Depeche Mode (17) 1813 views 0 favorites Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan (lead vocals, occasional songwriter since 2005), Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, vocals, chief songwriter after 1981), Andy Fletcher (keyboards) and Vince Clarke (keyboards, chief songwriter 1980-81). Vince Clarke left the band after the release of their 1981 debut album, Speak & Spell, and was replaced by Alan Wilder (keyboards, drums, occasional songwriter) with Gore taking over songwriting. Wilder left the band in 1995; Gahan, Gore, and Fletcher have since continued as a trio.
Depeche Mode's origins date back to 1977, when schoolmates Vince Clarke and Andy Fletcher formed a The Cure-influenced band called No Romance in China, with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. Fletcher would later recall, "Why am I in the band? It was accidental right from the beginning. I was actually forced to be in the band. I played the guitar and I had a bass; it was a question of them roping me in." In 1979, Clarke played guitar in an "Ultravox rip-off band", The Plan, with friends Robert Marlow and Paul Langwith. In 1978–79, Martin Gore played guitar in an acoustic duo, Norman and The Worms, with school friend Phil Burdett on vocals. In 1979, Marlow, Gore, and friend Paul Redmond formed a band called The French Look, with Marlow on vocals/keyboards, Gore on guitar and Redmond on keyboards. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals/guitar, Gore on keyboards and Fletcher on bass.
Soon after the formation of Composition of Sound, Clarke and Fletcher switched to synthesisers, working odd jobs in order to buy or borrow the instruments from friends. Dave Gahan joined the band in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local scout hut jam session, singing to a rendition of David Bowie's "Heroes", and Depeche Mode were born. When explaining the choice for the new name taken from a French fashion magazine, Dépêche mode (from French dépêche that means here "dispatch" - from Old French despesche/despeche - or "news report" and mode that means "fashion"), Martin Gore said, "It means hurried fashion or fashion dispatch. I like the sound of that." Gore recollects that the first time the band played as Depeche Mode was a school gig in May 1980. The band made their recording debut in 1980 on the Some Bizzare Album with the song "Photographic", which was later re-recorded for their debut album Speak & Spell.
The band made a demo tape but, instead of mailing the tape to record companies, they would go in and personally deliver it. They would demand the companies play it; according to Dave Gahan, "most of them would tell us to **** off. They'd say 'leave the tape with us' and we'd say 'it's our only one'. Then we'd say goodbye and go somewhere else."
According to Gahan, prior to securing their record contract, they were receiving offers from all the major labels. Phonogram offered them "money you could never have imagined and all sorts of crazy things like clothes allowances".
While playing a live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town, the band were approached by Daniel Miller, an electronic musician and founder of Mute Records, who was interested in their recording a single for his burgeoning label. The result of this verbal contract was their first single, "Dreaming of Me", recorded in December 1980 and released in February 1981. It reached number 57 in the UK charts. Encouraged by this, the band recorded their second single, "New Life", which climbed to number 11 in the UK charts. The next single was "Just Can't Get Enough". This relentlessly upbeat piece of synthpop became the band's first UK top ten hit and it remains one of their best known songs. It was also the first Depeche Mode song to get a music video and is the only one of the band's videos to feature Vince Clarke. Depeche Mode's debut album, Speak & Spell, was released in November 1981 and peaked at number ten on the UK album charts. Critical reviews were mixed – Melody Maker described it as a "great album... one they had to make to conquer fresh audiences and please the fans who just can’t get enough", while Rolling Stone was more critical, calling the album "PG-rated fluff".
Van Halen (5) 1670 views 1 favorites No description.
Chicane (8) 1655 views 0 favorites Chicane is a British electronic dance music act, and the guise of English musician, composer, songwriter and record producer, Nicholas Bracegirdle. Chicane is known for the singles "Offshore", an Ibiza dance anthem included in many compilations in both chill-out and dance versions; "Saltwater", which featured vocals by Clannad member Máire Brennan and is one of the most well-known and popular singles of the trance genre; and the UK number-one hit "Don't Give Up", featuring vocals by Bryan Adams, which became a top ten hit on singles charts across Europe and Australia.
Far from the Maddening Crowds, Chicane's debut album from 1997, is still considered a seminal release among the trance music community, while the second album, 2000's Behind the Sun, was certified gold in the UK. In 2007, after the hindrance of an ultimately unreleased album (Easy to Assemble) in the intervening time, the third artist album Somersault was released on Bracegirdle's independent record label, followed shortly after by a tenth anniversary re-release of Far from the Maddening Crowds which included a new mix of "Offshore" ("Offshore 2007"). He released his fourth studio album Giants in 2010, with the fifth studio album Thousand Mile Stare following in 2012.
In addition, Bracegirdle also worked under the aliases Disco Citizens, producing a handful of less radio-friendly, vocal-less tracks with a stronger progressive house sound. Working with singer Vanessa St. James and producer Mr. Joshua, Bracegirdle was part of the Mr. Joshua Presents Espiritu project, known for the song "In Praise of the Sun", released with both English and French vocals. Bracegirdle has also gone by the name "Rebel Transcanner" to produce a remix of Tomski's "14 Hours to Save the Earth." Nick Bracegirdle has also used the alias Sitvac to produce a one-time single, "Wishful Thinking."
Probspot (2) 1596 views 0 favorites 'Probspot' is a progressive house/trance music project of Swedish producer Rikard "Rico" Fredriksson. The first release of this project of his, is a track titled 'You and Me', which was released in 2002 on the 'Dedicated Musique' label. His other aliases are 'Rico Soarez', and 'Zinfandel' (most recently). The first release under the Rico Soarez alias was a progressive trance track titled 'TV Dinner', released in 2004 on the 'Electronic Elements' label. 'Zinfandel' is his latest alias, under which name he remixed Patrick Björkman's progressive house/electro track 'Crunchalizer'. This was released in 7th December 2006 on the 'Emote Music' label.
Sources: 1. Probspot's website.
2. Discogs.
Kaskade (12) 1527 views 0 favorites Ryan Raddon (born February 25, 1971), better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ and record producer. On October 20, 2011, DJ Magazine announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, with Ultra Records, Kaskade placed at No. 30. On September 9, 2011, a DJ Times poll voted Kaskade "America's Best DJ 2011".
Kaskade rose to prominence alongside producers deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner during the revival of American progressive house in late 2008-early 2009.
808 State (9) 1348 views 0 favorites 808 State are an English electronic music group, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson, and they released their debut album, Newbuild, in September 1988.
The band secured commercial success in 1989, when their song "Pacific State" was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies.
History
Martin Price was the owner of a record shop, Eastern Bloc, and was also the founder of the independent record label, Creed. Customers Graham Massey and Gerald Simpson joined with Price to form a hip hop group called Hit Squad Manchester. Soon after, the band shifted to an acid house sound, recording the debut Newbuild in 1988, while using the name 808 State for the first time.
Newbuild was released on Price's own record label. In an interview with Mojo magazine in 2005, Graham Massey explained that the album was recorded over the course of a winter weekend in January 1988 at Spirit Studios, Manchester. The album was named after a Bolton housing co-operative. The record was re-released in 2005 on Aphex Twin's Rephlex Records. Aphex Twin was a huge fan of the record: "It was the next step after Chicago acid, and as much as I loved that, I could relate much better to 808 State. It seemed colder and more human at the same time."
Around the same time, the band also recorded an acid house version of New Order's "Blue Monday". A favourite at The Haçienda's Hot Night, the recording was believed lost until Autechre's Sean Booth asked Massey to dig through his archive of old material. The record was released in 2004 by Rephlex Records. "We didn’t put a lot of thought into it but maybe that’s its charm," said Massey at the time.
Massey had been a member of the band Aqua in the 1970s, along with the violinist Graham Clark, a former pupil of Manchester Grammar School.
The band's song "Pacific State" was released as a single, peaking at number 10 in the UK Singles Chart. Simpson left the group in 1989 to form his own solo project, A Guy Called Gerald. At this point, the remaining personnel enlisted DJs Andrew Barker and Darren Partington, known as the Spinmasters, and recorded the EP, Quadrastate in July 1989. Ninety was released in December 1989.
MC Tunes worked with the band on the 1990 album, The North At Its Heights. The album was a moderate success, reaching number 26 in the UK Albums Chart, and also saw a European and Japanese release. It spawned three UK singles, "The Only Rhyme That Bites" – featuring a sample of "The Big Country" performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic – (UK number 10), "Tunes Splits the Atom" (UK number 18) and "Primary Rhyming" (UK number 67). The first two issues credited MC Tunes versus 808 State, whilst the latter was simply MC Tunes. Tunes later returned in 1996 to work with on a new track, "Pump", taken from 808 State's album Thermo Kings.
808 State's next album was released in 1991, Ex:el, which featured the vocals of Bernard Sumner and Björk. The songs included "In Yer Face" (UK #9), "Cubik" (UK #10) and "Lift" (UK #38).
In October 1991, Price left the group to perform solo production work, eventually forming his own label, Sun Text. The remaining members released a fourth album called Gorgeous, and after that, did some remix work for David Bowie, Soundgarden, and other performers, before returning with the album entitled Don Solaris in 1996. It featured contributions from James Dean Bradfield, who sung vocals on "Lopez", which reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart. This song was remixed by Brian Eno. The song "Bond" featured vocals by Mike Doughty from the band Soul Coughing and "Azura" featured Lou Rhodes from Lamb. They released a greatest hits compilation album, 808:88:98 in 1998. In 2000, Newbuild was re-released.
Some of the band's work, particularly in the albums Ex:el and Gorgeous show their new wave influences by sampling or featuring new wave icons such as Bernard Sumner on the song "Spanish Heart" and Ian McCulloch on "Moses". The song "Contrique" samples the bassline to Joy Division's "She's Lost Control" and "10 X 10" is a gospel-house track built on the foundation of The Jam's "Start!".
In 2003, they released Outpost Transmission which featured guest collaborations from the Alabama 3 and Guy Garvey from Elbow.
In May 2008, the re-issue of the album Quadrastate completed a trilogy of pre-ZTT releases on CD for the first time. The band is still active, touring and performing DJ sets.
Partington left the band after being jailed for 18 months in January 2015 for dealing heroin and crack cocaine. He continues to DJ regularly and is lead singer with new Manchester band 'Big Unit', a rock band with acid house underpinnings.
In April 2018 the remaining members announced a brand new live show for a 30th Anniversary Tour to take place in November/December. The show will feature new versions of tracks from their 30 year history and totally new material from their forthcoming sixth studio album.
Musical style
808 State's style has been labeled as techno and house, and the band are regarded as "a pioneer of the acid house sound". The band's album, Newbuild, was influential in the development of Madchester and baggy scenes.
U2 (9) 1336 views 1 favorites U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin, formed in 1976. The group consists of Bono (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), the Edge (lead guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion). Initially rooted in post-punk, U2's musical style has evolved throughout their career, yet has maintained an anthemic quality built on Bono's expressive vocals and the Edge's chiming, effects-based guitar sounds. Bono's lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal and sociopolitical themes. Popular for their live performances, the group have staged several elaborate tours over their career.
The band was formed when the members were teenaged pupils of Mount Temple Comprehensive School and had limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album, Boy (1980). Works such as their first UK number-one album, War (1983), and singles "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" helped establish U2's reputation as a politically and socially conscious group. Their fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire (1984), was their first collaboration with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, whose influence resulted in the band experimenting with a more abstract, ambient sound. By the mid-1980s, U2 had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. Their fifth album, The Joshua Tree (1987), made them international stars and was their greatest critical and commercial success. Topping music charts around the world, it produced their only number-one singles in the US to date: "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".
Facing creative stagnation and a backlash to their documentary/double album, Rattle and Hum (1988), U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s. Beginning with their acclaimed seventh album, Achtung Baby (1991) and the multimedia-intensive Zoo TV Tour, the band pursued a new musical direction influenced by alternative rock, electronic dance music, and industrial music, and they embraced a more ironic, flippant image. This experimentation continued on their eighth album, Zooropa (1993), and concluded following their ninth album, Pop (1997), and the PopMart Tour, which were mixed successes. U2 regained critical and commercial favour with the records All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), which established a more conventional, mainstream sound for the group. Although their twelfth album, No Line on the Horizon (2009), did not meet commercial expectations, their U2 360° Tour of 2009–2011 set records for the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour, both of which stood until 2019. In the 2010s, U2 released the companion albums Songs of Innocence (2014) and Songs of Experience (2017), the former of which received criticism for its pervasive, no-cost release through the iTunes Store. Their most recent album, Songs of Surrender (2023), consists of reimagined versions of 40 songs from their career.
U2 have released 15 studio albums and are one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold an estimated 150–170 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and social justice causes, working with organisations and coalitions that include Amnesty International, Jubilee 2000, DATA/the ONE Campaign, Product Red, War Child, and Music Rising.
New Order (10) 1242 views 0 favorites New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner (vocals, guitars, synthesisers), Peter Hook (bass, synthesisers) and Stephen Morris (drums, electronic drums, synthesisers) - the remaining members of Joy Division, following the suicide of vocalist Ian Curtis - with the addition of Gillian Gilbert (keyboards, guitars, synthesisers). In 1993 the band broke-up amidst tension between bandmembers, but reformed in 1998. In 2001, Phil Cunningham (guitars, synthesisers) replaced Gilbert, who left the group due to family commitments. In 2007, Peter Hook left the band and the band broke-up again, with Sumner saying in 2009 that he no longer wishes to make music as New Order. The band reunited in 2011 without Hook, with Gilbert returning to the fold and Tom Chapman replacing Hook on bass. During the band's career and inbetween lengthy breaks, bandmembers have immersed themselves on number of solo projects, such as Sumner's Electronic and Bad Lieutenant; Hook's Monaco and Revenge and Gilbert's and Morris' The Other Two.
By combining New Wave and electronic music, New Order became one of the most critically acclaimed and highly influential bands of the 1980s. Though the band's early years were shadowed by the legacy and basic sound of Joy Division, their immersion in the early 1980s New York City club scene increased their knowledge of dance music and enabled them to incorporate elements of that style into their work. The band's 1983 hit "Blue Monday", the best-selling 12-inch single of all time, is one example of how the band transformed their sound.
New Order were the flagship band for Factory Records. Their minimalist album sleeves and "non-image" (the band rarely gave interviews and were known for performing short concert sets with no encores) reflected the label's aesthetic of doing whatever the relevant parties wanted to do, including an aversion to including singles as album tracks. The band has often been acclaimed by fans, critics and other musicians as a highly influential force in the alternative rock, dance and rave music scenes.
Klangkarussell (2) 1149 views 0 favorites The two young and ambitious artists Tobias Rieser and Adrian Held from Salzburg in Austria, achieved to bring sunshine within a short time to numerous people around the globe with their unique compositions.
The single “Sonnentanz” reached over 1 million plays on YouTube and SoundCloud after one month only gaining them several thousand fans.
This success story goes on and the appeals for the upcoming mindblowing release are getting louder every day.
Klangkarussel’s producing philosophy intends an inspiration of all imaginable styles of music with creating a new well-rounded sound without any reservations.
The live performance always represents a mixed atmosphere of both concert and club feeling with rocking the crowd beyond everybody’s expectations, according to the motto highlighting the mood, keeping it at the top and providing a moment of sudden insight to all those present.
Tiesto (11) 1111 views 0 favorites Tijs Michiel Verwest,(born 17 January 1969), known as Tiësto, is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto. On his latest productions, however, he has dropped the "DJ" label and is now known simply as "Tiësto", an alias which is a twist of his childhood nickname.
In 1997, he founded the label Black Hole Recordings with Arny Bink, where he released the Magik and In Search of Sunrise CD series. Tiësto met producer Dennis Waakop Reijers in 1998, and the two have worked together extensively since then. Reijers is credited as producer, writer, composer, or arranger on many of Tiësto's releases. In 1999 and 2000 Tiësto collaborated with Ferry Corsten to create Gouryella. His 2000 remix of Delerium's "Silence" featuring Sarah McLachlan exposed him to more mainstream audiences. In 2001, he released his first solo album In My Memory which gave him several major hits that launched his career. He ranked in the #1 poll position 3 consecutive times in the DJ Magazine Top 100 Popularity Poll from 2002 to 2004.
Just after releasing his second studio album Just Be in 2004 at the Summer Olympics, he performed live at the opening ceremony in Athens, Greece, becoming the first DJ to play live on stage at an Olympics. Tracks he made especially for the Olympics were mixed together and released as the mix compilation Parade of the Athletes later that year. In April 2007 Tiësto launched both his radio show Tiësto's Club Life on Radio 538 in the Netherlands and released his third studio album Elements of Life. The album reached number one on the Dutch album chart as well on "Billboard Top Electronic Albums" in the U.S. and received a nomination for a Grammy Award in 2008. Tiësto released his fourth studio album Kaleidoscope in October 2009.
As at 2012, Tiësto attained the #3 poll position of the DJ Mag 100 Popularity Poll, and he refers to the styles he mainly plays as House, Electro House, and Progressive House. He plays a new balanced sound sometimes demonstrating lesser known genres such as Dubstep. For nostalgia, Tiësto still throws in the odd Trance House record, the style he became attached to in the early 2000's
Journey (3) 1079 views 0 favorites Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana and Frumious Bandersnatch. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded. During that period, the band released a series of hit songs, including 1981's "Don't Stop Believin'", which became in 2009 the top-selling catalog track in iTunes history. Its parent studio album, Escape, the band's eighth and most successful, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and yielded another of their most popular singles, "Open Arms". Its 1983 follow-up, Frontiers, was almost as successful in the United States, reaching No. 2 and spawning several successful singles; it broadened the band's appeal in the United Kingdom, where it reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart. Journey enjoyed a successful reunion in the mid 1990s, and later regrouped with a series of lead singers.
Sales have resulted in two gold albums, eight multi-platinum albums, and one diamond album (including seven consecutive multi-platinum albums between 1978 and 1987). They have had eighteen Top 40 singles in the US, six of which reached the Top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and two of which reached No. 1 on other Billboard charts, and a No. 6 hit on the UK Singles Chart in "Don't Stop Believin'". Originally a progressive rock band, Journey were described by Allmusic as having cemented a reputation as "one of America's most beloved (and sometimes hated) commercial rock/pop bands" by 1978, when they redefined their sound by embracing traditional pop arrangements on their fourth album, Infinity. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Journey has sold 47 million albums in the US, making them the 28th best selling band. Their worldwide sales have reached over 80 million albums. A 2005 USA Today opinion poll named Journey the fifth best American rock band in history. Their songs have become arena rock staples and are still played on rock radio stations across the world.
Armin Van Buuren (12) 1026 views 0 favorites Armin van Buuren(born 25 December 1976 in Leiden, Netherlands) is a Dutch trance producer and DJ. Between 2007 and 2010, he was voted number one in DJ Magazine's annual top 100 list of the most popular DJs. In the 2011 list, he ranked in second place. Since 2001, Van Buuren has hosted a weekly radio show called A State of Trance, which claims to have around 15 million weekly listeners in 26 countries, which would make it one of the most listened-to radio shows in the world. His 2008 studio album, Imagine, entered the Dutch album chart at #1, a first for a dance music artist in Dutch music history.
Armin van Buuren was born in Leiden, Netherlands on 25 December 1976, but grew up in Koudekerk aan den Rijn. Van Buuren started making music when he was 14. He was inspired by French electronic music composer, Jean Michel Jarre, and wished to become a great electronic music composer like Jarre.
He finished high school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden in 1995, and left for college to study law at Leiden University. While studying law, Van Buuren's interest for making music blossomed, and he began working as a DJ in a local club called Nexus. As his musical career began to take off, he put his law degree on hold, although he did return to finish law school in 2003.
On 18 September 2009, Van Buuren married Erika van Thiel in Wassenaar, Netherlands. They met during a vacation on Crete, and had been together for nine years prior to the marriage.
Blasterjaxx (7) 1011 views 0 favorites Thom Jongkind and Idir Makhlaf, better known as producer/deejay duo Blasterjaxx in the music industry, are anything but the same. While one is often prominent and empowering, the other prefers staying quietly in the background - a fairly high contrast in character. However, there is one significant reason for the phenomenal connection between these two personalities: their passion and love of music. Mid 2010, Thom Jongkind - then operating by the name of Scalix - decided to set up a DJ duo named Blasterjaxx together with another producer at the time. Thom quickly noticed that huge steps were taken in the field of productions and that the range towards their audience was constantly increasing. Nevertheless, the personal chemistry between both producers started decreasing. Thus, it was Thom who focused more and more on music, while the other producer started having other priorities. Shortly after, they mutually agreed on ending their collaboration as a duo and decided that Thom would continue with the Blasterjaxx label. Because Thom believed that Blasterjaxx would only be complete as a duo, he started looking for possibilities of a new, and this time around, perfect collaboration. In the meantime, Thom had been charmed by Idir Makhlaf for a while, who at the time was operating by the name of Macosta. Only after a few collaborations it was already clear how well they hit off; a new Blasterjaxx duo was born with - what subsequently appeared - an unparalleled amount of talent and potential. Together they plan on taking over the world with their unique sound, which is best described as a crossover between electro-house, big room and latin. Their producing talents did not stay unnoticed. Due to diverse high listings in charts they got many fans, both home and abroad, in a short period of time. Their success kept on growing from the very beginning, especially on production-level and in the field of releases and artist support. This all resulted in various high listings on different music platforms in 2010, as well as their tracks being released by leading music labels, including: Defected Records, Universal, Dirty Dutch and G-Rex. In terms of support they were able to rely on prominent names such as: Sidney Samson, Gregor Salto, Franky Rizardo, Vato Gonzalez and many others. Another clever entrant in 2011 was their bootleg of the worldwide hit Hello. This unofficial remix has, once again, received support from both domestic and international circuits and has been downloaded and listened to for over a million times in total. In 2012, Blasterjaxx was able to show their true nature and proved to be everything but an ephemera. Together with D-Rashid they produced the Reborn EP with two tracks: Reborn and Where We Go. An EP-name with a story behind it, for this EP is in fact symbolic for Blasterjaxx' renewed sound, which they want to introduce and conquer the worldwide audience with. A rebirth that eventually turned out to be a bombshell, because none other than Laidback Luke was eager to sign the tracks at his own label: Mixmash Records. It was only clear how much damage the tracks would be dealing after they were released in December. Where We Go reached #98 in the Beatport Electro Charts Top 100 after only one day, and after only one week, both tracks respectively reached #14 (Where We Go) and #16 (Reborn). The EP even took first place in the Beatport Top 100 Releases! A huge success complemented by the support of magnitudes like: Tiësto, Laidback Luke, Diplo, Steve Aoki, Dada Life, Robbie Rivera and more! Despite numerous hits, releases and novelties, this is yet the beginning of Blasterjaxx. The right question to ask is not if they will break through, but when they will break through! Keep ears and eyes open people, because Blasterjaxx is the future! Represented by Syndicate the Agency worldwide except The Netherlands and The Americas
Estiva (3) 983 views 0 favorites
Pitbull (8) 934 views 0 favorites Armando Cristian Pérez (born January 15, 1981), better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor and record producer. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002. In 2004, he released his debut album titled M.I.A.M.I. (short for Money Is A Major Issue) under TVT Records. Since then, he has released three other albums under the label: El Mariel in 2006, The Boatlift in 2007, and Planet Pit in 2011.
He released Rebelution in 2009, which included singles "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" and "Krazy". The latter peaked at No. 30 on the Hot 100 and No. 11 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts while "I Know You Want Me" peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and peaked within the top ten spots of charts in the UK, Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands. The song reached No. 1 in France and the European Hot 100 on the week ending August 29, 2009 according to Billboard magazine. He later signed with Polo Grounds Music through Sony Music and created his own label Mr. 305 Inc. Another single from Rebelution was "Hotel Room Service", which peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100. Rebelution went on to sell over 7.5 million worldwide digital singles and albums combined.
Pérez is also the host of his own Spanish-language program on the cable channel Mun2 titled La Esquina de Calle 8 (Spanish for The Corner).
In 2005 Pérez and rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs co-founded Bad Boy Latino, a subsidiary of Combs' Bad Boy Records label. It primarily focuses on Latin hip hop, Latin soul, Latin pop and other Tropical music, and has offices in New York, New York and Miami, Florida. Along with co-founding it, Pérez currently heads the A&R division of the label.
Pérez has become a product endorser, representing alongside Drake, Rihanna, and Trey Songz the “So Kodak” campaign for the Kodak brand and embarking on a partnership with the soda giant Dr Pepper as part of the campaign “Vida 23” for which he recorded the song specifically featured on his album Armando. Pitbull also announced he has become the spokesperson for Voli Vodka, in which he holds a majority equity stake, and has also purchased an equity stake in Miami Subs Pizza and Grill.
Martin Garrix (4) 904 views 0 favorites The new wave of fresh-outta-highschool EDM talent is led by just a handful of pioneers. Martin Garrix can certainly be counted as one of them. Currently being 18 years old, he is recognized as one of the most talented guys out there. He just landed his first record deal and has already been spotted in de studio with Sidney Samson and that other Dutch mega talent Julian Jordan. His first official release 'Keygen' received great DJ support and ranked high in the Beatport charts and his remix of Roy Gates' 'Midnight Sun' flew up Beatport's Progressive House chart. In the DJ department Martin is quite the busy one too. He's had gigs at Mysteryland and was the youngest DJ ever to play the world's largest nightclub Privilege in Ibiza. He's a regular guest at LMFAO's 'Dont Let Daddy Know' parties and Redfoo's 'Sorry For Party Rocking' club nights, where he shared the booth with Sidney Samson, Eva Simmons, Diplo and many more. Martin Garrix is very well on the way to becoming hot EDM property, so keep your eyes and ears peeled!
The Killers (5) 892 views 0 favorites The Killers are an American rock band that was formed in 2001, by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards) and Dave Keuning (guitar, backing vocals). Mark Stoermer (bass, backing vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion) would complete the current line-up of the band in 2002. The name The Killers is derived from a logo on the bass drum of a fictitious band portrayed in the music video for the New Order song "Crystal".
The group has released three studio albums, Hot Fuss (2004), Sam's Town (2006) and Day & Age (2008) with a fourth entitled Battle Born, scheduled for release on September 18, 2012. They have also released one compilation album, Sawdust (2007) and one live album and DVD titled Live from the Royal Albert Hall (2009). To date, the band has sold over 6 million albums in the United States, over 5 million albums in the United Kingdom, and over 15 million worldwide.
The Beastie Boys (5) 882 views 0 favorites Beastie Boys is an American hip hop band from New York City, formed in 1979. For the majority of its career, the group has consisted of three MCs and musicians Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass) and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar).
Originally formed as a four-piece hardcore punk band in 1979 by Michael Diamond (vocals), John Berry (guitar), Adam Yauch (bass) and Kate Schellenbach (drums), the band appeared on the compilation cassette New York Thrash, before recording their first EP Polly Wog Stew, in 1982. After achieving moderate local success with the 1983 experimental hip hop 12-inch "Cooky Puss", the group transitioned to hip hop in 1984 and released a string of successful 12-inch singles. The Beastie Boys toured with Madonna in 1985 and a year later released their debut album Licensed to Ill. The group sold 22 million albums in the United States and 40 million albums worldwide, making them, according to Billboard, "the biggest-selling rap group" since 1991.
With seven platinum or better albums from 1986-2004, the Beastie Boys were one of the longest-lived hip hop acts worldwide, and they continued to enjoy commercial and critical success more than 25 years after Licensed to Ill. In 2009, the group released digitally remastered deluxe editions of their albums Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication and Hello Nasty. Their eighth studio album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, was released in 2011, and received positive reviews. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2012, "just the third rap group to enter the Hall, after Run-D.M.C. (2009) and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (2007)." The following month, MCA died of cancer of the parotid salivary gland, which led to the speculation that the other members may decide to disband the group.
Benny Benassi (7) 869 views 0 favorites Marco Benassi (born July 13, 1967), better known as Benny Benassi, is an Italian disc jockey (DJ) and record producer of tech house music. He is best known for his 2002 summer club hit "Satisfaction". On October 28, 2009, DJ Magazine announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, with Ultra Records artist Benny Benassi placed #26, 13 spots higher than the previous year.
A native of Reggio Emilia, DJ/producer Benassi, started DJing alongside cousin Alle Benassi in the late 1980s in their hometown, before moving to Larry Pignagnoli's Off Limits production studio in the mid 1990s, creating music for various acts, including Whigfield, J.K. and Ally & Jo.
Benassi first hit the dance floors with projects of his own, in 2001, with the single "I Feel So Fine", released under the name KMC with vocals by Dhany. The track first climbed the charts in Benassi's native Italy, and soon became a #1 hit in the UK club charts.
Moving from house to electro, "Satisfaction" took Benassi's success worldwide a year later with high-profile DJs like Carl Cox, Darren Emerson, and Roger Sanchez offering praises. The track reached #2 in the UK Singles Chart after the Ministry of Sound record company replaced the original video (an almost still picture of the band, overlayed with graphics) with a video of models using power tools.
Released in 2003, the "campy" and "quirky" Hypnotica was Benassi's solo debut album. At the end of 2004, he won the European Border Breakers Award for Hypnotica, which racked up the most sales for an Italian album outside Italy.
Benassi often works with vocalists Paul French and Violeta, who are collectively known as The Biz. He produced a group with cousin Alle, called Benassi Bros., a project designed to shine the spotlight on the two Biz vocalists, Paul French and Violeta Claudia and other guest singers. A year after the release of Hypnotica, thr album Pumphonia marked their first full length release. And, in 2005, Benassi Bros. released their second album …Phobia.
Some of Benassi's singles have charted high in the United Kingdom and have been played worldwide in clubs. Remixes for OutKast, Goldfrapp, and Felix da Housecat followed. Benassi also remixes music of his contemporaries, such as Tomcraft and Fischerspooner.
In 2005, Benassi founded the record label Pump-Kin Music. The focus of the label is primarily new and unsigned producers. The stated aim of the venture is to give exposure to some of the lesser known DJ/production talent across the world.
In August 2007, Benassi released a remix of Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise". The video for the track was created by Eclectic Method and features a montage of live footage from Public Enemy. It premiered on imeem.com. In February 2008, "Bring the Noise" won a Grammy for best Remix (Dance).
His album Rock 'n' Rave was released on June 16, 2008. The first single from the album was "I Am Not Drunk."
Benassi also broadcasts the one-hour long The Benny Benassi Show on Sirius XM Radio's channel Area.
Ariana Grande (8) 867 views 0 favorites Ariana Grande-Butera (born June 26, 1993), known professionally as Ariana Grande (/ˌɑriːˈɑːnə ˈɡrɑːndeɪ/), is an American singer and actress. She began her career in the Broadway musical 13, before landing the role of Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon television series Victorious in 2009. After four seasons, the show ended, and Grande starred on the spinoff, Sam & Cat, which ended in 2014. She has also appeared in other theatre, television and film roles and lent her voice to animated television and films.
Grande's music career began with the soundtrack Music from Victorious (2011). She signed a recording contract with Republic Records and released her debut studio album Yours Truly in 2013, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. The album's lead single, "The Way", reached the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100, with critics comparing her wide vocal range to Mariah Carey's.
Grande's second studio album, My Everything (2014), also reached number one in the United States. With the singles "Problem", "Break Free", "Bang Bang" and "Love Me Harder" from that album, she spent 34 continuous weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and had the most top 10 singles of any artist in 2014. In 2015, she promoted My Everything with her first world tour titled The Honeymoon Tour and guest-starred in Fox comedy-horror TV series Scream Queens. In 2015, Grande released the lead single "Focus" from her upcoming third album Moonlight, released a holiday EP album, Christmas & Chill, and she was heard on several collaborative projects.
Grande's accolades include two American Music Awards, Music Business Association's Breakthrough Artist of the Year, an MTV Video Music Award, an MTV Europe Music Award and two Grammy Award nominations.
Ariana Grande-Butera was born in Boca Raton, Florida, to Joan Grande, chief executive officer of telephone and alarm system company Hose-McCann Communications, and Edward Butera, who owns a graphic design firm in Boca Raton. Her name was originally inspired by Princess Oriana from Felix the Cat (1959). Grande is of Italian descent, half Sicilian and half Abruzzese. She has experienced hypoglycemia. She has an older half-brother, Frankie Grande, who is an actor, dancer, and producer. Grande's mother moved with her father from New York to Florida when she was pregnant with her. She has stated that her parents separated when she was around 8 or 9 years old.
As a child, Grande performed with the Fort Lauderdale Children's Theater, playing her first role as Annie, as well as performing in the musicals The Wizard of Oz and Beauty and the Beast. At the age of 8, she performed at a karaoke lounge on a cruise ship, in various orchestras such as South Florida's Philharmonic, Florida Sunshine Pops and Symphonic Orchestras, and made her national television debut singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" for the Florida Panthers. She attended Pine Crest School and North Broward Preparatory School.
By age 13, she became serious about pursuing a music career, though she still concentrated on theater. When she first arrived in Los Angeles to meet with her managers, she expressed a desire to record an R&B album when she was 14: "I was like, 'I want to make an R&B album,' They were like 'Um, that's a helluva goal! Who is going to buy a 14-year-old's R&B album?!'" In 2008, Grande was cast in the supporting role of cheerleader Charlotte in the musical 13 on Broadway, for which she won a National Youth Theatre Association Award. When she joined the musical, Grande left her high school, North Broward Preparatory School, but continued to be enrolled. The school sent materials to her so she could study with tutors. She also sang various times at the New York City Jazz club Birdland.