Keeping things on the Bossa Nova tip, I present the latest release from Italian DJ,  Nicola Conte called “Rituals”.  Previous releases had more club jazz feel to them, whereas this release for the most part is shaken bossa nova and not stirred.  Still a stunning release non the less.

Nicola Conte – Paper Clouds (ft. Chiara Civello)

Related Posts
Isabelle Antena – Omerta (Bossa remix by nicola conte)
Waldeck – Why Did We Fire That Gun
King Kooba – Fooling Myself (Easy Access Orchestra Mix)
Arkestra One – I Really Want You

The Quantic Soul Orchestra with a little help from Alice Russell covers Nina Simone’s classic with elegance and grace.

The Quantic Soul Orchestra – Feeling Good

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Loving this new release from Bitter:Sweet and looking forward to their sophomore effort called, “Drama”. It’s easy to hear why so many music supervisors place Bitter:Sweet music in to TV show’s such as Grey’s Anatomy, Moonlight, and Lipstick Jungle to name a few.

Bio from last.fm:

Bitter:Sweet is an electronic/trip-hop duo with jazz-like qualities from Los Angeles. The band is comprised of Shana Halligan, who provides vocals and lyrics and composes the songs, and Kiran Shahani, who produces and composes the songs. They are often compared to, or appeal to, fans of Zero 7, Morcheeba, Björk, Portishead, Everything But the Girl, and Serge Gainsbourg. Recently, they have been listed on the Top 10 on the iTunes Store electronic chart and have been placed on radio station KCRW’s Top 5 Most Requested CD for the week of March 20, 2006 [1]. Additionally, they have been featured on the soundtrack of The Devil Wears Prada, in Episode 2 (“I Am a Tree”) of Season 3 of Grey’s Anatomy, in the movies Because I Said So and Shoot ‘Em Up, in a Zune advertisement, and also placed on MSN’s list for “Ones to Watch” [2].

The duo was formed when Halligan answered an ad listed on Craig’s List for a singer posted by Shahani, who had previously founded the Supreme Beings of Leisure. Their 11-track debut album, The Mating Game, was released April 4, 2006 under Quango Music Group and has been reviewed and recognized by several magazine publications, such as Urb and People [3] [4] The song was featured on a commercial for the winery, Korbel.

In summer of 2007, Bitter:Sweet released The Remix Game, featuring reworked versions of tracks from The Mating Game by reknown producers such as Thievery Corporation, Fort Knox Five, and Skeewiff. These tracks were previously available only on vinyl, or unreleased.

Bitter:Sweet – Trouble

Production and sound on this track reminds me of Air.  Laidback, smooth but also vibrant with silky smooth vocals from Ginger Mackenzie

Biography:

What do you get when Texas girl moves to Berlin?A sexy and sensual mix of poetic, heartfelt, sometimes smooth sometimes gritty, and sometimes coquettish Pop, Nu jazz and Alternative! Ginger Mackenzie has found her voice! If you love Kate Bush, Feist, Regina Spektor, Suzanne Vega and music in this genre, you will love this record!

The Ginger Mackenzie of the past was compared to Jewel and Dido, but the sultry voiced slightly neurotic European influenced Ginger Mackenzie is artistically treading into Kate Bush territory. At the same time, Ginger somehow remains true to her signature catchy melodies and thought provoking lyrical style.

Ginger Mackenzie is back with her first album in nearly 5 years. We think you’re gonna love it!

Landing Gear was produced by Guy Sternberg in Berlin and features an 18 piece Berlin orchestra. This album is a sonic treat for music lovers!

MySpace:	http://www.myspace.com/gingermackenzie
CDBaby:	http://cdbaby.com/found?allsearch=ginger+mackenzie

Ginger Mackenzie – Inside View 

This track has a Saint Germain vibe to it.   Here is a short bio on Parov Stelar from last.fm:

Parov Stelar aka Marcus Füreder lives and works in Linz / Austria. Interesting themes and structures preferably move in the protecting environment of the underground. Right where enough space and stages can be found for growth and development. The freedom of jazz combined with the groove of house and breakbeat describes the character of Parov Stelar. The main theme is clearly defined, high quality music engaged in functionality. Parov’s productions addresses the DJ at the club as well as the listener in his easy chair and – he is spinning his well selected vinyls across the world. Parov Stelar is the head of Etage Noir Recordings.
myspace.com/stelar1

 Wolf Myer Orchestra & Parov Stelar – SoulGate (ft. Lillith)

If you like Koop, Waldeck, Nicola Conte you’ll enjoy this track by King Kooba. This track as a nice hip, jazzy, downtempo vibe with breathy vocals.

A little more info from King Kooba’s wiki:

King Kooba is the duo of producer Matt Harris (DJ Shuff) and Charlie Tate. They are an electronica DJ duo from the United Kingdom. Legend says that they were formed over a pint of beer at Charlie’s Mom’s pub in London, England. They are currently signed to the Om Records label, and have done work for many of their compilations, such as the Om Lounge series. Their style consists of

a mixture of funk, soul, latin, jazz, and hip hop, with some electronic elements such as synthesizers and drum machines. Some of their music, such as the song “Blue Mosque”, are influenced by Middle Eastern.

[audio:http://www.audiodrums.com/audio/King_Kooba_ Fooling_Myself_Easy_Access_Orchestra_Mix.mp3]

[download]

[myspace]

Jazz lounge (think KOOP) and 1920′s era motifs like Tango and Swing are the instruments of inspiration on the latest album release from Viennese producer Waldeck entitled, “Ballroom Stories”. If you like St. Germain, Koop, and Nicola Conte you will definitely fall in love with this album.

[audio:http://highrize.wordpress.com/files/2007/12/waldeck-why-did-we-fire-that-gun.mp3]

[download]

[myspace]

[Buy Now: Ballroom Stories]

  From Australia comes Hermitude with their Trip Hop/Jazz/Koop influenced downtempo grooves.

Solid production from the boys from downunder who are currently signed to Elefant Traks.  They have also just released a new EP titled, “Rare Sightings”

 [audio:http://highrize.wordpress.com/files/2007/11/hermitude-dubs-theme.mp3]

[download]

[myspace]

Buy Album: Rare Sightings

Lets see, where to start… I’ve been following Musetta (formely named, “Pan”) for over three years now. I stumbled upon an Italian musical festival for unsigned artistes online and was blown away by how Musetta out-shined the competition (they took first place by the way) and were really in a league of their own. Ophelia’s song is a balled set to blissful electronica. More posts for Musetta to come, stay tuned…

Musetta – Ophelia’s Song

 Nice mix of samples, loops and real instrumentation. This track mixes 1930′s swing/Cab Calloway coolness, old big band music, electronic wizardry, and modern beats.