James W. Iman – Iman Album 1: James W. Iman Plays Schoenberg, Boulez, Webern & Amy (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:09:47 minutes | 585 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Metier
American pianist James W. Iman specializes in music written since 1900 – and mostly, post-1945. His meticulous study of the scores and also the aesthetic concepts behind them allows him to find fresh approaches to well known works as well as an ability to present new music in a relatable and clearly authentic way. As The Cross-Eyed Pianist wrote, his performances give ‘ a very clear sense of his total commitment to this music and also how comfortable he fees in this repertoire. This attention to the detail of the music and its conception is particularly important in relation to the 20th century music of serialist and modernist schools which can be seen as purely mechanical without real artistic ‘spirit’. This is the first of three recordings by Iman to be released by Metier and is a remastered re-issue of a disc from short-lived Belgian label ZeD (The other two albums are new, recorded in the summer of 2022) and focuses on two composers of the Second Viennese School (Schoenberg and Webern); one from the Darmstadt School (Boulez) and French composer Gilbert Amy, a contemporary follower of the serialist movement, and greatly inspired by Webern though writing on a larger scale. His Piano Sonata provides a fitting yet distinct counterpoint to the granitic Third Sonata of Boulez, and with strong contrast provided by the relatively early work by Schoenberg and the typically concise miniatures by Webern.
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James TW – Heartbeat Changes (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 40:12 minutes | 810 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Island Records (The Island Def Jam Music Group / Universal Music)
Platinum-selling British singer-songwriter James TW releases his new project Heartbeat Changes. The 12-track offering features lead singles “Butterflies” and “Hopeless Romantics”.
James TW is best known for his breakout debut single of 2018, “When You Love Someone,” which has amassed over one billion streams, has received platinum certification in the US and UK, double-platinum in Denmark and the Netherlands, and triple-platinum in Norway and Sweden. James has toured with Shawn Mendes and Andy Grammar and captivated millions of viewers on television shows, including Ellen and The Today Show.
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James LaBrie – Beautiful Shade Of Grey (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 48:16 minutes | 593 MB | Genre: Rock, Progressive Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © InsideOutMusic
James LaBrie, known internationally as the vocalist for progressive metal icons Dream Theater, embarks on uncharted waters with his fourth solo album, titled Beautiful Shade of Grey. The new endeavour sees him traverse personal maturation, loss, a myriad of complex relationships, and most importantly – LaBrie’s burning passion for music. On paper, the latest studio offering from the Canadian singer first took shape shortly after the global pandemic began to emerge. But in reality, LaBrie formed a bond with his fellow collaborator, bassist Paul Logue, nearly a decade earlier. On Beautiful Shade of Grey the end goal isn’t creating something that meets a certain genre characterization, but rather being informed by decades of finding beautiful expression across a wide swath of musical artists, and knowing that veering away from familiar habits is a part of creative growth.
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James Ellis Ford – The Hum (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 44:22 minutes | 486 MB | Genre: Electronic
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Warp Records
James Ellis Ford has been hidden in plain sight for his entire two-decade-long career. The composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter has worked with some of the biggest names in music, from Arctic Monkeys to Depeche Mode via Foals, Gorillaz and Kylie Minogue and as part of Simian Mobile Disco and The Last Shadow Puppets’ touring band. This year he takes centre stage with a bewitching debut solo album The Hum. It is as much a homage to the tender and eccentric English pop music of Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt as it is love letter to his wife and son’s Palestinian roots; as much exploration of the pastoral verve of Canterbury prog as it is informed by the dynamics of modern hip-hop production; as much a madcap Radiophonic voyage into the cosmic unknown peppered with Can-like grooves. With The Hum, James Ellis Ford has finally come out of hiding.
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James D. Hicks, Seidi Palonen – Nordic Journey, Vol. 11: Nordic Anthology (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 03:54:25 minutes | 3,94 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Pro Organo
American organist James D. Hicks continues his explorations of organ music by Nordic region composers with this 3-album set, played upon the Paschen Kiel pipe organ at Central Pori Church, Pori Finland. James D. Hicks is a concert organist living and working out of Califon, New Jersey, USA. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Yale University and the University of Cincinnati, Hicks has also studied at the Royal School of Church Music in the UK. Jim held liturgical positions throughout the country over the course of thirty five years, and now devotes himself to concert and recording projects.
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James Blake – Wind Down (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:01:26 minutes | 980 MB | Genre: Electronic, Lounge, Easy Listening
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Republic Records
Wind down, drift off, and wake up feeling refreshed. James Blake has released an album of soundscapes designed to to help people focus, relax, and sleep.
“The Wind Down soundscape I created with Endel lets me explore the more ambient side of my music and create a project to support people in a new way. It’s mesmerising to hear how my music blends with the science-based sounds of Endel’s AI and I think we’ve invented something not just beautiful or even meaningful, but truly practical.” (James Blake)
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James Bay – Leap (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 43:44 minutes | 893 MB | Genre: Rock, Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Republic Records
Leap is the third album from British singer/songwriter James Bay and follows 2018’s Electric Light. Including production from Finneas, Dave Cobb, and Foy Vance, the album sees Bay deliver a collection of emotionally charged, guitar-driven pop songs. The tracks “Give Me the Reason” and “One Life” are included.
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James Booker – True (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 41:04 minutes | 192 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © 501 RECORD CLUB
This never released solo piano performance demonstrates exactly why James Booker is widely considered by fans and musicians alike as New Orleans’ greatest piano player. True allows you to share the live experience of a virtuoso at their pinnacle.
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James Akers – The Poor Branch: 19th-Century Guitar Music by Ivan Klinger (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:04:16 minutes | 1,09 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Resonus Classics
Devoted to the music of Ivan Klinger, this album of premiere recordings from guitarist James Akers highlights works from this relatively unknown composer. Klinger’s seeming anonymity belies the composer’s substantial and high-quality oeuvre. Born in 1818 in Seltz near Kherson (today’s Ukraine), Klinger was one of the few guitarists to devote himself to the Western style six-string guitar. Featuring both original compositions and arrangements of other works, Klinger’s playful and serious, virtuosic and challenging music here receives the attention that is long overdue.
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Jakub Józef Orliński – Farewells (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 57:14 minutes | 981 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Warner Classics
A “shooting star of the opera scene” is how NDR Kultur celebrated countertenor Jakub Jozef Orlinski, known “as an outstanding interpreter of the music of Purcell, Vivaldi and Handel.”
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Jake Blount – The New Faith (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 43:23 minutes | 452 MB | Genre: Folk, Americana, Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Acclaimed musician and scholar Jake Blount will release his highly-anticipated new album, The New Faith, September 23 on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings—Blount’s first project in partnership with the esteemed non-profit label (pre-order/pre-save). The follow up to 2020’s breakthrough debut, Spider Tales, which The Guardian awarded a perfect five stars and called, “an instant classic,” The New Faith will be released as part of Smithsonian Folkways’ African American Legacy series—co-conceived with and supported by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
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Jakob Dinesen – Unconditional Love (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 49:26 minutes | 549 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Stunt Records
You can’t claim to know anything about Danish jazz unless you know the great and beloved tenor saxophonist Jakob Dinesen – also known as Dino.
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Jah Jazz Orchestra – Introducing Jah Jazz Orchestra (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:00:40 minutes | 1,16 GB | Genre: Jazz, Ska Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Brixton Records
This first album revisits compositions from jazz legends of different eras such as Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie and Joe Henderson as well as two classics from the Skatalites repertoire (Ska La Parisienne and King Solomon). The original arrangements set these tunes in grooves ranging from ska to reggae, and from rocksteady to two-tone.
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Jadwiga Stanek, Borys Biniecki, Bolesław Siarkiewicz, Magdalena Swatowska – Gordon Jacob: Viola Chamber Works (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 57:35 minutes | 557 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © DUX
The present release is a collection of chamber works for viola by Gordon Jacob, composed between 1946 and 1975. Violist Jadwiga Stanek writes: “From the very beginning of my artistic activity, I have been particularly fond of promoting the viola and have been performing chamber music in various instrumental ensembles. Gordon Jacob’s output shows my passion for performing various genres of that music in a special way. I appreciate the selected compositions of Jacob for the universal character of the viola part, since its different faces, elements of virtuosity, and warm timbre have an impact on the versatile artistic value of the interpreted pieces.”
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Alex Wilson – The Frederick Septimus Kelly Project (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 53:25 minutes | 425 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ASC Records
The Frederick Septimus Kelly Project is a collaboration between pianist Alex Wilson and composer Sadie Harrison that celebrates the life and work of British-Australian pianist, composer, Olympic rower and war hero F.S.Kelly.
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