FREE UK SHIPPING OVER £35!The Spin Doctor Europadisc's Weekly Column
The Classical Music of Ukraine: A Brief Overview
2nd March 2022
Amid the geopolitical turmoil and torment of the last week, much attention has been given in the music press to the activities of several high-profile Russian musical artists, as well as to gestures of support for the population of Ukraine. However, for centuries now, the cultural life of Ukraine has been overshadowed and dominated by the culture (both Russian and Soviet) of its much larger neighbour. Music-lovers may know that a wide range of famous classical musicians were born in Ukraine, from Prokofiev and Horowitz to... read more
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How to Love the Viol Consort
22nd February 2022
What does the term ‘English Music’ bring to mind? Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Britten, perhaps Holst and Walton as well? Or maybe, for those with a mischievous sense of humour, the sort of music that the uncompromisingly modernist composer Elisabeth Lutyens (1906–1983) waspishly dismissed as ‘the cowpat school’? Then again, for those with a taste for vocal music, the ‘Golden Age’ of Tudor and Elizabethan choral music will readily come to mind: Taverner, Tallis, Byrd, Tomkins and Gibbons, to name but a few – and, stretching... read more
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How to Deal with an Earworm
15th February 2022
I have an earworm problem. A tune has become stuck in my head, and I haven’t been able to get rid of it for weeks. Neuroscientists have a grown-up name for this problem – Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI) – but ‘earworm’ feels more appropriate. The tune seems to insinuate its way into one's mind, wriggling around while stubbornly resisting all attempts to evict it. On the other hand, the scientific acronym is arguably most fitting: INMI = in me.
My particular earworm is a well-known passage from a very famous... read more
How to Design a Record Cover
9th February 2022
When people buy recorded music in physical form – whether it’s a vinyl LP, a compact disc, a DVD or Blu-ray – they are not merely buying music for listening: they are making an investment in a product. And that investment (of time, and money) is reflected in the care given to the presentation of that product by the record companies involved. Label managers, art directors, graphic designers, editors, A&R executives and executive VPs all play their part in determining aspects of the album’s final appearance. Sometimes... read more
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Black Swans
1st February 2022
A record label devoted to the promotion of classically-trained African-American musicians, often in classical repertoire: it might sound like a 21st-century idea in response to the ongoing reassessment of a long-neglected neglected section of the artistic community. In fact, this was the aim of a short-lived but highly influential record company launched 101 years ago. The Black Swan label, founded by Harry Pace in 1921, also recorded jazz and blues musicians, but among its most notable achievements was the platform it... read more
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