel. The original release of the soundtrack included six compositions by Fiedel, who once served as a keyboardist for Hall & Oates briefly in the mid-'70s. "Theme from The Terminator" is a spectacular piece of haunting synthesizer music; each layer is perfectly effective, especially the deceptively simple melody line. "Tunnel Chase" is bombastically chilling, while "Love Scene" is a soft, mournful piano-based version of the main theme; its bittersweet feel corresponds nicely to the pivotal scene that it supports. Fiedel's synthesizer work on "Factory Chase" is full of glassy squeals and scary bursts, and Ross Levinson adds touches of electric violin. The Terminator was reissued on CD in 1991 by DCC Compact Classics. The 1995 Definitive Edition includes Fiedel's complete score in 18 tracks, remastered in state-of-the-art 1990s digital audio, which lends itself especially well to synthesizer music. The 73-minute running time doubles the length of the original soundtrack release, and includes as a bonus track the "Judgement Day Remix" of "Theme from The Terminator." There's also extensive annotation on each track, and the whole package comprises some of the best science fiction-oriented film music of recent decades.

Beauty is notable for its "collage of styles" that range from rock, techno, and classical to flamenco, African, and Japanese traditional. In discussing whether music is narrative and illustrative or an abstract medium, Sakamoto said, "I have visions sometimes when I'm writing contemporary music, even when it's very logical. For example, for one of my songs on the album Beauty, I was always having visions of Amazonian rainforests, a little plane flying very low over the trees. Trees, trees, trees, and some birds. But the title of the song is 'Calling from Tokyo'." Recorded at various sound studios throughout Tokyo, New York, and Los Angeles, Beauty features many collaborators that include Arto Lindsay, Brian Wilson, Robbie Robertson, and Sly Dunbar. On his time working with Wilson, Sakamoto said, "I had asked Brian Wilson to sing on the album so I went to Los Angeles and we recorded with him. I had been informed that he had had a difficult time, some kind of mental illness, and I could sense that, even though he wasn't that surprising in the studio. But then the following day, I flew from LA back to New York to continue recording and he showed up without telling me, with his whole family in tow. The schedule was already tightly planned, but I was so grateful he'd come, so we made some time to work with him. It was a beautiful moment – one I won't forget for the rest of my life."