Author Archives: soulrocks
Janelle Monae
11th Aug 2010
Growing up, Janelle Monáe (born Janelle Robinson) felt constrained by the limited resources offered to her in her greater Kansas City, KS, home. When she finished high school, she moved to New York to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy with the intention of pursuing musical theater, but in 2004, after performing in a
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Posted in Artists
Tagged Cindi Mayweather, Janelle Monae, Outkast, Progressive Soul, Rhythmic Soul
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Jamie T
Jamie T With his appealingly lazy hip-hop vocal phrasing and his eclectic bedroom D.I.Y. musical palette, Jamie T. comes across at times like the mutant love child of the Streets‘ Mike Skinner and Badly Drawn Boy‘s Damon Gough. His clever pop sense is his own, however, and keeps the young South Londoner from sounding like a mash-up of his
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True Hip-Hop Stories: Pharoahe Monch
In this episode of True Hip-Hop Stories, Pharoahe Monch discussed the making of the Rawkus classic recording “Oh No” featuring Mos Def and Nate Dogg.
Posted in Other Stuff
Tagged D-Nice Production, Documentary, Hip-Hop, Pharoahe Monch, True Hip-Hop Stories
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Hot Hot Heat
Beginning as a noisy, synth-based combo in 1999, Victoria, British Colombia’s Hot Hot Heat evolved into an aggressively catchy indie rock band two years later, when keyboardist Steve Bays took on the vocal duties, and guitarist Dante DeCaro joined their ranks. The group’s new lineup — which also featured founding members Paul Hawley on drums and Dustin Hawthorne on
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Hot Chip
Hailing from London, Hot Chip entered the picture with the release of their 2000 debut, Mexico. The EP was issued by Victory Garden Records, a label owned and operated by members of London’s resident lo-fi psychedelic rock institution Southall Riot. The MexicoEP was a hypnotic wash of subtle — nearly subliminal — pulse-like techno beats, acoustic guitars, and
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Heavy
Casey (stutzmcgee) Benjamin & Nicky (Ampersand Jones) Guiland = HEAVy, a mind boggling mix of rock, soul and pop chock full of quirk and irony that is uniquely their own. The Jamaica Queens, NY natives carry on the “power-duo” tradition of singer and producer, pulling influences from across the spectrum, Herbie Hancock, Rotary Connection, The
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Gorillaz
Conceived as the first “virtual hip-hop group,” Gorillaz blended the musical talents of Dan “The Automator” Nakamura, Blur‘s Damon Albarn, Cibo Matto‘s Miho Hatori, and Tom Tom Club‘s Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz with the arresting visuals of Jamie Hewlett, best known as the creator of the cult comic Tank Girl.Nakamura‘s Deltron 3030 cohorts Kid Koala and Del tha Funkee Homosapien rounded out the creative team behind
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Posted in Artists
Tagged Damon Albarn, Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, Danger Mouse, de la soul, Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett
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Gomez
The British band Gomez is a five-piece act consisting of Ben Ottewell(vocals, guitar), Tom Gray (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Paul Blackburn (bass, guitar), Olly Peacock (drums), and Ian Ball (vocals, guitar, harmonica). Emerging during a time in which the majority of up-and-coming British bands were either retro-pop (à la Oasis), trip-hop (Portishead), or space rock (the Verve, Radiohead), Gomez was one of the
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Gnarls Barkley
The Gnarls Barkley collaboration didn’t bring producer Danger Mouse to the top of the British charts for the first time, but it did mark his debut as the pilot of a hit record. Mouse, born Brian Burton, first gained the ears of discriminating listeners when he concocted The Grey Album, a bootleg that mashed the vocals from The Black Albumby Jay-Z
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Posted in Artists
Tagged Cee Lo Green, Danger Mouse, gnarls barkley, Gorillaz, Mark Ronson, mndr
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Garbage
Garbage built on the sonic landscapes of My Bloody Valentine, Curve, and Sonic Youth, adding a distinct sense of accessible pop songcraft. Garbage was the brainchild of producers Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, and Steve Marker. Initially, Garbage was an informal jam session between the three producers held in Marker‘s basement, but they eventually recruited vocalist Shirley Manson, who had previously sang with Angelfish and Goodbye
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FuckButtons
The Bristol, England-based experimental duo Fuck Buttons — Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power — formed in late 2004 and signed to the ATP label, releasing the “Bright Tomorrow” b/w “Little Bloody Shoulder” 7″ single during the fall of 2007, with live dates throughout England (with Liars, Stars of the Lid, and Deerhunter, to name a few) following soon thereafter.
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