Thousand Knives (also known as Thousand Knives of Ryuichi Sakamoto) is Ryuichi Sakamoto's first solo album. The album is named after Henri Michaux's description of the feel of using mescaline in Misérable Miracle. It was recorded in about 500 hours, and Sakamoto would spend whole days without sleeping working on it. The album's title track is one of Sakamoto's most famous compositions.

German synthpop outfit And One formed in Berlin in 1989. DJs/producers Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz first met the previous year in a local dance club, bonding over their mutual affection for early ebm acts like Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb and borrowing their subsequent dual synthesizer and beatbox aesthetic from Depeche Mode. Upon signing to the fledgling Machinery label, And One issued their 1990 debut single, "Metal Hammer," a significant club hit that set the stage for their first full-length effort, Anguish, completed with contributions from newly added third member Alex Two.

Born Caroline Catharina Müller in the Netherlands, she moved with her family to Germany in the late '70s. In 1980, she became a member of the girl quartet Optimal, who issued two singles. During one of the band's concerts in Hamburg, she was approached by songwriter/producer Dieter Bohlen who had just taken the continental charts by storm with his duo Modern Talking…

The Spark' is an ambitious, inspiring piece of work that poignantly reflects Enter Shikari's legendary career rise to become one of the biggest and most exciting bands the UK has ever seen. Following 4 seminal albums of which 3 have been Top 10, 'The Spark' is produced by David Kosten (Everything Everything, Bat For Lashes), and is Shikari's most melodic and personal album to date; a soundtrack to our tumultuous world, a record for everyone who's filled with frustration but hasn't lost the capacity for hope.

Born Caroline Catharina Müller in the Netherlands, she moved with her family to Germany in the late '70s. In 1980, she became a member of the girl quartet Optimal, who issued two singles. During one of the band's concerts in Hamburg, she was approached by songwriter/producer Dieter Bohlen who had just taken the continental charts by storm with his duo Modern Talking…

Hollywood never learns. Hot on the heels of box-office failures Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Can't Stop the Music, comes the roller-skating Olivia Newton John in Xanadu. This soundtrack is fluff stuff to be sure, but some pearls float amongst the mire. Lead-off "Magic" remains a fine single…

Just over 30 years after it was first released Spandau Ballet’s multi-million selling album ‘Through The Barricades’ is reissued as a specially remastered and extended anniversary deluxe edition featuring rare mixes, unreleased title track demo and previously unseen footage in brand new documentary. The 1CD/DVD package features a newly remastered version of the album as well as a recently unearthed demo of the title track, the never before released in the UK 12” of ‘Cross The Line’ and a previously unheard version of ‘Fight The Heartache’.

Born Caroline Catharina Müller in the Netherlands, she moved with her family to Germany in the late '70s. In 1980, she became a member of the girl quartet Optimal, who issued two singles. During one of the band's concerts in Hamburg, she was approached by songwriter/producer Dieter Bohlen who had just taken the continental charts by storm with his duo Modern Talking…

A cynical exploitation of some classical tunes, or a prescient mixing of hip-hop with opera, of low and high culture? One never knows with McLaren. Not that the classics had never mixed with pop before (see "Whiter Shade of Pale," "Stranger in Paradise"), but McLaren was determined to bring the stories of opera kicking and screaming into the pop realm as well. On the single, the beautiful "Madam Butterfly," the formula works transcendently. McLaren plays Colonel Pinkerton and leaves the aria alone backed by hip-hop percussion, and the result is a seamless whole. The rest of the album, unfortunately, exists to pad out the single, and the various arias (from Carmen and Turandot) seemed dropped on top of what are some embarrassing funk R&B grooves. Only "Lauretta" (from Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi) gets close to a successful second try.

Born Caroline Catharina Müller in the Netherlands, she moved with her family to Germany in the late '70s. In 1980, she became a member of the girl quartet Optimal, who issued two singles. During one of the band's concerts in Hamburg, she was approached by songwriter/producer Dieter Bohlen who had just taken the continental charts by storm with his duo Modern Talking…

The Police were an English new wave band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the band consisted of Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion)…

Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner have a unique musical companionship. Both artists bred the '80s British music scene into pop candy delight thanks to Marr's charming guitar hooks while fronting the Smiths, and Sumner, whose ingenuous lyrical poetry pushed New Order's dance-oriented sound into the new wave mainstream. But since their musical collaboration began back in 1991, the duo continues to make music for themselves, uninhibited by current norms and marketing success. Twisted Tenderness, the band's third album, is certainly a vast improvement over their sophomore effort, 1996's Raise the Pressure. Twisted Tenderness steps back into Marr's talented guitar work: carefree, a bit rollicking at times, but in classic Electronic fashion. The obvious rock-laden riffs carry the typical synth-generated backdrops, and Sumner's cheeky lyrics are stylish and breezy.

Synth-pop pioneers OMD return with their dazzling 13th studio album, ''The Punishment of Luxury,'' which sees them combine the wistful nostalgia and idealised romance of their previous work while stepping out of their comfort zone. The LP is out September 1st on White Noise. This is the follow up to the critically acclaimed ''English Electric'' (released in 2013). ''The Punishment Of Luxury'' is a daring collection of stylish synth pop and masterful songwriting, which will certainly rank alongside their very best.