The Official Regina Spektor Soundcloud Account

ACT III: BATTLE out now
https://youngthegiant.ffm.to/actiii

New York City's Easy Star Records has produced three of the best-selling and trendsetting reggae albums around - the Easy Star All-Stars' Dub Side of the Moon, Radiodread and Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band - while building an international brand and roster that has come to signify quality and class.

The independent label has created an impressive body of work that includes those above-mentioned in-house productions, along with progressive recordings from envelope-pushing acts like Protoje, Jesse Royal, John Brown's Body, The Skints, The Black Seeds, Rebelution, Passafire, Backbeat Soundsystem, Gentleman's Dub Club, Cas Haley, New Kingston, The Expanders, Lila Ike, The Late Ones, Marcus Gad, Tommy T, JonQuan and Ticklah; reissues of classic reggae from the vaults of Sugar Minott and Linval Thompson; new music from reggae legends The Meditations and Sister Carol; and collaborations with international reggae stars like Matisyahu,  Michael Rose, U Roy, Luciano, Anthony B, Christofer Martin and Morgan Heritage.

Easy Star has steadily built a scene that extends in many directions, following any path where reggae leads, bringing together young producers and musicians, reggae stars, and even artists outside the genre who have been influenced by Jamaican music, like Citizen Cope, blues musician/musicologist Corey Harris, Janelle Monáe, Jason Mraz and Kelly Clarkson.

The label manages its in-house musical collective/touring band The Easy Star All-Stars, who have played in over 30 countries on 6 continents. Dub Side of the Moon, Radiodread, Lonely Hearts and Thrillah have formed the backbone of a growing franchise of reggae re-inventions of classic albums; the band is at work on the next installment, targeted for 2022.

Easy Star has also developed a strong sense of how to market reggae to both core genre fans and a mass audience, leading to work consulting on marketing for albums such as Gov't Mule's Mighty High. Easy Star's musical director Michael Goldwasser produced albums for Corey Harris and Israeli band Hatikva 6, as well as remixes by Umphrey's McGee, Rebelution, Jason Mraz, Yoko Ono and more, bringing the Easy Star sound further outside the family. And Easy Star has raised its profile as a lifestyle brand with events such as Easy Star Reggae Tuesdays, which was one of the longest-running weekly reggae parties in New York.

Described by the Huffington Post as "an evolutionary force in contemporary Middle Eastern music, NIYAZ has created a 21st century global trance tradition by seamlessly blending poetry and folk songs from their native Iran and its surrounding countries in the Persian Gulf, with rich acoustic instrumentation and state-of-the-art modern electronics.

Their sublime, ever-evolving mix of poetry and song is delivered through music that is both uplifting and transformative. Yet with all the mysticism and allure of the East which is dominant in their musical heritage, Niyaz is not limited by tradition. Their far-reaching music which defies most standards of “world music” and makes a bold statement to a global audience aims to tear down cultural boundaries by offering listeners a bridge between the East and the West- a sanctuary in the modern world of polarized ideologies, as well as well as restoring a severed bond between the past and the present.

Today with four best selling and critically acclaimed albums released on Six Degrees Records, all of which have debuted at #1 on iTunes and garnered the band an incredible amount of media attention including features on NPR, PRI, BBC World and The Huffington Post, Niyaz continues to tour internationally and build on its impressive and loyal fan base worldwide. Their music as well as solo performances have been featured in several major Hollywood film and television scores, which include, “The Matrix,” “Prince of Persia,”“Thor- The Dark World,” Body of Lies,”“True Blood, ”Nip Tuck,” Bones,” "Alias,” "Prison Break,” and Crossing Over.

Led by front woman AZAM ALI ,whose Iranian heritage and Indian upbringing have created a singer of bewitching and richly textured proportions. Instrumentation includes electronica as well as traditional instruments, keyboards and percussion. A single whirling dervish performs on select events and a multi-media live presentation to augment the current performance is in the works. By masterfully blending acoustic and electronic music, Niyaz will appeal to audiences who enjoy fantasy, global electronica, Middle Eastern music, sacred music and alternative world music.
   





A complex distillation of classic punk rock, Celtic folk and American rock'n'roll, the albums put the band's diversity, intensity and sincerity on full display.

MagicBenjah is following