Yanni Releases new Album "Truth of Touch"

WATCH YANNI live at the TAJ

Yanni's "Truth of Touch" Album Review 

By: Markos Papadatos.

  

Acclaimed composer and world-renowned pianist, Yanni, released his latest album "Truth of Touch" on Feb. 8, 2011. This is Yanni's sixteenth studio album, and he arranged, wrote or co-wrote all of the tracks.

Throughout his illustrious career in music, Yanni has sold over twenty million records, and has garnered two Grammy nominations for his "Dare to Dream" and "In My Time" records; moreover, his 1994 "Yanni Live at the Acropolis" concert, which was seen by half a billion viewers in over sixty countries, is considered to be among the top PBS fundraisers of all time.

  

Particularly impressive about this album is that it emerged from Yanni's experimenting and playing in his Miami recording studio. The end result is a fresh new sound to Yanni's music, with less live orchestration, yet more rhythms and catchy melodies. With its stellar opening song, the title track, Yanni is able to take his listeners on a journey, transporting them to alternative realms.

Equally promising tracks include "Flash of Color," "Vertigo," "Can't Wait," "Secret" and "Mist of a Kiss." On the operatic and soulful "O Luce Che Brilla Nell' Oscurita," Yanni collaborates with gifted vocalist Nathan Pacheco. "Can't Wait," which contains elements of gospel music, features Kentucky native Leslie Mills on vocals; while the jazzy "Yanni and Arturo" represents a soaring collaboration with veteran Cuban trumpet player Arturo Sandoval. "Secret," featuring Chloe Lowery on lead vocals, is a soothing and hypnotic track with which he closes his album, leaving audiences yearning for more.

  

All three guest vocalists, Pacheco, Mills and Lowery, re-unite with Yanni on "Truth of Touch," after previously working with him on his 2009 Yanni Voices record.

  

In summation, Yanni's newest album "Truth of Touch" is an eclectic fifteen-track masterpiece. It is a substantial indication that Yanni's contemporary instrumental music is like fine Greek wine; he only gets better with each release. Yanni's "Truth of Touch" may very well be every Greek-American's "guilty pleasure."

  

Yanni is slated to embark on a forty-city North American tour in Spring of 2011, including leading venues such as New York's Radio City Music Hall, as well as Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. For more information on Yanni, his music, and his upcoming North American tour, please visit his official website: www.yanni.com.

Have you got the BLues????

Above: Blues Legend BUDDY GUY Live in Mumbai 2011

Like Rock and roll, heavy metal music, hip hop music, reggae, country music, and pop music, blues has been accused of being the "devil's music" and of inciting violence and other poor behavior. In the early 20th century, the blues was considered disreputable, especially as white audiences began listening to the blues during the 1920s.

Blues is a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads.

Some of the well known bands or artists that have a strong blues flavor are Eric Clapton, Lenny kravitz, Santana, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, John Mayer trio, Johnny Cash, The White Stripes, Led Zeppelin, Cream, The Rolling Stones and Miles Davis.

Many of Led Zeppelin's earlier hits were renditions of traditional blues songs.

One blues rock performer, Jimi Hendrix, was a rarity in his field at the time: a black man who played psychedelic rock. Through these artists and others, blues music influenced the development of rock. Prominent jazz, folk or rock performers, such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and Bob Dylan have performed significant blues recordings.

Most forms of modern music and artists that we listen today have an influence or have a strain of blues to them. Some of the Most Popular Blues artists are B.B king, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, "T-Bone" Walker.

Have you listened to a song that is real bluesy? Please do let us know.

Till then keep rockin, err Happy bluein....

Source: Wikipedia.

The Best Selling Musicians of All Time : Really????

Have you ever wondered why the Greatest Musicians of all time are called Great in the first place???

Is it because of their talent, voice, skill or is there something more? You bet if they couldn't sell their music to a lot of People you and I would'nt be even talking about them. While Music undoubtedly is a central aspect of the who they are, it is the little nuances and intricacies in their whole approach to life that add a different dimension to their persona and creates that aura around them which eventually lead to album sales - yes the all important moolah!!!!

While there are thousands of  talented music artists around, the following list made it really big and there is something unique about each one of them other than the music. 

What sets them apart?  You let us know:

The Beatles:

  

                          Genre:Pop, rock                                                        Claimed Sales: 1 billion

Elvis Presley:

                     Genre: Rock and roll, Pop, Country                                           Claimed Sales: 1 billion

Micheal jackson:

                     Genre: Pop, R & B, dance                                           Claimed Sales: 750 million

:

ABBA:

                     Genre: Pop                                                         Claimed Sales: 370 million

Madonna:

                     Genre: Pop and Dance                                           Claimed Sales: 300 million

Led Zeppelin:

                     Genre: Rock                                                        Claimed Sales: 300 million

Queen::

                     Genre: Rock                                                        Claimed Sales: 300 million

Cheers and Enjoy!!!!

Source: Wikipedia

A.R Rahman Nominated For The 83RD Annual Academy Awards Twice

Music composer A. R. Rahman has proved time and again that his renditions are certainly amongst the best ever compositions in the world. However, when such works of art are appreciated by the right authorities it does add a feather in his already feathered cap.

Thus it was quite an overwhelming piece of news when it was announced on Tuesday, the 25th of January 2011 that this music maestro has been nominated for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards twice.

The maestro received nominations in two categories. One for his original score in Danny Boyle's flick titled 127 hours and the second for his original song "If I Rise" which is from the same flick.

A. R. Rahman is pitted against top contenders in the original score category with names like John Powell who has received the nomination for How To Train Your Dragon , Hans Zimmer for Inception, Alexandre Desplat for The King's Speech, Trent Rezmor and Atticus Ross for The Social Network.

In the Best Song category Rahman shares the nominations with Dido and Rolo Armstrong who are the lyricists for the song "If I Rise".

Despite having received the nominations, A. R Rahman reportedly does not think that he will be the recipient of the award this time. According to tabloid reports, the maestro thinks he's already got enough Oscars for an entire lifetime. However, he does want to go and enjoy the awards function irrespective of the fact that he might or might not receive the award.

The maestro has already received the Best Original song Award at the 16th Critics Choice Movie Awards for 127 Hours recently.Im sure he can repeat the magic and bring home another Oscar.

The Oscar Awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on the 27th of February.

Here is the video of  "If I Rise" song from 127 Hours..the voice of Dido is just captivating and soulful.

source:youtube

50 Greatest Guitar Riffs in Rock 'n' Roll!

Im sure that im not alone who agrees to the fact that the most memorable part of many rock songs is the riff. In many cases these riffs are fairly easy to play. Bands like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones all use riffs in some of their most recognizable songs.

A Riff is nothing but a repeating musical theme that forms a song's framework.Though they are most often
found in rock music, Latin, funk and jazz, classical music is also sometimes based on a simple riff. Riffs can be as simple as a tenor saxophone honking a simple, catchy rhythmic figure, or as complex as the riff-based variations in the head arrangements played by an Orchestra. Thus, guitar riffs are the basic
 building blocks of rock 'n' roll -- and there are many best lists' compiled by various musicial faternity groups ,
we've gathered the greatest of the great as per spinner.com ,a leading music portal.

Emotional impact, cultural significance and good old-fashioned recognizability are just as important as being flashy or hard to play. No list of "bests" is going to satisfy everyone, and there's only one song per band, but we hope this will at least get you to go back and listen to some of your favorites. So tell us which riffs rock your world in the comments section.

You can checkout the below link which will take you to the complete Spinner's list of "50 
Greatest Guitar Riffs in Rock 'n' Roll! and listen to some of your favorites.

http://www.spinner.com/2011/01/13/rock-guitar-riffs/


source:spinner.com,wikipedia

'Bengaluru Habba' (Bangalore Festival) is back.

'Bengaluru Habba' (Bangalore Festival) is back,  it will be a cultural feast for Bangaloreans which will last till Jan 29^th  2011.The two-week long event showcases both Indian classical music and dance and rock music besides theatre, film and arts.The classical music and dance performances as well as shows by various rock bands and jazz concerts start Monday 17^th Jan 2011.

'Bengaluru Habba' is organised by Artists' Foundation For the Arts (AFFA), set up as a non-profit organisation in 2002 by noted Bharatanatyam dancers Padmini Ravi and Nandini Alva.

This year, the 'Habba' has 15 events playing out at 24 venues with 67 performances and participation over 900 artists, besides craft stalls and art show.

Apart from Sharma's santoor and Gopalnath's saxophone, there will be Hindustani music concert by Keerti Kumar Badseshi, Bharatanatyam by Priyadarsini Govind and Padma Subrahmanyam, and Odissi by Italian Ileana Citaristi, who was awarded Padma Shri in 2006 for her contribution to Odissi dance.

The 'Habba' will conclude Jan 29 at the sprawling Palace Grounds in north Bangalore with a performance by popular band Eka and a Bollywood musical extravaganza by singer Kailash Kher.

Source & For more details pls visit.  http://bengaluruhabba.co.in/2011/home.html

Rick Allen ..the THUNDERGOD

 What would you do if you were the drummer for one of the most popular metal bands of the ‘80s? If you were Def Leppard’s Rick Allen, you’d go the rock-star headbanging route, abusing substances, driving fast and taking chances. Now, what would you do if, two years after recording a masterful and historic heavy metal album that sold over 10 million copies worldwide, you were road-raging down a rural English road on New Year’s Eve and lost your arm in a horrible car accident?

Richard John Cyril "Rick" Allen (born 1 November 1963) is the drummer for the English hard rock band Def Leppard. He is famous for overcoming the complete amputation of his left arm and continuing to play with the band, which subsequently went on to its greatest popular success worldwide. His fans now call him the "Thunder God".

At the age of 21 Allen meet with an accident which resulted in him losing his left arm .Allen thought that he could not continue drumming for Def Leppard and became very depressed, so Def Leppard's lead singer, Joe Elliott, stopped by to see Allen in an attempt to cheer him up. Soon after, Elliot and Allen sat down with some engineers and started to design a drum set to assist Allen's drumming. After only six weeks in hospital he rejoined the band and by August 1986 was back drumming on stage on his own,with one hand, using his left foot (typically for hi-hat pedals in common drumsets), to play the snare drum. Former Status Quo drummer Jeff Rich was a source of help and encouragement during Allen's convalescence, and they designed an electronic kit Allen could play using only one arm. Electronic drum manufacturer Simmons created a kit to their specifications, and Allen made his post-accident debut in 1986 with a well-received set at the "Monsters of Rock" festival at Castle Donington. In August 1987, the band released their fourth album, Hysteria, which, after a relatively slow start in the U.S., ultimately became another huge success, selling over 20 million copies worldwide.

"If I couldn't play drums it would have destroyed me. If you're thrown in the deep end you swim, and that's basically what I did. I had to do it and with the rest of the band behind me and the encouragement I got from people from all over the world, I knew that I was going to play" Rick Allen


 
Here is a video showing how Rick the thundergod,goes about doing what he loves the most .(.inspite of ....)

 

source: wikipedia.angelfire.com,youtube.metal-army.com