Of Monsters and Men are an Icelandic indie folk/rock band formed in Reykjavik in 2010. The members are lead singer and guitaristNanna Bryndis Hilmarsdottir, singer and guitarist Ragnar ‘Raggi’ Portallsson, lead guitarist Brynjar Leifsson, drummer Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson and bassist Kristján Páll Kristjánsson. The band won the Musiktilraunir in 2010, an annual battle of the […]
Dave Brubeck
David Warren Brubeck was an American jazz pianist and composer, considered one of the foremost exponents of cool jazz. Many of his compositions have become jazz standards including “In Your Own Sweet Way” and “The Duke”. Brubeck’s style ranged from refined to bombastic, reflecting both his mother’s classical training and his own improvisational skills. His […]
Whippersnapper
In honour of Katy’s birthday I have chosen to share with you the music of group that she loves and that we had the privilege of going to see on a barge (I think it was in Gloucester but I may be wrong!), where were able to sit in the front row. Whippersnapper was an […]
Clean Bandit
Clean Bandit are a British electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. Original band members Grace Chatto, Jack Patterson, Luke Patterson and Neil Amin-Smith met while studying as undergraduates at Jesus College. At the time, Amin-Smith, who attended Westminster School was leading a string quartet together with Chatto, who attended The Latymer School. The […]
Christine & The Queens
Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier, known professionally as Christine and the Queens or occasionally simply Chris, is a French singer, songwriter, and record producer. Letissier studied theatre at ENS Lyon, moving to Paris in 2010, where she concluded her studies. When she visited London in 2010, she was inspired by the work of local drag queen musicians, […]
Music Inspired by Tolkien
Today is the 99th Anniversary of the birth of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and many other works. His works have served as the inspiration to painters, musicians, film-makers and writers, to such an extent that he is sometimes seen as the “father” of the entire genre of […]
Dea Matrona
Hailing from Carryduff and Dundrum, Dea Matrona are a rock trio who formed in 2018, their mutual love of classic rock and bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, sparked a musical chemistry between the three that continues to blossom into their own originals. Dea Matrona might look like an apparition straight […]
New Year’s Day
I have decided to feature some songs that celebrate New Year’s Day. Also simply called New Year or New Year’s, it is observed on 1 January, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian as well as the Julian calendars. In pre-Christian Rome under the Julian calendar, the day was dedicated to Janus, […]
Jools Holland’s Annual Hootenanny
Jools’ Annual Hootenanny is a TV show presented by Jools Holland and broadcast on New Year Eve as an end-of-year special edition of his series Later…With Jools Holland. It is generally broadcast between approximately 11pm on 31 December and between 1am and 2am the following morning in the United Kingdom on BBC Two. It was […]
June Tabor
June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick. As a young woman of 18, she was inspired to sing by hearing Anne Briggs’ EP Hazards of Love in 1965. “I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for […]