The Plastic People of the Universe (PPU) is a Czech rock band from Prague. They are considered the foremost representatives of Prague’s underground culture (1968–1989), which defied the Communist regime. Members of the band often suffered serious repercussions, including arrests and prosecution, because of their non-conformist ideals. The original group is composed of bandleader Josef […]
M People
M People (stylised as MPeople) is an English dance music band that formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is taken from the first letter of the first name of band member Mike Pickering who formed the group. Pickering had been a member of Factory Records dance […]
Fever Ray
Karin Elisabeth Dreijer is a Swedish singer-songwriter and record producer. Dreijer was one half of the electronic music duo the Knife, formed with their brother Olof Dreijer. The Knife released their eponymous debut album in 2001. The duo gained a wider international recognition following the release of “Heartbeats”, the lead single of their second studio […]
Warpaint
Warpaint is an American indie rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 2004. The band consists of Emily Kokal (vocals, guitar), Theresa Wayman (vocals, guitar), Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass, vocals), and Stella Mozgawa (drums). According to Jenny Lindberg in a 2011 Guardian interview, the band originally went by the name World War 4 and changed […]
Metronomy
Metronomy are a British electronic music group formed in 1999. Currently, the band consists of Joseph Mount (vocals, keyboards and guitar), Oscar Cash (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar and saxophone), Anna Prior (drums and vocals), Olugbenga Adelekan (bass guitar and vocals) and Michael Lovett (keyboards and guitars). The name Metronomy was originally chosen by Mount and […]
Love Letters
“Love Letters” is a 1945 popular song with lyrics by Edward Heyman and music by Victor Young. The song appeared, without lyrics, in the movie of the same name performed by Dick Haymes, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1945 but lost out to “It Might as Well Be […]
Bach – Partita in D minor (Chaconne)
The Partita in D minor for solo violin (BWV 1004) by Johann Sebastian Bach was written between 1717 and 1720. It is a part of his compositional cycle called Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin. Except for the ciaccona, the movements are dance types of the time, and they are frequently listed by their French […]
Stormy Weather
“Stormy Weather” is a 1933 torch song written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Ethel Waters first sang it at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem in 1933 and recorded it with the Dorsey Brothers’ Orchestra under Brunswick Records that year, and in the same year it was sung in London by Elisabeth Welch […]
Astor Piazzolla
Astor Piazzolla was an Argentine tango composer and bandoneón player. His oeuvre revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed nuevo tango, incorporating elements from jazz and classical music. An excellent bandoneonist, he regularly performed his own compositions with different ensembles. He is known in his native land as “El Gran Astor” (“The Great […]
Amelie (Soundtrack)
Amélie is the soundtrack to the 2001 French film Amelie. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet was introduced to the accordion and piano-driven music of Yann Tiersen by his production assistant. Greatly impressed, he immediately bought Tiersen’s entire catalogue and eventually commissioned him to compose pieces for the film. The soundtrack features both compositions from Tiersen’s first three […]