Raw and honest. Most of the songs were written in a matter of weeks after leaving the 'real world' to pursue his passion in music. Having previously been involved in music but on an extended hiatus, Artist poured out an album that had been cooped up inside him for years. The album was recorded quickly but focused on brief intense moments of clarity. The spontaneity and freshness of the album comes through, a welcome relief from the overproduced products in today's market. Artist's album ranges from introspective literary pieces that read as short stories in Lost (Classic Stories), to a love between a woman and a Boy with Guitar, to a tragic man who never got a chance in Farmer Son, and to a light hearted goodbye to the 'real world' in Can't Fake it No Mo. Proud of what he accomplished so quickly, Artist is eager to begin his new life as a singer/songwriter.

Track Listing of songs: Two Bartenders; Woman's Touch; Stronger Than Wood; Harleys and Horses; Lovin' You Saves Me; Hurt All Over; What Did I Forget to Say; Toucan Dance; Proudly Waving; Jose, Jim, and Jack; I Wish I'd Never Seen Her; Christmas Deer;

Track Listing of songs: All Things; Autumn Walk; Longest Night; Cheers; Lucky Corner; Standchen; London 5:30; Sweet Georgia Brown; La Polka Du Roi; Maple Leaf Rag; Picasso Blues; Lover Man;

Fans of Zap Mama, Sade and/or Soul II Soul will probably flip for this sister duo from Bordeaux, France. Though they tend to get billed as a hip-hop act, their music is much more complex than that: it's smooth like Sade (but much more melodically interesting), bass-heavy like Soul II Soul (but much more lyrically interesting), and "Afropean" like Zap Mama (but much less interesting; sorry ladies). "Demain," the lead-off track on Princesses Nubiennes, is a smooth jazz groove that is more tasty than nourishing, but there's a fair amount of both textural and lyrical complexity to "Makeda." "Tabou" is actually an adapted (and, frankly, much improved) version of Sade's "Sweetest Taboo" that features some excellent French rapping. "Embrasse-Moi" is both excruciatingly sexy and highly rhythmically sophisticated. Sure, they have a mildly distressing tendency to layer everything with an ultra-smooth surface sheen, but it's forgivable; chances are good that they'll rough things up a bit as they mature. In the meantime, just give up and wallow in the succulent loveliness of tracks like "Demain" and "Les Portes du Souvenir." ~ Rick Anderson The debut album from 2 French sisters, Les Nubians. Inspired by Public Enemy, De La Soul, Arrested Development, Soul II Soul, Les Nubians are a new breed of 'Afro-European' style Hip-Hop and Soul. Features French rappers MC Solaar & Mel Groove. Personnel: Phil Hudson (guitar); Brian G. Wright , Everton Nelson, Sally Ward, Catherine Browning (violin); Andy Nice (viola); Gary Belfield (saxophone); Adrian Reid (piano); Chris Henry (drums); Thomas Dyani (percussion); Mounir Belkhir, Lee Hamblin (programming). Photographer: Piotr Sikora. Personnel: C. Lia Faussart, L.N. Faussart (vocals); Jean-Louis Aubert (acoustic guitar); Phil Hudson, Paolo Pondi (guitar); Everton Nelson, Catherine Browning, Sally Ward, Brian Wright (violin); Andrew Nice (viola); Gary Belfield (saxophone); Adrian Reid (piano); Herve Rakot (keyboards); John Thompson, Andy Hamill, Michael Alibo (bass); Thomas Dyani (percussion); Chris Henri (drums); Lee Hamblin, Mounir Belkhir (programming); Shy Laye Mane (background vocals). Producers: Les Nubians, Mounir Belkhir, Lee Hamblin.

Avoiding the sputter of careerist garage rock for a spectacularly bleary haunted house feel, It's About Time was a welcome alternative to art-punk, synth pop, and the power hunger of bands like X and the Cramps. That's not to say that the Pandoras didn't owe themselves to an extinct musical movement, but thanks mostly due to Paula Pierce, who fronted ...

Johnny Otis releases his first jazz recording since the highly successful "Spirit Of The Black Territory Bands" in 1992. He presents superb arrangements of classic songs such as "Bye Bye Blackbird," "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Summertime" along with new m Includes ...

Track Listing of songs: Rock Your Baby; Rock Your Baby; Rock Your Baby;

Audio Mixer: Darian Rundall. Recording information: Stall 2, Redondo Beach, CA. Another Damn Disappointment: Josh (vocals); Ross (guitar, background vocals); Artist (bass instrument, background vocals); John (drums, background vocals). Personnel: Josh (vocals); Tim Matson (background vocals).

Live Recording Audio Remixer: Jeff Ehrenberg. Photographers: Piper Ferguson; Starlite Desperation. Starlite Desperation: Dante Adrian (vocals, guitar); Jeff Klein (drums); Dana , Artist. Personnel: Dane Adrian (vocals, guitar); Dana Lacono (guitar); Arthur Butron (hand claps, background vocals); Jeff Ehrenberg (percussion, background vocals).

After the demise of Slint and numerous other bands in the early '90s Louisville scene, a number of offshoots emerged and went on to great things, many becoming heavily involved in the post-rock movement of Chicago. One such project, King ...

Photographer: Chris Fuller. Harkonen: Matt, Ben, Artist. Recording information: Uptone.

All songs written by Jim except "Circles," "Rodeo" (Vartanian/Varella), "Back" and "Happy" (Vartanian/Jim). Personnel: Artist, John G. Perry (vocals). Gringo: Jim (vocals, guitar); Leila Vartanian (vocals, bass); Tim Krause (drums).

French-Algerians have been some of the most powerful forces in hip-hop music in France, but heavy censorship has kept them underground in their native country. Faouzi Tarkhani is one of the first Algerian hip-hop artists to release a commercially successful ...

Indie rock in the late '90s was a rather splintered affair, with as many diverging streams as there were bands to invent them. In any such climate, it's incredible to come across a record that strikes right to the heart ...

Track Listing of songs: Cocktail Hour Intro; Fascinated; Hit-N-Run Lover; Now That We Found Love; Together Forever; Another Man; More Than a Woman; Babe We're Gonna Love Tonight; Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough; Spank; High Energy; Get Off; Your Love; Don't ...

Track Listing of songs: Sweet Talkin' Woman; Summer Nights; Blame It On the Boogie; Giving Up Giving In; I Can't Stop Lovin' You; Rasputin; Macarthur Park; Sandy; Love Don't Live Here Anymore; Now That We've Found Love; Lucky Stars; Rat Trap;