24 Albums of December - MAX RICHTER - Voyager: The Essential Max Richter

How on earth are we supposed to select 24 albums representative of Fascinating Rhythm’s 2019? Trust us that it’s an unenviable task, but we’ve given it a good ol’ go. In my opinion this year has been a vintage one for music, so in truth we’d could have picked 100 or even 200 great records all worthy of inclusion. For example, we didn’t include releases by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Lizzo, Deerhunter, Steve Gunn, The National, black midi or Sacred Paws – whose 2019 album I’m still obsessed with. So, there’s a LOT of great stuff we didn’t include, but we’ve done our best to present a span of selections from every area of the store, including some great local and wider Canadian releases. Between now and Christmas Eve, we hope you enjoy the tracks we’ve put together for you.

For all your music needs, go to Fascinating Rhythm, located in downtown Nanaimo.

19/ MAX RICHTER – Voyager: The Essential Max Richter

A best-of collection might seem an unusual choice for inclusion in a run-down of 2019’s best music, but when it comes to the extraordinary sound of the great German-born British composer, Max Richter, we at Fascinating Rhythm would love it to reach as many ears as possible. So, what better way could there be than to introduce his work to those unfamiliar with it than this magnificent 2-CD anthology of his finest moments? Combining classical music with electronic elements, Max is at the forefront of contemporary classical composers, and so prolific it’s hard to keep up with his consistently majestic output. Since 2003, including his soundtrack work – the most recent being for the Brad Pitt sci-fi epic, Ad Astra – Max has issued in the region of 30 albums, one of which, 2015’s Sleep, was an eight hour epic he performed live in its entirety at the Great Wall of China on October 4th. He has also composed dozens of other scores that have not received a commercial release, so it would appear the man just does not stop work. It’s almost impossible to select a definitive piece from the huge 43-track, 158-minute collection, but we’ve gone with the lovely opening piece, On the Nature of Daylight.

Dave Morrison
Fascinating Rhythm
51 Commercial St, Nanaimo.
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