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Rodrigo y Gabriela, "Live in Japan" (ATO Records) Rodrigo y Gabriela are a very unlikely success story in the music biz. Two Mexican guitarists move to Dublin, play on the streets acoustic versions of heavy metal songs and end up topping the charts in Ireland and selling over half-a-million albums worldwide. But that is the real story of Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero. And while they are working on a new studio album back in Mexico, Rodrigo y Gabriela have a new CD-DVD out of their live Japanese debut at Tokyo’s Duo club in March of this year. It’s amazing to hear – and see – how two acoustic guitars can get an audience so excited. – picked by Gisele Regatao [Amazon] Lost In The Trees, "All Alone in An Empty House" (Trekky Records) Lost in the Trees is a group from North Carolina that will confound anyone who likes neat categories for music. Their off-kilter orchestrations and sense of being adrift in time might place them in the growing freak-folk movement, but there’s also a hint of Sufjan Steven’s blend of indie rock and classical orchestration. The songwriting revolves around the life of singer Ari Picker, and his autobiographical tales of parental abuse, bipolar disorder, strange mathematical gifts and the redeeming power of music are somehow both painfully intimate and universal. – picked by John Schaefer [MySpace] Recomposed by Carl Craig & Moritz Von Oswald, “Music by Maurice Ravel & Modest Mussorgsky” (Deutsche Grammophon) Classical record collectors are said to be in love with their vinyl albums – but probably not this kind. Two celebrated techno DJs – Detroit’s Carl Craig and Berlin's Moritz von Oswald -- have “recomposed” a 1987 recording by the Berlin Philharmonic led by conductor Herbert von Karajan. It’s the third part of an ongoing series of re-conceptualized recordings that the prestigious classical label Deutsche Grammophon has been putting out. It’s only available as an import here in the US but worth seeking out. Given access to the immense back catalogue of the label, the two DJs decided to remix a couple of the biggest classical hits around: Ravel's "Bolero" and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." Here’s a bit from the latter piece. – picked by Brian Wise [Amazon]