Phoenix Rising: The 2019 Platinum Vinyl Awards 1st Qtr - Instrumental

Without Words. Instrumental music is the next up in our 1st Quarter wrap. Here no words are needed to make a giant impact.

Instrumental Music

• Celldweller - Remixed Upon A Blackstar Instrumentals
• Color Theory - The Majesty of Our Broken Past Instrumentals
• Hammock - Universalis
• Andy Hunter - Presence, Volume 3
• Scandroid - The Darkness
• Mark and Sarah Tillman - Morning Sun, Rising Tide Instrumentals

The industrial genius of Celldweller, the 80's synth of Scandroid and Color Theory, and the contemplative styles of Hammock and Andy Hunter. Just sit back and enjoy the mood. Alternative is next. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

A Perfect Scale: The 2016 Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Quarter: Electronic-Industrial

We return to our rollout of the 4th Quarter Pool entries for 2016. These are the eligible releases for the months of July-September. We are going on to Electronic-Industrial, the darker side of synthpop. There were five entries here as well.

Electronic-Industrial

• K Gautier - The Prevailing
• Andy Hunter - Presence
• NYVES - Pressure
• Salt of The Sound - Meditations, Volume 2
• Jeremy James Whitaker - Broken Hearts

This is a stacked genre this quarter. Gautier, Hunter, NYVES, and Salt of The Sound all struck perfect 5's and they will be in the finals. That's 5 of Seven Slots, so this will probably be a genre buster. Whitaker fell just short at 4.75, so a good chance exists that it may make the finals as well. Up next is Hard Rock and Metal. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Without You

Welcome once again to our regularly scheduled edition of Music Video Monday. We have three great videos for you today and for one of them I would issue a mandatory hanky alert. First up we have electronic master Andy Hunter and his best vocalist Beth Bullock collaborating once more in perfect Harmony.

Harmony drops Tomorrow, so this is a bit of a scoop for us.  Now for the next video don't say I didn't warn you. Grab your hanky. This is a tear-jerker of a video from For King and Country. 

Finally we crank things up with Colossus which helps us to exorcise our demons.

That concludes this edition of Music Video Monday. We will return next week with an all new batch of videos. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Heat Advisory: The 2013 Fourth Quarter - Dancing Folk

The Fourth Quarter of 2013 is complete, at least as far as The Platinum Vinyl Awards are concerned. The beginning of October closes one year and begins another, and the turning of the leaves also turns a page for those wishing to nab an Elpy. Wait til next years awards.

We begin our recap with at least one genre which didn't have enough entries to make a single post. This quarter is no exception. While one genre, Children's Music, didn't have any entries this quarter, and only two entries all year, making it either a candidate for extinction this year or the subject of the first ever PVA coin flip, Dance and Folk Music had only a handful of entries.

We begin with Folk and Folk Rock, which has, among its 3 entries this month, two Perfect 5's. The list:

Folk/Folk Rock

• The Civil Wars - The Civil Wars [+digital booklet]
• Wayne Haun - Old Soul
• Skyler & Kim Walker Smith - Home

The Civil Wars is definitely the front runner, Haun could surprise, because Jazz in CCM is rare, and got classified as folk. Who knows. 

As you know by now, Dance got split into two last year, and this year may get split into three, due to the abundance of remix albums.

Dance/Synthpop

• Andy Hunter - Glowing Collision, V2
• Thousand Foot Krutch - Metamorphosiz: The End Remixes, Vol. 2

Electronic/Industrial

• The Digital Age - Evening & Morning
• Hardie Avenue - Party At The End Of The World

The Digital Age is made of members of the former David Crowder Band and is doing worship with an electronic trance twist. Hardie Avenue has a few releases under its belt already, but is among the bands new to The Night Beat.

We're off and running as we wrap up the Fourth Quarter. Stick with me. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: July 2013

The end is near. The end of the 4th Platinum Vinyl Awards eligibility year, that is. This is the time when a lot of upsets come in. Just when you think you have it all wrapped up along comes an entry in September that steals the show.

Missed The Mark

• Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir - Love Lead The Way 3.75 Emeralds
• Flyleaf - Who We Are 3.75 Emeralds
• Jonathan and Emily Martin - Set Your Eyes 3.75 Emeralds
• Mouth of the South - Transparency 3.75 Emeralds
• Owl City - The Midsummer Station Acoustic 3.75 Emeralds
• Relient K - Collapsible Lung 3.25 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Amazing Grace (My Chains are gone) 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Holy Hip Hop, Volume 16 3.75 Emeralds

A few surprises here. I never ever expected to confuse a BTC album with one from Hillsong. The Power is gone from this release. Flyleaf's new EP with a new lead singer. Underwhelmed on that one too. The biggest disappointment was Relient K. A totally new sound, one that no one really expects. Too poppy. We go to the other end of the spectrum

Pure Platinum

• Wayne Haun - Old Soul 5 Emeralds
• Andy Hunter - Glowing Collision, Volume 2 5 Emeralds

Hunter almost goes without saying. A word on Wayne Haun. This one was promoted on Christian sites, yet the album is very cool Jazz, secular covers.

Semi-Precious Metal

• Billy Buchanan - Fact, Fiction and other Contradictions 4.75 Emeralds
• The Burial - In The Taking of Flesh 4.50 Emeralds
• Everfound - Everfound 4.50 Emeralds
• Falling Up - Hours 4.75 Emeralds
• Falling Up - Midnight on Earthship 4.75 Emeralds
• My Heart to Fear - Algorithm 4.75 Emeralds
• These Hearts - Yours To Take 4.50 Emeralds
• Hillsong Live - Glorious Ruins 4.50 Emeralds
• Dre Murray - Gold Rush: Maybe One Day 4.75 Emeralds
• Petra - 40th Anniversary 4.00 Emeralds
• Phinehas - The Last Word is Yours to Speak 4.50 Emeralds
• Seabird - Troubled Days 4.50 Emeralds
• Shine Bright Baby - Dreamers 4.75 Emeralds
• Aaron Shusht - Morning Rises 4.75 Emeralds
• Oh Sleeper - The Titan 4.50 Emeralds
• Skyler and Kim Walker-Smith - Home 4.50 Emeralds
• Thousand Foot Krutch - Metamorphosiz: The End Remixes, Volume 2 4.75 Emeralds
• Trin-I-Tee 5:7 - Trin-I-Tee 5:7 Hits 4.50 Emeralds
• Kathy Troccoli - Worship Songs: Tis So Sweet 4.75 Emeralds
• We Came As Romans - Tracing Back Roots 4.50 Emeralds

That does it for July. Caught Up. If you come back you will see the Amazon links appear for purchasing and helping the WENC Night Beat at the same time. I want to get it out immediately. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Groundhog Blues: Winter 2013 Releases - Dance

We move on now to our single genre postings. Though there is no cut and dried number, I think if a genre can come up with over 5 qualified entries then it deserves to shine on its own. Since Hip Hop had only five it was teamed with rock.

Dance had seven. Now the final breakdown hasn't been made, so I don't know which of the two subgroups these are in now (in this years Platinum Vinyl Awards Dance has been split into Dance-Synthpop and Electronic-Industrial). Anyway, here is the list.

Dance Music

• 287 - It's a Pity You Couldn't Stay
• Arrows & Sound - Arrows and Sound
• Capital Kings - Capital Kings [+digital booklet]
• Byron "Mr. Talkbox" Chambers - Show Me the Way
• Andy Hunter - Glowing Collision 
• DJ Magellan - New Frontiers (feat Lara Landon)
• Britt Nicole - Gold EP
• Matthew Parker - Meet Your Maker
• Twenty One Pilots - Vessel
• V.Rose - The Electro-Pop Deluxe

Britt Nicole has two entries in two different categories. Though both are named Gold, this one is a remix EP while the other is a full length album. These were all great releases, though you always got to think that Andy Hunter is among the big contenders. We still have Alternative, Hard Rock, Modern Worship and Adult Contemporary to go. And they are big. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: March 2013

March brings us to the midway point of eligibility for the 4th Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards. For those new readers of the WENC Night Beat, the Platinum Vinyl Awards, now in its fourth year, runs from October 1 - September  30.

Before we get to the entries a little housecleaning. Sparrow Records released a series of Greatest Hits albums this month, entitled "Icon", and the initial releases were of Steven Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant, Newsboys, and CeCe Winans. As Amazon is carrying them in CD only and no samples were available, they receive no rating and are not eligible. Also among the unrated and ineligible releases are new "Deluxe Editions" of KJ-52 Dangerous (made initial pool for current awards), and Francesca Battistelli's Hundred More Years (made the second PVA pool). For the same reasons as the Icon series, these are also unrated. There is one last ineligible release, and that is Family Force Five, The Third. Not only couldn't I find a audio sample, it is just a rearranged version of III, which didn't get into the pool. Now onto those that did get an Emerald Rating, though it wasn't high enough and it is said that these releases are:

Missing The Mark

• Phil King - Phil King 3.75 Emeralds
• Don Moen - The Ultimate Collection 3.75 Emeralds
• Alexis Spright - L.O.L. (Living Out Loud) 3.50 Emeralds
• Various Artists - The Bible: Music Inspired By The Epic Mini Series 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Jesus, Firm Foundation: Hymns of Worship [+digital booklet] 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Nashville Publicity Group Presents Ten 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - iWorship Now/Next 3.75 Emeralds

Now once again, all of these releases are pretty good. It's just that pretty good isn't enough to make the cut among the Platinum Vinyl Awards. On the complete other end of the spectrum are those albums that completely wowed me. These albums are

Pure Platinum

• Audio Adrenaline - Kings & Queens [+video] 5 Emeralds
• Andy Hunter - Glowing Collision 5 Emeralds
• JJ Heller - Loved (Deluxe Version) 5 Emeralds

Of course not all albums are perfect, and not all albums miss the mark. Most of them lie somewhere in between, in a place we call

Semi-Precious Metal

• The Advice - The Advice 4.25 Emeralds
• Bethel Music - Without Words [+video] 4.75 Emeralds
• Citizens - Citizens 4.50 Emeralds
• I am Empire - Anchors 4.50 Emeralds
• Fit For A King - Creation/Destruction 4.75 Emeralds
• Hope for the Dying - Aletheia 4.75 Emeralds
• Kingdom - Kingdom 4.50 Emeralds
• Shawn McDonald - The Analog Sessions 4.25 Emeralds
• Glenn Packiam - The Mystery Of Faith 4.50 Emeralds
• Passion - Passion: Let the Future Begin (Deluxe Edition) [+video] 4.50 Emeralds
• Seventh Day Slumber - Love & Worship 4.50 Emeralds
• Stryper - Second Coming (Re-Recorded) 4.75 Emeralds
• Various - Worship Central: Let It Be Known (Live) 4.75 Emeralds
• JJ Weeks Band - All Over the World 4.50 Emeralds
• Darlene Zschech - Revealing Jesus 4.75 Emeralds

That completes this edition of Night Beat Rewind. No Fooling. It's nice to be up to date and on schedule right now. Click on the linked titles to buy from Amazon and support The Night Beat at the same time. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Nominations Begin: Electronic/Industrial Video of The Year

Just because something is created on a synthesizer doesn't mean that it's dance music. It usually is but sometimes it is Trance (which just puts you into one), or Ambient (mood music), darkwave and Industrial (hard and loud). This is to honor those pioneers in music.

The nominees for the 3rd Annual Platinum Vinyl Award for Electronic/Industrial Video of The Year are:

Black Heart Hearse by White Collar Sideshow

Find Me by Anchor and Braille

Poison and Wine (Civil Wars Cover) by Satellites and Sirens

Spiral (feat Beth Bullock) by Andy Hunter

Sublime Currency by Abandoned Pools

That concludes the Electronic/Industrial Video Nominations. Hip Hop and Rap is next. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Warm Tones: The 2012 4th Quarter - Dance

We continue with the announcement, genre by genre, of those albums which made the cut for the initial pool of the Platinum Vinyl Awards in the 4th Quarter, which is July 1-September 30. The full eligibility year for each PVA is October 1-September 30.

Today we move on to the Dance genre, which includes techno, synthpop, ambient, house, progressive, trance and industrial. Basically everything that revolves around a synthesizer. This was a very good category this quarter, with eleven nominees. Since I hope to narrow the choices in each genre down to seven finalists, you see this means I have work to do. Without further ado, the initial dance pool entrants for the Fourth Quarter are:

• Abandoned Pools - Sublime Currency
• Anchor and Braille - The Quiet Life
• An Epic No Less - Echo of Love
• Capital Kings - I Feel So Alive
• Group 1 Crew - Fearless
• Andy Hunter - Glow
• Mandisa - Get Movin
• Owl City - The Midsummer Station
• Satellites and Sirens - The Covers
• Beckah Shae - Rest
• White Collar Sideshow - The WitcHunt

Like I said, this quarter alone furnished enough entries and more, and there are three other quarters of entries. A lot of work to do on this one. Our next genre, however, is Alternative, and that is the king of the 4th Quarter, with a whopping seventeen possible entries. This genre will cause quite a lot of sour grapes. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Love Is All

Welcome to an all new edition of Music Video Monday. It feels good to be back to the usual lighthearted posts, with White Collar Sideshow kind of dominating last week. I believe in their message of facing and confronting addictions, and so, despite the tough message, it needed to be shared. Plus it is some awesome Industrial Music.

We have four videos this time around, as we continue with Fourth Quarter Videos. We begin with Je'kob Washington and Love Is All, from his Faith EP.

From Hip Hop/Rap, we move on to Alternative and House of Heroes. This is Touch This Light  from Cold Hard Want.

Stephen Christian of Anberlin has a Sythpop/Alternative Side Project called Anchor and Braille. This is Find Me from the just released album The Quiet Life.

And finally, we move into Electronica for real, with British DJ Andy Hunter. This is Spiral from his recent EP Glow.

That concludes this edition of Music Video Monday. Thank you to all my lurkers, readers and followers. Remember you can always keep the beat going by following me on Twitter or Facebook. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: July 2012

To all my new readers and fans coming from various places including online sweepstakes, I welcome you to the latest edition of Night Beat Rewind.A little later than I would like, but at least it's within the first ten days. As readership continues to grow, this introductory note becomes more and more important.

Night Beat Rewind is my monthly quick hits rating column for the releases of the Previous Month (the August column is for the July releases, how could it be otherwise since August is in Progress). I split the releases into three categories:

1. Those Releases which failed to make the initial bar for consideration in the annual Platinum Vinyl Awards.
2. Those Releases GUARANTEED to make the final 7 nominees vying for PVA consideration by virtue of being awarded a PERFECT 5 EMERALD RATING
3. The rest of the releases which met the minimum threshold of 4 Emeralds to be included in the PVA Judging Pool.

Now a word regarding category one. As I say every time, this is award worthy releases I am talking about. However, as regarding enjoyable listening is considered, unless those that missed the mark were under 3 Emeralds, you shouldn't be concerned about wasting your money on a bad album. With that being said, we begin with those albums which

Missed The Mark

• Clint Brown - Release 3.75 Emeralds
• Kari Jobe - The Acoustic Sessions [+video] 3.75 Emeralds
• Capital Lights - Rhythm 'N' Moves 3.75 Emeralds
• Your Memorial - Redirect 3.75 Emeralds

As you can tell by the rating of 3.75 Emeralds these releases just missed the mark. You can be secure knowing that these four are all solid albums, just not award worthy.

This month none of the releases blew me away, so NONE of the releases fell into the second category. There were no PURE PLATINUM releases.

Semi-Precious Metal

• A Bullet For Pretty Boy - Symbiosis 4.75 Emeralds
• Anchor & Braille - The Quiet Life 4.75 Emeralds
• Myesha Chaney - Take Him to the World 4.25 Emeralds
• Flatfoot 56 - Toil 4.50 Emeralds
• Future of Forestry - Young Man Follow 4.50 Emeralds
• Gideon - Milestone 4.25 Emeralds
• Hillsong Live - Cornerstone (Live) 4.25 Emeralds
• House of Heroes - Cold Hard Want [+digital booklet] 4.50 Emeralds
• Andy Hunter - Glow 4.50 Emeralds
• KB - Weight & Glory 4.50 Emeralds
• Cheri Keaggy - So I Can Tell 4.50 Emeralds
• P.O.D. - Murdered Love 4.50 Emeralds
• Petra - More Power to Ya: 30th Anniversary Edition 4.50 Emeralds
• Petra - This Means War: 25th Anniversary Edition 4.50 Emeralds
• Rhett Walker Band - Come to the River 4.75 Emeralds
• Je'kob Washington - Faith 4.50 Emeralds
• Wolves at the Gate - Captors 4.75 Emeralds

That concludes this edition of Rewind. You can click on the links and purchase from Amazon. When you do, you will support The Night Beat at the same time. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.