Greetings from Amazon.com Delivers Dance & DJ Editor, Mike McGonigal FEATURED IN THIS E-MAIL: * Artist Essentials: The Best of Orbital * New and Notable: Pet Shop Boys, Plone, John Digweed, Amber, Nick Warren, Peace Orchestra, and Aphrodite * We Have Vinyl: LPs and 12-inches are now offered at Amazon.com! * Our Customers Recommend: Donna Summer's "Live and More: Encore!" * Editor's Choice: "Warp 10+3 Remixes" * Free Digital Downloads: Moby and Everything but the Girl ARTIST ESSENTIALS: THE BEST OF ORBITAL ************************************** Knob-twiddling brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll coined their band name after the illegal "Orbital" mega-raves that dotted the countryside surrounding London's M25 roadway. The duo's landmark single, "Chime," climbed near the top of the U.K. charts in 1990, paving their way for becoming one of the biggest techno acts of the decade. Here are their essential recordings. Dance & DJ NEW AND NOTABLE *************** "Nightlife" Pet Shop Boys http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000021XT8/entertainmentsit With "Nightlife," the Pet Shop Boys continue to write startlingly honest and lyrically pointed songs, despite 13 years of cultivating an image of vacant boredom and smug indifference. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe need not follow trends to keep current; "Nightlife" is uniquely a Pet Shop Boys album and arguably the zenith of their career. "For Beginner Piano" Plone http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00001IVAI/entertainmentsit Crave something out of the ordinary? You need the long- awaited Plone album. The British trio are krautrock-and spaghetti-Western-loving gearhead record collectors who love the sounds of old video games. In a brilliant retro-modern move, the record layers subtle manipulations of analog synths together. Take "Plock," which sounds all at once like Smurphy techno mixed with Ovalized "Teletubbies" electro and the long-lost soundtrack to "Tron: The Toddler Years." What else could you ask for? "Bedrock" John Digweed http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00002MZ4K/entertainmentsit This dude cannot be stopped. Whether going solo, remixing other's tracks, or making music with partner Sasha, John Digweed consistently releases heaping portions of ecstatic trance music and progressive house. This two-CD set is a must for trance fans, the lovingly crafted music providing an appreciation of musical space--the distance between sounds and the silence before the boom--that allows the listener to seep into each song slowly, convincingly. "Amber" Amber http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00001IVAB/entertainmentsit Netherlands-born singer Amber's (a.k.a. Marie-Claire Cremers) self-titled album finds an open seat in the school of dance-pop classics. The tracks on "Amber" build out of a classic disco framework, adding currents of trance ("Sexual [Li Da Di]") and techno punctuations ("Don't Wanna Stop"). Occasional acoustic-guitar licks add an organic element to "Above the Clouds" and the dance-mix cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind." She sings of love, peace, and unity with a ring-around-the-roses lyrical simplicity, but hey, this is dance music, not Dylan. "Global Underground 005 Budapest" Nick Warren http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000K3GE/entertainmentsit Skillfully integrating house and trance styles, this latest "Global Underground" set is compulsory for all who want the club in their living room. Never one to let up the pace, British DJ Nick Warren keeps firing seamless beats in this continuous, carefree ascent to total mental freedom. Superbly captured from a performance in front of 2,000 wild Hungarian clubbers, Warren seems to have drawn from Eastern Europe's continuing social turmoil in a set that offers escape from life's daily conundrums. "Peace Orchestra" Peace Orchestra http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000K53L/entertainmentsit Peter Kruder (of infamous duo Kruder and Dorfmeister) stays true to form in his first solo outing. Floaty melodies sparkle amid a backdrop of gauzy reverb and echo, vocals drift in and out of consciousness, and it's all very, very slow. The record contains less funk and groove than K&D's projects, but it's no less sensual. Peace Orchestra combines the sounds of trance with the tempo of downbeat to invoke a lazy, hazy summer day. "Aphrodite" Aphrodite http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000020610/entertainmentsit As a guy who puts out 12-inch jungle singles on a regular basis, Aphrodite has been in a rut. Over the past three years, as the partycentric "jump-up" style he favors began settling into a formula, he's cranked out three or four duff tracks for every dance-floor stormer he's come up with. His stateside debut album is something of a surprise. Jumbling together tracks old and new, Aphrodite has put together an absolutely convincing summary of what he does and why. This is unapologetic dance music, too committed to moving the crowd to advance the science of jungle technology. WE HAVE VINYL ************* Amazon.com now carries vinyl and cassette versions of recordings by many of your favorite artists--from Cylob, Thievery Corporation, and Panacea to Moby, Sasha, and the Chemical Brothers. Search for your favorites in vinyl at Browse Music OUR CUSTOMERS RECOMMEND: DONNA SUMMER ************************************* "Live and More: Encore!" Donna Summer http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JBEA/entertainmentsit A music fan from Philadelphia raves about "Live and More: Encore!" by Donna Summer: "More than 20 years after the peak of her career, Donna Summer can still be considered one of the greatest voices in music. In this concert, she sings 10 Top-10 hits with a richer and deeper quality than ever before. Plus, at age 50, she scored a No. 1 dance hit with 'I Will Go with You (Con Te Partiro),' which is featured on the album as a new studio recording. Donna Summer will never get old, and her voice will always be priceless." EDITOR'S CHOICE: "WARP 10+3 REMIXES" ************************************ "Warp 10+3 Remixes" Various artists http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00001SVNJ/entertainmentsit What do Aphex Twin, Nightmares on Wax, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, Plone, and Plaid have in common? All have released crucial recordings on Warp, the British electronic-music label. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the label has issued three jaw-dropping double-disc sets: one of influences, another of Warp originals, and a revelatory remix CD that lives up to all expectations, and then some. "Warp 10+3 Remixes" features brilliant collaborations by the likes of Jimi Tenor, Stereolab, Board of Canada, Aphex, Autechre, Broadcast, and more. FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOADS: MOBY AND EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL ******************************************************** Did you miss Moby's terrific live performance of "Natural Blues" last month on "The Late Show with David Letterman"? Not to worry, Amazon.com has a free, high-quality, exclusive digital download of this breakthrough performance. In addition, you can download "Flying Foxes," an outtake from Moby's latest and greatest CD, "Play." Dance & DJ Everything but the Girl continue their fascinating trip into contemporary dance music with "Temperamental," their first album in more than three years. You can download the track "Blame," a collaboration with Metalheadz's J Majik, for free, exclusively at Amazon.com. Dance & DJ ****** You'll find more great music, articles, and interviews in Amazon.com's Dance & DJ Music section at Dance & DJ ******
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