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.

乐队介绍：
90年代，美国的失业危机重新抬头,朋克乐在音乐界再度爆炸，西雅图的Grunge音乐风暴引起了强烈的反响与轰动,Nirvana就是在这样的背景下诞生的，乐队由Kurt Cobain和前The Melvins的成员 Krist Novoselic组建，Dave Grohl在录制第二张唱片(Nevermind)固定了的鼓手位置，Kurt Cobain负责主音和吉它， Chris负责低音吉它。
1988年11月Nirvana推出了第一张Single：Love Buzz/Big Cheese,1989年6月发行第一张专集"Bleach"。Nirvana的第一张专辑，Dale crover负责Floyd the Barder, Paper Cuts, Downer的鼓，其余由Chad Channing负责。唱片的录制费用是6.17，付钱的是Jason Everman，他在唱片里面连名字都未给提起。唱片的录制时间是30小时。 Downer只收录在CD版本里面。唱片由Sup Pop Records发行，92年4月Geffen公司Remaster发行。
1991年四月，Nirvana正式和Geffen Records 唱片公司签约。同年九月，专集"Nevermind"发行，刚推出5周销量就已达到50万张，并且在排行榜上势如破竹，节节上升， 92年1月11日成为美国销量第一的唱片，全球的销量超过一千万大关。在商业上取得了巨大的成功。单曲“Smells Like Teen Spirit”在美国BILLBROAD公告排行榜上迅速攀升。(Nevermind)使Nirvana步向成功，同时也开始了一个神话和一场心灵的悲剧。
在「Nevermind」取得了巨大的成功之后，NIRVANA把以前Singles的Side-B的和一些还没发行过的歌收集在一起，于1992年12月15日，推出专集「Incesticide」。这是一张典型的地下音乐专辑，他们表示推出这张唱片的目的是为了试试听众和电台DJ接受地下摇滚的极限。
Nirvana凭这次转入大唱片公司之后的强力出击在Billboard排行榜上取得了爆炸性的效果。他们的冲击力是如此的强劲，又是如此的出人意料之外，甚至连《纽约时报》的商业版都以他们做封面，当华尔街的分析家和工业巨头们都在时间关注那些身穿花格衬衫的破落音乐家们的时候，你不得不承认Nirvana的确将伟大的音乐带给了更多的听众。
表面上，轰鸣扭曲的吉他声与愤怒的吉他声与愤怒而具侵略性的击鼓已成为成长中的Grunge一族的必修课，实际上，《Nevermind》是一张伟大的流行乐专辑，像“Smell Like Teen Spirits”就抓住了MTV时代人们的距离感和不满情绪，但却不失精彩的噱头和出色的旋律——并且编曲上的精致巧妙绝不输于任何一张Beatles的专辑。同时Kurt Cobain的演唱与歌曲创作洋溢着天才与灵感，就长那些与他齐名的人也很少有如此泉涌才思，有不少人认为Nirvana不过是“一招鲜，吃遍天”，但只此一招便已为他们在另类摇滚史上赢得无可置疑的一席之地。
其中，主打歌曲更被认为是颓废摇滚的坐标。Nirvana深深的影响一代西方青年，他们的衣着，发型和言行都受到人们的疯狂追逐。主唱Kurt Cobain的自杀更为乐队添上神秘的色彩。闲话少说，去买来听听吧。
专辑介绍:
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”集美妙旋律和狂暴情绪为一体，这首歌中最为人注目的特点是不把一切归咎于上一代人，它直言不讳地指出了自身的缺陷。这同样也是列侬的特质，既自由而潇洒地谈论和描述自己的困惑和梦想，毫无畏惧、毫无拘束。如果 Cobain 不曾写下这首歌，他的传奇和他艺术的成就就会打点折扣，因为正是这首歌，成为了所有对现代社会的异化感同身受的青年的共同呐喊，成了全世界那些精神上似乎是无法得到满足的人们得到无限满足的欢叫，成了一切在残酷现实面前梦想破灭者的呻吟，成了依然保持最后理想者疲于奔命时的狂野呼告。“Polly ”是以一个1987年发生的真实故事为基础写成的，Cobain 十分痛恨对女性的不公和不恭，他总是为他这一代人里也有歧视和蹂躏女性的人感到惭愧。“Something In Way”是 Cobain 在 Aberdeen 桥下凄凉经历的记录，他奇特的视角既让人忍俊不禁，又让人毛骨悚然，而这就是 Kurt·Cobain 。专辑的封面照片也为专辑增色不少，也成为媒体和听众注目的焦点，关于这幅封面照片的含义，也是众说纷纭。

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。