1.Tied And Tickled Trio - Observing Systems
"The Tied & Tickled Trio hold nothing short of legendary status in their native Germany and amongst the ranks of the world’s most celebrated jazz/electronc fusionists. Made up of a core of artists that are well known to us from Weilheim bands such as the Notwist and Lali Puna, Tied and Tickled at long last deliver their third album – this time round for the excellent Morr Music imprint. With "Observing Systems" the Tied & Tickled Trio refine ideas of "space” through an intense and continuously inspiring musical past, encompassing the modal delights of classic jazz arrangements and instrumentation, the cavernous rhythm structures of dub and the sophistication of modern electronic developments. In the intersection of these elements, Tied & Tickled somehow make music history extremely lively again."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed2R1JxpwoQ
2. Caribou - Andorra
"Sounds like the work of someone given one month to live"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edYPHri1Aco
3. Miles Davis - Kind Of Blue
"Ask any appreciator of jazz what the most important jazz record of all time is and they will say Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. This album features one of the greatest collaborations of all time. Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley"
4. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro95Ns58qSE (alt)
5. Stars Of The Lid - And Their Refinement Of The Decline
"If ‘ambient’ signifies a kind of music that aspires to the condition of backdrop - ala Grandpa Satie and his ‘music for furniture’ - then I wouldn’t call this record ambient at all. The music of Stars Of The Lid changes the shape of the room; enveloping, it leaves no space for the intrusion of other noise or activity. Beautifully rounded waves of guitar and synthesizer unfurl at the pace of a resting pulse - the architecture of this album encloses the body as well as the space around it.
Ostensibly, nothing happens for about two hours. A fingernail’s width below the surface however, this album teems with life. Those heartbeat chords swell and decay, shifting with infinite subtlety from major to minor and back again, the repetition allowing for undertones to emerge and then fade. Such harmonies recall Henryk Gorecki at his most radiant: the Lento (Cantabille Semplice) movement of his Third Symphony held under water perhaps, its colours left to run and bleed. At certain moments other textures come through - piano and violin, the sound of children calling - but always the album returns to those long, slow note clusters, so warm that you could take a bath in them.
And Their Refinement… is an endurance test of sorts. Even for those listeners who do find it hypnotising it represents a significant commitment, difficult as it is to walk away from once it’s begun. And this is Stars Of The Lid’s true radicalism - for many will argue that their music is unnecessarily regressive - to have crafted an album which demands such time, space and concentration, in an age where casual downloads and cursory listens are the norm. Hear this record. Just not while you’re doing the housework."