Happy
Piano Day!
—
and welcome to the first holiday
which celebrates the piano
What's this all about?
At the end of 2014 I had an immediate urge to release a solo piano album which I recorded some time ago, and I was looking for a specific occasion to do so. I wanted it to be a nice surprise for everyone, so I thought of a meaningful release date to begin with.
Seconds later it came to my mind: I was about to create my own holiday in order to come up with a reason for this release. Moreover, if I could be proud of something, then of being responsible for an annual celebration of the piano. And here comes the best bit, Piano Day will happen on the 88th day of the year, which most of the time is the 29th of March. Piano Day is intended to be the most joyful of all holidays.
My album –solo– can be downloaded in any desired format and can be listened to for free. For those who like the real thing, there is a vinyl and all other kinds of round discs available (sorry, these are not for free). It would be appreciated if you get this thing on vinyl, simply because it’s very nice looking and sounding! Anyways, this is all part of a fundraising enterprise for a very special piano project. So please read on for a bit …

Berlin-based contemporary composer Nils Frahm has built a steady reputation for his intimate, poignant piano recordings, yet they only reveal a fragment of what to expect from a Frahm concert. The artist’s heart lies in improvisation, in the magic of a moment where, inspired by the space and the audience, his fingers create new compositions loosely based around his familiar melodies.

Spaces is an ode to the joy of live performance. It expresses Frahm’s love for experimentation and answers the call from his fans for a record that truly reflects what they witness during his concerts. Breaking the convention of a traditional live release, the album was recorded over the course of two years in different locations and on various media, including old portable reel-to-reel recorders and cassette decks. These moments were later pieced together in his Durton Studio for what Frahm refers to as a collage of field recordings rather than a live album.

Spaces includes surprises such as the sound of a toilet brush banging on piano strings to create a dub-sounding track. The decision to select takes that include the sounds of people coughing and cell phones ringing make clear that his audience is an integral part of every performance. In his own words: “What I love most about playing in front of people has something to do with a certain kind of energy exchange. The attention and appreciation of my audience feeds back into my playing. It really seems as if there is a true and equal give and take between performer and listener, making me aware of how much I depend on my audience. And since the audience is different every night, the music being played will differ, too. Every space I performed in has its own magic and spirit.”

The album was mastered by the gifted hands of Mandy Parnell; its November release will be preceded by a string of West Coast shows in late September and celebrated with a special concert in New York City on November 25th.

Nils Frahm is a German musician, composer, and record producer based in Berlin. He is known for combining classical and electronic music and for an unconventional approach to the piano in which he mixes a grand piano, upright piano, Roland Juno-60, Rhodes piano, drum machines, and Moog Taurus.

Aventine is the second studio album by Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel, released on 30 September 2013 by PIAS Recordings. The album received positive reviews from music critics. It was also a commercial success, charting inside the top 40 of the charts in nine countries.

Philharmonics is the debut studio album by Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel. It was released on 17 September 2010 by PIAS. The album received positive reviews from both Danish and international music critics. Philharmonics peaked at number one in Denmark and Belgium, and charted inside the top ten in France and the Netherlands. The album has sold 450,000 copies in Europe. The album includes the singles "Riverside", "Just So", and "Brother Sparrow".

On her debut album, the 24-year-old Tallahassee native briefly makes good on her instinct for mass-appeal pop anthems, but most of the 76-minute album dwells on roiling gloom and smoldering Americana.

Rhino’s celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Doors spectacular 1967 debut continues to break on through with an unprecedented two-disc, career-spanning collection that spotlights the legendary band’s powerful mix of music and mysticism. The most comprehensive 2-CD Doors set ever compiled, the anthology presents dramatic new 40 Anniversary mixes by the remaining Doors and Bruce Botnick, the band’s original engineer and producer. Drawing essential hits and favorites from all six studio album recorded by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore, the title also features several songs previously unavailable on any U.S. compilation as well as choice rarities from various sources.

Nevermind is the second studio album and major-label debut by American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991 by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release to feature drummer Dave Grohl. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind features a more polished, radio-friendly sound than the band's prior work. It was recorded at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, and Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, in May and June 1991, and mastered that August at the Mastering Lab in Hollywood, California.

Written primarily by frontman Kurt Cobain, Nevermind is noted for channeling a range of emotions, being noted as dark, humorous, and disturbing. Its themes include alienation, frustration, anti-establishment and anti-sexist views, and troubled love inspired by Cobain's broken relationship with Bikini Kill's Tobi Vail. Contrary to the hedonistic themes popular in rock music at the time, writers have observed that Nevermind promoted the image of the sensitive artist in mainstream rock. According to Cobain, the sound of the album was influenced by bands such as Pixies, R.E.M., the Smithereens, and Melvins. Though the album is considered a cornerstone of the grunge genre, it is noted for its musical diversity, which includes acoustic ballads ("Polly" and "Something in the Way") and punk-influenced hard rock ("Territorial Pissings" and "Stay Away").

Nevermind became an unexpected critical and commercial success, reaching the top 10 on charts across the world. On January 11, 1992, it replaced Michael Jackson's Dangerous at the number one spot of the US Billboard 200 and was selling approximately 300,000 copies a week. The lead single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", reached the Top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100 and went on to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Its music video was also heavily rotated on MTV. Three other successful singles were released: "Come as You Are", "Lithium", and "In Bloom". The album was voted the best album of the year in Pazz & Jop critics' poll, while "Smells Like Teen Spirit" also topped the single-of-the-year and video-of-the-year polls. The album also garnered the band three Grammy Award nominations in total across the 34th and 35th Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Music Album.

Nevermind propelled Nirvana into worldwide superstardom, with Cobain being dubbed the "voice of his generation". It brought grunge and alternative rock to a mainstream audience while accelerating the decline of hair metal, drawing similarities to the early 1960s British Invasion of American popular music. It is also often credited with initiating a resurgence of interest in punk culture among teenagers and young adults of Generation X. It has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. In 2024, it was certified 13× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Among the most acclaimed and influential albums in the history of music, Nevermind was added by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry in 2004 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", and is frequently ranked highly on lists of the greatest albums of all time, including being ranked number six on Rolling Stone's 2020 and 2023 lists of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The album has since been reissued with alternate takes and live performances.

Rage Against the Machine is the debut studio album by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. It was released on November 6, 1992, by Epic Records, four days after the release of the album's first single, "Killing in the Name". The album was based largely on the band's first commercial demo tape of the same name, completed 11 months prior to the album's release. The tape contained earlier recordings of seven of the ten songs.

With politically themed, revolutionary lyrical content, the album artwork was notable for its graphic photograph of Vietnamese monk Thích Quảng Đức performing self-immolation in June 1963.

ALL TRACKS RECORDED LIVE DURING 1978 WORLD TOUR
PRODUCED BY VANDA AND YOUNG
MIXED AT ALBERT STUDIOS SYDNEY AUSTRALIA
AN ALBERT PORDUCTION FOR ALBERT INTERNATIONAL MUSIC

★時代雜誌「年度最具影響力人物」、滾石雜誌「史上百大經典藝人」第94位，創作鬼才Trent Reznor一手打造的工業金屬王國★
★2010年全新數位化錄製1989年一鳴驚人之作，包括：“Head Like A Hole”、“Down In It”、“Sin”等排行暢銷作★
★滾石雜誌(4.5/5)+AMG滿分+芝加哥論壇報(3.5/4)高評推薦★
頂著全球2000萬張唱片銷量、時代雜誌「年度最具影響力人物」、Spin「音樂領域中最具核心領導力藝人」、滾石雜誌「史上百大經典藝人」第94位，由創作鬼才Trent Reznor一手打造的王國Nine Inch Nails(以下簡稱NIN)，替工業金屬樂派帶出搖滾革命新震撼！
5歲開始學習鋼琴並接觸古典音樂課程的Trent Reznor，1989年以一人樂團NIN帶出充滿電氣竄流、令人窒息的貝斯和扭曲吉他響音，於獨立廠TVT發行『Pretty Hate Machine』，竟然在排行榜停留兩年之久，AMG送上5星滿分評價！90年代的Trent開始施展其影響力，著手創立音樂廠牌「Nothing」，簽入Pop Will Eat Itself、Marilyn Manson等樂團。EP『Broken』更因單曲“Wish”，獲得葛萊美「最佳金屬表演」獎。1994年的『The Downward Spiral』，受到70年代前衛搖滾的影響，可說是工業噪音的概念專輯，Trent還成為「Playgirl」十大性感男搖滾歌手之一，受邀參加Woodstock音樂節演出。1996 年一曲“Happiness In Slavery”再獲葛萊美「最佳金屬表演」獎，經典神話雙CD專輯『The Fragile』空降全美專輯榜冠軍，大破200萬張，藝術商業皆大獲全勝。
重新發行1989年一鳴驚人之作【Pretty Hate Machine】，光在美國本土即破300萬張銷售大關，Trent和葛萊美大師Flood(U2、The Killers)+Adrian Sherwood(Sinead O’Connor、Primal Scream)+John Fryer(White Zombie、Depeche Mode)齊力激發最燦爛的音樂火花。長達5分鐘的“Head Like A Hole”見面禮，成為跨進英美兩地主流市場的矚目關鍵，Trent爆發力十足的嗓音詮釋，更是迷人加分的重點；首支主打“Down In It”，利用Synth-Pop元素穿繞Industrial Rock裡頭，同時霸佔US舞曲榜以及搖滾榜Top16；濃厚的Funky頻率逐步瀰漫“Sanctified”全曲，神秘宗教般的吟唱從中浮現，有種不寒而慄的感覺；靜謐的“Something I Can Never Have”，漂浮迷離的詭譎氣息，沉溺在一種無法自拔的晦暗氛圍裡；舞曲榜No.10的“Sin”，瘋狂依舊，在電子力道輔佐下，交流陣陣簡潔有力的搖滾爽勁。最後加贈首度曝光作“Get Down Make Love”，是翻唱自華麗搖滾代表團Queen的優作。

作为英国最成功且最具长久生命力的前卫摇滚乐团和迷幻音乐的较早实践者，Pink Floyd 所呈现出的那种与60年代中期污浊的摇滚乐坛形成鲜明对照的未被污染的个性，均体现在这张具有外太空概念的概念专辑中，作为他们发布的第9部专辑，[The Dark Side of the Moon]由6首歌曲加4首音乐背景效果音乐，采用不停顿的方式连续演绎，给人一气呵成的感觉。
专辑中，[Breathe]表达了一种无助的心态，[Time]则表现的是对光明虚度的追悔和对故乡的眷恋，[Money]则鞭策了金钱至上的思想。[Us And Them]是全碟旋律最优美的一首歌，歌词虽简单但内涵却很深奥，其深刻地提出了反战宣言。[Brain Damage]中通过讲述了一个行为与众不同的人，借以讽刺那些所谓的“正常人”。这个实际清醒的人为世俗所不容，只能在"月影"才能看见他，这是整张唱片的精神所在。最后的结束曲[Eclipse]在罗列了一大堆普通人经历过的事情后在结尾说到“每件事情在太阳下谐和一致，但太阳却被月亮遮蔽了”，表达出一种苍凉的哀愁和无奈。

Radiohead on its top form. Hearty hearty britpop.

乐队在2000 年推出了一张最受期待的大碟《Kid A》。自从 Radiohead 的《OK Computer》被誉为“宇宙最佳大碟”之后，Radiohead已经成为The Beatles最具威胁乐队，这新碟真是全球瞩目。
不过《 Kid A 》大概会令不少 Radiohead 迷感到意外，因为全碟跟Radiohead以往的风格非常不同！ 以往的强劲电吉他弹奏已荡然无全，就连打几下重鼓都没有，换来大量飘渺迷离气氛。Atmospheric 、Ambience 、Nightmarish、Moody、Sparse…… ...

Yann Tiersen is a French musician and composer. His musical career is split between studio recordings, music collaborations and film soundtracks songwriting.

Following the huge success of the 'Amelie' soundtrack, Yann Tiersen strikes back by composing the soundtrack of 'Goodbye Lenin', for the German director Wolfgang Becker. EMI/Labels. 2003.

Moon Safari is the debut studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 16 January 1998. On 14 April 2008, Virgin Records re-released Moon Safari to mark the album's tenth anniversary. The limited edition album came with a bound book, a DVD documentary about the duo, and an extra CD with live performances and remixes. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album #93 on their Best Album of the Nineties list, while the French edition named this album #65 on their list of the 100 Greatest French rock albums. Moon Safari set the stage for the budding downtempo music style and, according to Nielsen SoundScan, had sold 364,000 copies by 2009.

1997年第9张专辑《Ultra》发行，这张专辑更大的意义在于向歌迷们证明“Depeche Mode还活着”。《Ultra》强烈的电子风格与独有的阴冷气息，使Depeche Mode的这张专辑在缺少亮点的乐坛上显出一些不一样的声音。借助舞曲摆脱困境的流行乐界依然飘浮不定、成效黯淡。而作为八十年代初Symthpop风格的潮流人物，Depeche Mode在注入了新潮电子音乐元素之后获得重生。因而Depethe Mood的再度出现也象是一曲诡异的挽歌，招摇着某种末世的气味。整张专辑主要以表现一种超脱的冷静和另类。他们的音乐倒真是桀傲不驯，冰冷的电子器乐和嘈杂的吉它音色，再衬上短暂的合成器旋律，“诡”气十足。但其中的“Home”采用弦乐编配，跌宕大气，堪称电子音乐中的交响曲。但Depeche Mode还是那个低调浪漫的Depeche Mode，凄美而又迷离，延续着某种无可厚非的精神品质。