The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters-multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of Beatlesque pop, classical arrangements and futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. For their initial tenure, Lynne, Bevan and keyboardist Richard Tandy were the group's only consistent members.
Kraftwerk is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1969 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered as innovators and pioneers of electronic music, it was among the first successful acts to popularize the genre. The group began as part of West Germany's experimental krautrock scene in the early 1970s before fully embracing electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers, drum machines, and vocoders. Wolfgang Flür joined the band in 1974: there was also the arrival of Karl Bartos in 1975. From then, the band worked as a quartet.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, known earlier in his career simply as Roland Kirk, was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist who played tenor saxophone, flute, and many other instruments. He was renowned for his onstage vitality, during which virtuoso improvisation was accompanied by comic banter, political ranting, and the ability to play several instruments simultaneously.
Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of brothers Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin. Signing to Skam and then Warp Records in the 1990s, the duo received recognition following the release of their debut album Music Has the Right to Children in 1998. Their subsequent albums, Geogaddi (2002), The Campfire Headphase (2005) and Tomorrow's Harvest (2013), have received critical praise. They have remained reclusive, rarely appearing live.
Autobahn is the fourth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in November 1974. It was the band's first album to fully embrace the repetitive electronic sound they would become known for and was inspired by the titular German motorway system.
Trans-Europe Express is the sixth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk. Recorded in mid-1976 in Düsseldorf, Germany, the album was released in March 1977 on Kling Klang Records. It saw the group refine their melodic electronic style, with a focus on sequenced rhythms, minimalism, and occasionally manipulated vocals. The themes include celebrations of the titular European railway service and Europe as a whole, and meditations on the disparities between reality and appearance.
"Cars" is the debut solo single by English musician Gary Numan. It was released on 21 August 1979 and is from his debut studio album, The Pleasure Principle. The song reached the top of the charts in several countries, and today is considered a new wave staple.
Yann Tiersen is a French musician and composer. His musical career is split between studio recordings, music collaborations and film soundtracks songwriting. His music incorporates a large variety of classical and contemporary instruments, primarily the electric guitar, the piano, synthesisers and the violin, but also instruments such as the melodica, xylophone, toy piano, harpsichord, piano accordion or even typewriter.
"In Bloom" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the second track on the band's second album, Nevermind, released by DGC Records in September 1991.
Cascada is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They are best known for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", "Evacuate the Dancefloor", and "Miracle". Cascada represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden with "Glorious". While being one of the most successful acts of the dance music genre itself, Cascada was named the 3rd most successful German act of the 21st century.
Trans-X is a Canadian 1980s synth band formed in Montreal, Quebec. They are known for their hit song "Living on Video" which charted worldwide.
Walking on Sunshine is the third studio album by Guyanese-British musician Eddy Grant, originally released in 1978 by Ice Records. Recorded at Grant's Stamford Hill recording studio, the album was the follow-up to Message Man (1977) and fuses styles of Caribbean music like reggae, soca and calypso with other genres, including funk and pop. The musician played most of the album's instrumentation himself, and described the record as reflecting his joyousness. However, some songs feature tough cultural themes, particularly those on the first side.
"Cult of Personality" is a song by American rock band Living Colour, featured as the opening track and second single from their debut studio album Vivid (1988). The song was released on July 14, 1988, and reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. It won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards. Its music video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video and MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.
"Living on Video" is a song by Canadian synth-pop band Trans-X written and published in 1982, but not released as a single until May 1983 by Polydor Records, and then remixed in 1985. It became a massive hit worldwide, with the remixed version peaking at #9 on the UK Singles Chart and #61 on the Billboard Hot 100. Trans-X also originally recorded a French-language version under the title "Vivre sur Vidéo". The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years.
The Electric Light Orchestra is the eponymous debut studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in December 1971 in the United Kingdom by Harvest Records. In the United States, the album was released in March 1972 as No Answer, after a misunderstood telephone message made by a United Artists Records executive asking about the album name; the caller, having failed to reach the ELO contact, wrote down "no answer" in his notes, and this was misconstrued to be the name of the album.
"HYFR ", also known as just "HYFR", is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his second studio album Take Care (2011). The song features Lil Wayne and was released as the album's sixth official single. It was released to radio stations on April 24, 2012. The song was nominated for the 55th Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance, but lost to Niggas in Paris by Jay-Z and Kanye West.
"Winner" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the lead single from their eleventh studio album, Elysium (2012). It received its UK radio premiere on The Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 on 2 July 2012. The following day, it was made available for download, followed by a CD single and two digital bundles on 6 August 2012.
"Crave" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna with American singer and rapper Swae Lee, from the former's fourteenth studio Madame X (2019). The song was written by the two artists and Starrah, while production was handled by Madonna, Mike Dean and Billboard. It was released by Interscope Records for digital download and streaming as the album's second single on May 10, 2019. The song has been noted as a pop, trap, hip hop ballad inspired by Fado music, with the lyrics talking about desire and craving for someone who's running away. It was one of the first songs Madonna wrote for Madame X, but she put the work on hold when she began working with other musicians in Lisbon. When she revisited the song, Madonna came to the conclusion that a male voice was needed for inclusion and approached Swae Lee to sing with her, as she was a fan of his voice.
Madame X is the fourteenth studio album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on June 14, 2019, by Interscope Records. The album was creatively influenced by her expatriate life in Lisbon, Portugal, after relocating there in summer 2017. Madonna co-wrote and co-produced the album with a number of musicians, including Mirwais, Mike Dean, and Jason Evigan. It also features guest appearances by Maluma, Quavo, Swae Lee, and Anitta.
"I Rise" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her fourteenth studio album Madame X (2019). The song was written by the singer herself, alongside Starrah and Jason Evigan, while produced by Madonna and Evigan. It was released on May 3, 2019, by Interscope Records, as the first promotional single from the album, and later sent to Italian radio on October 4, 2019, as the album's third single, by the aforementioned label. The song is a mid tempo pop track which lyrically deals about self-empowerment and draws attention to gun violence in the United States, and contains a sample from a speech by American activist Emma González.
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