LISTEN!! Digital Music News: California Hip Hop, Baroque Flute Fantasies, Arena Rock, Indian Bliss, Ambient Giants

Wed, 08/10/2011 - 5:45pm by darla

YOU can access almost 1,000 digital music albums directly through our AADL.org catalog. Stream or download as much as you like, DRM free, on any device you choose. No waiting for a copy. No due dates. Hooray!

HIP HOP/ RAP
Marginal Prophets: Smart-Alecky, 'Semi-Conscious' Hip-Hop
San Francisco Bay Area favorites and indie best-sellers The Marginal Prophets have performed with Black Eyed Peas, De La Soul, Spearhead, Fishbone, and many other rap and rock royals alike. Their hugely entertaining hybrid of hip-hop and garage rock is smart-alecky and sultry, perceptive and playful -- kind of like what the Beastie Boys might sound like if they were being backed by Beck. Bohemian Rap won a California Music Award for Outstanding Rap Album and is a masterpiece of witty, riffy perfection.

CLASSICAL
Viviana Guzman: Virtuosic Flutist
Elegant baroque flute fantasies made alluring and modern. Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 - 1767) was a prolific, popular German Baroque music composer. The Telemann Flute Fantasies are miniature sonata gems. Published in 1732, each fantasy has a playing time of approximately 3 to 5 minutes. On this recording Viviana Guzman showcases her 9K Muramatsu Flute, giving the Fantasies an added golden touch.

ALT ROCK
Anton Cosmo: Rock Superstar to Be
Anton Cosmo, a native of Upstate New York, was raised in a home filled with music. He is the son of Fran Cosmo, former singer of the band Boston. On his album, The In Between, Anton gives a nod to influences such as U2 and Incubus, as well as echoes of visionaries like Peter Gabriel. Anton's lyrics and soaring pop arena rock sound have a dark edge, with some songs influenced by the public's current fascination with vampire sagas such as Twilight, and the popular HBO series True Blood.

WORLD / INDIAN
Suchita Parte: Ancient Indian Songs in a Modern Blend
Wow. Designer Bliss really brings out the natural softness and femininity of Suchita Parte's incredibly beautiful voice. The opening track, "Tvamekam Sharannyam" is deeply pretty, as are "Pandurangashtakam" and "Narayanam". The entire album is a very successful, subtle pop update of a classical Indian style. Completely sublime, highly recommended.

AMBIENT / NEW AGE
Paul Avgerinos: Beautiful Ambient Space Music
A glowing, watercolor wash of angelic choirs and ancient Greek chants, Gnosis is based on the Gnostic tradition and wisdom of ancient Greek mystery societies, and features perfectly integrated sounds of tabla, oud, sarangi, and cello. Allmusic.com named Paul Avgerinos "one of the giants of ambient music," and the stellar sound design on this release makes apparent how he earned the title. Standout tracks include the mellow "Journey To Now" and the title track, "Gnosis."