I'm calling this the "Happy Magnatune musicians" issue of the newsletter, because virtually all these new releases are either referrals or new albums by existing Magnatune musicians. This is a positive side effect of not being evil: musicians stay and recommend us to their talented friends.
Francesca Genco comes to Magnatune via Laura Inserra, who plays the newly invented Swiss instrument called the "Hang" on Francesca's album. Francesca's music in more on the Indian/World fusion side of things, blending Indian singing with other instrumental traditions. http://magnatune.com/artists/genco
I first met Ruben van Rompaey when he was playing percussion with Solace at a house concert they were giving at my place in London. In that night's performance, he was given a solo, which was masterful, fun and musical, with lots of unexpected twists (and a few body noises). He now has released 3 CDs of his "Eastern Expressions" concept, all of solo percussion. You may think an all percussion album would become monotonous, but the variety of rhythms, melodies and structure keep me entranced for hours, and I often find myself hitting "shuffle play" and listening to all 3 albums in a sitting. http://magnatune.com/artists/rompaey
My first exposure to Shira Kammen was during an all-day Medieval music festival in Berkeley, California, where she was doing an hourlong satire of early music entitled "La Foolia". I particularly remember Dowland's renaissance-smash-hit "Flow my Tears" performed on four accordeons. Shira plays the Vielle, which is a precursor to the violin, and it's where we get the word "fiddle" from. She a big deal in medieval circles, having been in many of the major groups that play this repertoire (Ensemble Alcatraz, Project Ars Nova, Sequentia, Hesperion XX and Boston Camerata). In "Ragged, Rent and Torn", Shira and friends turn their attention to the bawdy, fun and lewd songs of the period. The artistry is definitely taken seriously, but at the same time this is an album of music "just for fun". http://magnatune.com/artists/shira_kammen
It's been almost six years since Darin Marshall released his first two albums on Magnatune. He was one of our very first artists, and I daresay that he was part of the super-high-quality electronica that I recruited when I launched Magnatune, to ensure that other musicians would be wowed by the music we already had, and I'd be able to recruit people of that caliber. Darin has changed his performing name to "Mantic" (it used to be "Belief Systems") and I think you'll find his new album "Epigrams" to be very much at the same stellar high quality as his earlier releases. http://magnatune.com/artists/belief_systems
Stargarden "FIVE" is quite possibly the only ambient recording ever made during a hurricane. Bobby D was living in Key West and happened to be there during Hurricane Ernesto. The Keys were evacuated, but Bobby decided to stay and ride the storm out. He rented a bunch of gear, got some supplies and refreshments, and hunkered down to wait for the arriving storm. During the storm, Stargarden "FIVE" was composed and recorded. http://magnatune.com/artists/stargarden
