Mantra Recordings/Beggars Group
Mantra Recordings is an in-house spin-off of the famed Beggars Banquet label headed by Beggars' former PR head, John Empson. Mantra's rapidly growing catalogue ranges from searing guitar rock to jazz- and world-tinged house, with plenty in between.
Natacha Atlas
Natacha Atlas blends the music of her North African/Middle Eastern heritage with slick Western production, resulting in sultry wisps of exotic mid-tempo beats, colored by evocative strings and her own distinctively plaintive vocals.
Ayeshteni
-
2002
Something Dangerous
-
2003
The Delgados
Question: when and why did Scotland become the hottest locus of talented emerging rock groups on the planet? Glasgow's The Delgados create some of the best indie pop you're ever going to hear; lush orchestral fare as soothing and beautiful as the sound of the wind rustling through trees.
The Great Eastern
-
2000
The Drum
The U.K.'s The Drum (once known as China Drum) does bombastic post-punk rock songs driven by -- well yes, by drums, but also by big, dangerous guitars that destroy everything in their path.
Diskin
King of Woolworths
Mancunian sound artist Jon Brooks makes eclectic and evocative electronic-based music filled with disorienting samples, peculiar allusions, and unexpected stylistic appropriations. Sometimes King of Woolworths sounds like music for films, at others like music for dreams.
Ming Star
-
2002
Muki
After a night of hard partying, you could do a lot worse that slap on a Muki album to bring the vibe down to a more respectable level. Their chilled grooves will calm the most hedonistic of party animals.
I Don't Want to Know Single
Saint Etienne
This veteran English trio continues to work its magic, fusing lush intricate melodies with dance beats to create eminently listenable dance-pop jewels. Saint Etienne updates the sweet club music of the sixties for the club-happy twenty-first century.
Global Underground: Athens (Disc 1)
Sound of Water
-
2000
Six By Seven
This British rock band does anger and alienation with the best of them, creating everything from vitriolic, machine gu fast power rock songs to brooding, mournful epics, and soaking it all in layer after layer of feedback and fuzz.
The Closer You Get
-
2000
The Way I Feel Today
-
2002
