Thursday, September 2, 2010
PREM JOSHUA
Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Prem Joshua – pioneer extraordinaire in the field of World Fusion Music – creates and explores forever new synthesis in sound, transporting the listener as he does beyond the borders of both East and West.
Drawing inspiration from the deep well of the ancient music traditions of the Indian sub-continent, while remaining constantly in touch with the pulse of contemporary Western music scene, over the years Joshua has continued to refine his awesome talent for fusion, creating a sound both distinctive and unique.
His music appeals so deeply because despite its contemporary feel, it still succeeds in keeping alive the wild ‘let-go’ and meditative silence of its cultural roots. This musical masala of Indian classical, jazz, funk, ethno and trance music is so masterly, yet playfully blended, that it has indeed a completely global appeal.
Listening to the music of Prem Joshua, whether on one of his many best-selling CDs, or live in concert, means being audience to one of the freshest world music experiences to be found on the planet. With confidence, originality and forever present virtuosity, his international band weave together threads so seemingly disparate into an exquisite organic musical whole, where even the impossible suddenly becomes possible.
Despite this breaking of boundaries, Prem Joshua’s ‘World of Fusion’ nevertheless retains a deep reverence towards its musical roots. One hears Indian temple chants with reminiscences of urban jazz; sufi poems set to reggae rhythms; unfettered and complex Indian classical music on sitar and tabla… and soaring melodies on the bamboo flute over driving trance loops sending the listener effortlessly spinning into dervish-like heights of ecstasy.
For his timely interpretation of the music traditions of the East, Prem Joshua has been especially honored in India. His music seems to touch the “mood of the moment” and one hears his music everywhere - from the Himalayas in the north, down to Delhi and Bombay, then south to the beaches of Goa and Kerala. The foremost Indian newspaper - the Times of India - has even lauded him as the 'New Guru of World Fusion Music’.
In 2005 his band played live on 'MTV Asia'.
In 2006 he and his band gave a private performance for the President of Malaysia.
In 2007 Joshua received the award "Best Film Music on Indian TV" at the Indian TV Awards in Mumbai. And more recently his band performed for the President of India, the Prime Minister of India, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra and legendary Indian singers, Asha Bhonsle and Lata Mangeshkar.
Today he is the number one best-selling World Music artist in India. However, his music is not only appreciated in the East. It has also ‘come West’. Most notably, in 2007 his band gave a private concert for the UK’s Prince Edward at the Royal Palace in London - and the 'BBC' nominated him for their ‘World music listeners award.’
Always a passionate live performer, Joshua tours the globe with his band for almost 10 months each year and is as much at home on the stages of Bombay and Dubai as in the clubs of New York and Paris. For the last 15 years he has shared the stage with internationally acclaimed musicians from East and West, and has performed in India, the Middle East, South East Asia, USA, Japan, Israel and all over Europe.
Related Websites : www.premjoshua.com
Thursday, April 22, 2010
LIMP BIZKIT
Limp Bizkit is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. The band's lineup consists of Fred Durst (lead vocals), Wes Borland (guitar), Sam Rivers (bass), John Otto (drums) and DJ Lethal. Limp Bizkit has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and have won several other major awards. The band has sold an estimated 35 million albums worldwide.
Formed in 1995, the band achieved mainstream success with their second studio album, Significant Other, released in 1999. Their third studio album, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, released in 2000, continued the band's success. The album sold 1.05 million copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling rock album ever, breaking the record held for 7 years by Pearl Jam's Vs.
Following the departure of Wes Borland in 2001, Mike Smith was brought in as a replacement for the fourth studio album, Results May Vary, released in 2003. The album did not achieve the success of the previous two albums. Borland rejoined the band in 2005 for the release of a fifth album, The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) but departed again. He rejoined the band in February 2009. With their original line-up re-united for the first time in seven years, sixth album, Gold Cobra, is set for a 2010 release.
Related Websites :
PINK FLOYD
Pink Floyd were an English rock band who earned recognition for their psychedelic music in the late 1960s, and as they evolved in the 1970s, for their progressive rock music. Pink Floyd's work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art, and elaborate live shows. One of rock music's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful acts, the group have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, including 74.5 million certified units in the United States, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Pink Floyd were formed in 1965, and originally consisted of university students Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright, and Syd Barrett. The group were a popular fixture on London's underground music scene, and under Barrett's leadership released two charting singles, "Arnold Layne" and "See Emily Play", and a commercially and critically successful debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. In 1968, guitarist and singer David Gilmour joined the line-up, and Barrett was removed due to his increasingly erratic behaviour. Following Barrett's departure, bass player and singer Roger Waters became the lyricist and dominant figure in the band, which thereafter achieved worldwide critical and commercial success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and rock opera The Wall.
Wright left the band in 1979, and Waters in 1985, but Gilmour and Mason (joined by Wright) continued recording and touring under the name Pink Floyd. Waters used legal means to try to keep them from using the name, declaring Pink Floyd a spent force, but the parties reached an out-of-court settlement allowing Gilmour, Mason and Wright to continue as Pink Floyd. The band again enjoyed worldwide success with A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) and The Division Bell (1994), and Waters continued as a solo musician, releasing three studio albums. Although for some years relations between Waters and the remaining three members were sour, the band reformed in 2005 for what would be a final one-off performance at Live 8.
Related Websites :
NEIL PEART
Neil Peart, (born September 12, 1952) is a Canadian musician and author. He is the drummer and lyricist for the rock band Rush.
Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario (now part of St. Catharines) working the occasional odd job. However, his true ambition was to become a professional musician. During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer. After a discouraging stint in England to concentrate on his music, Peart returned home, where he joined a local Toronto band, Rush, in the summer of 1974.
Early in his career, Peart's performance style was deeply rooted in hard rock. He drew most of his inspiration from drummers such as Keith Moon and John Bonham, players who were at the forefront of the British hard rock scene.As time progressed, however, he began to emulate jazz and big band musicians Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. In 1994, Peart became a friend and pupil of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber. It was during this time that Peart decided to revamp and reinvent his playing style by incorporating jazz and swing components. Gruber was also responsible for introducing him to the products of Drum Workshop, the company whose products Peart currently endorses.
Peart has received many awards for his musical performances and is known for his technical proficiency and stamina.
In addition to being a musician, Peart is also a prolific writer, having published several memoirs about his travels. Peart is also Rush's primary lyricist. In writing lyrics for Rush, Peart addresses universal themes and diverse subject matter including science fiction, fantasy, and philosophy, as well as secular, humanitarian and libertarian themes. All four of his books are travel-based non-fiction, though they diverge into his life and these subjects as well.
Peart currently resides in Santa Monica, California with his wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall, and newborn daughter, Olivia Louise, but also has a home in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec and spends time in Toronto for recording purposes.
Related Websites :www.neilpeart.net/
Music : http://www.torrentz.com/search?q=NEIL+PEART
A R RAHMAN
A. R. Rahman was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India to a musically affluent Mudaliar Tamil family.[8][9][10] His father R. K. Shekhar, was a Chennai based composer and conductor for Malayalam films. Rahman lost his father at a young age and his family rented out musical equipment as a source of income. He was raised by his mother Kareema (Kashturi). He was introduced to Sufism when his younger sister fell severely sick and as per the advise of a family friend, the family would pray at a mosque and vow conversion to Islam if she got well. The prayers were answered and accordingly, he along with other members of his family then converted to Islam in the year 1989 at the age of 23 and changed his name to Rahman[11]. During these formative years, Rahman served as a keyboard player and an arranger in bands such as "Roots", with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani, John Anthony, Suresh Peters, JoJo and Raja. Rahman is the founder of the Chennai-based rock group, "Nemesis Avenue".He played the keyboard and piano, the synthesizer, the harmonium and the guitar. His curiosity in the synthesizer, in particular increased because, he says, it was the “ideal combination of music and technology". He began early training in music under Master Dhanraj. At the age of 11, he joined, as a keyboardist, the troupe of Ilaiyaraaja, one of many composers to whom musical instruments belonging to Rahman's father were rented. Rahman later played in the orchestra of M. S. Viswanathan Ramesh Naidu and Raj Koti, accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship to the Trinity College of Music where he graduated with a degree in Western classical music.
Related Websites :
www.arrahman.com/
Music : http://www.torrentz.com/search?q=a+r+rahman
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
REMO FERNANDES
Related Websites :
www.remomusic.com
YANNI
Yanni (born Yiannis Hrysomallis (pronounced Chrysomallis), (Greek: Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης, classical transcription Giannis Chrysomallis), on November 14, 1954 in Kalamata, Greece) is a self-taught pianist, keyboardist, and composer. After receiving a B.A. in psychology, he instead sought a life in music though he had no formal training and could not read a note.
He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up, In My Time. His breakthrough success came with the 1994 release of Yanni Live at the Acropolis, deemed to be the second best-selling music video of all time. Yanni has since performed live in concert before in excess of two million people in more than 20 countries around the world. He has accumulated more than 35 platinum and gold albums globally, with sales totaling over 20 million copies. Yanni is considered to be one of the top fundraisers of all time for public television. His compositions have been included in all Olympic Games television broadcasts since 1988, and his music has been used extensively in television and televised sporting events. His music is frequently described as "new age", though he prefers the term "contemporary instrumental". The regents of the University of Minnesota conferred upon Yanni the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. He attended the University of Minnesota where he successfully obtained B.A. in psychology and an honorary Ph.D in music. He actually received an honorary doctorate degree in music Doctor of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts.
Related Websites :