| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z andere »alle« |
| Durvesh, Aref |  Aref Durvesh recorded and performed with Badmarsh & Shri, Sting, Susheela Raman, Cheb Mami and Jeff Beck and is one of the longest members of Nitin Sawhneys band, featuring on all his Albums as well as performing with Nitin on all his UK and worldwide tours. Aref has dropped his tabla beats twice at the prestigious Mercury Music awards, firstly with Nitin and a few years later, with Susheela Raman and is now extending his talents to producing his own album. Check out www.arefdurvesh.com |
| Ges-E |  By 1997, Ges-e was a prominent figure in the Asian Underground music scene. Djing at all the serious Asian Breakbeat club nights nationally and internationally, including Outcaste (Resident), Anokha, and Sitarfunk. As a DJ Ges-e’s choice in the early 90’s was Hip hop, Hardcore, House, and Electro anything with soul. He started to Dj at parties in community halls and local youth clubs around Brick Lane in East London, alongside fellow DJs Badmarsh and Osmani Soundz. The problem he faced as a DJ was the lack of credible Asian dance beats to spin.
As a DJ he wanted to represent his cultural heritage in a musical form. This is what led him to music production. He so badly wanted to combine Tabla loops with breakbeats knowing this would be a winning formula. Back in 1993 He had managed to buy himself a small studio setup comprising of an Akai S950 sampler and an Atari Ste computer. Friends would come round jam and make beats, this was the very beginning. Later he went on to college and was part of a team that setup and ran the Tower Hamlets College Radio. The crew included Sobur and Malik who later went on to set up Nasha records.
His first commercial release was in 1997 a track called Baksheesh recorded for Acid Jazz records and then later in 1998 He produced four tracks for Outcaste records – New Breed UK album. He has since remixed tracks for Nitin Sawhney, the inna-most and A. R. Rahman and has also composed music for Vena Rampal - The City Dreams contemporary dance performance performed at the Trafalger Square Festival 2004/5. Ges-e recorded four tracks for the first release on Nasha records ‘Eastern drum and Breaks’ Vol 1 in 2003. Joined by ex outcaste label mate Niraj Chag, and old skool co-pilot Osmani soundz.
The album was very well received by all the major music press and radio alike. Played regularly by Bobby and Nihal (BBC radio 1) show and Adil Ray (BBC Asian Network. Ges-e is a resident at Nasha's monthly club night which has been featured on the BBC2’s Desi DNA programme, and Militant 24 from ‘Eastern Drum and Breaks’ Vol 1 was used as the title track for the series. He compiled "Eastern Drum and Breaks - Vol 2" which was released Oct 2005.
The compilation features the very best Asian beat scientists Equal-i, Osmani Soundz, Aktarv8r and Vani and has been described as the definitive eastern beats compilation. The debut 12” single "So Gaye Hain / PK757 taken from vol 2 has been received extremely well, selling out in the first week of release at world renowned Black Market records. You can catch the whole Nasha crew at their regular monthly ‘Eastern drum and breaks’ club night at Herbal. Currently Ges-e is working on setting up the Nasha Live band, which already performed live in the beginning of June 06 in Sweden, including Ges-e, Osmani Soundz, Aref Durvesh, a MC,Veena-player Chandra and vocalist Swati Natekar, who sang “Nadia” on Nitin Sawhney’s album “Beyond Skin”.
|
| Natacha Atlas |  Natacha Atlas was born in Brussels during the Sixties into a multiethnical family. Her father is a Morrocan jew and her mother a British muslim. In her early years Natacha lived in Brussels Morrocan quarter, enjoying its rich Arabian culture. When she was about eight years old, her parents broke up. Together with her mother and her siblings she moved to Northhampton/ England.
As she found nearly no Arabian influences in her surroundings she got more and more interested in Indian and Asian culture. At the age of 17 she started singing in Arabian and Turkish nightclubs and also performing the classical Egyptian belly dance – Raqs Sharki, which is not be confused with the touristy entertainment you may find at the Turkish Riviera. Natacha Atlas had her first success with “Timbal”, which she sang for the Balearic Beatgroup !Loca. Shortly after she got in touch with Jah Wobble and his “Invaders of the Heart” and then through the London based label Nation records met the ethno dance band “Transglobal Underground”. After first guesting with them in 1991 she became their lead singer and dancer in 1993. In 1995 Natacha Atlas started her solo career with the critically highly acclaimed debut album “Diaspora” which she coproduced with her colleagues from Transglobal Underground, staying in the band until 1998. After the release of “Diaspora” Natacha Atlas collaborated with various renowned musicians like Peter Gabriel, Sinéad OConnor, Nigel Kennedy, again Jah Wobble and even the German singer Peter Maffay. She also performed alongside Apache Indian on his Top-20-hit “Arranged Marriage”. Natacha occasionally teamed up with film music composer Peter Arnold and contributed to the soundtracks of “Hulk”, Kurt Russell’s “Stargate” as well as to the James Bond thriller “Die another day”. Natacha lived and worked both in Kairo and London, producing her next album “Halim” (1997) in both cities. The album title is a tribute to the infamous Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez, who was a star in the 1930 and known all over the Arabian world by the name “The Nightingale from the Nile”. With “Halim” Natacha reached a wider audience in North Africa and both in the Middle East. Furthermore she toured with the leading Ex-Led Zeppelin musicians Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, being a bit later invited to perform at Jean Michel Jarre’s Millennium spectacle at the “Pyramides of Gizeh”. Natacha became very popular in France with her French sung version of the Francoise Hardy classic “Mon Amie La Rose” and received the highly requested “Victoire de la Musique” award as Beste Female singer in March 2000. In the same year she recorded her third solo album “Gedida” both in Egypt and Great Britain, fusing intelligently the Arabian and European styles. Live concerts on internationally renowned festival such as Glastonbury, WOMAD, Phoenix and famous concert halls like Brixton Academy followed. Also in 2000 the “Remix Collection” was published, presenting remixes by Talvin Singh, T.J. Rehmi, Banco de Gaia and Transglobal Underground among others. One year later Natacha released “Ayeshteni”, holding two popular cover versions: an Arabian flavoured interpretation of Screamin’ Jay Hawkin’s “I Put a Spell on You” and her version of the Jacques Brel chanson “Ne me quitte pas”. For “Ayestheni” Natacha collaborated with the Rai singer Cheb Mami, the French-oriental group “Sawt el Atlas” as well as with her long-time companions from TGU Hamid Mantu and Tim Whelan. Then Nitin Sawhey invited her to appear as guest singer on his album “Prophesy”. In 2001 the Irish ex-President Mary Robinson appointed Natacha Atlas “Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Conference Against Racism”. With “Something Dangerous” (2003) Natacha Atlas pushes her Arabic compositions more in the direction of the current dance styles, not forgetting the obligatory cover version choosing this time James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s World”. In 2005 “The Best of Natacha Atlas” collected remastered versions of her most popular songs. In May 2004 received an EMMA (Ethnic Multicultural Media Award) in Great Britain as the Best World Music Act. With “Mish Maoul” (2006) she continues on the path she had choosen for “Something Dangerous”, working together with the Jamaican-British rapper “Princess Julianna” and the French-Lebanese artist Clotaire K. Recently Natacha Atlas is co-writing the film score for “What Lola Wants”, in which she also appears as an actor/singer. |
| Nickodemus | 
Nickodemus speaks about himself:
"Since it's the most asked question, let's start with the name Nickodemus. Although I am not Greek, I grew up on a very mixed block in Queens, so my real name, Nico, was remixed by the Greek kids into Nickodemus.
In 1990, my brother gave me my first Turntables:) With lots of practice & tolerance from my parents, came my first DJ gigs. Me & a crew of friends made lots of noise. We organized warehouse/ garage parties every month. I played Hip Hop with a mix of my Dad's old Soul, Funk records plus the House Music my sister picked up from Downtown Records in the city.
Tito Roc came out from Uptown every month & rocked new & old House music and Hip Hop. Bucky & Jeff spun the best Dancehall and Reggae at the time. Russ Starke would occasionally jam along on guitar or with his band called Silas Lang. This was the crew- It all started very locally.
Soon to follow, a club called Caffeine opened up which brought together 1,000's of kids from all over the Island. DJ's Tom La Roc, Nick Pepe, DNA, Jim Felli, Micro, Onionz, Derek Sessions Omar, Samir and many more were representing to the fullest out there! I'm proud to say that I came out of that same movement of music lovers who were always trying to make something happen in the burbs. In '93 I moved to the Lower East Side. I heard about this party called Giant Step that incorporated DJ's spinning Hip Hop, Funk & Jazz with live Musicians. Since I was too young to get in, I went to one of the daytime outdoor festivals & handed my mix tape to this a guy named Marc Labelle. Thanks to him, Jonathan Rudnick & Maurice Bernstein, Giant Step turned into a regular gig that gave me a real chance to test and explore new & old music to an amazing group of party people. Respect to DJ's Smash, Jazzy Nice, Swingsett, Chillfreeze, Urban Tap, Nappy G & all the Groove Collective musicians for making it all happen. Shortly after, I started spinning records with the Organic Grooves crew in the basement of Bar XVI. It was a great place where we explored more of the World, funk, electronic & dub sounds out there. Again, I found myself jamming with musicians, creating a thick dubby percussive sound that lived up to it's name. DJ Sasha dug up some really rare grooves while Zeb (guitar/ effects), Mariano (congas) & Mike T (bongos) kept the dancefloor alive. Respect to Alex Gloor for his guidance in keeping it Cosmic! At the same time, me and a friend called Jon Lin were busy creating underground events at the Antique Cafe, The Frying Pan & any parking garage or loft that we could use for a night. We were incorporating various styles of music into one night in very unconventional spaces. In a night, you may have heard dj DB or Dara spinning Drum & Bass, Johnny Sender spinning Funk & Rare Grooves, Derek Sessions spinning deep soulful House, Tomas (Mammal) spinning all of the above;) Respect to Carol C (spinning Drum & Bass), Tessa & Karla, three of the best promoters that helped make those events happen. In the Fall of 1998, Mariano found a very unique space, separate from all NYC inhabitants. The space was simply a concrete deck on the edge of a Pier, behind an indoor Ice Skating rink. We convinced the Chelsae Piers to let us throw parties on the Deck. We decided to finally have a space & a party that we called our own. We asked old school Giant Step alumni, Nappy G to join us on percussion & we started NYC's first outdoor party on the Hudson! The sound was everything we loved from Hip Hop to Funk, House to Latin, Big Beat to Reggae. Basically, we wanted to be free of the boundaries that confined most dj events to one style of music. From the party came our first compilation in 1999 on our newly created record label called Rhythm Love Records. Although Rhythm Love no longer releases Music, it was a great experience for all of us. PRODUCTION: Simultaneous to all of the above (+ a double major & a few undesirable jobs), I was dabbling with a sampler & an 8 track. Thanks to Eddy Whebby (aka Disco Dynamite) I met a fellow music lover who was interested in collaborating in making beats. His name is Jay B aka Pleaser aka Truth Mechanic. Looking back, Jay was doing crazy computer edits & sound creations that people are learning today. In my eyes, even as the Truth Mechanic, he's still the beat fanatic! 2 of my favorite tracks were "Samsara" which is 12 minute cyclical track that follows a story from an Indian Raga birth to a Funky African Groove departure & back to recreation in a Lou Rawls poem. The other track was the "Shot in Dark With Gunn" Henri Mancini Remix. We watched tons of Pink Panther movies for that one! Soon after, I hooked up with long time friend & MPC beatsmith Chris Annibell (aka Osiris). For our first project, Jay Douglas & I took a long journey in my 88 Chevy Caprice to Cincinnatti, Ohio (where Chris was currently in school) to dig up 100's of old records in an antique shop. Then we proceeded to sample & freak the sounds we've collected in the MPC until we came up with the track, "7 Seas." Soon after, Chris moved back to NYC & we began a solid 4years of writing & remixing tracks for dancefloors everywhere! My favorite to date is the track "Brooklyn Ole." Please go to the discography page to check the resume. The Mino Show:What would be a biography without mention of the craziest capiiitan Mino Cinelu! From around 1999 to 2001 I toured with the late great percussionist/ songwriter & his band consisting of:Mino (on too much percussion for the normal percussionist) and vocals, Mitch Stein on guitar, Leo travessa on Bass, LPB on the sound. I played the beats. Through an 8 track & an MPC & used two Turntables for scratching & delayed effects. This experience gave me a great understanding of live shows which included tight organized sets along with full on jam sessions with the best musicians. Seeing & experiencing all of France & parts of Senegal with this crew was truely amazing!" Nickodemus released his first solo album "Endangered species" in May 2005 – a vibrant collection of tracks, fuelled by the energy of Nickodemus’ club nights. |
| Osmani Soundz |  Osmani soundz originally started out as Osmani Knight Soundz in 1988 as a collective of djs , Rappers, Dancers and Visual Artists based in Londons East End.
Working through the local youth club (PYO), they established themselves organising events and Dj workshops with young people in the area.
By the late 80's Osmani Soundz began experimenting mixing new soundz combining Hip hop with Techno and fused with classical Indian Bengali folk and other world sounds.
By 1994 Shohid (Osmani Soundz) had created the very first Asian Drum and bass track titled “ Spiritual Masterkey ” featured on the cultural fusion CD released as a community music project. Shohid re-edited “Spiritual Masterkey” for the Anokha - Soundz of the Asian Underground album (1996) compiled by Talvin Singh . This lead on to him representing the Anokha sound as a resident Dj at the legendary weekly Anokha Sessions at the infamous Blue note – Hoxton. Moving on from the Blue note the crew continued the global journey at The Calcutta Cyber Cafe at the Vibe Bar pushing forward experimental/Abstract / eclectic sounds in an interactive environment. Osmani Soundz continued his residency at Anokha when it moved to the End Club, Fabric and 93 Feet East. Osmani Soundz supported Talvin after having won the Mercury music Award. He Dj-ed at the only 'Ok' Album live performance at the Barbican centre working alongside Bill Laswell, Karsh Kale, Ryichi Sakamoto, Cleveland Watkiss, Shankar Mahadevan, Ustad Sultan Khan, Mukul and Equal - i. He has opened for the Turner prize at the Tate Britain and has recently composed music for Vena Rampal's - The City Dreams contemporary dance performance performed at the Trafalger Square festival 2004/5 and completed 3 remix's for Nitin Sawhney's 'The Search'. Osmani Soundz holds a residency at Nasha's monthly club night 'Eastern Drum and Breaks' at Herbal, London. He recorded 'Village Vibez' for Eastern Drum and Breaks vol. 1 (2003) and most recently 'Lushmeena' for Eastern Drum and Breaks vol. 2 (2005) He is currently working on producing The Nasha Experience live project alongside Ges-e. The band features Aref Durvesh (tabla) Chandru (violin) and scratch Dj and MC Aktarv8r. |
