Bonobo - The North Borders - 2013 Neo Soul Downtempo Future Jazz - Sealed 180 Grm 2LP

Ed Motta – Behind The Tea Chronicles

Label:    Dwitza Music – 0218945MS1, MPS Records – 0218945MS1
Format:    Vinyl, LP, Album, 180 g
Sealed
Produced for Dwitza Music
Recorded at Rocinante
Additional recordings at Dwitza Studios (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Nolan Shaheed's Recording Studio (Los Angeles, USA), Plymouth Rock Recording Company (Detroit, USA), and Smecky Music Studios (Prague, Czech Republic)
Mixed at Dwitza Studios
Mastered at Classic Master, USA
Recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from May until September 2022 at Rocinante
Recorded in Los Angeles and Detroit, USA, and Prague, Czech Republic
Ed Motta recorded Glockenspiel & xylophone made by Alves Percussion
Label Code: LC01666
Barcode (Text): 4 029759 189459
Country:    Europe
Released:    Oct 20, 2023
Genre:    Jazz, Rock, Funk / Soul, Blues, Pop, Stage & Screen

A1        Newsroom Costumers
A2        Slumberland
A3        Safely Far
A4        Gaslighting Nancy
A5        Of Good Strain

B1        Quatermass Has Told Us
B2        Buddy Longway
B3        Shot In The Park
B4        Deluxe Refuge
B5        Tolerance On High Street

The album opens with `Newsroom Customers` and it`s a dreamy soulful almost introspective reflection on life changes with some orchestrated strings sprinkled throughout. We head out on a journey with `Slumberland` which begins with harp-like tones and synths before swaying between a faster pace and a much more laid-back meditative vibe with some sweet backing vocals.

`Safely Far` has a captivating bass line leading us along as Ed sprinkles his soothing vocal shades atop a funky earworm of a track. There`s a kind of late-night romantic feel to `Gaslighting Nancy` although the title would suggest otherwise. It had, for me, that sophisticated jazzy texture that Steely Dan perfected when they put their mind to it.

`Of Good Strain` is a real curve ball with a kind of off kilter waltz like quality about it , a short and fairly whimsical piece. I was left musing on the jazz fusion supergroup Return To Forever when listening to the studious `Quatermass Has Told Us` although it became a little out there with occasional modulated voice fragments on route over some classy solo musicianship.

`Buddy Longway` at only fifty-nine seconds was far too short for me, a brief but wonderfully captivating deviation that had Ed`s understated vocals shared over an acoustic backdrop which included a resonator guitar soundscape. It would appear an incident in a park near where the narrator was staying inspired the jazz funk like `Shot In The Park`.

`Deluxe Refuge` I thought, had a Bossa nova dance like beat and really makes you want to get up and shape a few moves, regardless of the success of such a rash action. There were some delicious percussive and brass segments shared as the track progressed. We enjoy another laid back late night / night club r&b / jazzlike submission with `Tolerance On High Street` which allows enticing snatches of double bass, brass, and brushed drum to be shared as the number evolves.

The album closes out with `Confrere`s Exile` an expansive stripped back composition with piano and vocal that really allows us to appreciate the depth of this singer`s vocal range. There`s a real intensity almost heartbreak about this piece and no better a number to leave us on. [Maximum Volume Music Review]

Hans Zimmer – Man Of Steel (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Label:    Music On Vinyl – MOVATM285, Sony Classical – MOVATM285, WaterTower Music – MOVATM285
Series:    At The Movies – MOVATM285
Format:    
2 x Vinyl, LP, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Numbered, Reissue, Translucent Blue
Sealed
PVC protective sleeve.
Deluxe gatefold sleeve with silver-spot varnish on the Superman logo on the front cover.
Includes 4-page insert and exclusive fridge magnet.
Limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on translucent blue vinyl.
Barcode: 8719262015265
Country:    Europe
Released:    Jun 25, 2021
Genre:    Classical, Stage & Screen
Style:    Score, Contemporary

A1        Look To The Stars    
A2        Oil Rig    
A3        Sent Here For A Reason    
A4        DNA    
A5        Goodbye My Son    

B1        If You Love These People    
B2        Krypton's Last    
B3        Terraforming    

C1        Tornado    
C2        You Die Or I Do    
C3        Launch    
C4        Ignition
C5        I Will Find Him    

D1        This Is Clark Kent    
D2        I Have So Many Questions    
D3        Flight    
D4        What Are You Going To Do When You Are Not Saving The World?

(AmazonCostumer) "The score starts off immediately with the central theme, which is the theme everyone heard in the trailers. It is that heroic theme that sets the groundwork for what's to come. What follows is a supremely intense emotional ride. The percussion on the next track "Oil Rig" is heart-pounding. The percussion will remind Zimmer fans of Black Hawk Down where it exists in a slower form, but here Zimmer turns the intensity up to 11. What I noticed immediately at the beginning of the score is how much of Clark's character is embedded in the music. The haunting female vocal reminds us of Clark's origins, his parents and home. The track "Goodbye My Son" is a painfully beautiful lullaby. Hans can then take Clark's theme and with that piano motif create a sense of want; a desire to escape isolation. Zimmer has found Superman's weakness, and he expresses it through the score. We see it and we feel it. It's painfully beautiful. There is also the motif heard in "DNA", and it creates this mysterious backstory that slowly reveals itself. It's simple, has a commanding presence but has a layer of ambiguous motivation behind it. The two central motifs eventually merge in "This Is Clark Kent", an amazing moment. Then in a stunning moment in "Flight" the motif first heard in "DNA" reveals itself to be part of Clark's theme. Zod's motif emerges perfectly throughout the score to create another opposition that tries to suffocate Clark Kent's journey. The emotional passages in this score are so simple yet they echo so strongly. This has always been Zimmer's greatest strength; painting emotion through simplicity. He has the ability to find the notes that matter, which connect us to the characters.
 
Now the action side of this score is a beast of its own. The action cues are pure Zimmer but they are so damn perfectly structured. They are also as grand and loud as can be. The sense of danger, risk of loss and weight of the conflict is always there. The central themes are molded throughout. There is always a sense of danger that makes the music matter, you fear failure while listening to this music. I don't know how that happens, but it does. The motifs battle each other and you're rooting for the hero to emerge and right all the wrongs. Your hairs are raised and you have goosebumps all over. The track "Terraforming" is a nearly 10-minute track that ranks among the composer's best. It's a jaw-dropping sequence of music. The music flows as naturally as it could, you can't imagine it going anywhere else than where it does go. There is just something special about what Hans can do. His unbelievable ability to connect you to an emotion, a thought, a character, a sequence, a story.
 
The final track is that "stepping into the light" moment, where everything shows itself and is resolved. The music soars and there is not an ounce of sarcasm or intent for that to be a pun. The grandeur behind it is as inspiring as anything you will hear. This is a different kind of masterstroke than what Hans did for The Dark Knight trilogy. With all the darkness we see in real life we finally have something that shines a light on humanity. Man Of Steel is a mesmerizing character journey through extreme obstacles that ends speeding towards new heights. It's easy to lose yourself in this music and forget it's a score to a film, you might just see your own life journey for a moment"