Sleigh Bells - Bunky Becky Birthday Boy - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

2021 . Sleigh Bells' sixth album Texis is the sound of the duo letting go of all hang-ups and inhibitions and allowing themselves to embrace making the sort of loud, colourful, genre-melting music only they could make. InchWe stopped worrying about whether or not we're in or out of our comfort zone, or if we were being repetitive or formulaic,Inch says guitarist and composer Derek Miller. InchIn the past we were pretty obsessed with tearing up the rule book and starting from scratch for every record as a means to do something new or different,Inch he says. InchFor Texis we didn't worry about any of that stuff, we just pushed the first domino and hoped that something exciting and inspiring would happen.Inch

Just off the main road between Rome and Naples, the Benedictine abbey at Monte Cassino can date it's foundation back to AD529, though it gained a more tragic renown during the Second World War as the site of exceptionally heavy Allied bombing in order to break Nazi defensive lines. The abbey's surviving library of manuscripts (theological, musical and others) was mostly moved to Rome during postwar reconstruction, but local archives mined for this have turned up a treasure trove of pieces which testify to a lively culture of chamber music at the abbey during the 19th century. Several of the brothers must have been dedicated cellists of considerable gifts to judge from the surviving scores. They include a collection of six cello duets by Valentino Bertoja (1757-after 1820), a composer from the Veneto region to the north; the Duet No 6 opens this collection. The two most prominent monk musicians featured here are Padre Placido Abela (1814-1876), originally from Siracusa in Sicily, and Padre Mauro Liberatore (1810-1879) from L'Aquila. It is Liberatore who arranged both sacred and secular pieces to give a starring role to the cello, such as 'Casta Diva' from Bellini's Norma, and a then-popular aria from Mercadante's Il giuramento. Abela composed 'Concerti armonici' for a trio of piano, harmonium and cello, and then a part for the string instrument in the liturgical inserts of his Missa solennis. Other composers wrote pieces specifically for Liberatore to play, such as the Barcarola by the Sicilian cellist and composer Domenico Laboccetta (1823-1896), and two composers local to Monte Cassino, Pietro Ray (1773-1857) and Domenico Corigliano (1770-1838).

Birthday Blues Pills Blues Pills unveils their fourth studio album, Birthday. Marked by the lead singer Elin Larsson's discovery of her pregnancy during the recordings and journey to motherhood, infusing the music with profound emotion. Written in just a few weeks in Sweden's serene countryside and produced by Grammy®-nominated Freddy Alexander, the album captures Blues Pills' raw energy and magnetic charisma in it's purest and most honest form. Birthday symbolizes not just musical evolution but also the deep bond between bandmates, evident in their unwavering support for Elin during this transformative time.