Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond once again invites us to join him in the obscure pleasures of little-known pop, R&B, and jazz instrumental sides of the '60s and '70s with this collection. A number of the selections featured on Return of the Instro-Hipsters are so obscure that even Saloman isn't sure just who is responsible for them (though he offers some educated guesses on the artists behind such names as Sharks, Oliver Bone, and the Masked Phantom), but there are a good share of solid grooves and kicky melodies to be found here from a number of gifted little-knowns. If you went to the movies in the '70s, "Soul Thing" by Tony Newman will sound familiar, while flautist Harold McNair solos over a Dave Brubeck-influenced piano groove on "The Hipster," Jerry Allen demonstrates new uses for game calls on "Fuzzy Duck," Thunder Road's synthesized version of "Peter Gunn" beats Art of Noise's variation on the theme by more than 15 years, "The Brooke Bond Beat" by Cliff Adams may be the most swingin' tea commercial ever, and the Outer Limits serve up some tough, moody rock, appropriately titled "Black Boots".

32 Tracks. The Ventures, The Shadows, John Barry Seven, The Fentones, The Dakotas, Sandy Nelson, The Cannons, The Cougars, Norrie Paramor, The Packabeats, The Piltdown Men, B. Bumble & The Stingers, The Nu-Notes, Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra, The Federals and many more.

John Pizzarelli lays it all out in the title of his 2015 album: this tribute to Paul McCartney is designed for play in the smoky late-night hours, when everything turns sweet and mellow. Furthermore, this is a tribute to McCartney, not the Beatles. There isn't a Fab song to be found here, as Pizzarelli focuses entirely on Paul's solo work (for these intents and purposes, this includes Wings records), concentrating on the '70s but also sliding McCartney's Great American Songbook wannabe "My Valentine" into the mix. Pizzarelli digs up a few other obscurities – the early Wings song "Some People Never Know," the Speed of Sound deep cut "Warm and Beautiful" – and he also plays around with expectations, making "Let 'Em In" swing like mad and relaxing "Hi Hi Hi" so it doesn't rock, it grooves. He also invites Michael McDonald to sing on "Coming Up," which swaggers like Sinatra in Vegas, but for as delightful as that is, the key to the record's success is Pizzarelli himself, who delivers upon the laid-back promise of the title but is savvier than he needed to be, which is why Midnight McCartney satisfies.

Beatles fans love to explain that the key to the successful partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney was their contrasting songwriting personalities – Lennon was the tongue in cheek sardonic wit, McCartney the earnest balladeer. On John Pizzarelli Meets the Beatles, a sharply conceived tribute which sets the duo's classics in a jazz trio with big-band arrangements, the singer/guitarist hits the mark more often when he's taking on the Lennon persona. He approaches "Cant' Buy Me Love," "When I'm 64," and "Get Back" with a playful wink, jumping off his speedy melody lines and the rising brass sections for extended improvisational tradeoffs with pianist Ray Kennedy, and adding colorful touches like scatting and even ad libbing his own lyrical verses based on the originals.

Known for his mariachi-inspired easy listening sound, trumpeter Herb Alpert is one of the most successful instrumental performers in pop history. He is also one of the entertainment industry's canniest businessmen, having co-founded A&M Records – a label that ranks among the most prosperous artist-owned companies ever established – with partner Jerry Moss. Collection includes: The Lonely Bull (1962); South Of The Border (1964); Whipped Cream & Other Delights (1965); !!Going Places!! (1965); What Now My Love (1966); S.R.O (1966); The Beat Of The Brass (1968); Rise (1979); Fandango (1982); Bullish (1984); Keep Your Eye On Me (1987); Classics, Volume 1 (1987); Steppin' Out (Featuring Lani Hall) (2013); In The Mood (2014); Come Fly With Me (2015).

ESSENTIAL COLLECTION is an outstanding collection of timeless Pop and Rock hits refashioned into today’s hip Lounge/Downtempo style. These familiar songs, originally recorded by the biggest artists in the world, have been restyled into Cocktail Party anthems. Hear Norah Jones, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Bush, Depeche Mode, Green Day, U2, Coldplay, Nirvana, Madonna, Sinead O'Connor, Alanis Morissette, Prince and Cher chilled and stirred into one of the most original Lounge albums of the decade!

101 Strings Orchestra was a brand for a highly successful easy listening symphonic music organization, with a discography exceeding 150 albums and a creative lifetime of around 30 years beginning in 1957. 101 Strings had a trademark sound, focusing on melody with a laid-back ambiance most often featuring strings. Their LPs were individualized by the slogan "The Sound of Magnificence." The 101 Strings orchestra included 124 string instruments, and was conducted by Wilhelm Stephan.

Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo from London, formed in 1999. The duo consists of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synthesiser) and Will Gregory (synthesiser). Collection includes: Felt Mountain (2000); Black Cherry (2003); Supernature (2005); Seventh Tree (2008); Head First (2010); Tales Of Us (2013); Silver Eye (2017).

Gabriela Anders got her big break singing a duet with soft jazz giant Michael Franks, and like that new age patriarch, Anders wraps laid-back vocals around even more tranquil rhythms. It's all very calming and proficient and breezy. Wanting, her debut album, mixes bits of her Argentine heritage with late-'70s California jazz, so Brazilian music coasts along with soft and hazy saxophone fills and tapping percussion leads. It all can be very pretty, as the opening "Fire of Love" represents Anders at her most relaxed and relaxing.

Fausto Papetti was an Italian alto saxophone player. A jazz musician by formation, Papetti became widely known for producing instrumental covers of some of the most famous pop and jazz songs.Papetti reached the height of his popularity in the 1960s and 1970s. His albums were particularly successful in the European and Latin American markets. During the 1970s, Papetti's first greatest hits album, published in 1975, is to these days his best-selling album. His performance of the song "Love's Theme" (originally by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra) was featured on the breakbeat compilation "Ultimate Breaks and Beats". His influence on saxophone music was substantial and in the 1970s many imitators appeared, like Johnny Sax and Piergiorgio Farina.

19 tracks. Lorena Mckennitt, The Corrs, Clannad & Bono, Sarah Brightman, Kate Bush, Luar Na Lubre, Mike Oldfield, Maire Brennan, Mary Black, Christie Moore, Eliza Carthy, Caroline Lavelle, Sinéad O'Connor, Altan, Eddi Reader, Sharon Shannon & Hothouse Flowers, Eimear Quinn, Simple Minds.

Blank and Jones, the kings of laid back listening, return just in time for summer with their beautiful RELAX Edition 9 double album. They take you on a musical journey with their own unique sound. Call it chill out, Balearic, lounge, downbeat, tropical disco, beach house, bar grooves - this fantastic new artist album features timeless compositions, ready to be the soundtrack to your personal summer.

Bar jazz is not a term for a musical genre, it is rather a conceptual idea or a special mood. Let Dianne Reeves beguile with her confessional "You Taught My Heart To Sing" or Brazilian super star Eliane Elias with a tantalizing version of "How Insensitive". Relax even more with the warm sound of Miles Davis and the dignified style of Stan Getz. Now, grab a coctail and settle down in a comfortable lounge chair. All set for a perfect hour of bar jazz at its best.

After 75 million sales; four Grammy Awards; six World Music Awards; an Ivor Novello, an Oscar nomination, a Golden Globe nomination; and seven studio albums (plus the ‘Paint The Sky With Stars’ compilation) which have hit the upper echelons of charts all over the world, Enya will embark upon a new chapter in her spectacular career with the November 20th release of her new album Dark Sky Island. The Enya creative triumvirate – Enya, producer and sound engineer Nicky Ryan, and lyricist Roma Ryan – started work on the album in the spring of 2012. Inspired by Roma’s work on a series of poetry books themed around islands and specifically the island of Sark’s decision to be designated as a dark sky island, the album’s title track was the first song to be written for the collection. The album’s buoyantly optimistic first single ‘Echoes in Rain’ possesses an irresistible surge of globe-trotting euphoria which made it an obvious choice as the album’s lead track. While it shares the adventurous themes of Enya’s breakthrough hit ‘Orinoco Flow’, its rhythmic march instead celebrates the anticipation of a journey’s end. ‘Echoes in Rain’ also shares another coincide with its famous predecessor.

Third album from the acclaimed British Electronic rockers featuring vocal and musical assistance from Mark Lanegan, Will Oldham, Jason Pierce, Richard Hawley, Gibby Haynes and Mike Patton. Soulsavers began as more of an electronic affair, with Rich Machin partnering with studio engineer Ian Glover. Their sophomore album, It's Not How Far You Fall, It's How You Land set a new benchmark, threading Soul, Gospel, Rock, Jazz and Country into the mix and a matching spread of singers. Now, you must be prepared to follow Soulsavers even further, for Broken is even better, a future classic that delivers 13 tracks of wide-ranging majesty. Lanegan handles vocals on 10 of the album's tracks, joined by many guest collaborators.