Search dance music

Review: Undeniably one of the most prolific anime soundtracks of all time, Yoko Kanno's band SEATBELTS was formed just to record this 1998 OST for Shinichiro Watanabe's smash success 'Cowboy Bebop'. Following the adventures of the crew of Bebop, a bounty hunter ship that chases criminals and turns them into the Inter Solar System Police for reward, Kanno's zany fusion of rock, blues and jazz oozes cool. The opening track 'Tank!' has been hugely influential, informing innumerable title sequences, from 'Danganronpa' to 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'. Focusing, as the Japanese often do, on Americana hallmarks, there is a distinct New York slant in the horns with some Afro-Cuban percussive influences as well, most notably on 'Rush' from the first 'COWBOY BEBOP' album. This boxset serves as a comprehensive rundown of all things SEATBELTS, an 11-vinyl boxset featuring all 7 albums the band have made for the legendary franchise housed in a box with art from the show.

Review: Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the third and final album from Nirvana should require little to know introduction. Repressed, remastered and redefined over and over again, the Steve Albini-produced, mainstream-eschewing swansong has only grown to become one of the ugliest left-turns the 90s grunge scene ever spat out. This super-deluxe three decade celebratory edition comes with two live concerts recorded in Los Angeles in December '93 and Seattle in January '94, five previously released B-sides, six bonus live cuts, as well as a removable front-cover acrylic panel with the album's iconic Angel; a 48-page hardcover book with unreleased photos; a 20-page newly designed fanzine; a Los Angeles tour poster lithograph by hot rod artist Coop; replicas of the 1993 record store promo Angel mobile, three gig fliers, two ticket stubs for Los Angeles and Seattle, an All-Access tour laminate, and four cloth sticky tour backstage passes: Press, Photo, After Show, and Local Crew!

Review: There are various eye watering stats about the many, many million copies of this album that have been pressed and sold. For each one sold there is almost as many different versions of it, too, if you look on Discogs. But all the hype and huff aside, there is a reason it is one of jazz's most famous records. The sultry modal moods, the masterfully melancholic trumpet sounds Davis conjures and the noir, late night vibe are all perfectly realised and universally understood. Without it, music at large, let alone jazz, would sound very different.

Review: American blues-slanted rock band the Black Crowes put out their second album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion back in May 1992. It was the first time Marc Ford had featured on lead guitar in place of Jeff Cease who was sacked the year before. It also marked the first time Eddie Harsch joined on keys and set a record at the time for being the first album to feature four rock number ones, and the album itself also climbed to the top spot in the Billboard 200 album chart. Its mix of blues and Southern styles often sees the album being included in lists of the best rock albums of all time.