| A Matter of Life... | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 31 January 2011 |
| Genre | Chamber jazz |
| Length | 46:16 |
| Label | Penguin Cafe |
A Matter of Life... is the debut album of chamber jazz group Penguin Cafe, released on 31 January 2011 through Penguin Cafe's own independent label. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Guardian |   [2] |
| musicOMH |  [3] |
Robin Denselow of The Guardian gave the album three stars, and described it as "some of the most unusual and delightful music of the last 40 years", which didn't quite match classics of the earlier Penguin Café Orchestra, but was an "impressive attempt". [2]
"Stylistically, A Matter of Life… is a near-perfect match with the Penguin Café Orchestra of old. It is undeniably easy-listening background music, but of the best possible kind: it can be a passive soundtrack but generally stands up just as well to direct attention. There are no stand-out 'hits' – no 'Music for a Found Harmonium' or 'Telephone and Rubber Band' – and the whole can feel a bit lacking in substance, but in terms of its aims – “sort of a love letter to the original PCO music” – it’s a definite success. As long as you know what to expect," wrote Mark Wilden of musicOMH, and gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars. [3]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "That, Not That" | 4:20 |
| 2. | "Landau" (feat. Kathryn Tickell) | 4:59 |
| 3. | "Sundog" | 2:29 |
| 4. | "The Fox and the Leopard" | 2:56 |
| 5. | "Finland" | 4:54 |
| 6. | "Pale Peach Jukebox" | 4:58 |
| 7. | "Harry Piers" | 4:54 |
| 8. | "Two Beans Shaker" | 1:58 |
| 9. | "From a Blue Temple" | 8:37 |
| 10. | "Ghost in the Pond" | 4:09 |
| 11. | "Coriolis" | 2:02 |
| Total length: | 46:16 | |
Rachid Taha was an Algerian singer and activist based in France described as "sonically adventurous". His music was influenced by many different styles including rock, electronic, punk and raï.
Ghetto Pop Life is a collaborative studio album by Danger Mouse & Jemini. It was released on Lex Records in 2003. It features guest appearances from Tha Liks, J-Zone, Prince Po, and The Pharcyde. In 2004, a reprint of the album with three additional tracks was released in the United States.
So Divided is the fifth studio album by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead released in the UK on November 13, 2006 and in the US on November 14. It saw the band continuing to expand its sound, along the lines of its predecessor Worlds Apart.
The Unthanks are an English folk group known for their eclectic approach in combining traditional English folk, particularly Northumbrian folk music, with other musical genres. Their debut album, Cruel Sister, was Mojo magazine's Folk Album of the Year in 2005. Of their subsequent albums, nine have received four or five-starred reviews in the British national press. Their album Mount the Air, released in 2015, won in the best album category in the 2016 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2017 they released two albums featuring the songs and poems of Molly Drake, mother of Nick Drake.
Slow Club were an English duo formed in Sheffield in 2006. The band consisted of multi-instrumentalists Charles Watson and Rebecca Lucy Taylor, with Watson contributing piano, Taylor contributing drums, and both performing guitar and vocals. The band split in 2017 following an extensive tour to support their last album, with both members moving on to solo projects.
There's Me and There's You is the second studio album by The Matthew Herbert Big Band. It was released on Accidental Records and Studio !K7 in 2008.
Trembling Bells was a Scottish folk rock group formed in 2008 by drummer Alex Neilson, a musician with a history of free and improvised playing with several artists. Based in Glasgow, the group released three albums through Honest Jon's Records. A fourth, The Sovereign Self, was released on 29 June 2015, followed by an EP in 2016, both on Tin Angel Records. Their last album, Dungeness, was released in March 2018. In September 2018, frontwoman Lavinia Blackwall announced she was leaving the band after 10 years. Following a further run of gigs, the band announced they were to split, with members focussing on their individual projects.
The Bairns was the second album by Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, which then comprised Rachel Unthank, her younger sister Becky, pianist Belinda O'Hooley and fiddle player Niopha Keegan. Produced by Adrian McNally and released by Rabble Rouser on 20 August 2007, it was nominated for the Best Album award at the 2008 BBC Folk Awards and was also nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize. It received a four-starred review in The Guardian.
Invisible System is the pseudonym for the UK & Africa producer Dan Harper whose music involves a fusion of Ethiopian, dub, reggae, techno, trance, drum and bass, jungle, acid, psychedelic, folk, post-punk, goth and rock.
Belinda O'Hooley is a singer-songwriter and pianist from Yorkshire, England. Formerly a member of Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, she now records and performs as O'Hooley & Tidow with her wife Heidi Tidow.
New Blood is the ninth studio album by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel, released on 10 October 2011. The album consists of orchestral re-recordings of various tracks from throughout Gabriel's career.
Festival Bell is the twenty-fifth studio album by British folk rock band Fairport Convention, released in January 2011.
The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & the Johnsons, the fifth album by English folk group the Unthanks and the first to be recorded live, was released on 28 November 2011. Its extended title is: Diversions Vol. 1: The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & the Johnsons: Live from the Union Chapel, London.
Basement Jaxx vs. Metropole Orkest is a collaborative album by English electronic music duo Basement Jaxx and Dutch orchestra Metropole Orkest. The album features of older Basement Jaxx tracks rearranged for an orchestra with participated vocals from Vula Malinga, Sharlene Hector, Brendan Reilly, Oli Savill and Lisa Kekaula.
II is the second studio album from the band Unknown Mortal Orchestra, released in February 2013.
Rrakala is the second album from Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. It is performed in Yolngu. Gurrumul plays piano, drums, nylon-string acoustic guitar, electric and acoustic guitars.
Arthur William Phoenix Young Jeffes is an English composer, musician, and arctic explorer. He is the frontman of the musical group Penguin Cafe, a group he formed in 2007 to play the music of his father's band, the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is one half of the band Sundog.
Jennifer Maidman is a British musician, singer, producer, songwriter, actor and author who has collaborated extensively with many well known groups and artists. Her work appears on numerous recordings from 1976 onwards. She was a core member of the original Penguin Cafe Orchestra from 1984 until 2007. She is best known as a bass guitarist but also sings and plays guitar, keyboards, drums, percussion, ukulele, cuatro and Chapman Stick. In June 2016 her website announced that she was working on a solo album in Woodstock, New York featuring amongst others, Jerry Marotta, Annie Whitehead, and David Torn. The album, entitled 'Dreamland' was released on 1 August 2017 and features Marotta, Torn and Whitehead, with guest contributions from Paul Brady and Robert Wyatt amongst others. Since 2017 she has also been collaborating frequently with New York-based arts cooperative The Secret City.
Holding It Down: The Veterans' Dreams Project is a collaborative studio album by American jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and American hip hop musician Mike Ladd. It was released on Pi Recordings in 2013.
Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness (BCUC) are a six/seven member band from Soweto, South Africa. Their music has been described as "afro-psychedelic future pop".
