Blackbox is the fourth studio album by the Norwegian cult prog rock outfit Major Parkinson. Come over to the passenger side, open the lid and embark on an unparalleled journey through cinematic, progressive soundscapes and otherworldly melodies. In the able hands of sound maestro Yngve Leidulv Sætre, this Blackbox has been forged in stainless dark matter and is filled to the brim with musical excess. It is a treasure chest pulled patiently from the ocean floor, through shoals of curious starfish. It’s a night ride through a snowy and moonlit mountain pass, under the pale flicker of oddly shaped constellations.

The encounter of two geniuses is the background for this album. In 1739 chamber lutenist Silvius Leopold Weiss visited Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig where they competed in friendly improvisation contests.

When this recording of Der fliegende Holländer first appeared in 1968, Gramophone magazine declared it “as perfect as we have any right to demand”. Otto Klemperer conceives the score on an epic scale, and Theo Adam, reaching deep into the heart of the world-weary Dutchman, meets his match in the young and incandescent Senta of Anja Silja.

Denis Matsuev won the International Tchaikovsky Competition back in 1998 at the age of 23 and has continued to plough the Romantic piano concerto furrow with colossal technique and seemingly unstoppable energy. A regular piano partner of Valery Gergiev, he’s spent much of his career working his way through the great Russian piano concertos. Here, Rachmaninoff’s über-Romantic Concerto no. 2, all surging climaxes and sweeping melodies, sits alongside Pr

The overall winner of the Geneva Competition (unanimously awarded First Prize) and the Busoni Competition (first Asian pianist to win First Prize since it began in 1949).

The impetuous duo Repicco (violin/theorbo), a discovery of the eeemerging programme, evokes here the tragic destinies of composers who were murderers or murder victims. Plunge into the seething atmosphere of Baroque Italy to meet the extravagant personalities of Alessandro Stradella, Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi Mealli and Ignazio Albertini!

Recorded Live from their spiritual home of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, The King’s Singers present an album of festive Christmas music, blending ancient and modern works with traditional favourites and new arrangements.The disc also features A Thanksgiving by former King’s Singer Bob Chilcott, which is performed here alongside the National Youth Chamber Choir of Great Britain.

After their first recording on Alpha, Conversations , featuring rarely heard pieces by Quentin and Guillemain, Anna Besson (flute), Louis Creac'h (violin), Robin Pharo (viola da gamba) and Jean Rondeau (harpsichord) continue to introduce the public to the riches of a repertory that has been too long ignored, with this recording of Georg Philipp Telemann's Nouveaux Quatuors parisiens.At the height of his glory, the German composer left Hamburg in 1737 to spend time in Paris and appreciate the city's vibrant musical life.

„Long Live The Angels“ is a mesmerising journey through the triumphs and tragedies of the last four years of Emeli Sandé's extraordinary life. Exultant in its delivery and bold in its intent, the record is steeped in an unreserved sense of freedom and self-discovery. It's from that feeling of freedom that new single "Hurts" was born, an uplifting track brimming with heart and soul. "This entire album is about me not holding back and not censoring myself, and "Hurts" is an explosion, it's just… real talk," explains Sandé.

While still a teenager, Emeli Sandé got her fi rst big break as a singer and songwriter as she was named a contest winner for a BBC songwriter contest and record-deal offers soon started pouring in. But instead of signing to a label, Sandé put her music career on hold and embarked on a six-year degree in medicine. Studying at Glasgow University, she specialized in clinical neuroscience cause I really like all the brain stuff. As evidenced on her debut album Our Version of Events, she holds a deep affi nity for all the heart stuff and soul stuff as well. Defying categorization, she appeals to fans of pop, credible singer-songwriters, soul, dance and everything in between.

Few contemporary albums bare as particular a narrative as "The Lagos Music Salon". The new album by the superb chanteuse Somi, finds her breaking new ground with a hybrid style of music that organically integrates the essence of jazz and soul with the musical depth of her African heritage. "It's the first time ever that I put all other pursuits on hold to focus solely on the creative process," says Somi, who moved to Lagos, Nigeria from her New York home with a passionate desire to find a new direction for her vision and voice.

Epica’s latest EP, The Solace System, contains six tracks that were recorded during the sessions for their most recent full-length album, The Holographic Principle. Though these tracks were not considered the best fit for the album, they take the faster, heavier Epica we were introduced to in that album to even further extremes. Isaac Delahaye’s guitar solos are stronger and more intricate than ever, while Arien van Weesenbeek earns his nickname of “The Beast” ever more fully.

Building her rise to fame in 2012, Christina Perri has put together a collection of classic Christmas tunes, pairs an all-new seasonal staple, "Something About December" alongside unique renditions of such Yuletide favorites as The Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling" and Charles Brown's "Please Come Home For Christmas". Produced by multiple Grammy Award winner David Hodges (Evanescence, Kelly Clarkson), the 6-track collection is further highlighted by a new take on the John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band classic, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", featuring choral contributions from such diverse artists as Michelle Branch, LP, Bushwalla, and Boys Like Girls' Martin Johnson.

"Insomniac" is the fourth studio album by American Punk Rock band Green Day. Though it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1996, "Insomniac" did not have the sales endurance of its predecessor "Dookie", largely due to its slightly darker lyrical tone and its heavier and more abrasive sound. The album has sold over 2,100,000 copies in the United States according to Billboard as of 2012.