A lot of you may remember Thijs van Leer from the progressive jazz/rock band Focus. There is however another musical side of this musician. His way of playing the flute and working his way through the classical-ish kind of music. This is art, musical art, which has this wonderful relaxing power. A bottle of wine, a nice view and this. Calm, gentle but persuasive, it's listening to a flute that takes you away, floating on cloud nine, towards sunshine. Rarely has music been spun, so carefully around a particular instrument. The instrumental setting is exquisitely balanced and from time to time, oh, so fragile. It goes without saying that this enables the sound of the flute to impose itself with  a grace that is a rarity. Enjoy these works from Mr. Thijs van Leer.

The music style is nu metal and rap metal. Influences I find back with Limp Bizkit even range into pop music. Not that there is something wrong with that of course. The harsh guitar sounds and the angry lyrics mixed with the sounds from turntables have created a sound that stays.  (It made an impact on a band that would start to rise to fame two years later known asLinkin Park.) With Limp Bizkit, the sound of rap music changed. The voices became more aggressive and after that the sounds even though most hip hop artists still shy away from hard and loud guitar riffs. Not so Limp Bizkit. May the music not be perfect when we talk about structures and melody lines, the riffs and rhythm sections are outstanding. The creativity and the sounds I enjoy do come from the turn tables and on top of that, the voices. Simple and raw but seriously effective. Listen to this collection of Limp Bizkit and enjoy...

Hello everybody, I hope you will have a great Friday. This week, an oldie written by Barry Mann (from: Who put the bomp in the bomp-she-bomp-she-bomp). It was a hit for a lot of people but this version is probably the best known. 
This is the Absolute Weekend Starting Masterpiece: 
George Benson - On Broadway
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Bonjour à tous, j'espère que vous aurez un superbe Vendredi. Cette semaine, un bon vieux classique écrit par Barry Mann (de: Who put the bomp in the bomp-she-bomp-she-bomp). C'a été un succès pour beaucoup de gens, mais cette version est probablement la plus connue. 
This is the Absolute Weekend Starting Masterpiece: 
George Benson - On Broadway

Today I want to present you the debut album of Soft Machine, a psychedelic rock and jazz fusion band that started in 1966 and split up in 1984. The debut album of Soft Machine known as: The Soft Machine or Volume One has been released in 1968. We are talking originally, hand played, antique, psycho music. I don't think that gets even made anymore  by the musicians of today, at least not without a computer. This album has a great atmosphere, it will completely real you in. You will discover wonderful bass lines and guitar sounds. This is one of the greatest, recorded creativity bursts, in the history of electric music, played with instruments. It will take you through: surprise, fear, happiness, relaxation and stress. If you want to experience what music can do to your feelings, this album is a wonderful example of creating an ambiance and exploring the musical possibilities to the fullest without becoming a nuisance or a bore. This album is something that you have to experience. Enjoy... 

The Young Gods are an industrial rock band. And than there all sorts of influences that you may recognise, from rock to variété to ambiance to gothic. This is not a band that makes songs with the sort of standard instrumental settings. The Young Gods have used samples from the humble beginnings of the band until today. The voices can be distorted and passed through various effects. The rhythms can be a mixture of a "live" drummer and drum loops. The use of looped noises and sound samples are also implemented on a very large scale. This makes that the Young Gods are not the easiest band to appreciate, immediately. For me personally, it took me a few times to get used to the sounds and song structures of this band. What I greatly appreciate is the enormous diversity you will find in their work  and it is undeniably true that this is a band where originality and standing out of the ordinary, is shown by excellence. As a result of that they qualify for a spot here on MWQ. This is a compilation of their work that they have given to world, for more than twenty years now. Enjoy...

This is about the debut album: The Drug In Me Is You by Falling in Reverse. The thing that gets your attention immediately are the guitars and the melodic voice. I consider this album as a good start for the band. It has a sort of indication that they can do better on their next albums if they manage to stay together and get a slightly less crowd pleasing atmosphere in their music. It stays just a tiny bit too gentle and has this little too much we want you to like this feeling. However technically this is  a well recorded album, the instruments are well coordinated and there are several very catchy riffs and structures in the songs. The vocals make me think of Panic! at the Disco with the difference that I think that Falling in Reverse would have sounded better with a slightly more rock/grittier voice. This is a question of taste of course. The album by itself did well commercial wise and that is not surprising because it's an easy to listen to rock album. See for yourself and enjoy...

American pop music. How often does that happen? Not too often I dare say. Foster The People have created a lovely album called: Torches. A very nice collection of songs. Breezy. Dance-able pop tracks with good hooks and ear pleasing choruses. It sounds nice and fresh. The melodies are catchy and the vocals are very creative. You have to appreciate the use of effects because there are a plenty but none of them are irritating or disturbing. I think that this band has created a sound that (with a little help) may grow. It makes me feel like I'm listening to a mixture of Owl City and Fleetwood Mac. And yes, that's a compliment. Enjoy this little gem...

I had to do it of course. In every music collection, you have to have bits and bobs of classical music. So here is a compilation of the most popular/known pieces of classical music. 
I found out, while listening and searching for this that a lot of these art pieces are used in movies and advertisements and I ended up being quit surprised about the amount of pieces that I actually recognised without knowing what it was. So there you go, if the mood strikes you, it is now available. 
I hope you appreciate these masterpieces from the times when electricity didn't exist. You will find this collection under the compilations section. Enjoy... Compilation no 16

A band that is mostly known for the one ultra big hit from the movie Easy Rider: Born To Be Wild. Steppenwolf is a band that still plays today even though the only original member is the vocalist Mr. John Kay. Their style is the now so called "classic rock". I consider it more Rhythm & Blues with distortion on the guitars but everybody may think different. It's straight forward, shoot from the hip, music. There are no complicated structures or very tricky guitar licks, it's all simple and carefree. It's what it makes it so good. The very distinctive voice has helped a lot of course. If you are in for some nice 'n easy music with a rockin' edge, this is it. Enjoy...

This is a band that kicks ass. Their style (and I had to look this up, I admit) grindie,  grimecore and new rave among others, comes down to a great mixture of samples and instruments. You may recognise a certain influence of the Prodigy but this band is more advanced when you look at their instrumental manipulation. The voices and backing vocals are inviting and exciting. I would not be surprised if at some point this band may write a track that will turn out to be an anthem that we will enjoy for years. Their energy is not a request to dance but almost an order and I wish that more bands could do the same. The song structures are easy to follow and loaded with noises and sounds to appreciate. And they have absolutely mastered the art of creating the "groove". Hadouken! has managed to use spaces and silences within their songs without losing a beat of the rhythm, a feature that you will come across only on very rare occasions. I do not use this word very often but this time I have been left without an alternative: Fantastic!!! Enjoy...

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