A 15 anni dalla sua prematura scomparsa, dal 26 luglio sarà disponibile “La Mia Natura”, il triplo cd che racchiude l’intera produzione discografica di Valentina Giovagnini, per la prima volta stampata in versione rimasterizzata: i primi due album editi “Creatura Nuda” e “L’amore non ha fine” e l’EP inedito “Respiro”. L’intero catalogo di Valentina Giovagnini vede la collaborazione di Davide Pinelli per le musiche e la produzione e Vincenzo Incenzo per i testi. Il remastering del repertorio dell’artista, invece, è stato realizzato da Jurij Ricotti (che vanta un’intensa attività nel campo a livello mondiale, da Andrea Bocelli a Eminem fino a Dua Lipa). Utilizzando algoritmi avanzati di intelligenza artificiale, Jurij Ricotti ha scomposto gli stems originali con un sistema di ultima generazione, consentendo un remastering più professionale e compatibile con le nuove tecnologie audio (tra le quali Atmos e Apple Spatial Audio). Una rimasterizzazione d’avanguardia con una tecnologia usata per la prima volta dallo stesso producer per il film internazionale “Lamborghini” nel 2022.

The Cutter and The Clan was the breakthrough album from Scottish Celtic rock band Runrig. Their fifth full length and the first with what is considered the classic line-up of the band. This record marked their debut for Chrysalis and took them to another level internationally, going Silver in the process. This was the beginning of a run of hit albums and features the song, 'An Ubhal as Airde', which was heard in the popular Carlsberg advert. The Cutter and The Clan has been mastered by Peter Beckmann at Technology Works, from the original pre-production 1/2" master and overseen by band member Malcolm Jones.

With their ringing, bagpipe-like guitars and the anthemic songs of frontman Stuart Adamson, Scotland's Big Country emerged as one of the most distinctive and promising new rock bands of the early '80s, scoring a major hit with their debut album, The Crossing; though the group's critical and commercial fortunes dimmed in the years to follow, they nevertheless outlasted virtually all of their contemporaries, releasing new material into the next century.

Two CD set highlighting Sharon's 15 year career. The tracks featured on the album brilliantly encapsulate the scope of her musical influences. County Clare-born accordionist/multi-instrumentalist/bandleader is long overdue for a career retrospective and this two-CD set overflows with high points. Although an acknowledged master of Irish traditional styles, this least complacent and most generous of artists never ceases experimenting. The first disc contains instrumentals cherry-picked from six albums. "Cavan Potholes" depicts omni-present Irish road conditions and "The Mighty Sparrow", taped during the "A Woman’s Heart" tour, is a jig augmented by a Caribbean beat and raucously apt sax solo. Disc two is given over to vocals, many of which are performed by stars from other genres. Jackson Browne’s "A Man Of Constant Sorrow" is given a Hibernian Grand Ol’ Opry treatment compete with lovely back-up singing from Mary Staunton. Damien Dempsey, a sensitive roughneck of a Dublin singer-composer, gives the Lennon/McCartney chestnut "Norwegian Wood" a new lease on life and also turns up in "Courtin’ In The Kitchen", a profane little comedy led by the inimitable Dessie O’Halloran. But the late Kirstie MacColl’s treatment of Astor Piazzolla’s "Libertango" is magic of a more wistful, shadowy kind, making us miss her all the more. –Christina Roden

With producer Steve Lillywhite at the helm, Scotland's Big Country managed to deliver earnest, socially conscious arena anthems in a similar vein to U2 and the Alarm. The twist was their trademark bagpipe sound, achieved through the use of E-Bow. The unique sound of "In a Big Country" garnered the band considerable attention and a Top 20 single in the U.S. The Crossing, however, is an album whose richness goes beyond the single. The more subdued "Chance" is sparser and its personal lyrics are every bit as heartfelt as the more populist-inclined anthems like the wonderful "The Storm" or the thundering "Fields of Fire." The lyrics are straightforward and, despite the grand themes of many of the tracks, manage to steer clear of being overly pretentious. While this album earned the band a gold record, Big Country's sound and image (reinforced by the members' tartan checked shirts) resulted in them being tagged a novelty, and they never duplicated their initial success in America.

Days Like This is the twenty-third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1995. It is a diverse group of songs offering a variety of moods and styles. It ranked No. 5 on the UK album charts and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. His daughter, singer-songwriter Shana Morrison performed duets with her father on two tracks, "You Don't Know Me" and "I'll Never Be Free". "Ancient Highway" was nine minutes long and contained the words "praying to my higher self/Don't let me down". It is said to be the one song on the album where he comes closest to following his muse. The title track has continued to be a popular song in concert to the present day.

Inspired by David's love of Celtic, Nordic, and cinematic music traditions, Quest For The Runestone is reminiscent of this New Age visionary's earlier fantasy 'concept' albums. David says, "I wanted to create something that would be a rich and engaging experience from start to finish. releases July 1, 2024.

Avalon Sunset is the nineteenth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in 1989 by Mercury Records to both commercial and critical success. On 9 January 2008, Avalon Sunset was reissued and remastered, featuring an alternative take of "Whenever God Shines His Light" and a version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" with additional lyrics by Morrison. Includes original artwork and full lyrics to Van Morrison compositions 12 tracks. At the end of 1989, Christgau named Avalon Sunset the 22nd best album of the year in his list for the annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. The Times ranked it 63rd their 1993 list of "All Time Top 100 Albums".

Newly remastered sound and expanded packaging including lyrics of No Guru, No Method, No Teacher, an album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1986. The song "In the Garden" was a favorite fan concert performance and per Morrison, "I take you through a definite meditation process which is a form of transcendental meditation." This album was hailed by most critics as a return to form. John Wilde in Sounds remarks, "the crescendos here are never dampened by their subtle nature and never fall short of blinding. The whole album aches with a steady stream of sorrow."

Almost a forgotten album, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart takes listeners to the deepest, most inward areas of Van Morrison's renegade Irish soul, the culmination of his spiritual jazz period and also – perhaps not coincidentally – the last record he made for Warner Bros. Four of the 11 tracks are moody instrumentals, which might partly explain the indifference of many rock critics toward the album, although the album's very title gives a clue to their presence. The mood is predominantly mellow but never flaccid or complacent; there is a radiance that glows throughout. "Higher Than the World" is simply one of the most beautiful recordings Morrison ever made, with Mark Isham's choir-like synthesizer laying down the lovely backdrop. The instrumental "Connswater" is the most Irish-flavored piece that Morrison had made up to that point, and would continue to be until he recorded with the Chieftains in 1988. "Rave on, John Donne" – in part a recitation invoking a roster of writers over a supple two-chord vamp – seems to have had the longest afterlife, reappearing in Morrison's live shows and greatest-hits compilations.

The 1977 classic "FIELDVOLE MUSIC" continued the trend of bizarre titles for Free Reed's LPs - this one taken from the nickname of cartoonist and melodeon maestro TONY HALL. Tony was the accompanist of choice for many 70s folk stars - he was on June Tabor & Maddy Prior's 'Silly Sisters' tour in 1976 - and for this exquisite Free Reed LP, he was joined by Nic Jones & Johnny Moynihan to create possibly the greatest selection of classic melodeon tunes & songs ever recorded. Once again, the production was in the hands of Nic Kinsey, and we include 7 extra tracks from the 1977 sessions. Booklet notes are by the shanty man & historian STAN HUGILL.

Listening to this, it's easy to believe that June Tabor was made to sing these old border ballads, tales of the uneasy coexistence of families in the marches between England and Scotland. Her dark voice is well-suited to the texts, which are often bloody and vengeful, and quite certainly epic – in some respects, the very essence of British balladry, whether it's "The Battle of Otterburn," with its gloriously textured Kathryn Tickell arrangement, or the demanding "The Duke of Athole's Nurse," where Martin Simpson is reunited with Tabor, his guitar offering shining counterpoint to her voice. The songs, tried and tested over the centuries, are wonderful in themselves, but Tabor's presentation of them brings them fully to life, like "The Cruel Mother." Harrowing at the best of times, it becomes pure torment in her hands. And her "Sir Patrick Spens" makes the old Fairport Convention version sound like a playground romp. Intensity has always been one of Tabor's fortes, and here she takes full advantage of the opportunity to indulge it.

In the liner notes to these carefully packaged reissues, all four of the Incredible String Band principals– co-founder Clive Palmer, core duo Mike Heron and Robin Williamson, and Elektra records executive Joe Boyd– offer their insights in separate essays. Three of them mention the smell of patchouli. Such were the times, certainly, but the ISB are loved equally by avant-garde musicians, psychedelia enthusiasts, and those slightly dweeby young gentlemen who hang around music shops on college campuses. The reissue of their first four albums probably put to rest any notion that the ISB were a properly great band, releasing just one true classic, but they were rarely anything less than brave, inspired, and profoundly weird.

Under the musical direction of Donal Lunny, features big names such as John McSherry, Nollaig Casey, Van Morrison, Maire Brennan, Stephen Cooney, Nomos, Matt Molloy, Pat Crowley, Noel Bridgeman, Maire Breatnach, Seamus Begley, John Spillane, Liam O' Flynn, Paul Brady, Mark Knopfler, Anuna, Brian Kennedy, Laoise Kelly, Maighréad Ní Dhomhnaill, Mairtin O' Connor, Iarla Ó Lionaird and Sharon Shannon.

In her introduction to "The Mask and Mirror," Loreena McKennitt provides insights into the inspirations, themes, and creation process of the album. Here are the key points from her words: