Joe Gideon & the Shark - Harum Scarum - VINYL LP

The Secret Life of Carols brings together a mixture of the earliest medieval English carols and traditional carols from across Europe. The title is inspired by the fact that many carols have intertwined roots, dating back centuries, often to the Middle Ages, with melodies being adapted and reinvented, and new sets of words written. In the Middle Ages the term InchcarolInch didn't have the same meaning as today. It was merely an indication of the form of the piece which would start and end with a chorus (named a burden) and would be interspersed with verses which told the story. The word carol is derived from the Old French word carole, a circle dance accompanied by singers. Several medieval carols including The Coventry Carol and There is No Rose are also still sung in modern arrangements at Christmas carol concerts and church services across the country. And indeed these early English carols are very much Inchfor the peopleInch. The programme on this album includes a selection of traditional carols from across Europe. Many, like the Burgundian carol Patapan, have roots going back centuries, some as far back as the Middle Ages. There is also a personal dimension to the choice of carols, drawing on three of the roots of the performers on the album- Finnish, German and Irish roots to include several carols which are not well known in the UK.

Brahms originally wrote the Piano Quintet, Op. 34, for string quintet before recasting the work as a two-piano sonata. However, the sheet music has not ever been recovered. So, finnish cellist Karttunen set about it's reconstruction. The result has all the vigour and power of the music we know but now recast in a different sonority. Album Tracks 1. Allegro Non Troppo 2. Andante, Un Poco Adagio 3. Scherzo Allegro 4. Poco Sostenuto - Allegro Non Troppo - Presto, Non Troppo 5. Allegro 6. Adagio 7. Andantino 8. Con Moto

Mac McCaughan, co-founder of Merge Records and frontman of the band Superchunk, began recording solo albums under the name Portastatic in the early 90s. Beginning with this album, Portastatic evolved from a lo-fi side project to become McCaughan's main focus throughout Superchunk's long hiatus in the early 00s. Recorded in Chapel Hill NC, the Summer of the Shark included contributions from Janet Weiss (Wild Flag, Quasi, Sleater-Kinney), Tony Crow (Lambchop), Margaret White (Versus, Matt Pond PA), Matthew McCaughan (Bon Iver, Hiss Golden Messenger), Aaron Oliva, and John Plymale. Album Tracks 1. Oh Come Down 2. In the Lines 3. Windy Village 4. Through a Rainy Lens 5. Don't Disappear 6. Swimming Through Tires 7. Chesapeake 8. Noisy Night 9. Clay Cakes 10. Drill Me 11. Paratrooper 12. Hey Salty