“Low Rock” is Morphine’s unique combination of jazz, blues and pop/rock, sung with darkly comic and ironic lyrics. Their guitarless sound relied on an unusual combination of baritone/tenor sax, percussion and a two string slide bass.

Morphine was formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States in 1990 by Mark Sandman (vocals, bass) and Dana Colley (saxophone). Jerome Dupree became the group’s drummer in 1991 prior to the release of their debut album, Good. While “Good” earned the band critical notoriety and substantial underground cred, they did not — with this release or any subsequent — break into the mainstream. Morphine’s 1992 release of Cure for Pain, promoted by heavy touring, received some mainstream positive attention, selling over 300,000 copies worldwide and spawning a chart hit in many countries with the single Buena. Subsequent releases include Yes and Like Swimming. On July 3, 1999, Mark Sandman collapsed on stage in Palestrina, Italy, a suburb of Rome. He was pronounced dead of a heart attack at the scene. He was 46. Morphine released The Night — arguably their best effort — posthumously in 2000. After Sandman’s death, the remaining band members reformed and continued to record as Twinemen.

“Some day there’ll be a cure for pain,
And that’s the day I throw my drugs away” – Mark Sandman

The Roots, also known as The Legendary Roots Crew, The Square Roots and The Foundation, are an influential, Grammy winning hip hop group based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, famed for a heavily jazzy sound and live instrumentation. Inspired by the “hip-hop band” concept pioneered by Stetsasonic, the Roots themselves have garnered critical acclaim and influenced later hip-hop and R&B acts. The Roots’ original lineup included Black Thought(MC vocals) and Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson (drums), who were classmates at the Philadelphia High School for Creative Performing Arts. As they began to play at school and on the streets, they added another MC named Malik B., a bassist named Leonard Hubbard, and a keyboardist Scott Storch. Another MC,Dice Raw, frequently made album appearances with the group from 1995 to 1999 before leaving to record a solo album. Scott Storch also left to pursue career as a producer following the Do You Want More?!!!??! album. The Roots filled his void with another keyboardist, Kamal who is still a member. A beatboxer named Rahzel also joined the group and contributed from 1995-1999. Alongside Rahzel was vocal turntablist, Scratch who greatly contributed to The Roots’ sound, most notably in live concerts. He left the group in 2003. Malik B. left the group in 2000 due to drug problems.The current members of The Roots are Black Thought (MC vocals), ?uestlove (drums), Hub (bass), Kamal (keyboard), Knuckles (percussion), and Captain Kirk (guitar). The Roots newest album ‘Rising Down’ was released on April 29th 2008. Features tracks with Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Saigon, and other greats.

Cake is a band formed in 1991 in Sacramento, California. It has had several hits throughout the 1990s and 2000s from its five recorded albums. Although Cake’s music is often classified as alternative or indie rock, it combines multiple musical genres, such as funk, ska, pop, jazz, rap, and country. Cake’s music features droll lyrics rife with word play and syncopation (laconically-voiced in a rap-like style by lead vocalist/guitarist John McCrea), catchy distorted guitar riffs (courtesy of guitarist Greg Brown until 1998, and bass player to Victor Damiani until 1997), and a solo trumpet (played by Vince DiFiore). Cake’s musical style has been compared to They Might Be Giants, Talking Heads, The Cars, and Camper Van Beethoven. Cake’s biggest hits have included “The Distance”, “Never There”, “Sheep Go to Heaven” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle”, “No Phone”, “Short Skirt/Long Jacket”, and an alternative remake of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”. 

Joe Bataan (also spelled Bataán) (born 1942, in Spanish Harlem, New York City) is an Afro-Filipino American Latin R&B musician from New York. In 1965, he turned his attention to music and formed his first band, Joe Bataan and the Latin Swingers. Bataan was influenced by two musical styles: the Latin boogaloo and African American doo-wop. Though Bataan was neither the first nor only artist to combine doo-wop-style singing with Latin rhythms, his talent for it drew the attention of Fania Records. After signing with them in 1966, Bataan released “Gypsy Woman,” in 1967. (The title track is a Latin dance cover of “Gypsy Woman” by The Impressions.) He would, in full, release eight original titles for Fania which included the gold-selling “Riot!”. As a vocalist, Bataan’s fame in the Latin music scene at the time was only rivaled by Ralfi Pagan and Harvey Averne.

The solo discography of Róisín Murphy, an Irish electronic music singer, consists of two studio albums, two live albums, seven singles, and five music videos. Murphy debuted in 1995 as lead singer of the electronic music duo Moloko. The duo achieved success in the United Kingdom, producing four top twenty singles. Moloko broke up in 2003 after Murphy had ended her relationship with musical partner Mark Brydon. Murphy’s first solo recordings, co-written and produced with Matthew Herbert, were released through three extended plays and were then compiled into her debut solo album Ruby Blue. Released in June 2005, the album was comprised of electronic, jazz and pop songs. It reached number eighty-eight on the UK Albums Chart and produced two singles. Overpowered, her second album, was released in October 2007. Incorporating various musical styles such as electronic, disco and house, the album received positive reviews from music critics. It reached the top twenty in the UK and produced three singles. In 2008, the album was shortlisted for the Choice Music Prize in Ireland.

Reggae, rock, afro, hip-hop, drum-bass, funk, samba and jazz, here is PHILHARMONIC WEED. PHILHARMONIC WEED were born in 1997 and they immediately started a whole new cultural movement in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. With backgrounds in Mozambique, Angola, Cape Vert and Portugal, and living in places like Brazil and Saudi Arabia, they started off with a career wich has been developing as a big promess in the new portuguese music. The true mix of values, musical and artistic colors filled up with soul and strenght have been fundamental in their path to create a unique group always searching for new directions. In 2005 they..ve started recording their second album with 13 new songs with the collaboration of several important portuguese artists such as Sam The Kid, Prince Wadada, DJ Nel Assassin and Melo D. This new album will be out in April/ May 2006.

#1 General Electrics is a free electron

Behind this name hides RV (Hervé Salters), above all keyboard player, specialist of instruments from the 60’s and 70’s: Clavinetz, Hammond, Rhodes. RV marked his style within the Vercoquin band, accompanying M and, on the occasion of numerous invitations, in Shoki Shoki by Femi Kuti, in DJ Mehdi’s Spy Story, or, more recently, within the Qannum Collective. He is to be found on the forthcoming Blackalicious album, contributes his keyboarding skills to Lateef The Truth Speaker‘s and Chief Xcel’s project „Maroons” and their first album “Ambush”.

#2 General Electrics is boundless
#3 General Electrics is unclassifiable
General Electrics belongs to those bands, which cannot be classified in a specific style. RV draws with the same urgency from the pop music, the hip-hop, the electronic music, the soul and jazz. With a very modest data processing equipment, RV mixes retro with electro, destroys and rebuilds, strokes then ill-treats sounds. Alternating instrumental with vocal tunes, RV achieves radical collages with Hip Hop, electronic and soul/funk music. “Cliquety Kliqk” is the outcome of this permanent mixture between “vintage” keyboard and electronic treatment. The result is a “modern” sound carrying with it the respect for the masters… which also is a visual experience, “Facing That Void” comes along with a fabulous video in tow! 

#4 General Electrics is sociable
General Electrics welcomes in three titles Lateef The Truth Speaker’s rhymes, the virtuoso MC from the Quannum stage (Blackalicious, DJ Shadow, Maroons).

Mark Ronson is an English Brit Award and three-times Grammy award-winning music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. His second album, Version focused on the British music scene, with covers of songs by the likes of Radiohead, Maxïmo Park, The Smiths, Amy Winehouse, The Zutons and Kaiser Chiefs. The album includes three top ten hits and won Ronson a BRIT Award for Best Male Artist 2008. He is the first person to win a BRIT award who does not sing on the actual recording.

]]> http://www.musicadodia.com/mark-ronson-%e2%80%93-just-feat-alex-greenwald.html/feed 0 http://www.musicadodia.com/nina-simone-sinnerman.html http://www.musicadodia.com/nina-simone-sinnerman.html#comments Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:39:47 +0000 musicadodia http://musicadodia.wordpress.com/?p=192

Eunice Kathleen Waymon, better known by her stage name Nina Simone, was a fifteen-time Grammy Award-nominated american singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger and civil rights activist.

Although she disliked being categorized, Simone is generally classified as a jazz musician; She personally preferred the term “black classical music”. Simone originally aspired to become a classical pianist, but her work covers an eclectic variety of musical styles besides her classical basis, such as jazz, soul, folk, rnb, gospel, and pop music. Her vocal style (with an alto vocal range) is characterized by intense passion, breathiness, and tremolo. Sometimes known as the High Priestess of Soul, she paid great attention to the musical expression of emotions. Within one album or concert she could fluctuate between exuberant happiness or tragic melancholy. These fluctuations also characterized her own personality and personal life, worsened by a bipolar disorder with which she was diagnosed in the mid-sixties, but was kept secret until 2004

The musical style performed by Fela Kuti is called Afrobeat, which is essentially a fusion of jazz, funk and Traditional African Chant. It is characterized by having African style percussion, vocals, and musical structure, along with jazzy, funky horn sections. The “endless groove” is also used, in which a base rhythm of drums, muted guitar, and bass guitar are repeated throughout the song. This is a common technique in African and African-influenced musical styles, and can be seen in funk and hip-hop. Some elements often present in Fela’s music are the call-and-response with the chorus and figurative but simple lyrics.