"What is life without knowing that death comes?" asks the Nigerian-German singer-songwriter Nneka Egbuna in "Mind vs. Heart." If you're going to wax philosophical on a pop record, you better be able to back it up with gravitas and some great music. Luckily, Nneka has plenty of both. She has a husky, supple voice and is equally adept at blasting out guitar anthems ("Focus") and sauntering through neosoul rave-ups. She's clearly listened to Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu, but the production on Concrete Jungle, by DJ Farhot, is both inventive and inviting. Much of the music here has been previously released in Europe and Africa, where Nneka is already a cult star. It's time the rest of us caught up with her.

DJ Khaled has followed up his initial association with Fat Joe with an increasingly prestigious list of collaborators. In addition to his usual Miami crowd (Fat Joe, Rick Ross, the Runners), the new president of Def Jam South has also enlisted Young Jeezy, Usher, and Drake to play prominent roles on Victory, Khaled's fourth album. Khaled has also thrown the names of Akon, T-Pain, John Legend, Soulja Boy, Diddy, and the newly incarcerated Lil Wayne. The absurd number of collaborators would be the most impressive yet for Khaled, who, despite his good will in the hip-hop community, has yet to have an album that matches his peers in either reviews or sales. Victory's first single, "Fed Up," was released in October.

This CD isn't the perfect gift for an MT fan (because he or she will already have the songs on other CDs), but it is the perfect CD for anyone to whom you might want to introduce this wonderful ensemble group.Again, this really is the very best of the Manhattan Transfer. First, I love the Manhattan Transfer. I wouldn't give them a bad review if they practiced bird calls while KISS provided vocal backup. BUT, this CD is truly extradinory. It encompasses the best of the Manhattan Transfer -- it gives us their style, their harmony, their effortless vocal ease, without the need to buy their whole collection of wonderful music.

Lauge & Baba Gnohm are as the name implies a duo- Henrik Laugesen & Kalle Christensen, both 25 years of age, from Denmark. They each have their own acts, but their collaboration is what really caught my attention. Great planes, mountains, waterfalls, the great fjords of Norway, these are all good landscapes that well describe this wonderful music. Soft and warm, not pushing you anywhere, but just letting you reflect upon whatever is in you're mind. The style kinda resembles that of Vibrasphere's downtempo tracks, yet more mellow. There’s also some resemblance to Kritical Audio (Vibrasphere’s Robert Elster and Martin Skogehall). When you enter the guys’ myspace page they have a remix of Vibrasphere’s Manzanilla, so clearly Vibrasphere might have been a big influence. Yet Lauge & Baba Gnohm really manage to create their own unique sound.

There is so much music around now that a lot of it is disposable, but Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is something you actually want to have, a piece of art that engages the senses and the intellect.

The long-awaited and highly-anticipated debut CD from New York’s amazing young new talent Access To Arasaka has finally arrived. With a steady momentum of buzz from fans and critics over the past year, remix collaborations with Zentriert ins Antlitz, Aphorism, and Totakeke, and more-than-well-received compilation appearances for the Hymen Records and Tympanik Audio labels, Access To Arasaka now offers the true scope of his capabilities with his innovative new album ‘Oppidan‘.
A futuristic journey of a cerebral nature, demonstrating a virtual equinox of expert beatwork and densely-layered atmospheric explorations, ‘Oppidan‘ transcends complexity and innovation in electronic music and seems to arrive at the very edge of its own inner space. Dark and cinematic and fascinating to no end, ‘Oppidan‘ is truly full of life and genuine mystic, opening the imagination of the listener into epic new dimensions at the hands of a true master of modern electronic composition.

Thrillville: Off the Rails amps up the family-friendly mix of gameplay that made Thrillville the best-selling original children's intellectual property of 2006 with some of the most outlandish roller-coaster concepts ever imagined, as well as new ways to talk to park guests and a new array of carnival games.

The Blockheads' sound drew from its members' diverse musical influences, which included jazz, rock and roll, funk, and reggae, and Dury's love of music hall. The band was formed after Dury began writing songs with pianist and guitarist Chaz Jankel (the brother of noted music video, TV, commercial and film director Annabel Jankel). Jankel took Dury's lyrics, fashioned a number of songs, and they began recording with members of Radio Caroline's Loving Awareness Band—drummer Charley Charles, bassist Norman Watt-Roy, keyboard player Mick Gallagher, guitarist John Turnbull -- and former Kilburns saxophonist Davey Payne. An album was completed, but major record labels passed on the band. However, next door to Dury's manager's office was the newly formed Stiff Records, a perfect home for Dury's maverick style. Their classic single, "Sex & Drugs & Rock and Roll", marked Dury's Stiff debut and although it was banned by the BBC it was named Single of the Week by NME on its release.[10] It was soon followed by the album New Boots and Panties!!, which was eventually to achieve platinum status.

Ministry’s main man Al Jourgensen has lost two of his long time partners — Paul Barker, and heroin. Fortunately for us, Ministry still sounds like Ministry; in fact, it’s been a long time since the band has sounded this focused. Sorry Paul.2004’s Houses Of The Mole’ finds Ministry in fine form. With Barker out of the picture, Ministry’s songs have swung back towards being more guitar-based, a sound fans have been clamoring for since 1992’s Psalm 69. It’s been a long time since we’ve heard Ministry songs this lean and mean.

Virtuoso guitar playing, trademark smoky vocals and excellent songs have paved the way to global success for Chris Rea. A man of few gestures and words, he plays his very own style of blues which has followed its own route separate from the mainstream and trends.

Not a "Greatest Hits" But Still Has Amazing Songs
Okay... so maybe this isn't a collection of the very best Mariah has to offer. If you wanted Mariah's greatest hits, then you should get "Mariah Carey: Greatest Hits." Or perhaps you should go download the songs you want individually. What this CD is, is a compilation album containing some of Mariah's personal favorites from her Columbia days. Songs that may have never been commercially released but were "hits" with the fans as well. No, not everyone is going to be ecstatic about the songs chosen for this CD, but they are still great songs. The album goes to show that songs don't need to spend 14 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in order to be good. In fact, only 3 of these tracks made it to #1. Still, anyone that appreciates music cannot deny the power of the haunting vocals of "Vanishing" or the vulnerability of "Looking In." You can also listen to Mariah trying to find herself, both artistically ("Babydoll") and personally ("Outside").

Before they went electric and funky, John Medeski, Billy Martin, and Chris Wood were acoustic and funky -- and a lot of other things -- on this exciting early CD. They ruminate like a conventional jazz piano trio when the whim hits them, or move outside when Medeski explodes into Don Pullen-esque clusters. Their métier, though, was clearly the neo-funk thing, for when Martin pulls off those crackling hip-hop and M-Base-related beats on tracks like "Uncle Chubbs" and "Orbits," the band really achieves liftoff. "Caravan" gets a rolling New Orleans funk treatment, and the finale, "Querencia," is a lengthy excursion into dense avant-garde underbrush with a touch of the street in the beat. On several tracks, a three-brass, two-reeds horn section add an extra level of excitement, and the trio tracks are recorded live to DAT (hence the exceptionally crisp sound). ~ Richard S. Ginell

This 2004 Blue Note release by Medeski Martin & Wood is yet another example of this band`s ability to create infectious grooves and fascinating tonal colors. This is not jazz, per se; MM & W frequently blur genre lines, experimenting with a variety of styles and sounds.
On END OF THE WORLD PARTY (JUST IN CASE), the trio continues in its quest for funky beats and intriguing soundscapes. "Shine It" and "Curtis" have a 1970s retro feel, and on these selections, the group uses a Fender Rhodes, a wah-wah pedal, and earthy drum sounds. In contrast, "Anonymous Skulls," and "End of the World Party" boast state-of-the-art, high-voltage energy. On these tunes, keyboardist John Medeski uses atmospheric sound effects to swirl around the melodies, generating strange, cacophonous noises. Labeled as a jam band of sorts, Medeski Martin & Wood stand out among their peers because of their attention to detail; their grooves are contagious, and they infuse their music with lots of uniquely quirky timbres and textures.

Every once in a while a single is released to radio that, whether or not you like it, you can't get it out of your head. With its infectious beat and indecipherable lyrics Big City Life was the first single off Signs of a Struggle, the debut record by Mattafix (Marlon Roudette and Preetesh Hirji). The unlikely duo’s friendship was set while working together in a recording studio. Unlikely, as according to their biography, Roudette and Hirji should not even be friends. One is a steel pan virtuoso and the other a self-confessed computer geek; one an Anglo/West Indian brought up in tropical St Vincent, the other and Indian raised on London's rough and tumble Harrow Rd. But thanks to a common love of music and chance meeting at a recording studio, a friendship was formed and Mattafix was born. It is the duo's very diverse background, which gives Signs of a Struggle its uniquely effective sound. Drawing inspiration from hip-hop, house, roots reggae, blues, jazz and calypso amongst others, Mattafix has managed to create and perfect sounds, which many past groups have tried and failed. All tracks on Signs of a Struggle are written and produced by Mattafix with additional production and mixing by Jim Abyss (Kasabian/UNKLE/Placebo), Craig Silvy (Magic Numbers/The Coral), Steve Dubb and Seggs (Roots Manuva/Chemical Brothers) and Johnny Dollar (Neneh Cherry, Massive Attack).

Jaku (寂 - meaning "quiet, lonely"). Aside from being considered one of the pioneers of Japanese hip hop, Ishi has established himself as one of the most respected artists and producers in the hip hop industry, both in Japan and abroad. Upon entering the industry, Ishi, with his experimental beats and instrumental sounds, changed the face of hip-hop during a time that was dominated by the American rap scene. He is reluctant to identify his music with any particular genre, for it would place limits on his listeners and on his talents. He has been regarded as ambient, trip hop, some combination of the two, and hip hop. DJ Krush prefers to exercise an ideological distance from the genres he is usually grouped into, while maintaining a healthy appreciation for all music forms and styles.