t.A.T.u. {or ТАТУ}is a multi-award winning Russian music duo consisting of Елена Сергеевна Катина [Yelena Sergeyevna Katina](Лена/Lena for short.) and Юля Олеговна Волкова [Yulya Olegovna Volkova] (It's sometimes spelled as "Yulia," and in America, it's "Julia").
The group was formed in 1999 by Иван Шаповалов [Ivan Shapovalov] in Moscow. t.A.T.u. are the most successful international recording act exported from Russia, with a fan base stretching all over the world. Their debut album, "200 По Встречной"[200 Po Vstrechnoĭ] was the first from a Russian act to reach gold status internationally. With the release of their debut English album, 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, t.A.T.u. became the first act to receive an IFPI Platinum Europe Award for the same album in two languages.
Much of their early success was based on what was thought of as a lesbian image portrayed by Katina and Volkova, and the controversy that surrounded it. However, in December 2003, it became apparent in their documentary, Anatomy of t.A.T.u., that their sexuality was just part of the group's image at the time, and that they were not actually lesbians. Then in 2004, the group took a hiatus after they split from their producer and Volkova had become pregnant. They were soon back in the studio, and, in 2005, released Dangerous and Moving and ЛЮДИ ИНВАЛИДЫ[Lyudi Invalidy]. In the last year, the group has released a compilation album, negotiated out of their contract with Universal records, and announced the production of a third studio albums "Waste Management" and "Управление Отбросами," which will coincide to the release of an upcoming film titled Finding t.A.T.u.
t.A.T.u.'s image and vocals fit well into pop music, however, the group's sound varies from rock, to dance, to pop and electronica. Their first Russian album was mostly rock and dance influenced, while their first English album was heavily influenced by rock and electronica. Their English follow-up, Dangerous and Moving, was a more traditionally Euro-pop album than the first.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Tatu
R.E.M
Although "R.E.M." can stand for "Rapid Eye Movement", which is a certain stage during a person's nightly sleep, it does not have this meaning when referring to the band.
Throughout the 1980s, the band worked relentlessly, releasing records every year from their debut album Murmur in 1983 through Green in 1988. Alongside this hectic recording schedule, R.E.M. toured constantly, playing both theaters and backwoods dives. Along the way, they inspired countless bands, from the legions of jangle pop groups in the mid-1980s to scores of alternative pop groups in the 1990s, who admired their slow climb to stardom and were instrumental in the rise of college radio. The band's politics, aesthetics, and hardworking ethos - largely inspired by the early punk and art rock movements of the 1970s - enabled the group to establish itself quickly as one of the pillars of the U.S.'s burgeoning alternative rock scene. Toward the mid-1990s, R.E.M. was an institution, as its influence was felt in new generations of bands.
R.E.M.'s music stands as a testament to diversity, with their catalog reflecting the changes in time and sound in American music over the length of the band's career. While their early music is full of lo-fi jangly guitars and murmured lyrics - leading to the album titled Murmur, their most recent album, Around the Sun, is more hi-fi and unlike anything done previously. Despite such shifts in album direction and the sound of each album changing substantially, fans are still able to identify an element of each song that retains the R.E.M. feel.
Discography:
Chronic Town EP(1982)
Murmur (1983)
Reckoning (1984)
Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)
Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)
Document (1987)
Green (1988)
Out of Time (1991)
Automatic for the People (1992)
Monster (1994)
New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)
Up (1998)
Reveal (2000)
Around the Sun (2004)
Duran Duran
Their songs were cheerful, hook-laden pop that fared well on the radio, but what many remember best about Duran Duran are their iconic music videos. Though many of the videos were tongue-in-cheek, the band never quite escaped the glamorous and decadent jet set image their early videos projected.
The band spent on an average more than a six figure sum (£), on first 3 albums videos (each) alone.
Their first singer was Stephen Duffy and the original bassist was Simon Colley. Several drummers and guitarists were subsequently tried, as well as a handful of vocalists after Duffy left Duran Duran early in 1979. Duran Duran performed the title sequence theme for the 1985 James Bond film "A View To A Kill".
Like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran were among the earliest bands to work on their own remixes. From the very beginning, the band had a keen sense of style, and worked with stylist Perry Haines and fashion designers such as Kahn & Bell and Antony Price to build a sharp and elegant image, soon growing beyond the ruffles and sashes of the pirate-flavoured new romantic look.
Although the group never disbanded, it went through several line-up changes over the years - guitarist Warren Cuccurullo was also a member of the band from 1989 to 2001, and drummer Sterling Campbell was a member from 1989 to 1991. The reunion of the original five members in the early 2000s created a stir among music media and the band's fans. Duran Duran released the first album from the reunited line-up, Astronaut, in 2004, which was in turn followed up by many sold out shows in England, most notably Wembley, where the Live DVD of the tour was filmed in 2004/2005.
In October of 2006, it was announced on Duran Duran's website that Andy Taylor had left the band.The band's new album, 'Red Carpet Massacre' is due to be released in October this year.
Deep Purple
Formed in 1967, Deep Purple's early output ranged from pure pop (such as their cover of "Hush") to strongly classically influenced pieces (such as "April", from their third album). Their first few albums contained incredibly long solos including songs such as "Hey Joe" and "I'm So Glad" with a long solo before they even began their lyrics. Some classic anthems have come from that era of Deep Purple though, including songs such as "Anthem" and "Shield" which set the bar for some very influential songs.
After their third album, though, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore in particular felt the band should move in a harder direction - and felt that then singer Rod Evans and bassist Nicky Simper were incapable of working in that direction. Both were therefore let go, and replaced with singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover from Episode Six, producing what is now thought of as the classic Deep Purple lineup with keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice.
The first output of this new lineup was a mixed electric and orchestral album with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, "Deep Purple In Concert", with the centrepiece being Lord's "Concerto for Group and Orchestra". The whole project was reputedly initiated after idle chat with the band's manager about the possibility led to him booking the orchestra and giving the inexperienced composer a deadline to produce the work of a public concert.
Following on from this unusual venture were four very influential studio albums over the next four years - "Deep Purple In Rock", "Fireball", "Machine Head" and "Who Do We Think We Are?" and the seminal live album "Made in Japan".
Though this lineup still recorded some songs with a lighter, pop tone such as "Strange Kind Of Woman" and "Black Night", the influence of their new blood and the impetus this provided to the existing members showed strongly in hard rock songs such as "Speed King", "Child in Time" and the massively successful "Smoke On The Water", which became a tune almost everybody knows, but not everybody can put a name to.
In 1973, creative tensions led to Gillan and Glover leaving the band, and being replaced by previously unknown singer David Coverdale and bassist / singer Glenn Hughes from Trapeze. This new lineup continued the success of their predecessors, recording the albums "Burn" and "Stormbringer" and further successful tours and live albums. However, Blackmore became disenchanted with the increasing funk direction he felt the band was taking and left to form Rainbow (a name inspired by the stage set when they performed at the California Jam music festival) with former members of Elf, who had previously toured with Deep Purple as a support act.
Coverdale then assumed leadership of the band and recruited former James Gang guitarist Tommy Bolin and recording "Come Taste The Band". Other members were growing weary, though, and when Bolin died of a Heroin overdose the band split, with Coverdale going on to form Whitesnake and Paice and Lord joining with Tony Ashton to form the short-lived Paice, Ashton And Lord before joining Coverdale in Whitesnake.
In 1984, their best-known second lineup reunited to produce the albums "Perfect Strangers" and "The House of Blue Light". Tensions returned however, as Gillan was fired to be replaced by Joe Lynn Turner, formerly of Rainbow. This lineup only lasted for one album, "Slaves and Masters", before Gillan's return for "The Battle Rages On" and Blackmore's subsequent departure while touring in support of the album, being temporarily replaced by Joe Satriani.
The remaining members then recruited Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse and, revitalised, produced what many regarded as their best work in many years, "Purpendicular", then "Abandon" before Lord's departure to be replaced by former Rainbow and Ozzy Osbourne keyboardist Don Airey. This lineup has since recorded "Bananas" and "Rapture of the Deep".
While not as influential or commercially successful as in their original incarnation, the band have remained a successful studio and live act throughout this period.