Pink Martini - Joy to the World

I have been a fan of Portland-based Pink Martini for years - with their cosmopolitan beats and Euro-lounge flair, this installment is a eclectic return to days of yore with their jazz-classical-pop infusion.

This compilation blends themes from all over the globe in an effortless manner.  You seem to start your holiday journey in what seems like a cozy room from the 60's with a fire crackling in the background and a Sazerac sitting in your hand, moments later you are Europe looking out the Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the distance while the snow softly falls on the street below.  This is tasteful, classique holiday music that will endure the test of time and appeal to every sound palate.

Joy to the World will take you on a jet-set adventure around the globe in an inclusionary world where all holidays of the season are celebrated.  Pink Martini delivers their tried and true blend of eccentric and odd music in their usual tasteful style with a splash of fun that is sure to make its' way to your holiday rotation with ease.

Passion Perfected! David Guetta - Nothing But The Beat

I know that whenever I recommend music, it is usually in the vein of European Lounge, Buddha Bar-esque or low, jazzy vibes which needless to say are what I mostly listen to since my mind is busy creating.  I have to admit it helps sooth, bringing peace and calm.  BUT.....

there is another side to me - I happen to be an intense, passionate person that loves going to the edge.   With that side comes an intense need to be stimulated, yet rarely do I ever find something that can come play with me.  A few weeks ago I heard this song on the radio that instantly hooked me - I popped up my Shazam app on my DroidX and found out about David Guetta.  The song in question was Jennifer Hudson singing 'Night of Your Life'

I remember ten years ago when I came out and found Thunderpuss - I thought I had discovered the most powerful force on nature.  Their music coursed through every fiber of my body.  I was saddened to hear when they split and the sound of passion seemed to die with them.  That was until now.

David Guetta is a rebirth of an inexplicable sound that you have to feel with every fiber of your being.  His thoughtful beats mastered with amazing lyrics will transport those who are up for the challenge to places you have never imagined.  I strongly recommend the entire mix, yet if you want to sample it I would suggest the mix with Jennifer Hudson.  Either way I give you warning though, there is no turning back.

Vintage Chill - Summer

Fans of the first volume in Kriztal's seasonal Vintage Chill series will not be disappointed with its second. Subtitled "Summer," the disc desires to be your deck party chill music. In fact, it goes so far as to plan such an event. "Music for wine lovers!" its front cover sticker should scream. "Perfect for a party on the terrace!"

Copy on the back sets a scene filled with chilled wine and relaxed guests, digging the bright sun and, assumedly, the groovy Vintage Chill beats. Said grooves are mainly of the downtempo, jazz-house variety. One of the tracks keep things going with chopped-up Latin elements on the funky "Ramiro's Theme." Relative star power is provided by Thievery Corporation, which donates "Liberation Front" from 2002's Richest Man in Babylon. But while it's head nod-worthy, the track is also strangely bland. This feeling of pleasant detachment is representative of Vintage Chill's lesser moments. The compilation moves easier than a linen suit on a hot day. But occasionally its bright beats and perfectly arranged influences are washed out by their own glare.

That said, "Summer" will likely serve your outdoor cocktail party as well as any graphically attractive downtempo collection, and should fit well next to its Vol. 1 partner. Other album highlights include Laila France's steamy French vocals on the Maxwell Implosion's "Lailove" and Physics' "Leaving Monte Carlo," which might be the music for an airport waiting room exclusive to international playboys.

kon-tent music - Mezzanine de l'Alcazar

Everyone has experienced the situation when planning their ultimate dinner party – what music should you play? Every aspect of the guests experience has been catered for, the menu, the drinks, the table settings and the lighting. The only thing that remains is to set the mood with the music. Mezzanine De L’Alcazar sets this perfectly and effortlessly with a sublime soundtrack to dine to as well as turning up the tempo for the after dinner party. Situated on Saint Germain in Paris’ Left Bank, an area made famous thanks to philosophers such as Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Simone De Beauvoir discussing existentialism in its coffee shops, is Sir Terence Conran’s restaurant Mezzanine De L’Alcazar. A firm favorite among Paris’ cultured, jet setting bon vivants and stylish gastronomes, Mezzanine De L’Alcazar sits comfortably in revitalized, modern day Saint German, where you’ll find the lively Latin Quarter and couture fashion boutiques. In a city famed for gourmet dining and couture fashion, Mezzanine De L’Alcazar is Paris’ destination restaurant: the place to see and be seen in, and that’s down to Sir Terence Conran, the leading British designer of his generation’s, trademark elegance and fastidious attention to detail. Conran’s transformed the former 17th century Royal Tennis Court and cross-dressing cabaret venue, into a split-level restaurant and a 40-foot glass roof bathes Mezzanine De L’Alcazar in light, air and space.

Dining at Mezzanine De L’Alcazar is a multi-sensory experience: its classic French-Mediterranean and English cuisine with a twist teases the palate, and simultaneously sparks your sense of smell and touch; exhibitions from world-renowned photographers (including Japan’s most famous lens man Nobuyoshi Araki) catch your gaze as DJs including Michael Canitrot (So Happy In Paris), who’s conceived sound designs for Dior, Cartier, Versace, and Prada, tickle your ears with delicate disco and luscious soulful house.

This delicate collection of specially selected tracks has been designed to stimulate the senses while you are dining and then later after your espresso, it sets the mood with sophisticated music to dance to. This is the perfect music choice for any sophisticated host.

Vintage Lounge - Music to Relax by in your Barcalounger

While at my mothers this last weekend I ran across some vintage lounge records.  I never remembered listening to this stuff when I was younger, but obviously it had an effect on me because I am a lounge music fanatic.  This record was designed by Barcalounger to be played while you relaxed in their lovely recliners and was a gift with purchase item.  What a find!

I sat and listened to these records all weekend long and now want to get my hands on one of those vintage record player cabinets that we used to have as a kid with the wood exterior and fancy cloth, covered speakers - all hi-fi.  I need to do some research on those record to cd recorders that I have heard of too, so I can get these fantastic sounds onto my iPod.

[kon-tent] music - Ultra Lounge - On the rocks

Hey midnight swingers! Summer is here and you need some great music playing in the background of your party. Ultra-Lounge On the Rocks is just what you need.

Mel Torme singing 'Sunshine Superman'? Julie London warbling 'Quinn, The Eskimo'? Exotica Supremo Martin Denny taking on 'Incense & Peppermints'? No, you haven't gone insane, you're just listening to the ultimate curve ball CD from 'Ultra-Lounge'. This may be one of the most mind-warping albums I have ever heard; extremely tasteless and misguided takes on your favorite 60's pop hits by desperate loungers trying to be 'relevant' to 'the kids'. They miss the boat entirely, but the result is this strange hybrid; not quite lounge music, not quite rock, not really muzak...but it is (in the words of The Firesign Theatre) 'weirdly cool' . On first listening I didn't know WHAT I was hearing, but this disc has become strangely addictive...

Sit back, get mellow, enjoy a cocktail and take a listen to these groovy 'Ultra-Lounge' versions of your favorite rock tunes with a twist.

Ultra Lounge - Wild, Cool & Swingin'

Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 5: Wild Cool & Swingin is chock full of great songs performed by some of the greatest talents of the 20th century. There is a total of eighteen tracks on the first edition and twenty-one (yes, twenty-one) tracks on Wild, Cool & Swingin' Too!the second CD making it both a lot of fun and a great value. It's also excellent for lounge music lovers and fans of classic pop vocals. I regularly play these in the morning when I am cooking up breakfast on the weekends, they always get my creative energy flowing.

These compliations are truly a sound investment for anyone that entertains and wants to create an environment condusive to great conversation.  The tracks inspire people to open up and smile.  The songs are all wonderfully arranged muscially and the quality of the sound is excellent. No excess noise here! Bob Norberg at Capitol Recording Studios did an excellent job of digitally remastering these tracks.

I highly recommend this CD for fans of classic pop vocals, lounge music, and the great vocalists of the 20th century such as Tony Bennett, Dinah Washington, Louis Prima, Dean Martin and Bobby Darin. All these performers and many more can be found attacking their songs with all their might here on this CD! Get this CD, turn down the lights and enjoy your favorite drink--and maybe enjoy a little romance while you do!

Christmas Tunes - Merry Mixmas

I would play Christmas music year-round if I could get away with it, but I can understand how that might be slightly annoying to others. So I wait until after Thanksgiving to click my Christmas playlist on my iPod and hit shuffle. I have days worth of Christmas music, but I somehow seem to love adding more. Since I am a fan of remixing classics, I could not help myself when I ran across this wonderful collection of tunes re-mixed for today's tastes. Aptly named Merry Mixmas, it takes the standards we all know and love then adds a bit of kitsch.

Paradise Overdose

Sometimes you just KNOW you can rely on things to consistently deliver the goods... Arno Elias debut solo work has delivered the goods, Again! It all feels deliciously familiar. the dubby vocals, blazes of asian sound and everything that is exotic, that is quintessentially Elias!

The chilled asian sounds and lounge beats inspire the mind without requiring you to pay attention to it fully. This is what I would call amazing whitenoise! Perfect for a dinner party where you want to inspire conversation and an upbeat atmosphere - but this is what you expect from anything Elias does. I listen to this while I am experimenting in the kitchen or cooking for a dinner party as it stimulates the senses and heightens my awareness.

I would also suggest this to anyone looking for some music for the - shall I say, um boudoir..... It's like going on a journey through some exotic land.

All that you have to do is surrender and come home to Paradise Overdose...you'll be thrilled you did. Check out Rhapsody to sample the tracks for free.

Verve - Re-Mixed & Un-Mixed

With fall comes more time indoors, and I like to have music playing to stimulate the senses. Enter Verve, Re-Mixed and Un-Mixed. Consider the classics like Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Sara Vaughan mixed with groups like The Postal Service. For anyone who enjoys great music, these sessions offer different attitudes for the listener. What I enjoy about these is that I know I will be listening to these 30 years from now and they will still be just as great then as they are now.

Re-Mixed is like the Hot side, tracks we all know and loved remastered with uptempo beats to get you moving. I think this is perfect for cocktail parties because it creates great energy and since people are always familiar with the songs, they can feel comfortable and at ease that they are in good company. I like listening to this when I am cooking because the beats bring forth all of this creative energy inside me.

Un-Mixed is the Cool side, relaxed and somber. This is perfect for a Weekend morning with a cup of coffee and someone you love (or your cat!) I like this music for sit-down dinners becuase it does not compete with the conversation but still stimulates the listener. Imagine yourself sitting outside watching the sun rise or set, this is the perfect mix to compliment that experience.

They also do Holiday pieces which are fantastic investments to anyone's holiday music collection. Check out their website where you can listen to clips of songs and experience how amazing and timeless they really are.

Renee Olstead - Skylark

Next time Saturday morning comes when you can have some YOU time, cue up this album and relax to some music for the soul. Renee Olstead serves up somes beautiful notes while you have a sip of your latte and a yummy pastry. Great for a solo morning, and yet subtle enough to have on while having a conversation with your morning guest, this album is great for dinner parties too.

This singer-actor's sophomore major label disc comes four years after its initial release date. Whatever the hold-up, the Texan wunderkind, now 20, has grown into her voice, bringing subtlety and resonance to womanly tunes such as "Lover Man" and "My Baby Just Cares For Me." Her rich, graceful sound is a cross between Tierney Sutton and Christina Aguilera, and hitmaker David Foster has her dishing up jazz-flavored pop big-band style on standards such as "You've Changed" and the title track. She's been called a female Michael Bublé, which isn't far off the mark.

Paris Lounge

I became an instant fan of Paris Lounge years ago when my partner at the time was playing this in the background. He had purchased it while he was in Paris a few months prior and the first track 'Hum Hum' starting off with this telephone conversation between this man and woman. The vocals sound completely retro while she is trying to describe to him what she thinks he looks like by the sound of his voice. She comes to the conclusion he is about 6 feet tall, 155 lbs and light brown hair. You need to listen to the rest of the song to find out what else she asserts.... How fitting that the artist that created the song is called 'The Troublemakers'. I have heard several other tracks by them and love them all.

With all the hype about French house, the equally brilliant but less frenetic hip hop and chill out music being produced in the country has been somewhat overlooked. This compilation fixes things pretty wonderfully, as it includes stand out tracks from both the uptempo and downtempo genres divided into two discs - Paris by day and Paris by night. There are names here you'll recognise (DJ Cam, a very, very old St. Germain track that's already been collected elsewhere) but the really excellent stuff comes from less known names like Llorca and Sporto Kantes.

So what's it like? The Paris by day disc starts off gently, with some beautiful slow funk from Llorca (in a similar vein to Massive Attack's "Lately"). It gradually builds the pace through songs from vintage chanteuse Jeanne Moreau (for that true French flavour), trip-hop tracks from Le Tone (using the same Billie Holiday vocal Alex Gopher sampled in "The Child") and Cam, before finishing with some excellent Dmitri-style kitsch from Czerinsky.
The Paris by night disk takes this formula (a bit of kitsch, a bit of jazz and some Latin flavour) and moves it up in tempo, and by the time you reach Playin' 4 the City about a third of the way in, you'll think it's Saturday night in Favela Chic on Rue Oberkampf - it's impossible not to enjoy!
This compilation includes both retro and modern stuff, so it's an accurate sampler for the city itself - and if you love Paris, you'll love this too.

kon-tent music - Cocktail Disco

Imagine yourself lounging on the sundeck of a flamboyant cruise boat sailing on the Caribbean seas. The sun is about to set, you're sipping a coconutty drink, it's been a very lazy day and your mind casually wanders. So many things to think of, and then there's that cocktail which is a bit too sweet. Why not have another one first and take it from there, there is time, all the time in the world. Savour the moment; Cocktail Disco is for those relaxing times.
Greetings ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the wonderful world of Cocktail Disco.
And what does Cocktail Disco refer to you may ask? Well, as you might know, between 1975 and 1979 Disco was immensely popular not only in clubs, but also in the real world; and as such it developed many a sub genre.
There was Disco Soul, Philly Disco, Disco Rap, Disco Funk, Disco Not Disco, Boogie etc. They all had their distinctive sound, and have been thoroughly exposed and compiled in recent times.
Over years one particular style seemed to regularly take up more shelf space than the others Disco-theque, it had a sound, that was borrowing from most others, but still retained it's character.
Rich orchestrations, a touch of Latin influence, the ubiquitous 4/4 Disco beat, and rather over the top vocals, it had an evident sense of drama involved.
Maybe some would find it cheesy, I would rather say cheeky and glamorous, something that would be quite fit for a Broadway musical show.
Crank this up on your turntable (or iPod) at your next soiree and you are sure to get rave reviews - gotta go, the Captain needs my help on deck!

kon-tent music - pLUSH

pLUSH. What does it mean? Think sensual, think stylish, think texture. It's early evening, the work week is just over. You are sipping a cocktail at the city's newest lounge and you're relaxed, comfortable and getting ready for an evening out. What's missing? The music, and pLUSH is the answer for just such a scenario.

Sexy, funky and contemporary grooves all designed to get you thinking about what lies ahead for the evening. From downtempo and subtle to jazzy, sexy house, this compilation explores a variety of tempos and structures.

kon-tent music - Buddha Bar

I was introduced to Buddha Bar many years ago and found it to be inspiring and soothing. The relaxing beats mixed with various sounds of India and Asia made it perfect lounge music. What makes these such great cd's as well is they come with a hot side and a cool side, so you have the ability to utilize either side depending on what mood you are trying to create.

The Buddha Bar series was Created by the DJ Claude Challe who compiled and produced the first two albums. The series continues with different DJs including DJ Ravin, Sam Popat, David Visan. Named after the infamous Lounge in Paris, with subequent locations worldwide.

Later, The first original Buddha Bar came out "Buddha Bar Nature" composed and produced by Arno Elias (also composer of Amor Amor, Buddha Bar 2) - this included a DVD of Nature footage directed by Allain Bourgoin Dubourg, which is fantastic.

Buddha Bar, Volume 2 features Demi Moore and Deepak Chopra talking seductively which I find interesting every single time I hear it - seven years later.

kon-tent music - Hôtel Costes

Growing up, my mother had the radio on 24 hours a day. With that in mind, quiet is foreign to me. I have never been able to sleep without some form of music playing, but during the day I also enjoy the sounds of music to inspire me. They say music makes you smarter.

Most of the music I own is most likely categorized into lounge. You probably would never hear it on the radio, but it is excellent to have in the background. I am starting this series called kon-tent music to let you know what I listen to and maybe inspire you to try out a new brand of music. Lounge music is not necessarily the kind you are going to drive around singing in your car, but some of the tunes are catchy and I find myself singing them unintentionally.

I have the full music collection from The Hôtel Costes, and I recommend it highly. The Hôtel Costes is a famous hotel in Paris, France. Located in 239 rue St-Honore, it is perhaps best known for its bar and courtyard café.
The hotel was commissioned by the Costes brothers to the designer and architectJaques Garcia in 1991. The hotel is now renowned as a den of opulence and was built in conjunction with Klay Robson as Developer and construction consultant (the design maxim was "all things in excess").

Hôtel Costes also releases its own compilation of cd's from its' famous bar, which contain music played and mixed within by DJ Stephane Pompougnac.