Magnatune: back of the closet picks

Albums That Make Winter Awesome

It's winter again in the Northern hemisphere ? a season that many don't like. It's cold. It's uncomfortably wet or often snowing. And the cloud cover as well as shorter days do not necessarily make things better.

But isn't there anything more beautiful than snuggling up, wrapped in a blanket and with a hot chocolate in the hands? Isn't there anything more beautiful than just enjoying this time in which the world slows down to some good music?

For this edition of the newsletter, we decided to pick a few albums that are just the perfect pick for otherwise depressive winter days. They are cool. They are, for the most part, upbeat and awaken a yearning. And they are just the kind of music you'd want to listen to and play in your store in cold winter months!

DP Kaufman: As the Ruin Falls

Release date: 8/21/2010
Electronica, Experimental, IDM

If eclectic music had a name, it would probably be As the Ruin Falls by DP Kaufman. This electronica album from 2010 intrigues with lovely melodies and nice rhythms. It is upbeat, a positive undertone and spreads a great vibe in any room. DP Kaufman's classical roots do become obvious in the structure of the music pieces that were masterfully created. All of his soundscapes have a soothing effect and incite listeners to stick around for longer ? walking out simply is that much of a pity!

http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/dpkaufman-ruinfalls

Claudia Schwab: Amber Sands

Release date: 05/12/2015
World, Folk, World Influenced

For those who would like something a bit more unconventional this winter, Amber Sands by Claudia Schwab is the album to listen to. Claudia is a born Austrian and Irish by choice -and this shows in her music! In her first album, she masterfully mixes yodel music with Irish Folk and other influences. The result is refreshing, very entertaining and spreads a joyful vibe. Get ready to discover new shores now and become part of an exciting musical journey. Goosebumps and good mood guaranteed!

http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/claudiaschwab-ambersands

Mundi: My House is the Sky

Release date: 07/18/2015
Tagged as: World, Folk-Rock

Is your house or your store the sky? No? In that case, you should absolutely play Mundi's My House is the Sky to change this really fast! This beautiful Folk-Rock album brings positivity and excitement into every room. What pity that dancing around in a store isn't the norm! You remember The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulin? Well, Mundi's sound has a similarly playful touch. The Texan band brings together French horns, strings, Spanish guitar and many more influences to create something truly unique and enticing. This album will make your winter feel so much shorter ? checking it out highly recommended!

http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/mundi-myhouse

Music of the Spheres: Musical Evolution

Release date: 8/14/2010
Tagged as: Classical, Chamber Music, Baroque

Let's travel a few hundred years back. In the Age of Baroque, theater plays and opera were what the TV is today; and chamber music served to entertain people at court. The eclectic and very well-chosen harmonies of Handel, Corelli or Vivaldi were to be enjoyed and to be danced to in exquisite settings. And that's exactly what can be heard in these arrangements by Musical Evolution. With Music of the Spheres, the trio takes us back in time to courtly dances and joyous, playful Baroque music that is a pleasure to listen to and chases away the winter blues. Remember that classical music most incites customers to buy more and stay in stores for longer. Now, this is the perfect album to bring the hypothesis to test in your business!

http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/spheres-evolution

Eric Kamen: The New Art Of Urban Flamenco

Release date: 01/08/2015
Tagged as: World, Jazz, Latin, Chillout, Cool Guitar, Indian Influenced

Who doesn't want to bring a breeze of Ibiza and Santorini into their home in winter time? Even the notion of it makes everything feel more inviting, warmer and easier. Snow storms and minus temperatures won't impress you very much with this album, as Eric Kamen's The New Art Of Urban Flamenco is the perfect antidote against any of this. Bring summer and great vibes back into your store with 20 exquisite pieces of Urban Flamenco now ? checking out highly recommended!

http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/erickamen-flamenco

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- John

 
Description:Early music meets global folk at the Penguin Café
Genre:World
Artist:Mundi
Album:My House is the Sky

To enter the world of My House is the Sky is to enter a place of lyrical French horns, strings, Spanish guitars and drums. This is our fourth album, and while we continue to step back in time and connect with more ancient sounds, we also worked on crafting a more defined rock sound on some of the tracks. Also we felt it important to make it an album of contrasts, offering a sense of journey and exploration for listeners.

There are the big sounds of 'The Gathering' and 'Sandansko Horo,' a little bit of comedy with 'The Bespectacled Bears Waltz,' and 'A Cup of Tea with Santiago,' and we finish the album with 'To Morocco with the Stars,' with desert winds, an Arabic oud, a typewriter and folk bass guitar that we bought during a visit to that country while on tour in Spain.
Description:Irish, Indian, Swedish and Eastern European music styles overlaid with Austrian yodelling
Genre:World
Artist:Claudia Schwab
Album:Amber Sands

Stomping rhythms, fiery reels, consoling Indian raags and funk-beat yodelling entice the listener to follow the musicians to the holy river ganges, the West coast of Ireland, over to remote villages in Bulgaria, Swedish forests and alpine pastures in Austria.

Claudia Schwab's debut album "Amber Sands" is a compilation of music that unites the sounds of her native home-place of Austria with her adopted home of Ireland, as well as various other music traditions with which she feels at home.

A unique and atmospheric blend of Irish, Indian, Swedish and Eastern European music styles overlaid with her native Austrian yodelling, Schwab's music reflects her passion for people, place, and their associated music.
Description:Urban Flamenco
Genre:World
Artist:Eric Kamen
Album:The New Art Of Urban Flamenco

The third album in Eric's series of World Music albums is entitled 'the New Art of Urban Flamenco'. 'I think I went a little OTT with that album title! I should have simply called it 'Urban Flamenco'. The full title reflects the realization which had solidified in me that I had created somewhat of a new form or a new branch of music ... thus 'the New Art ...'

Well, regardless, 'Urban Flamenco' too is selling quite well and contains several of my most successful tracks ... notably 'Tango de Zorro''. I think 'Tango de Zorro' is my own favorite track, on all 3 of my World Music albums so far! I just let it rip ... and this is what came out.' What is surprising about Tango de Zorro is that it is built upon a Hip Hop acoustic piano rif! The Spanish guitar is actually somewhat of an afterthought!'

'If one wants to be a 'musicologist', the rif in Tango de Zorro strikes me as a combination of Bizet's opera 'Carmen', Mary J's 'No More Drama' ... and God knows what else. That's how art works! Each generation subliminally takes in the brilliance of previous generations ... and uses them as 'mimes' in their own work.'
Description:ambient, melodic electronica meets neo-classical
Genre:Electronica
Artist:DP Kaufman
Album:As the Ruin Falls

"As the Ruin Falls" is a collection of instrumental electronic/experimental soundscapes; complex textures and occasionally bizarre instrumentations are melded into melody-driven compositions that often betray the composer's classical roots. Listeners of Jon Hopkins or Ulrich Schnauss will immediately appreciate the album's constant attention to both melody and rhythm, and each listen reveals new sonic intricacies.
Description:small Baroque chamber ensemble
Genre:Classical
Artist:Music of the Spheres
Album:Musical Evolution

"Musical Evolution" explores the language of Baroque music from its wild beginnings through the development of more formal structures still in use today. The wild improvisatory violin sonatas of the 1660's used richly colorful and dissonant harmonies and an unrestricted form, which allowed for an extremely wide range of expressive possibilities and experimentation that sound strange to our ears today. Throughout the 1700's, the sonata gradually morphed and crystallized into the symmetrical form exemplified by Handel, Corelli and Vivaldi, who created the first harmonic and structural expectations which still govern our responses today.