'Beaubourg' is the fourth studio album, released in 1978, by former Aphrodite's Child member, the electronic composer Vangelis. It's a concept album inspired by the architecture of the homonymous complex area, Centre Georges Pompidou. It depicts life in the Beaubourg district, his place of residence in Paris. This album is, simply put, nearly 40 minutes of Vangelis noodling in real time on two Yamaha CS-80 synthesizers, his signature instrument at that time. This pure sounds of the synthesizer made 'Beaubourg' a real cult classic over the years. The musical value of 'Beaubourg' is a demonstration of the tonal possibilities of a good synth in the hands of a master.

Michael Chapman is often cited as one of the unsung heroes of the British folk music community, but that tends to shortchange the eclecticism of his approach. While the melodic sense of British folk plays a large part in Chapman's music, one can also hear much of the "American Primitive" sound pioneered by John Fahey, and like Fahey in his later years, Chapman has a strong taste for experimental sounds, and all of these elements make themselves heard on The Polar Bear, the third in a series of free-form releases Chapman has recorded for Blast First Petite.

Music for the silent film 'Man With a Movie Camera' (1929 - USSR) by Dziga Vertov, followed by 'Petite collection de rêves étranges et pièces plaisantes'. French avant-prog unit Art Zoyd formed in 1969 around the core of bassist Thierry Zaboitzeff, percussionist Jean-Pierre Soarez, and violin player Gérard Hourbette, with guitarist Rocco Fernandez, pianist Patricia Dallio, percussionist Daniel Denis (who later formed Univers Zero), and a changing lineup of half-a-dozen additional instrumentalists. In 1975, Zaboitzeff took over the group and changed its musical direction. The personnel would be narrowed to include two violins, electric bass, and trumpet, as evidenced by their debut full-length, Symphonie Pour le Jour Ou Bruleront les Cités, self-released in 1976.

Piero Umiliani is unquestionably one of the most consistent figures in terms of soundtrack music and library music worldwide. This precious 13CD box is dedicated to the period of greatest maturity and artistic freedom which coincides with the creation of his personal studio: the Sound Work Shop…

Edward Ka-Spel is a singer, songwriter and musician. He is probably best known as the lead singer, songwriter and co-founder (with Phil “The Silverman” Knight) of the prolific underground band The Legendary Pink Dots.

Edward Ka-Spel is a singer, songwriter and musician. He is probably best known as the lead singer, songwriter and co-founder (with Phil “The Silverman” Knight) of the prolific underground band The Legendary Pink Dots.

A minimalist masterpiece a million miles from Nashville country, Kurt Wagner's latest Lambchop album pursues the electronica soundbed and vocoder vocals first employed on FLOTUS. The chilly sheen of its glitchy synth surfaces soon gives way to an envelopng warmth, enhanced by Wagner's crackly vocal, always teetering on the edge of distortion, its electronic soundscapes enhanced by spectral piano melodies, endlessly inventive bass and intiutive drumming from his trio of sidemen. With its melancholic mood and lyrics rooted in reflection and regret, this could be the birth of an entirely new genre - electro-jazz noir.

Michael Crétu's attempt at fusing everything from easy listening sex music and hip-hop rhythms to centuries-old Gregorian chants couldn't have been more designed to tweak the nose of high art, a joyously crass stab straight at a mainstream, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. The result is something that shouldn't exist, but in its own way results in as much of a cultural scramble and explosion as anything Public Enemy were doing around the same time, crossing over the Euro-disco and new age spheres with style. Credit Crétu for an open ear for whatever works, which is precisely why "Sadeness," the first part of a longer track called "Principles of Lust," turned into a fluke worldwide hit.