Christmas play list

Posted on December 23, 2009 
Filed Under News | 13 Comments

Everyone’s got their fave Christmas songs. These are mine. Better late than never. Happy Christmas!

father christmas

Any more?

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Stacy Soloman is the girl with the X-Factor

Posted on November 7, 2009 
Filed Under X Factor 2009 | 12 Comments

Stacy Soloman pop art

Stacey Solomon is a female of contestant in the British TV series X Factor and, at the moment, is the most popular girl still left in the show. Stacey, of Dagenham Essex, wowed the judges with her version of What a Wonderful World during her audition.

She is a single mum of 19 and has a giggly “OMG” breathless way of talking that is both endearing and easy to imitate. This coupled with her obvious singing talents make her destined for potential minor celebrity status. We’ll have to see.

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Jamie Archer the afro tipped to win The X Factor

Posted on October 18, 2009 
Filed Under Jamie Archer | 7 Comments

Jamie

Jamie Archer (also known as Jamie Afro) is a 33 year old musician from Putney, London and finalist in the 2009 series of The X Factor. He is the oldest entrant in the competition in 2009, and keenly aware that it’s his last chance for the big time.

He has considerable experience on the London gig circuit and plays a number of instruments, chiefly the guitar and, reportedly, finds performing without an instrument challenging. As a member of the over 25 category, he is happy that his mentor for the series is Simon Cowell.

His MySpace page lists his influences as: “So many to say and from different areas of music, but here are a few Faithless, The Killers, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, U2, The Chemical Brothers, Kings Of Leon, Blur, Oasis, Luciano Pavarrotti, Micheal Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Verve and the list goes on and on….”

Last night, Jamie performed Christina Aguilera’s Hurt proving he had an unexpected ability to deliver a softer, slower melody as well as being able to belt out rock anthems. He has stage presence and a likability. One to watch.

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Jay Z – Clever production and hard hip hop

Posted on September 20, 2009 
Filed Under Jay Z | 5 Comments

Jay-Z with an urban background of skyscrapers at night

Shawn Corey Carter (Jay-Z) was born on December 4, 1969, in the Marcy Houses housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood of Brooklyn in New York City, USA.

Jay-Z will get his 11th American number one album with Blueprint 3, overtaking Elvis Presley as the solo artist with the most chart-toppers in US chart history.

At the beginning of his career, when no one gave him a record deal, Jay-Z created Roc-A-Fella Records and, after striking a deal with Priority to distribute his material, he released his 1996 debut album Reasonable Doubt with beats from acclaimed producers such as DJ Premier and Ski, and an appearance by The Notorious B.I.G..

Subsequent album’s glossy productions have made some dedicated fans feel that he had “sold out”. But now, 11 albums later, it’s fair to say that he has successfully moved the genre onwards, fusing the hardcore hip hop of his youth with slick productions to critical acclaim and mainstream success.

He heads a multi-million dollar empire built up around clothing lines, restaurants, films, sports, and more recently Roc Nation, a music publishing and touring venture. He endorsed Barack Obama and has been involved in charity work for Africa.

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Michael Jackson pop art

Posted on July 7, 2009 
Filed Under Michael Jackson | 28 Comments

Michael Jackson pop art

Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago. He was the seventh child of the Jackson family.

In 1968 as a member of The Jackson 5, he first signed to the Motown label and started having hits. He began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group, a career that saw him dubbed the “King of Pop.”

For many people Michael Jackson’s career can be divided into two parts: before Thriller and after Thriller.

Before Thriller

The Jackson 5 made a record when their first four singles (“I Want You Back”, “ABC”, “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There”) went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Disillusioned with Motown’s strict refusal to allow them creative input, The Jackson 5 left Motown and signed a new contract with CBS Records in June 1975. From 1976 to 1984, Michael Jackson was the lead songwriter of the group, writing hits such as “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)”, “This Place Hotel” and “Can You Feel It”.

Jackson jointly produced Off the Wall (1979) with Quincy Jones. Songwriters included Jackson, Heatwave’s Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney.

Then in 1982 he released – again co-producing with Quincy Jones – the album Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time

After Thriller

After Thriller came Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), none were to top Thriller in terms of sales but all massive successes nonetheless.

One thing that really strikes me is how many good songs he did after Thriller. Dirty Diana, Man in the Mirror, Remember the Time, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, and The Way You Make Me Feel were all recorded by the singer when he was supposedly past his prime!

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Created from Silence

Posted on June 14, 2009 
Filed Under News | 6 Comments

Created from Silence

Created From Silence – a four piece acoustic band from Scotland.

Formed in late 2008, when singer/songwriter Colin Taylor advertised for musicians on his MySpace page. He attracted first keyboard player Will Marshall and Rowan Petch on bass. Lastly, Will’s old friend Sandy Harley completed the line up on the drums. They have won WestSound Live 2009.

They have just been played on BBC Radio 6 by Tom Robinson and are performing at this years Wickerman Festival

Live 3 track demo which can be heard at on their MySpace page.

Here is a thread in the forums for Created from Silence.

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Little Willie John gives me fever

Posted on June 13, 2009 
Filed Under Little Willie John | 1 Comment

Little Willie John (aka William Edward John)

He was born William Edward John in Cullendale, Arkansas, moving with his family to Detroit, Michigan when he was four.

Although barely over 5 feet in height his singing voice was moving. He achieved popularity amongst R&B fans in the 1950s and early 1960s and had already had 3 R&B top tens before the age of 18. He is most famous for the song “Fever” which was an important recording for him. It was his first record to cross over to the white market and enter Billboard’s Top 100 pop charts, where it debuted at position 50 in July 1956 and peaked at the 24th spot. Peggy Lee reworked the lyrics and recorded it in May of 1958. Her version rose to 8th position on the pop charts in August 1958 and quickly became a classic. Since then, “Fever” has been recorded by artists from nearly every musical genre, including pop, rock ‘n’ roll, country, folk, and soul in addition to R&B and jazz. Another of my favorites of his is “Need Your Love So Bad” which was covered by the original Fleetwood Mac and was a big hit in Europe.

Willie suffered from alcoholism and was known to carry a gun. In 1965 he was convicted of manslaughter for a stabbing in Seattle,and was sentenced to a 10-year prison term. He died under mysterious circumstances in Washington State Prison in 1968. He was just 30 years old at the time.

Although his life was short, his musical abilities were well respected by other artists like Jerry Butler, B.B. King and James Brown who recorded a tribute album Thinking Of Little Willie John… And A Few Other Nice Things. He also inspired Stevie Wonder and the Beatles.

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New stars use music studio in London for production and recording

Posted on June 9, 2009 
Filed Under News | 4 Comments

montage of girl and turntable

Check out these new, up and coming acts that have had their music recorded and produced at Whitelight along with other established artists.

They include:

Some mp3 samples are displayed and rotated on the site.

I particularly like Zemmy.

The recording studio combines the best in digital and analogue technologies. It is spacious with plenty of daylight. It has been acoustically treated and has an open natural sound with accurate monitoring.

Tony White music producerWhitelight Production is owned and run by Tony White. Tony is a multi-instrumentalist, playing acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, bass , drums and percussion.

Tony started working with members of funk/soul band Rokoto after college. He also played live and in the studio with reggae band Exiles Intact, who’s members work with everyone from Finlay Quaye to William Orbit and Gnarls Barkley. At this time he did a lot of session work and played on records by top Jamaican artists such as Admiral Tibet.

He then moved to London. Tony toured the Gospel circuit, playing drums and guitar with top Gospel vocal group Channels of Praise which featured both Mozez and Michael Arkk. During this time he also formed a band with Argentinian keyboard maestro Natalio Faingold (Joan Armatrading) and drummer Errol Kennedy from eighties superstars Imagination. He also worked with The Fingertips – the band of the legendary ‘Fast’ Freddie Horton, managed by Dave Robinson of Stiff Records, with whom he recorded an album and played various venues including Wembley Arena as well as doing live Radio One sessions and many TV appearances. During this time he, along with Trevor White Bentley, composed and recorded music for BBC and Channel 4 television.

Since setting up his own studio some ten years ago Tony has created everything from dance, hip hop and RnB to rock, pop, reggae and jazz. Through the late nineties he had a string of dance and underground garage releases. His work has also featured on chill-out compilation albums from Hed Kandi and The Acid Lounge. Tony is comfortable within a huge range of musical genres and all these influences are present in a fluid and creative production style. Now working with a fantastic group of artists and writers he is getting Whitelight Production geared for mainstream success.

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Early Rolling Stones with Brian Jones

Posted on June 8, 2009 
Filed Under The Rolling Stones | 3 Comments

Cheltenham-born bohemian Brian Jones placed an advertisement on 2 May 1962 in the Jazz News inviting musicians to audition for a new R&B group. Ian Stewart was the first [...] Continue Reading…

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The Beatles – the fab four – psychedelic pop art

Posted on April 28, 2009 
Filed Under The Beatles | 12 Comments

The Beatles were a rock and pop band from Liverpool (in Lancashire as it was then but not now), England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group [...] Continue Reading…

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