Tag: video

Edith Piaf, “Non, Je ne Regrette Rien”

Edith Piaf, “Non, Je ne Regrette Rien”

Edith Piaf, born Edith Giovanna Gassion, was a French cabaret singer, songwriter and actress who became widely regarded as France’s national chanteuse, as well as being one of France’s greatest international stars.

Her music was often autobiographical with her singing reflecting her life, and her specialty being chanson and torch ballads, particularly of love, loss and sorrow. Among her well known songs are “La Vie en Rose”, “Non, Je ne Regrette Rien”, Hymne a l’Amour”, and “Padam…Padam”.

Since her death in 1963 and with the aid of several biographies and films including 2007 Academy Award winning “La Vie en Rose”, Edith Piaf has acquired a legacy as one of the greatest performers of the twentieth century, and her voice and music continue to be celebrated globally.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Clamavi De Profundis, “Lament for Boromir”

Clamavi De Profundis, “Lament for Boromir”

Clamavi de Profundis is a family band influenced by classical and fantasy literature as well as cinematic, traditional, religious and classical music. They have a broad vocal range of over four octaves with a particular focus on singing in the deeper registers.

Clamavi de profundis: Latin: “I called from the depths”

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Abbey Lincoln, “Throw It Away”

Abbey Lincoln, “Throw It Away”

Abbey Lincoln was born Anna Marie Wooldridge, but took the stage name of Abbey Lincoln. She was a jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. Abbey was unique in that she wrote and performed her own compositions. She sang on the landmark jazz civil rights recording, “We Insist! – Freedom Now Suite” (1960) by drummer Max Roach, to whom Lincoln was married from 1962 to 1970.

Especially since this album, Abbey Lincoln was connected to the political fight against racism in the United States. She worked with other jazz musicians like Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, Coleman Hawkins, Jackie McLean, Clark Terry, Stanley Turrentine, Wynton Kelly, Cedar Walton, Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, Ron Carter, Miles Davis and made albums with Stan Getz, Mal Waldron and Archie Shepp.

“Throw It Away” comes from an album she made with Shepp, called “Painted Lady”. She was naturally elegant, her humanity never hidden in artifice. She sang with grace from the center of her being. Her songs showed wisdom and heart. She left us on August 14, 2010. Truly one of the great jazz singers.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Psarantonis, Nikos Stratakis and George Nikiforos Zervakis, “I Have a Thought. . .”

Psarantonis, Nikos Stratakis and George Nikiforos Zervakis, “I Have a Thought. . .”

Giorgos Nikiforou Zervakis is a musician and singer from Greece.

Band Membersλαούτο: Μιχάλης Παχάκης
κιθάρα: Δημήτρης Ζωγραφάκης
κόντρα μπάσο: Μιχάλης Μπουτσάκης
τύμπανα – κρουστά: Νίκος Παγωμένος

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Hung Massive, “Once Again”

Hung Massive, “Once Again”, 2011

Hung Massive is a duo of musicians playing the hang. The two members of the group are Danny Cudd and Markus ‘Offbeat’ Johansson. They have been playing together since 2010 and have played in more than twenty countries since the creation of their ensemble.  The duo regularly invites other artists to participate in the recording of their tracks or to make remixes of existing tracks. The artists with whom Hang Massive plays more or less regularly are Victoria Grebezs, The Many Rivers Ensemble, Bleecker (aka Adam Winchester) and Digital Samsara.

The hang is constructed from two half-shells of deep drawn, nitrided steel sheet glued together at the rim leaving the inside hollow and creating a distinct ‘UFO shape’. The top (“Ding”) side has a center ‘note’ hammered into it and seven or eight ‘tone fields’ hammered around the center. The bottom (“Gu”) is a plain surface that has a rolled hole in the center with a tuned note that can be created when the rim is struck.

The Hang uses some of the same basic physical principles as a steel pan, but modified in such a way as to act as a Helmholtz resonator.  The creation of the Hang was the result of many years of research on the steelpan and other instruments. The inventors of the hang, Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer of Bern Switzerland, have continued to refine the shape and materials and have produced several variations over the years. The name of their company is PANArt Hangbau AG.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Tinush, “Struggle” featuring Aretha Franklin

 

Tinush, “Struggle” featuring Aretha Franklin

Tinush puts his own interpretation on Aretha Franklin’s “A Deeper Love,” and renames it “Struggle.” While Aretha’s version fits perfectly with the gospel/house genre that was popular in the 90’s, Tinush‘s remix brings a musical experience that feels more serious, more closely aligned with the lyrics.

Tinush begins the track with a soulful piano solo, then begins layering drum loops, breaking at times for other instrumental solos. After a two minute build, Aretha comes in over a Tinush piano solo. Her vocals are clear, strong, untouched except for the reverb added to the last word she sings, “inside.” In case you’ve forgotten how the lyrics go…

“People let me tell you I work hard every day
I get up out of bed, I put on my clothes
‘Cause I’ve got bills to pay
Now it ain’t easy but I don’t need no help
I’ve got a strong will to survive
I’ve got a deeper love, deeper love.”

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Glass Animals, “Hazey”

Glass Animals, “Hazey” from the Album “ZABBA”, 2014

The video for “Hazey” is every bit as impressive as the earlier work from Glass Animals; artistic, great vibes shot for shot with high quality and accompanied perfectly by the music. This music video in particular features the incredible talents of the Solitary Crew; a London-based dance collective performing a unique style of street dance known as “bone breaking.” The movements and impressive choreography depicted in the video give credence to that choice of title for the style.

Commenting on the dancers’ technique, Glass Animals’ Dave Bayley said:

“Every day these dancers put themselves through torturous stretches and contortion exercises using ropes and towels to make themselves more flexible and their movements more fluid. They isolate themselves and focus on slowly building their craft, with a long term goal of being able to add another dance-move to their catalogue, and a longer term goal of stitching those moves together into something cool and beautiful. It all requires a huge amount of dedication and discipline. To me, ‘Hazey’ is about a parental character who has abandoned those values and eventually becomes wracked by regret. That character speaks in the choruses in the falsetto voice. The verses are spoken by that character’s child in full voice. This boy has matured quickly to pick up the pieces dropped by his parent. It was his attitude that I thought was summed up by the bone breakers.”

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Caravan Palace, “Human Leather Shoes for Crocodile Dandies”

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Caravan Palace, “Human Leather Shoes for Crocodile Dandies”

“Human Leather Shoes for Crocodile Dandies” sampled The Andrews Sisters’ song “Straighten Up and Fly Right”.

“Ain’t no use in divin’
What’s the use in who’s divin’?
Straighten up and find a place
Straighten up and do things”

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Jimmy Scott, “An Evening in Paradise”

“An Evening In Paradise”, the 1960 hit by the late male singer Jimmy Scott (aka Little Jimmy Scott) is blessed and highly favored by many of the music world.  His uniquely odd but very impressive countertenor vocals brought a swarm of attention which catapulted his music career.

Along with his striking voice, he also captivated many in his unusual stature as a young man, which ignited to shine even more of a spotlight upon him. He had  Kallmann syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that stagnated his height to 4 feet 11 inches. It wasn’t until the age of 37 that he grew another eight inches.

A great and distinctive voice. Most people do not know of him and his talent. Check out two of his other songs: “Day by Day” which was used in the soundtrack for the movie “Fences” and “Time After Time”. Great sounds.

Max Richter, “On the Nature of Daylight” 

 

Max Richter, “On the Nature of Daylight”

This song was used on the soundtrack of the movie “The Arrival”. A great song by a great composer. If you do not know his work, listen to more. If you have not seen the movie, well, it should have won Oscars. A great intense movie about life. An ambitious sci-fi film that forces viewers to reconsider that which makes us truly human, and the impact of grief on that timeline of existence.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)