Classical crossover quartet Escala (formerly Scala) rose to fame after reaching the final of Britain's Got Talent in 2008. Comprised of Victoria Lyon and Izzy Johnston (on violin), Chantal Leverton (viola) and Tasya Hodges (cello), their debut album has been produced by the one and only Grammy-winning Trevor Horn (Seal, Pet Shop Boys, Charlotte Church). Escala mixes highbrow classical compositions with accessible pop songs, offering a diverse array of music that spans Barber’s "Adagio for Strings", Handel’s "Sarabande" plus Wings’ "Live & Let Die" and Robert Miles’ "Children". More unlikely are the appearance of Rob Dougan’s "Clubbed To Death", Led Zeppelin’s "Kashmir" and Craig Armstrong’s haunting "Finding Beauty". The range is suitably impressive, and though these ladies don’t like pushing the envelope overly much, they do create a mood of lingering elegance and class. --Danny McKenna
£5.67
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After unleashing a smattering of mischievous 12s and EPs, bonafide British b-boy DJ Format finally gets around to making Music for the Mature B Boy, his debut long player. Anyone who has already sampled the wares of this cheekiest of beatmeisters will know what to expect, namely tons of solid, ass-shaking, hip-hop-fuelled funk, peppered with spicy scratches and oodles of soulful sauce. Embellishing his distinguished, bass-heavy beats with rap performances from starlets like Jurassic 5, Aspects, Abdominal and Fatski, Format takes us back to the "innocent" era of hip-hop when the likes of Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Biz Markie and Brand Nubian ruled the roost and it was all about raw, optimistic sounds and hype lyrics. Though the vocal cuts here are unquestionably strong, the instrumentals are also packed with enough energy and funk to ensure they're irresistibly potent: vocal-less cuts like "Last Bongo in Brighton" and "Here Comes the Jazz" are classics in their own right. From the opener "Ill Culinary Behaviour" to the remix of Format's classic cut "English Lesson" at the end, this album is stacked full of good times and happy vibes and it's one party you'll want to be invited to this year. --Paul Sullivan
£7.95
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