Digital Underground was an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Their personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour.
Pizzicato Five was a Japanese pop band formed in Tokyo in 1979 by multi-instrumentalists Yasuharu Konishi and Keitarō Takanami. After some personnel changes in the late 1980s, the band gained international fame as a duo consisting of Konishi and vocalist Maki Nomiya. With their music blending together 1960s pop, jazz and synth-pop, the group were a prominent component in the Shibuya-kei movement of the 1990s.
Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group from New York City. The band was formed by DJ Kurtis Mantronik and rapper MC Tee. The group is primarily remembered for its pioneering blend of old school hip hop, electronic, and club music. They underwent several genre and line-up changes during its seven-year existence between 1984 and 1991, and released five albums beginning with their 1985 debut Mantronix: The Album.
Rosanna Bella Victoria Eriksdotter Munter is a former child actress and recording artist from Sweden. She is most known as a former member of the Swedish girl group Play and was in a collaborative project with White Lies bassist Charles Cave titled K.I.D.S.
Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The range of lounge music encompasses beautiful music-influenced instrumentals, modern electronica, while remaining thematically focused on its retro-space age cultural elements. The earliest type of lounge music appeared during the 1920s and 1930s, and was known as light music.
Shibuya-kei is a microgenre of pop music or a general aesthetic that flourished in Japan in the mid-to late 1990s. The music genre is distinguished by a "cut-and-paste" approach that was inspired by the kitsch, fusion, and artifice from certain music styles of the past. The most common reference points were 1960s culture and Western pop music, especially the work of Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, and Serge Gainsbourg.
Flipper's Guitar (フリッパーズ・ギター) were a Tokyo-based rock band led by Keigo Oyamada and Kenji Ozawa. The band were influenced by the chirpy sound of British 80s pop and post-punk groups like Haircut 100, Exhibit B, Orange Juice, The Style Council and Aztec Camera, as well as the fashionably eclectic sounds of early 90s Britain, from alternative dance to acid jazz.
The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness is the debut album of underground hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks, consisting of rapper Vinnie Paz and producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind. The original version of the album was released in 1997, limited to 1000 copies on vinyl by Superegular Records, and was re-released on CD in 2003 on Babygrande Records with six bonus tracks, featuring songs recorded by the group before their debut release. It has been a common misconception that the vinyl version was re-issued in 2001, possibly because the back of the vinyl release says "2001 Superegular." The album contains some themes on religious corruption and violence, themes that would later be expanded upon on their later works. Primarily the album focuses on references to astronomy, history and physics. The album was inspired by a lot of "crazy books" mentioned by Vinnie Paz in an interview, and is named after one of those books; "Matrix III - The psycho-social, chemical, biological & electro-magnetic manipulation of human consciousness".
Chamber pop is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other components drawn from the orchestral and lounge pop of the 1960s, with an emphasis on melody and texture.
La Caution is a French hip hop duo consisting of Hi-Tekk and Nikkfurie, both of Moroccan descent. They are notable for creating the song "Thé à la Menthe" which is known for appearing in the 2004 American film Ocean's Twelve. The phrase "thé à la menthe" is French for "mint tea".
Made in USA is a compilation album by Japanese pop band Pizzicato Five. The album was released in the United States on October 11, 1994 by Matador Records, serving as the band's first full-length, and second overall, American release on the label. Along with the Five by Five EP released earlier in 1994, it introduced Pizzicato Five to a Western audience.
Happy End of the World (ハッピー・エンド・オブ・ザ・ワールド) is the tenth studio album by Japanese pop band Pizzicato Five. The album was released on June 21, 1997, by Readymade Records. In the United States, it was released by Matador Records on September 9, 1997, and peaked at number 32 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart. A companion remix album, Happy End of You, was released in 1998. Happy End of the World was reissued by Readymade on March 31, 2006.
This Year's Girl (女性上位時代) is the fifth studio album by Japanese pop band Pizzicato Five. It was released on September 1, 1991 by the Nippon Columbia imprint Seven Gods, serving as the band's first album for Nippon Columbia. This Year's Girl is the first Pizzicato Five album to feature Maki Nomiya as lead vocalist. On the album, the band augmented their Shibuya-kei sound with elements of alternative dance and began to more fully incorporate sampling into their music.
Chidera Anamege, now known by his stage name Chiddy Bang, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to its breakup, Chiddy Bang was an American hip hop duo consisting of Anamege, under the stage name Chiddy, and Noah Beresin, under the stage name Xaphoon Jones. The duo was introduced by former band member Zachary Sewall in late 2008 while the two were studying at Drexel University, in Beresin's hometown of Philadelphia. Anamege's sound is based on the fusion of hip hop and alternative using samples from artists such as Ellie Goulding, Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens, Passion Pit, MGMT, Matt and Kim and Yelle. In 2013, Beresin left the group to focus on producing, and Anamege became a solo artist, with Beresin playing the role as frequent collaborator.
Original Me is the fourth studio album from German eurodance group Cascada, first released on 17 June 2011. Recording sessions for the album took place from 2009 to 2011 at Plazmatek Studio, Yanou Studio 1. The entire album, like their previous albums, was produced by the two DJs from Cascada, Yanou and DJ Manian. The album’s genre follows in the footsteps of the preceding album, Evacuate the Dancefloor, completely shifting away from the uptempo eurodance, containing electropop songs that are influenced by urban contemporary and pop music. Musically, the album is composed of electro-infused dance tracks with thick euro synths, cymbal crashing beats and Europop lyrics. Lyrically, the album, like the preceding albums, is composed of songs about love, dancing, and relationships.
Bossa Nova 2001 (ボサ・ノヴァ2001) is the seventh studio album by Japanese pop band Pizzicato Five. It was released on June 1, 1993 by the Nippon Columbia imprint Triad. The band co-produced the album with acquaintance and fellow Shibuya-kei artist Cornelius. Following the house music-oriented Sweet Pizzicato Five the previous year, Bossa Nova 2001 signaled a return to the band's 1960s and 1970s-influenced pop style, mixed with elements of alternative dance.
"Stress" is a song by French electronic music duo Justice, the tenth track on their debut studio album Cross. A music video for the song, directed by Romain Gavras, was released on 1 May 2008 through the website of American rapper Kanye West. The video, which was subject to severe criticism, is notable for its extremely controversial content, which includes scenes of gang violence performed by young teenagers across Paris. The song itself received positive reviews from critics.
Mai-Lan Aquarella Morgane Chapiron is a French-Vietnamese artist. She released her first solo album Mai Lan in 2012. In 2016, she appeared on M83's album Junk, contributing with vocals on four tracks, including the single "Go!". In 2017, she released her next major work, the Vampire EP. Her next full-length album, Autopilote, debuted on 19 January 2018.
Diplomatic Immunity is the debut studio album by Australian indie pop duo Client Liaison, released independently and exclusively in Australia on 4 November 2016. It was eventually re-released worldwide and onto digital streaming platforms on 17 November 2017.
