Live recording of excellently performed classical music. Though not exactly hi-fi, the performance excels.
Without surprise, recordings of full orchestra performing classical symphonies are rare. But the productive university orchestra in Chicago is so kind to provide full recordings of some of their concerts. While they do not (and to not want) to compete with proper (and pricey) studio recordings, they give us an opportunity to try out some classics:
Continue reading “University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra – [2012] Design and Intent”Soundtrack for a hard-to-get movie. Melancholic atmosphere, with a hint of suspense.
Xcyril is Cyril Humbert, a professional composer, who has published 11 of his albums, under a Creative Commons license to Jamendo. He specialises in soundtracks for films and video games. This soundtrack in particular has a dark atmosphere, most fitting to accompany a rainy autumn evening. Continue reading “Xcyril – [2007] Alter ego”
Scientific ear-candy. Musical blend of talks about everything from biology to cosmology with upbeat electronica.
About 10 years ago, John D. Boswell produced the first of a now large collection of music videos that blend short quotes from scientists and science communicators with catchy electronica. Several million views later, we may now enjoy a grown collection of these gems, which are best enjoyed as videos. Once you are hooked, read on for my three favourite picks from the collector’s edition of the audio-only release: Continue reading “melodysheep – [2013] Symphony of Science Collector’s Edition”
Epic soundtracks to unmade movies. Faldrians Feierabend, a weekly music podcast that I enjoy very much, uses this style of music as its intro. Richly orchestrated score music, purely instrumental, creates visions of possible movie scenes that might still be produced… in the meantime, we benefit from great production, solid song writing. It makes great atmospheric background music. Two exemplary tracks and source link are below. Continue reading “Epic Soul Factory – [2012] Xpansion Edition”
Professional music producer releases soundtracks under Creative Commons licenses. Sounds like Jan Morgenstern (the composer of most Blender movie OSTs)? Yes, and there are more out there. Evan LE NY produces epic and orchestral soundscapes. The music on this release is featured in SpaceChem, an addictive indie puzzle game. Continue reading “Evan LE NY – [2011] SpaceChem”
Sounds like Nightwish, but less cheesy. This could be the end of this review, but I am used to write more than one sentence. Obsidian Shell are one of the best bands on Jamendo, with an impressive series of five releases ranging from 2009 to 2012.
For those of you who don’t know Nigthwish: Obsidian Shell play symphonic metal with female vocals, and well they do! I discovered this release while listening to Faldrians Feierabend, a nice radio-like podcast with two hours of music and interesting topics in between. Continue reading “Obsidian Shell – [2011] Evershade”
Modern classical orchestra music. With electronic effects and beats. Furious rhythmic songs. Calm ballads with vocals. Cannot write. Whole sentences. Sorry.
Honestly, composer Roger Subirana has done a great job here. As another reviewer put it: “A Jamendo must-have!” Continue reading “Roger Subirana Mata – [2008] Point of no return”
Cam Butler would easily win any “Be the next Ennio Morricone” contest, the composer of well known italo-western movie soundtracks like Once Upon a Time in the West. Cam Butler’s music sounds just like one of those soundtracks, but much happier. Guitars and violins ride into the sunset, riding on a chivalry of classic march drum patterns that remind me of Ravel’s Boléro. Listen to my two favourite tracks below and get the whole release of four tracks yourself. Continue reading “Cam Butler – [2004] Dreamland EP”
![Diablo Swing Orchestra – [2009] The Butcher's Ballroom](https://www.ojdo.de/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/folder.jpg "Diablo Swing Orchestra – [2009] The Butcher's Ballroom")
Take Nightwish’s voice, add a Cello played like Apocalyptica and mix it with a skilled hard rock band and – voilà – you can imagine how the Diablo Swing Orchestra sounds.
Their music is a wild mixture of (partially Symphonic) Metal, Rock, Jazz, Swing and Blues; sometimes they make me think of Mr. Bungle (another great Band, by the way), yet they always stay within the limits of melodic music. Continue reading “Diablo Swing Orchestra – [2009] The Butcher’s Ballroom”
Icy cinematic orchestral soundtrack. Calm instrumentals with electronic ambient influence. A Kahvi classic (pun intended).
I will start my (hopefully long and prospering) series of music reviews with a very unusual piece of music, considering that it is released at Kahvi, a Netlabel for electronic music.
It is unusual because this album consists purely of orchestral and piano music. Both technical and musical quality are astonishing. In total, it sounds like the O.S.T. to a film playing in Siberia. Don’t evaluate this album based on the performance on laptop-speakers. This music needs headphones or real speakers to not get destroyed by distortions. On my laptop it sounds awful… Continue reading “Coax – [2008] The Ice Garden”
