Formed in the wake of the punk explosion in England, Joy Division became the first band in the post-punk movement by later emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of melancholy alternative music in the ’80s. Though the group’s raw initial sides fit the bill for any punk
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With a diverse array of influences, eclectic twosome J*Davey — female vocalist Jack Davey (b. Brianna Cartwright) and producerBrook D’Leau — deliberately evade the narrow categories of what urban music should sound like, not to mention that they defy normal conventions of pop music. Drawing equally from neo-soul, new wave, funk, and hip-hop, their melting pot of
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Jane’s Addiction were one of the most hotly pursued rock bands when they gained notice in Los Angeles in the mid-’80s, with record companies at their feet. Flamboyant frontman Perry Farrell, formerly of the band Psi Com, had an undeniable charisma and an interest in provocative art (he designed the band’s album covers), and Jane’s Addiction played
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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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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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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.
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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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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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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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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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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11th Aug 2010
