MoonJune Records continues its streak of astonishing musical discoveries from Indonesia with “Dictionary 2, the first international release by Jakarta’s celebrated jazz-rock trio Ligro. Founded in 2004 by authoritative guitarist Agam Hamzah and rounded out by agile bassist Adi Darmawan and exhilarating drummer Gusti Hendy. Ligro when read backwards, means “crazy people” in the Bahasa (Indonesian national) language – but crazy in the very best sense of the word, signifying fearlessness, playful abandon, and a healthy disregard for shopworn musical conventions. On “Dictionary 2”, the trio blazes through eight volcanic studio performances of highly creative collective compositions. A prime example of the threesome’s collaborative approach is the track “Stravinsky,” built on Hamzah’s inventive arrangement of Igor Stravinsky’s “An Easy Piece Using Five Notes” and transformed into something entirely Ligro’s own through the imaginative contributions of Adi Darmawan and Gusti Hendy. Propelling “Dictionary 2” are the volcanic guitar excursions of Agam Hamzah, a force of nature who breathes fire with his bruising, aggressive tone on tracks like the space-rock epic “Don Juan,” the hyperkinetic barnburner “Bliker 3,” and the maniacal (again in the best way) “Etude Indienne.” With him every step of the way are Hendy and Darmawan, who make the trio pulse and breathe like a single organism. Ligro manages to be both impressively tight and appealingly loose in their execution, combining the energy and enthusiasm of a basement jam session with the assured technique of players thoroughly grounded in the best of contemporary instrumental music, with echoes of Hendrix, Buckethead, Fripp, vintage Rypdal, and the more adventurous precincts of progressive rock and jazz – including Miles Davis, who gets a sly nod in “Miles Away.” The result is an arresting combination of the raunchy and the sophisticated that delivers an electrifying jolt to the field of global fusion.

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The astonishing live performance of Soft Machine from Radio Bremen broadcast in January 1975, "Floating World Live", is back in stock after almost a year, now in digipack format with 16 page booklet, including excerpts from interviews conducted by Aymeric Leroy with 5 members of that Soft Machine's line-up: Karl Jenkins, Allan Holdsworth, Mike Ratledge, Roy Babbington and John Marshall.

”Slices” is a selection of new chamber works by contemporary composers designed to showcase the diversity of modern music-making. These pieces by Sundin, Bakker, Sainsbury, Rusnak, Beeler, Fletcher, and Burns cut right through the oft-repeated misconception that classical music is dead on the vine. With rich sonorities, structural ingenuity, and artistic flair, the composers featured here prove that not only is classical music alive, but it continues to grow and cross-pollinate as well.

“Awakenings” is a debut commercial release from the critically acclaimed Coro Allegro, Boston's chorus for members and friends of the LGBT community, featuring two extraordinary works by composers from Western Massachusetts: Shofar by Robert Stern, an intensely dramatic and deeply moving oratorio inspired by the four arresting calls of the shofar; and Why I Wake Early by Ronald Perera, with text drawn from the poetry of Mary Oliver.

“Cantata fro the Children of Terezin” features Joyce-Walter's cantata composed using poems written by children incarcerated at the Terezin concentration camp, urging a universal compassion and empathy for the most innocent and vulnerable among us. By shining a light on the thoughts of children in the camps, she adds another layer to the global awareness of the atrocities committed during this historic period, further emphasizing the hope that these acts will happen never again.

“Someone Else’s Shoes” is the third release in the critically acclaimed Best Foot Forward series from Recess Music. This album of children's music features many contrasting styles and teaches our kids lessons of empathy, caring, and understanding, with songs chosen for their ability to engage, educate, entertain, and encourage children to think about both their own feelings and those of others. Just like the other discs in the Best Foot Forward series, “Someone Else’s Shoes” features engaging, fun tunes enjoyable for kids and parents alike.

“Seeking and Finding” is a natural beauty, emotion, and enlightenment. These are but a few of the common threads of this album of choral works by two composers whose pointed explorations of humanity resonate in perfect pitch. Working with texts from ancient Sanskrit literature and the poetry of Gibran and Joyce, Hans Bakker (b. 1945) and Howard Richards (1927-2010) share an ability to steer the chorus through the sea of human emotion and experience, artfully portraying the epiphanous, the spiritual, and the joyous with unmatched profundity and depth.

For too long the trombone has been ignored as a central instrument in contemporary music. On “Paper Clips”, trombonist Andy Malloy proves the instrument's capabilities of being a driving force and, along with pianist Karolina Rojahn, its collaborative appeal. An unabashed champion for the trombone, Malloy commissioned each work on this album specifically to expand the oft overlooked instrument's repertoire.

“Paradigms” explores the notion that music of varied influences, backgrounds, and techniques can be presented as a criterion of modern classical as a whole. With orchestral works that dive into the dramatic and expressive, ponder the impressionistic, and compare the peaceful with the chaotic, this album posits that music of all studies, influences, and methods of creation are pieces of a larger puzzle that shape the American contemporary soundscape.

“Birdsongs in Mist” is a collection of 20 instrumental works from British composer/pianist Kim Halliday. Halliday combines his experience in film composition with his penchant for narrative melody to craft piano-driven miniatures that simultaneously haunt and soothe the listener. On BIRDSONG IN MIST, Halliday's less-is-more ideology and his ability to let musical ideas roam leave plenty of power to the imagination, providing the perfect soundtrack to your inner thoughts.

“The Palest Rose” is a collection of works for solo piano, chamber ensemble, chorus, and orchestra on which Oregon-based composer Mark Vigil strives to appeal to the listener's heart, urging them to hear the music based on its beauty alone. This release serves as a retrospective of Vigil's varied works for a variety of configurations, and serves as an astute sampling of his compositional output as a whole.

“Toward the Light” is a lifelong mezzo-soprano Elaine Huckle's celebration of her recovery from breast cancer, and a testament to her willpower to continue a vibrant singing career. With this album - featuring performances of works by masters including Handel, Brahms, and Schubert - Huckle hopes to inspire others to press on and follow their hearts. In her own words, "This is not my story. This is everybody's story."

Featuring:

Art Bears (England)
Henry Cow (England)
Univers Zero (Belgium)
Samla Mammas Manna (Sweden)
Etron Fou Leloublan (France)
Aksak Maboul (Belgium)
Ruins Alone (Japan) 
Miriodor (Canada) 
Stormy Six (Italy)
Present (Belgium)
Art Zoyd (France)
Aranis (Belgium) 
Guapo (England) 
Magma (France) 
Yugen (Italy)
Thinking Plague (USA) 
Hamster Theater (USA) 
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (USA) 

Hugh Cornwell has unveiled the artwork and track listing for his forthcoming studio album “Totem and Taboo”, which is released in the UK on September 10 by Cadiz Music. Cornwell was the original guitarist, singer, and main songwriter of the British punk rock band The Stranglers.

Scottish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sandi Thom, best known for her 2006 No-1 hit single I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker, has moved the release date of her upcoming album, “Flesh And Blood”, from August 27 to the new date of September 17. The fourth studio album for Sandi, Flesh And Blood was recorded at 16 Tons Studios in Nashville, and produced by guitarist Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes.