A contemporary project, but one that was initially intended for the legendary KPM Sound Library – and one that has Emil Amos serving up instrumentals that offer up his own take on classic sound library modes from years back! There's definitely more of a 21st Century vibe going on here at times – as 80s elements get more of a twist through production learned from the beathead generation – all of which almost makes for a more industrial take on sound library styles! Titles include "Bad Night At Cowboys", "Theme From A Personal Prison", "Moving Target", "Interloper 1", "Zone Bleu", "Red Palms", and "Jealous Gods". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unusual project from electronic music legend Delia Derbyshire – sounds that were created for a film of abstract photographic images, but which work beautifully here on their own! Partner Elsa Stansfield contributes a lot of core elements to the music – Derbyshire works in sounds that are even more abstract and beautiful than her better-known music for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop – and together, they create something that we'd be more likely to call a "sonic painting" than just an ordinary record album! The set also features a bit of spoken introduction by Pamela Bone – whose photographs formed the core of the images – but overall, most of the proceedings are instrumental, and come from the team of Derbyshire and Stansfield. LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool album of moody keyboard work from Shiegeo Sekito – a set that's maybe a bit sound library, but also just groovy instrumental – and which has Sekito working his way through a host of Yamaha keyboards, with a sound that's pretty ethereal and eerie overall! In contrast to a Fender Rhodes record of the time, this one's got leaner tones – almost flute-like at points, and augmented occasionally by an early Roland synth – which makes for a spacey vibe that's a real surprise, especially in contrast to the image on the cover! Most of the tunes take off from classical themes by Mozart, Bach, Chopin, and others – but as in a moog project of this nature, the end result is something very different entirely – much hipper, groovier, and with a sweet 70s vibe! LP, Vinyl record album

A totally cool little set, and one that takes us back to the kind of commercials they used to play at the drive-in theaters between two different movies in a long double-feature! The tracks here are all short, playful little tunes with plenty of 60s elements – sometimes jazzy, sometimes groovy – extolling the virtues of popcorn, pizza, Pepsi, and anything else you might want to whet your whistle or tame your stomach during the course of a long cinematic experience! As you'd guess from Something Wild, a lot of great research went into this project – and there's some surprising artists in the lineup, doing work you never would have imagined. The whole thing feels like a package of mini audio cartoons – very cool throughout! (Soundtracks, Sound Library) CD

A totally cool little set, and one that takes us back to the kind of commercials they used to play at the drive-in theaters between two different movies in a long double-feature! The tracks here are all short, playful little tunes with plenty of 60s elements – sometimes jazzy, sometimes groovy – extolling the virtues of popcorn, pizza, Pepsi, and anything else you might want to whet your whistle or tame your stomach during the course of a long cinematic experience! As you'd guess from Something Wild, a lot of great research went into this project – and there's some surprising artists in the lineup, doing work you never would have imagined. The whole thing feels like a package of mini audio cartoons – very cool throughout! (Soundtracks, Sound Library) LP, Vinyl record album

A 70s sound library record, but one that's also very different than most – as Christian Zysset put together the whole thing more as a jazz record with long, extended tracks – instead of the more typical batch of shorter themes and songs! The set's got a largeish group who stay together throughout – trumpets, saxes, and trombones that soar together, but have breakout solos too – some with an edge that almost hints at avant jazz, yet which still has the rest of the ensemble moving forward in a rich array of tones and colors! The project is similar to some of those excellent and overlooked French ensemble experiments from the early 70s – often issued on smaller indie labels, like this – and with a really great play between the farther reaches of individual identities, and the more cohesive soul of the band. Titles include four long themes – "Theme 1 Medium Pop", "Theme 2 Medium Jazz", "Theme 3 Medium Free Jazz", and "Theme 4 Lento Misterioso". LP, Vinyl record album

A spooky space age fantasy put together by electronic music Joel Vandroogenbroeck as a sound library project – done right around the early years of his famous group Brainticket, but with a much more abstract quality overall! The tunes are sometimes groovy, but mostly fall on that darker side of the sound library spectrum – all sorts of cool elements rumbling down at the bottom of the sonic palette, mixed with some higher-soaring electronics and keyboards – yet all at a level that really fits the dark-tinged image on the cover! Titles include "Riflessione Introspettiva", "Hertz Blues", "Risonanze Estaiche", "Curva Di Energia", "Angolazione Acustiche", "Eco Cosmico", and "Ricerca Di Sintonia". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that really lives up to its title, given the sweet Philly grooves of the set – a real surprise, given that the album was recorded in Germany! The session's a rare studio project in the early years of the German disco scene – and comes off with the best soulful styles that were bubbling up in the US at the time – clubby instrumental grooves that are filled with soaring strings and tight rhythms – yet served up in ways that are never too overdone! In fact, if you slapped some obscure US label on this one, folks would be more than willing to believe that the set's some underground corner from the New York scene – quite a surprise for a record that was initially cut just for sound library usage. Titles include "City Train", "Alaska Flight", "Skyline", "Night Shift", "Full House", "Star Shot", "Rush Hour", "Sun Ship", and "Flash Point". (Soul, Sound Library) CD

A funky fusion classic! Second Direction are certainly not a household name – and the record has even more obscure origins than most, given that it was originally done as a small sound library project. Yet the quality of the set has given it a surprisingly wide reach with collectors and groove hounds over the years – thanks to the sharp rhythms and sweet blend of electric elements in the music! The combo mixes Latin rhythms with modal electric playing – very much in the mode of some of the best MPS work of the time, or the hipper corners of the Euro fusion scene – never too rockish and jamming, and with a great blend of the sax and flute of leader Fritz Munzer – plus the keyboards of Karl Heinz Merkel – both working with tight rhythms that often include lots of great congas. Titles include "Steamer", "Flying Carpet Ride", "Blue Dilemma", "Peace", "Storm Flute", and "Freeland". This great version also includes bonus tracks from the group's unreleased second album – Steps Ahead – seven more titles that include "Keep Going", "Tony's Choice", "Last Minute", "Steps Ahead", "Feeling Free", and "Moving Fantasy". (Jazz, Sound Library) CD