Born and raised in Haarlem, The Netherlands, and a descendant of a Polish soldier, Olav Basoski (b. 14/10/1968) is one of the biggest names in dance music. He started his career as a DJ when he was just at the age of 15. In 1987 he bought his first recording equipment and he started to produce his own music. Olav made more than 100 records but not always as "Olav Basoski". He used a lot of pseudonyms like "Sil", "Yokiboys", "Samplitude" and "Pancake". In the past Olav Basoski worked together with other producers, like Erick Eerdhuizen (DJ Erick E) and René ter Horst (DJ Zki). Olav Basoski did lots of remixes for some very famous artists like Moby, Pulp Victim, James Brown, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Phats & Small, U96, Mirwais, Bob Marley, JX, Apollo 440, Vengaboys, Hardfloor, 2 Brothers On The 4th Floor and many of others...
Blues singer, musician, and songwriter Ray Bonneville is a Juno Award winner originally from Canada. Before he reached his teens, his large family moved to the United States, with him in tow. A few years later, when they headed back home to Canada, Bonneville stayed in the states on his own. He found work as a member in different bands and as a studio musician, playing both the harmonica and guitar. It gave him the perfect chance to polish his skills and learn from other artists. When he soon discovered being a musician wasn't paying all of the bills, he studied flying and put in enough hours to get his pilot's license. There were lots of other jobs along the way that put a roof over his head and food on the table, but through it all, his number one love was always making music. His music and odd jobs have given him the chance to travel through most of the United States, back into Canada, and even to Paris. Through all of that traveling, Bonneville kept playing at clubs and festivals. He was influenced by -- and even performed with -- great bluesmen like the legendary Muddy Waters and Bukka White.
In 1993, Bonneville finally finished his debut recording On the Main. It was followed by a fantastic sophomore effort in 1997, Solid Ground. Gust of Wind was released in 1999 and Rough Luck came out in 2000. That same year, his third album, Gust of Wind, earned him the esteemed Juno Award for Canada's Blues Album of the Year. Some of the tunes fans can find on Bonneville's recordings are "The Last Time," "Darlin' Don't Forget," "Just Before Dawn," "Roll With the Punches," "I'm Not Alone," and "Down on the Ground." ~ Charlotte Dillon, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
One of the most popular French male chansons of all time (barring the inevitable Jacques Brel), Michel Sardou is without doubt the best-selling, with tens of millions of albums sold and a string of more than 25 consecutive hit singles. Though his songwriting can hardly be compared to the genius of Brel, Sardou has often written solid, impact-driven songs which illustrate his political and social views without fear of popular compromise. He has also ignored the prospect of international audience, preferring instead to focus his attention and artistic ability on his homeland.
Michel Sardou began recording in the mid-'60s, and hit the charts for the first time by the turn of the decade, with a contract for Tr�ma Records. Despite popular success, Sardou continued to write and sing songs which courted controversy. "Le France" was an open criticism of the government for selling a luxury cruise liner, a national treasure; "Je Suis Pour" featured his views on giving the death penalty to child murderers. By the late '80s, Sardou had sold almost 30 million records, almost all in France. He remained immensely popular into the next decade, routinely selling millions each year. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
Setting up their own label, Sport Recordings, the duo released three EPs (one as Johnny Flash And The Flames) before a highly-praised debut, "Programmed To Love". They formed Bent in Nottingham in 1997 after becoming disillusioned with the state of dance music at the time. Tolliday had previously been part of a famous Midlands-based sound system, DIY. Their ethereal, ambient, sample-heavy sound has been likened to Air, Moby and even Badly Drawn Boy. They are said to have made their early recordings with nothing more than a sampler and 2000 second-hand records that they bought for £50. Perhaps an illustration of Bent's irreverent and genre-defying approach is their use of vocal snippets sampled from Nana Mouskouri on two of their recordings, "I Love My Man" and "Always In My Heart". Like many dance music producers (notably Fatboy Slim), they take pride in recontextualising somewhat overlooked material. The duo claim influences as diverse as Rolf Harris, Geoff Love, John Lennon, the Beach Boys to more clearly dance music-orientated ones such as Kid Loco and Aphex Twin.
Nurse With Wound or NWW is a British experimental music band, formed in 1978 by Steven Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak. In 1979 Heman left the group, and in 1981 it effectly became a solo project of Steven Stapleton, with a variety of assisting musicians over the years.
Purveyors of sinister whimsy to the wretched.
NOTE: DO NOT ADD ANY ADDITIONAL MEMBERS TO THIS GROUP! Steven Stapleton is the only current permanent member of the group. All other artists who are "members" of Nurse With Wound for a particular release should be listed in the Extra Artist field on the release.
A loose experimental project formed in 1978 by Steven Stapleton, Nurse With Wound has explored abstract music -- influenced by Krautrock, freewheeling jazz improvisation, and Throbbing Gristle but including a heavy debt to surrealists Dali and Lautr�amont -- with an overpowering release schedule of limited-edition albums and EPs. Stapleton worked with an ever-changing list of collaborators during the early years of Nurse With Wound, though Current 93's David Tibet has been the only frequent recording companion during the 1980s and '90s. Nurse With Wound's first three albums (Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella, To the Quiet Man From a Tiny Girl, and Merzbild Schwet) reflect a naked, minimalist slant with long periods of quiet suddenly interrupted by guitar chords inspired by the avant-garde wing of psychedelia/jazz-rock, chains, music boxes, and found-sound recordings. By the early '80s, Stapleton had begun to incorporate noisy, abrasive rhythms that put him more in line with contemporary EBM masters like Skinny Puppy and SPK. Though Stapleton continued his surrealist slant, he often moved back to more empty recordings. These works -- beginning with Soliloquy for Lilith in 1988 -- came to light in the context of the growing ambient/electronic movement, however, putting Nurse With Wound squarely in line with music trends for the first time. Stapleton recorded two split-singles with Stereolab during 1995, and continued his hectic, uncompromised release schedule from his base in Southern Ireland. In 2005 the double CD compilation Livin' Fear of James Last offered an overview of their output. That same year the 2CD compilation Judas as Black Moth was released through the Sanctuary label. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
Gary Burton (born on January 23, 1943, Anderson, Indiana) is an American jazz vibraphonist and composer.
Having been self-taught on the vibraphone, Burton developed a style of four-mallet chording as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique were widely imitated.
Burton is notable as one of very few openly gay musicians in jazz history, and has stated that his coming out in his 40s had no adverse consequences for his career as he had feared.
One of the two great vibraphonists to emerge in the 1960s (along with Bobby Hutcherson), Gary Burton's remarkable four-mallet technique (best displayed on an unaccompanied version of "No More Blues" from 1971) can make him sound like two or three players at once. He recorded in a wide variety of settings and always sounds distinctive. Self-taught on vibes, Burton made his recording debut with country guitarist Hank Garland when he was 17, started recording regularly for RCA in 1961, and toured with George Shearing's quintet in 1963. He gained some fame while with Stan Getz's piano-less quartet during 1964-1966, and then put together his own groups. In 1967, with guitarist Larry Coryell, he led one of the early "fusion" bands; Coryell would later be succeeded by Sam Brown, Mick Goodrick, John Scofield, Jerry Hahn, and Pat Metheny. Burton recorded duet sets with Chick Corea (they also toured extensively), Ralph Towner, Steve Swallow, and Paul Bley, and collaborated on an album apiece with Stephane Grappelli and Keith Jarrett. Among his sidemen in the late '70s and '80s were Makoto Ozone, Tiger Okoshi, and Tommy Smith. Very active as an educator at Berklee since joining its faculty in 1971, Burton (who teamed up with Eddie Daniels in the early '90s for an interesting Benny Goodman/Lionel Hampton tribute tour and recording) remained a prominent stylist. He recorded during different periods of his career extensively for RCA, Atlantic, ECM, GRP, and Concord, releasing Like Minds through the latter in 1998. Two years later, Libertango, his tribute to tango master Astor Piazzolla, arrived. The very personal composition For Hamp, Red, Bags, and Cal was issued in 2001and in 2002 he explored classical music with a duet album Virtuosi recorded with pianist Makoto Ozone. 2004 found Burton back on more familiar ground with the release of Generations a bop-influenced quartet album for longtime label Concord ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
Affiliated throughout his career with DJ Mark "the 45 King," New Jersey's Lakim Shabazz -- a Five Percenter born Larry Welsh -- came up in the mid- to late '80s as a member of the 45 King's Flavor Unit, a crew that included Queen Latifah and Apache within its membership. Shabazz took part in the 45 King's notorious 900 Number EP, the Tuff City release that elevated the status of everyone involved, especially that of the 45 King. Signed with Tuff City himself, Shabazz released a pair of 45 King-produced LPs, 1988's Pure Righteousness and 1990's Lost Tribe of Shabazz -- both filled with Afrocentric and politically conscious rhymes that incorporated the Five Percent Nation's doctrine. The former included "Black Is Back," one of the truly great underground rap classics of the late '80s. Shabazz, who developed production skills of his own, has produced some of his own tracks, in addition to lending his talents to Diamond D. & the Psychotic Neurotics' Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
The innovative Underground Lovers are the premier group bridging Australian music from the traditional drums and guitar rock of the past to the technology and electronic-influenced music of the late '80s and beyond. It all started as the musical expression of Glen Bennie and Vincent Giarrusso, and within the space of ten years and six albums it ended up that way again.
As GBVG (their initials) Bennie and Giarrusso released their first single "Blast" in 1988, establishing the Underground Lovers' basic characteristics: Bennie's striking hypnotic guitar atmospheres balanced against Giarrusso's acute pop sense. By forming a group the following year, they were able to extend their imaginations. The serene vocals of Philippa Nihill offered yet another color, compared to Giarrusso's rhythmic leanings. On-stage, Nihill and Giarrusso swapped both vocals and keyboard duties, supported by bass and drums, and encased by Bennie's unique guitar approach. The Underground Lovers played their first gig in Melbourne in May 1990. Two gigs later they recorded their independently distributed debut album.
Their second album Leaves Me Blind was released in England even before Australia, after the head of England's cult label 4AD happened to be Australia, heard the finished record and offered the group a one-album deal on 4AD's sister label Guernica. 4AD's spotlight led to strong import sales in the U.S. Americans assumed the band was British. The British thought the Underground Lovers were in tune with the burgeoning Manchester scene. The Underground Lovers knew they'd developed what they were based on: British influences like Joy Division and New Order and local Australian inspirations. The band's third album Dream It Down became their mainstream label debut, a lush record which almost gave the band a hit record with "Las Vegas."
The Underground Lovers didn't enjoy their tenure under a major record company and chose to leave rather than be told what they had to do in order to achieve that hit single. The next album, Rushall Station, was released on the group's own ironically-named Mainstream label. Phillipa Nihill had left for a solo career, but still appeared on a couple of the tracks. It just meant that Bennie and Giarrusso could please themselves where they pushed the Underground Lovers next. On record and on stage, the Underground Lovers could be whatever they needed to be to suit the occasion. While Bennie and Giarrusso are in charge it's always unmistakably Underground Lovers. Under the same methodology they have created two more albums, Ways T'Burn and Cold Feeling. In between they have released another single and performed as GBVB; Bennie produced Phillipa Nihill's debut solo album and Giarrusso wrote and directed the movie Mallboy. ~ Ed Nimmervoll, All Music Guide (from mp3.com)
