Blending black metal's most brutal tendencies, the melancholic beauty of opera, and industrial metal's production techniques, Dimmu Borgir carved a niche in the metal world as one of the most savage and creative acts to hail from the Norwegian scene. The group first started in 1993, when members Shagrath (vocals), Erkekjetter Silenoz (guitar), and Tjodalv (guitar and drums) came together to join the emerging metal scene. Although some groups like Emperor and Mayhem... read more
Nearly as much as Metallica or Megadeth, Anthrax was responsible for the emergence of speed and thrash metal. Combining the speed and fury of hardcore punk with the prominent guitars and vocals of heavy metal, they helped create a new subgenre of heavy metal on their early albums. Original guitarists Scott Ian and Dan Spitz were a formidable pair, spitting out lightning-fast riffs and solos that never seemed masturbatory. Unlike Metallica or Megadeth, they had the... read more
The New Haven, CT-based Hatebreed got together in 1993 for the purpose of creating a "back to basics" hardcore band with heavy, metallic guitars, screaming vocals, and 30-second songs. Consisting of Jamey Jasta (vocals), Lou "Boulder" Richards (guitar), Chris Beattie (bass), Sean Martin (guitar), and Rigg Ross (drums), Hatebreed had the chance to play throughout the East Coast while sharing the stage with the likes of Entombed, the Deftones, Slayer, and Napalm Death... read more
Named after French painter Jean Debuffet's definition of outsider art -- art by prisoners, loners, the mentally ill, and other marginalized people, and made without thought to imitation or presentation -- South London's Art Brut make brilliantly simple, cleverly stupid art-punk. Tagged by NME as part of the "Art Wave" scene that also includes bands such as Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party, as well as other bands from Art Brut's New Cross locale, the group is comprised... read more
Paris-based songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sergent Garcia blends salsa, reggae, hip-hop, and jazz into a style he calls "salsamuffin." He and his septet, Locos del Barrio, formed in 1997 and released their debut album, Un Poquito Quema'o, two years later in Europe and in the U.S. in early 2000.
(Allmusic)
www.myspace.com/sgtogarcia
Rokia Traore's family was both a blessing and a curse for her musical career. Her father was a diplomat and she spent her childhood travelling over several continents, to Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, and France. There she was exposed to a variety of styles of music, from classical, jazz, and pop to Indian traditional composition. However, her family was also part of Mali's nobility, which has traditional caste prohibitions against their members making music. For... read more
Long one of the most influential and innovative figures on the UK reggae scene, producer Adrian Sherwood and his famed On-U Sound label pioneered a distinctive fusion of dub, rock and dance which made waves not only in roots circles but also in the pop mainstream. Born in 1958, Sherwood first surfaced during the late '70s at the helm of a series of disastrously short-lived labels; he formed On-U Sound in 1979, counting Creation Rebel, Prince Far I, Bim Sherman, and... read more
How to conduct yourself as a DJ, producer, and musician? Look not further than one Mr Richard Dorfmeister for the ultimate show of professionalism and integrity. Either with the infamous sidekicks Peter Kruder or Rupert Huber for Kruder and Dorfmeister or Tosca, or even with the dancefloor stomping grounds of Madrid de los Austrias, Richard Dorfmeister is the epitome of expertness and characteristics of a professional person. And not only musical speaking! Actually,... read more
