Winner of the 2022 York Early Music International Young Artists Competition, Protean Quartet makes its Linn debut with an eclectic programme that transcends musical eras. Taking polyphony as a starting point, the versatile young quartet ventures into various epochs, ranging from Purcell’s Pavan Z. 752, Chacony Z. 730 and Dance from the opera Dioclesian, to Schubert’s String Quartets Nos. 4 and 13 (‘Rosamunde’) by way of Josquin’s famed ‘Mille regretz’. Although different in style, these works show an equal care in the treatment of every individual voice, each one meticulously played by Protean Quartet's outstanding musicians. A multifaceted album which will delight existing polyphony enthusiasts and create many more!

Heinrich VIII. als Oper? Da erhofft man sich einen großen Historienschinken - und man bekommt einen großen Historienschinken. Einen der feinsten Güte allerdings. Für seine 1883 uraufgeführte Oper hat der anglophilie Saint-Saëns sogar in der Bibliothek des Buckingham Palace recherchiert - von wo er schließlich die choralartige Leitmelodie für seine schillernde Hauptfigur mitbrachte. Spannend an der mit gediegenstem Handwerk ausgeführten Oper ist, dass sich Komponist und Librettist auch darüber hinaus spürbar für die historischen Hintergründe interessierten.

Sometimes, dreams come true. For Francesco Tristano, the dream was twofold: first a desire to project his art in the future by devoting himself to one of the most incontestably timeless figures in the history of music, Johann Sebastian Bach. This profound desire fuelled the creation of intothefuture, Francesco Tristano’s very personal line of recordings, where sounds morph into an abstract and subtly poetic photographic imagery, which is found in the booklets. This first of these recordings, dedicated to the six Partitas (BWV 825 to BWV 830) is a perfect illustration of this concept.

This double-CD set is essential listening – not just for Downliners Sect fans, but for anyone who's ever worn out copies of any of the first three Rolling Stones albums or owns anything by the Yardbirds, the Pretty Things, Them, the Graham Bond Organisation, the Animals, early John Mayall, the Shadows of Knight, or any of countless blues-inspired American garage bands. In content, it's approximately equivalent to Charly's Yardbirds Ultimate Collection, encompassing the complete contents of the Downliners Sect's three original LPs, from the bluesy "Baby, What's Wrong" to the pounding, proto-psychedelic "Glendora." Thus, listeners don't get the EP and demo tracks "Cadillac," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Beautiful Delilah," or "Shame Shame Shame," and "I Can't Get Away from You" and "Roses" are also missing from the other end of their history – all of which are present, along with a lot else, on See for Miles' Definitive Downliners Sect: The Singles A's & B's, which is the perfect complement to this set.

Country music icon Kenny Rogers offers up his first Christmas collection since 1998's Christmas from the Heart. His sixth holiday-themed album overall, Once Again It's Christmas features a number of guest performers including Alison Krauss, Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles, vocal group Home Free, pianist Jim Brickman, and country-pop duo Winfield's Locket. The festive collection marks Rogers' return to recording holiday music, a genre he's been quite close to over the years both sentimentally and commercially.

A classic example of a second album delivering more of the same, at least on the surface, Absolutely does benefit from the kinetic energy of being recorded quickly in the aftermath of Madness’ immediate success with One Step Beyond. Absolutely does motor ahead on breakneck ska rhythms, but it never quite feels as raw as its predecessor, and that hint of gloss serves the three big hit singles very well: the schoolyard nostalgia of “Baggy Trousers” has a bit of a sepia-toned lilt with this extra dose or production, the terrific “Embarrassment” slides by so smoothly it’s possible to not realize what an expertly crafted piece of pop it is, and “The Return of the Los Palmas 7” has a nice element of swinging ‘60s lounge cinema.

Rockin Foo was a California band that only made two albums, and they are both self titled. With the release of their second album they added Ron Becker on bass guitar. In 1969 they shared the stage with Johnny Winter and Eric Burdon at the Fillmore West. Their music has been described as "psychedelic garage country rock" and "hippie rock". The guitarist, Wayne Erwin, wrote all the songs on the first album with collaboration on one track from Michael Clark and both albums were produced by the drummer, Lester Brown. They disbanded sometime after their second album.

U.K. band enjoyed some success in the 1970s with their uncomplicated blend of pop and rockabilly. Mention the name Mud to most Americans – even those neck-deep in the '70s revival – and the likely result will be a blank stare. In England, however, between 1974 and 1976, Mud was one of the hottest rock & roll acts there was, charting a series of monster hit singles and recording a pair of delightful oldies-oriented albums. They were never a profoundly philosophical band, and never pretended to be. The group played music to have a good time, and merely asked that others join in, which millions of Brits did for a few years.

Wisdom of Crowds is the debut album from an exciting project featuring Bruce Soord from The Pineapple Thief with Jonas Renkse from Katatonia.
As Wisdom of Crowds was originally written with Renkse’s voice in mind, Soord sought out the acclaimed Katatonia vocalist to complete the compositions and release the music to the masses in 2013. Despite the rigorous schedules of The Pineapple Thief and Katatonia, the two musicians were eventually able to connect to record an album that swings between fragile acoustic motifs and pounding rock riffs. The partnership unleashed an unparalleled imaginative force that gives listeners more with every listen - a progressive album for curious fans of either Katatonia or The Pineapple Thief.

Three years after their critically acclaimed debut 'The Will' and almost a quarter of a century after their first endeavour together, Rapture's doom death seminal landmark 'Futile', guitarists Jarno Salomaa and Tomi Ullgrén (both of them also members of funeral doom legends Shape of Despair) are back with their haunting and otherworldly twin-guitar harmonies on the sophomore release of Counting Hours 'The Wishing Tomb'.
On yet another surprising expansion of their signature sound, the Finns continue building a set of colossal and unforgettable melodies using unnerving and gazing grooves as the backbone of their compositions, only to be intertwined with the emotional vocals of singer Ilpo Paasela (of The Chant fame), culminating in what will be one of the gloomiest yet, oddly enough, most memorable releases of the year…