Glorious Mahalia
Midway through Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic speech at the 1963 March on Washington, a voice rang out from behind him: “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” That voice belonged to Mahalia Jackson, King’s close friend and one of the most revered gospel singers of the 20th century. Glorious Mahalia, a visionary tribute to Jackson’s life by the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet, uses that moment as a springboard to explore the depth of Jackson’s musical craft and its impact on the Civil Ri…
De Reditu Suo
In this sonic journey, the cello gets lost and finds itself again within the folds of electronics—like an ancient soul echoing through the chaos of the present. Inspired by the words of Rutilius Namatianus in De Reditu Suo, this work unfolds as a pilgrimage between past and present, between whispered voices and archaic melodies that dissolve and reassemble in the reverberation of primordial frequencies.
Distorted Gregorian chants, deep drones, and fragments of lost voices intertwine to form a so…
Libelocus-(alpha), Libelocus-(beta), Libelocus-(gamma)
Big tip! Romanian composer, conductor, and musicologist Iancu Dumitrescu is often described as one of the leading figures of spectral music, yet he has produced a body of powerful works resonating with explosive sound and friction that places him very much in his own universe. Dumitrescu studied under his compatriot, the conductor Sergiu Celibidache, who rarely left behind concert recordings. From him Dumitrescu absorbed phenomenology and conducting techniques, incorporating them into his own co…
Into The Groove / Into The Grind
Recuperation and reinventing from Elements 2021/22 took quite a long time. Sustainability in writing long pieces became fully questionable. In the meantime, finding joy in creating small forms; powerful and groovy pieces became an obsession which created two fundamentally different cycle of pieces -"Into The Groove" and "Into The Grind".
This release represents dualistic concept: could be seen as double EP over two side of vinyl and it also has double cover as well as two editions: normal black…
Ashes
Davor Vincze is a composer of contemporary music who immerses himself in phenomena and experiences and conveys them musically through a powerful narrativity. Whether it is technology in his use of machine learning, or philosophy, mathematics, or the experience of visiting a Taoist temple or a gallery, Vincze hears music and searches for hidden acoustic spaces. The six compositions featured on Ashes unmistakably convey (and confirm) the composer’s aesthetic and expression, his identifying signatu…
Oceanine
Oceanine, Jolanda Moletta’s third album and her first for Beacon Sound, is a powerful and ethereal statement of artistic community. Expanding on her previous work, each track represents a collaboration with a different female vocalist, with the foundational elements being generated entirely by her own voice. By turns haunting, enchanting, and inspiring, you won’t want to come up for air once you’ve been pulled under. Representing a
musical practice that is distinctly feminist, this is an album w…
Opus
In the autumn of 2022, knowing his time was running out, Ryuichi Sakamoto summoned every ounce of his remaining strength to give us one last, definitive performance. Opus is that performance - a solo piano concert capturing one of the world's greatest musicians in his most vulnerable and transcendent moment. Curated and sequenced by Sakamoto himself, the twenty pieces wordlessly tell the story of his life and his vast body of work. The selection spans his entire career: from his pop-star period …
Experiments in Musique Concrete by Nippon Cultural Broadcasting
Nippon Cultural Broadcasting (= Bunka Hōsō) is known for airing Toshiro Mayuzumi’s composition for “Works for musique concrète X.Y.Z.” the very first Japanese work of musique concrète. Now, for the first time, the long-lost broadcast recordings produced by the director of that era are being released! These include a piece by Yori-aki Matsudaira's father, Yoritsune Matsudaira, created by repeatedly dubbing instrumental material, as well as an experimental work unique to Bunka Hōsō, produced throu…
Getting Personal
2024 was for me the year to look inwards and address in my work a couple of personal, somewhat uncomfortable subjects, something I wanted to do for a long time. This double-album is the result of this process. My deep gratitude goes to Benedikt Müller, Hans Martin Müller, Thomas Baerens, Csaba Kézér, Hermann-Christoph Müller, Stefan Deistler, Pavel Borodin, Erhard Hirt, Alex Minkin, Maciej Karlowski, Semafor and all the musicians who made it possible.
The fate of my grandfather was shared by cou…
Something to Remember
"Something to Remember" marks a significant new chapter for pianist and composer Juan J. Ochoa, exploring the intimate territories between acoustic and electronic sound worlds. Through prepared piano, traditional piano, and subtle electronic processing, Ochoa crafts a deeply personal sonic meditation that bridges experimental technique with emotional immediacy. The album showcases his distinctive approach to the instrument—treating the piano not just as a melodic or harmonic device, but as a com…
Incommunicable
*2026 stock* "I had in mind recording a monographic disc of Yair Klartag’s music many years ago. After a long period of artistic and practical anticipation, I am pleased to present the recording as the final result of our collective work. In my personal artistic universe, contemporary music represents a moment of aggregation of artists. I believe that this album is the concrete result of this desire and vision of mine: collective energies combined for a single artistic purpose. Not even a minute…
Travessia
*2026 stock* It is an unusually bright afternoon in early March when I am writing these lines, while listening to the debut album by Oksana Shymanska. Joan Arnau Pàmies from Protomaterial Records just sent it to me; it was recorded not long ago at the Auditori Municipal Enric Granados in Lleida. I celebrate it because it represents the culmination of a process that began when Oksana arrived in Catalonia from her native Ukraine. It is also the result of a professional wish: to record an album tha…
Heaven Shines Like Silver
*2026 stock* Stefan Lovin's new album "Heaven Shines Like Silver" is set to showcase his unique ability to merge Romanian folk traditions with jazz, fusion, and free-flowing improvisation. With his distinctive piano work and intricate compositions, Lovin brings a fresh perspective to both the folk melodies of his homeland and the spontaneous nature of jazz. "Heaven Shines Like Silver" captures the complexity and beauty of a sound world where folk music is both grounded in tradition and open to e…
Music With Changing Parts
Philip Glass, the great American composer, was already in his mid-30s before his first album appeared, and then only because he produced the double LP himself. Music With Changing Parts was the inaugural release on his own Chatham Square imprint in 1971. At this point, Einstein on the Beach, Glass' first opera, was still five years away. Yet in Changing Parts, one can already hear much of his vocabulary in full bloom: the buoyant arpeggios, the melding of electronic and acoustic instruments, the…
In Memoriam (LP)
A superb trascendental symphonic work by the Russian composer backed with two beautiful and evocative ensemble pieces, all composed in the 1980's and released on Russian Disc in 1991. Includes poster (unrelated to the record).
Concerto Lugubre / Four Love Sonnets / Goethe-Briefe (LP)
A powerful 1975 concerto for viola and orchestra by the Polish composer, plus two more Romantic compositions for voice and orchestra from 1969/1970, released by Muza in 1978.
Sonata Pentru Vioară Solo / Cvartetul De Coarde Nr. 6 (LP)
Two mid-1960's works by the Romanian composer, resepctively for solo violin and for string quartet, released on Electrocord in 1966.
Simfonia Nr.5 Muzică Solemnă / Concert Pentru Vioară Și Orchestră (LP)
Two mid-1960's orchestral works by the Romanian composer, released on Electrocord in 1970.
Spring Coming / Requiem (LP)
Two major orchestral works blending traditional elements with modern textures composed by the Russian avant-garde composer in the 1980's and released on Melodiya in 1990.
Bogdan Gagić (LP)
1978 LP on Jugoton's Contemporary Croatian Composers Series with excellent avant-garde compositions for piano, orchestra, piano and orchestra, and ensemble.