Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining elements of house music with funk, disco, techno, rock and synth-pop. They garnered acclaim and commercial success and are regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music.
Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush. They were founded in 2002, at which point Kristen Hall was also a member. All three had experience in folk rock: Nettles had recorded in the groups Soul Miner's Daughter and Jennifer Nettles Band, Bush had recorded two albums as one-half of the duo Billy Pilgrim, and Hall had recorded two solo albums. After Hall left in 2006, Nettles and Bush continued as a duo.
Mirwais Ahmadzaï, known mononymously as Mirwais, is a French electronic dance music record producer and songwriter. Born in Switzerland to an Afghan father and an Italian mother, Ahmadzaï was a member of the defunct 1980s group Taxi Girl. He met Madonna in the late 1990s, when he submitted a demo to her then record label, Maverick Records.
Music is the eighth studio album by American singer Madonna, released on September 18, 2000, by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records. Following the success of her previous album Ray of Light (1998), she intended to embark on a tour. However, her record company encouraged her to return to the studio and record new music before going on the road. Her collaboration with French producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï resulted in a more experimental direction for the album, with additional production from William Orbit. Music incorporates many different genres into its overall dance-pop and electronica vibe, with influences from funk, house, rock, country and folk. The album was mostly recorded at Sarm West and East Studios in London, England. Elaborating a country theme for the album, Madonna reinvented her image as a cowgirl.
American Life is the ninth studio album by American singer Madonna. It was released on April 21, 2003, by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records. The album, produced by the singer and Mirwais Ahmadzaï, features references to many parts of American culture. The album is a concept album, with themes panning the American Dream and materialism. These themes reject the reputation Madonna held in the 1980s, earned by songs such as her 1984 Billboard Hot 100 number-two hit, "Material Girl". American Life is a folktronica and eurotechno album, influenced by acoustic music.
"Music" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna as the title track for her eighth studio album (2000). It was released as the lead single from the album to radio on August 1, 2000, by Maverick and Warner Bros. Records and commercially released on August 21. "Music" was inspired by a Sting concert Madonna attended and was written and produced by her with Mirwais Ahmadzaï. It is a disco, electro-funk and dance-pop song in a static key of G minor. Madonna's vocals are electronically manipulated in the track, with the lyrics having political and social undertones and reiterating the uniting power of music.
"Hollywood" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna. The song was written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï for her ninth studio album, American Life (2003). On May 27, 2003, it was released as the second single from the album by Maverick Records. It later appeared on the greatest hits album, Celebration (2009). "Hollywood" is a folk rock, synth-pop, electro-folk, electropop and psychedelic folk song that lyrically discusses American culture and greed, focusing on Hollywood, California, as a place of pop stars and illusory dreams. Madonna's vocals in the song was noted as that of a little girl's; during the song she also repeats the phrase "Push the button". Ahmadzaï did the main programming for the track and kept the track as simple as possible, without using too many instruments.
Soapkills or Soap Kills is an indie electro-pop band based in Lebanon. The group was formed in October 1997 when Zeid Hamdan and Yasmine Hamdan, both born in Beirut in 1976 but not related, decided to explore and combine their interest in classical Arabic song and electronic music.
Ghinzu is a Belgian alternative rock band founded in 1999 in Brussels.
Maxime Morin, is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, better known for his work in electronic music under the name DJ Champion or simply Champion. Morin is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
"Pop the Glock" is a single by French-American recording artist Uffie. The re-released single was released as a 12" vinyl on November 30, 2009. "Pop the Glock" was Uffie's first single and an international underground hit. It was originally released in early 2006 by Ed Banger Records on the Pop the Glock/Ready to Uff EP.
Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in July 2021 to focus on solo ventures. The duo are from London, and formed in 2003 after meeting at university in Manchester. The duo have since released six studio albums and collaborated with major artists such as Plan B, CeeLo Green, Rihanna, Example, and Tinie Tempah. They run the independent record label MTA Records.
Mi Plan is the fourth studio album and the first Spanish-language album by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. It was released independently on September 11, 2009 by Furtado’s own record label Nelstar Entertainment with distribution by Universal Music Latino. This marks Furtado’s first independently released album. Recording sessions for the album took place from 2008 to 2009. The album was produced primarily by Furtado with other contributions made by James Bryan, Lester Mendez, Salaam Remi, The Demolition Crew, Julieta Venegas and Brian West. Furtado described the songs on the album to be "simple love songs".
Y.A.S. is an electronic music duo, formed in 2007 in Paris, France, and consists of Mirwais Ahmadzaï (keyboard/guitar) and Yasmine Hamdan (vocals).
David Treahearn is an English record producer, programmer, recording and mix engineer based in Richmond Upon Thames, England.
Robert Haggett was a British record producer, songwriter and mix engineer. He has worked with some of the world's most successful artists including Madonna, Gwen Stefani, The Black Eyed Peas, Björk, James Morrison and Depeche Mode.
"Impressive Instant" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 2000 studio album Music. Originally intended to be the fourth single of the album, the release was cancelled due to a disagreement between Madonna and her recording company. Finally Warner Bros. released it in the United States as a promotional single on September 18, 2001. Written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï, the track is bright and uplifting in its content and composition. It was the first song that Madonna and Ahmadzaï worked on and recorded. Ahmadzaï had to work separately on his laptop to generate the sound elements which Madonna wanted in the song, since it was difficult to generate the music in the recording studio. "Impressive Instant" has been described as a club-savvy acid techno, pop-trance, electropop and electro house stomper containing futuristic keyboard lines, with Madonna's vocals being distorted and robotic. Backed by laser noises and synths, the song's lyrics deal with love at first sight, and contains somewhat absurd, nonsensical lyrics.
"Nobody Knows Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. The song was written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï for her ninth studio album American Life (2003). It was released as a promotional single in the United States on October 15, 2003, with a remixed version appearing on the remix compilation Remixed & Revisited (2003). "Nobody Knows Me" carries on the main theme of American Life, with its usage of negative tones on the songs. It is a dance and electronic song, with vocoder effects, spacey synths and a bubbly bass, and lyrically, Madonna rejects tabloid culture's "social disease", denouncing both TV and magazines.
Yasmine Hani Hamdan is a Lebanese singer and songwriter, now based in Paris.
Production is the second studio album by French record producer and songwriter Mirwais, released on 20 April 2000 through Naïve in Europe.
