The Blueprint is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2001 at Manhattan Center Studios and Baseline Studios in New York City. Contrasting the radio-friendly sound of Jay-Z's previous work, The Blueprint features soul-based sampling and production handled primarily by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Bink, as well as Timbaland, Trackmasters, and Eminem, who also contributes the album's sole guest feature.
The Masterplan is a compilation album by English rock band Oasis. It was released on 2 November 1998 by Creation Records, the band's final release through the label. It comprises B-sides which never made it onto an album up to that point. Originally intended for release only in areas such as the United States and Japan, where the tracks were previously only available on expensive European-import singles, The Masterplan reached number 2 in the UK, where it initially went platinum, and number 51 in the United States. However, it did reach the Top 20 in various charts around the world, going on to sell 3 million copies. It has since been certified triple platinum in the UK. Four songs from the album appear on the 2006 compilation album Stop the Clocks.
The Walkmen is an American indie rock band formed in New York City, in 2000. The band consists of Hamilton Leithauser (vocals), Paul Maroon, Walter Martin, Peter Matthew Bauer and Matt Barrick (drums) - all former members of Jonathan Fire*Eater and the Recoys.
Youth & Young Manhood is the debut album from American rock band Kings of Leon, released on July 7, 2003, in the United Kingdom and on August 19, 2003, in the United States.
On Fire is the second studio album by American indie rock band Galaxie 500, released in 1989 on Rough Trade Records.
Attack & Release is the fifth studio album by American rock duo The Black Keys. It was produced by Danger Mouse and was released on April 1, 2008. The sessions saw the band transitioning away from their "homemade" ethos to record-making; not only was it the first time that the band completed an album in a professional studio, but it was also the first time they hired an outside producer to work on a record.
Tishoumaren or assouf, internationally known as desert blues, is a style of music from the Sahara region of northern and west Africa. Critics describe the music as a fusion of blues and rock music with Tuareg, Malian or North African music. Various other terms are used to describe it including desert rock, Saharan rock, Takamba, Mali blues, Tuareg rock or simply "guitar music". The style has been pioneered by Tuareg musicians in the Sahara region, particularly in Mali, Niger, Libya, Western Sahara, Algeria, Burkina Faso and others.
Omara "Bombino" Moctar is a Tuareg singer-songwriter and guitarist from Niger. His music is sung in Tamasheq and often addresses Tuareg geopolitical concerns. Bombino is the subject of the documentary film Agadez, the Music and the Rebellion.
Parquet Courts is an American rock band from New York City. The band consists of Andrew Savage, Austin Brown, Sean Yeaton, and Max Savage (drums).
Mahamadou Souleymane, known professionally as Mdou Moctar, is a Tuareg songwriter and musician based in Agadez, Niger, who performs modern rock music inspired by Tuareg guitar music. His music first gained attention through a trading network of mobile phones and memory cards in West Africa. He sings in the Tamasheq language. Moctar's fourth album, Ilana: The Creator, released in 2019, was the first to feature a full band. He plays guitar in the takamba and assouf styles.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, also sometimes known as Rolling Blackouts C.F., is an Australian indie rock band, formed in Melbourne in 2013. The band consists of three lead vocalists and guitarists — Fran Keaney, Tom Russo, and Joe White — alongside bassist Joe Russo and drummer Marcel Tussie.
Be the Cowboy is the fifth studio album by American indie rock musician Mitski, released on August 17, 2018, through Dead Oceans. Produced by longtime collaborator Patrick Hyland, the album widens Mitski's palette with a return to the piano featured on her first two records alongside synthesizers, horns and the guitar that became her signature instrument. Upon its release, Be the Cowboy received widespread acclaim from music critics, who later ranked it among the best albums of 2018. It was preceded by the singles "Geyser", "Nobody", and "Two Slow Dancers". Be the Cowboy was Mitski's first album to chart on the Billboard 200, and also entered the charts in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Imploding the Mirage is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Killers, released on August 21, 2020, by Island Records in the United States and internationally by EMI. To date, it is the band's only album without lead guitarist Dave Keuning, who took an indefinite hiatus from the band in 2017. Guitar parts are covered by Killers bassist Mark Stoermer, producer Jonathan Rado, and a variety of guest musicians including Lindsey Buckingham and Adam Granduciel.
Sahel Sounds is an American record label, based in Portland, Oregon which specializes in music from the southern part of the Sahara desert.
Saint Cloud is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Waxahatchee, released on March 27, 2020, by Merge Records. Released at the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic, Saint Cloud received universal acclaim from music critics, who praised its depth and mellow sound. Initially unable to tour behind the album, Waxahatchee embarked on a supporting tour in 2021.
Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai,, is a 2015 Niger drama musical film directed by Christopher Kirkley and co–produced by Sahel Sounds, L'Improbable and Tenere Films. It is the world's first Tuareg-language fiction film. The film is based on the real life incidents of famous musician Mdou Moctar.
Abdallah Oumbadougou was a guitarist from Niger. He was one of the founders of the ishumar genre of the desert blues, a politicized, guitar-driven musical genre of the Kel Tamasheq people of North Africa's Sahel.
Blue Banisters is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on October 22, 2021, by Interscope and Polydor Records, seven months after her previous record, Chemtrails over the Country Club. The album was produced by Del Rey, Zachary Dawes, Loren Humphrey, Mike Dean, Barrie-James O'Neill, Rick Nowels, and several others.
The Smile are an English rock band comprising the Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with Tom Skinner (drums). Critics likened them to Radiohead, with more jazz, krautrock and progressive rock influences and a looser, wilder sound.
"The Only Heartbreaker" is a song by American singer Mitski, released on November 9, 2021 as the second single from her sixth studio album, Laurel Hell. The song was written by Mitski and Dan Wilson. The single became Mitski's first to reach number 1 on the charts, reaching that spot on the US AAA chart.
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