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Blue Note, Discogs, Jazz, music, soho, staff picks, vinyl -

Blue Note Bonanza

Blue Note Bonanza

Our Blue Note racks are currently looking extremely tasty as we have recently put out a collection of mainly ‘60s pressings from some absolute giants of jazz music including Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Grachan Moncur III, Bobby Hutcherson and many more. Here Leo gives his rundown of three of his absolute favourites from the bunch. Herbie Hancock - “Empyrean Isles” (1964) When it comes to jazz Herbie has truly done it all. He got his big break in Miles Davis’ “Second Great Quintet” in the early ‘60s and has been at the coalface of reinventing jazz music ever...

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Films, Jazz, Movies, music, OST, records, soho, Soundtracks, staff picks, vinyl -

Leo's Favourite Soundtracks

Leo's Favourite Soundtracks

For full disclosure I’m semi-famous at Sister Ray for not actually liking films very much so it’s somewhat ironic that I have felt inspired by the release of Late Night Tales’ “At The Movies" compilation (available here) to make a rundown of my 5 favourite film soundtracks (in no particular order). Vangelis - "Blade Runner" Probably the film that made me sit up and take notice of soundtrack composition. Can you imagine the sweeping cyberpunk landscapes of Ridley Scott’s future Los Angeles without the looming, doomy synths of Vangelis underpinning it all? Rugged industrial beats, a swooning love theme and...

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Mercury Prize, Mercury Prize 2021, music, records, soho, staff picks, vinyl -

Sister Ray's Mercury Prize Picks: Leo

Sister Ray's Mercury Prize Picks: Leo

Come on Mercury Prize you’re fooling no one. Dangle the carrot of a freaky jazz album then snatch it away and beat us with the Wolf Alice stick. I jest. Long-time fan of Pharoah Sanders and big fan of early Floating Points so was excited to hear this collaboration. My enduring memory of Sanders is me relaxing to one of his more…adventurous…records when my wife came up from work to make a sandwich. She looked at me with pure bemusement and said “is THIS what you listen to when I’m not here?!?”. While the pairing don’t quite go into the...

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Black Country New Road, Mercury Prize, Mercury Prize 2021, music, records, staff picks -

Sister Ray's Mercury Prize Picks: Oli

Sister Ray's Mercury Prize Picks: Oli

Hi all, Oli here to follow up Eric's favourite nominee in Sister Ray's 2021 Mercury Prize Picks with my personal choice.  I've chosen the debut album by Black Country, New Road, 'For The First Time'.  Emerging from a tidal wave of hype and following rave reviews for their stunning live shows, 'For The First Time' is a mighty beast of an opening statement from the Cambridge seven-piece.Having followed this group from an early gig in 2019, seeing the progression of these tracks has been a thrilling experience and this resulting record is nothing short of breathtaking.  From the fervent opening klezmer jam of...

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hannah peel, Mercury Prize, Mercury Prize 2021, music, records, staff picks -

Sister Ray's Mercury Prize Picks: Eric

Sister Ray's Mercury Prize Picks: Eric

Hello everyone, it's been a while since we posted any updates on here and I thought there would be no better way to relaunch the Sister Ray blog than with our staff picks for this years Mercury Prize.  My name is Eric. I only recently started at Sister Ray and thought I could introduce myself by taking the first pick.  Hannah Peel has been at the forefront of indie music over the past decade, branching out from Folk music in the early 2010's towards a sound draped in electronica and synth pop in recent years. For me her latest LP...

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