Kings of Leon is an American rock band that formed in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill (b. January 14, 1982, lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ivan Nathan Followill (b. June 26, 1979, drums, percussion, backing vocals) and Michael Jared Followill (b. November 20, 1986, bass guitar, backing vocals), with their cousin Cameron Matthew Followill (b. September 10, 1984, lead guitar, backing vocals). The group is named for their grandfather Leon Talihina, Oklahoma . Each member of the family group is known by his middle name (second given name) as opposed to his first given name.
The band's early music was an upbeat blend of Southern rock and blues influences, but it has gradually expanded over the years to include a variety of genres and a more alternative, arena rock sound. Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom with a total of nine Top 40 singles, two BRIT Awards in 2008, and all three of the band's albums at the time peaking in the top five of the UK Albums Chart. Their third album, Because of the Times, also reached the No. 1 spot. After the release of Only by the Night in September 2008 the band achieved chart success in the United States. The singles "Sex on Fire", "Use Somebody", and "Notion" all peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album itself was their first ever Platinum-selling album in the United States, and was also the best-selling album of 2008 in Australia, being certified Platinum nine times. The band's fifth album, Come Around Sundown, was released on October 18, 2010.
The Pixies are an American alternative rock band that formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1986. The group consists of Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals), and David Lovering (drums). While the Pixies found only modest success in their home country, they were significantly more successful in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe. The group disbanded in 1993 in acrimonious circumstances but reunited in 2004.
The band's style of music contains elements including indie rock and surf rock. Francis is the Pixies' primary songwriter and singer who has been noted for his yowling delivery. He has typically written about offbeat subjects, such as extraterrestrials, surrealism and biblical violence.
The group has been described as a big influence on the alternative rock boom of the 1990s, though they disbanded before reaping any of the benefits this might have brought them. Avowed fan Kurt Cobain's acknowledgment of the debt his band Nirvana owed to the Pixies, along with similar tributes by other alternative bands, helped the Pixies' legacy and popularity grow in the years following their break-up, leading to sold-out tours following their reunion in 2004.
Shinichi Osawa (大沢 伸一 Ōsawa Shin'ichi), also known as Mondo Grosso, is an artist currently signed onto Avex Trax's "Rhythm Zone" label. Previously he was signed to Sony Music Japan's FEARLESS RECORDS division and released albums under the title of 'Mondo Grosso', which isItalian for "big world". He was born on February 7, 1967. Over the course of his career he has worked in genres from acid jazz to house, with strong influences of underground club music, though his recent work has been in the genre of electro house. HMVJapan rated Mondo Grosso at #95 on their "Top 100 Japanese Pop Artists".
Osawa was originally the leader and bassist for the popular Japanese musical group Mondo Grosso, which formed in Kyoto in 1991 on the For Life Records label. However, in 1995, the group was disbanded, and Osawa worked more on his own, collaborating with many artists such as Monday Michiru, Amel Larrieux, UA, Chara, Dragon Ash and even Ayumi Hamasaki. In the midst of his collaborative work in 1997, he became a solo producer, releasing the R&B infused acid jazz and house album Closer.
He made a move from For Life Records to Sony Music Associated Records in 1999, where he began his own label. Throughout the years, Osawa acted as a producer for artists such as Bird and Eri Nobuchika. His 2000 album MG4 displayed the diversity of his production, fusing jazz and house. It featured the hit song 'Life', featuring Bird. In 2003 he released Next Wave, a more traditional house album.
Osawa provided the hypnotic array of techno music on the popular PlayStation Portable game Lumines in 2005. He did not reappear as a composer for its sequel.
In 2007 Osawa moved to avex trax. Feeling that, in comparison to his previous albums, the sound reflected more closely his DJ sets and performances (performed under his real name), Osawa released his electro house album The One under the moniker of 'Shinichi Osawa' rather than 'Mondo Grosso'. "Our Song" was the initial single released in Japan, followed by the Chemical Brothers cover Star Guitar. Under his real name, Osawa has received more international attention, creating acclaimed remixes of Felix da Housecat's "Radio" and Digitalism's "Pogo". He also performed at Electric Daisy Carnival, which was his first performance in America. He is also featured in Clazziquai's Robotica album in a remix for Prayers by Christina Chu.
In 2008, he remixed #1-hit song Startin' by Japanese pop sensation Ayumi Hamasaki. The mix appeared on the album Ayu-mi-x 6 -GOLD-.
In October 2008, following a release of Star Guitar as a single by Data Records, Southern Fried Records made a digital release of The One in the UK. A physical release is scheduled for January 2009.
In November 2008, "Our Song" appeared on the 16th version of Konami's DJ simulation series Beatmania IIDX, alongside several other songs by Avex's House Nation group.
Osawa is currently involved in Ravex, a collaboration with fellow Avex DJs Tomoyuki Tanaka and Taku Takahashi established to mark 20 years of Avex. Their debut album Trax was released on April 8, 2009, and follows the release of the singles I Rave U and Believe in LOVE - feat BoA.
Osawa released SO2, the second album under his given name, on June 16, 2010 digitally and June 30 on CD/DVD.
In 2009, Osawa collaborated with Takeshi Kobayashi to form the duo Bradberry Orchestra. With the lead single "LOVE CHECK," Bradberry Orchestra released their first album "Vol.0" on March 16, 2011 in Japan through avex. Songs from the album have been used to promote Sony's Xperia phone as well as SEGA's Yakuza Of the End.
Digitalism is a Germanelectro pop duo founded in 2004 in Hamburg and consisting of Jens "Jence" Moelle and İsmail "Isi" Tüfekçi. They are signed to French label Kitsuné Music, and have released four singles to date: "Idealistic", "Zdarlight", "Jupiter Room", and "Pogo". Jens likens Digitalism's songs to simple chapters in a complex novel about social interaction and attraction, with distorted bass lines and thumping rhythms comprising the punctuation.
US modern rock radio stations received the CD pro for The Bravery’s first single "Time Won't Let Me Go" the same week as the band played in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and the SXSW festival. The single reached the Alternative Top Ten Hit in America.
On May 22, 2007, The Bravery’s second album The Sun and the Moon was released, debuting at number 24 on the US album charts. Endicott describes the new album as a departure from the synth-heavy sound of their debut. The cover and artwork are candid photographs taken by Jo McCaughey and Drew King. Sam Endicott and art designer Andy West, took a newsprint/collage approach to the layout of the album. The Bravery's second single "Believe" reached number 4 on the US Alternative Charts in April 2008, eleven months after the original release of the album. "Believe" stayed at number 4 for six weeks, becoming the band's biggest radio hit to date.
Two weeks before the release, The Bravery played a number of special shows in New York City, including two secret shows on May 8 at Arlene's Grocery, the very club that the band credits as the club where they were discovered. The Bravery toured extensively in the US, headlining dates until June. The band headed to Europe on their own headlining tour, stopping to play in Oxegen and T in the Park festivals. Between July and September, The Bravery supported Incubus on their outdoor amphitheatre summer tour. The band then supported The Smashing Pumpkins on their US theatre tour. In October, The Bravery headed to Mexico where they played Motorkr Festival in Mexico City. They finished 2007 headlining more dates in the US.
iTunes announced The Bravery as the first artist ever to pre-release a different song every week prior to the album release. On February 19, 2008, the first single, a rerecording of "Believe" debuted on iTunes. A song a week followed: "This Is Not the End" was released on February 26, "Bad Sun" on March 4 and "The Ocean" on March 11.
While on the road, The Bravery continued working on "The Moon" recording on the back of their tour bus, in hotels and dressing rooms. In December 2007, The Bravery headed back into their New York City home studios to finish up their more raw and electronic version of the songs. In January 2008, The band announced the new release of The Sun and the Moon Complete, a two-disc set featuring "The Sun" (the original Brendan O’Brien produced 12 songs) and "The Moon" (the same exact 12 songs, in the same order, but re-imagined and re-worked by the band). The Sun and the Moon Complete was released on March 18, 2008. A new album cover and packaging accompany the two-disc set. The Bravery's single "Believe" reached number four on the Modern Rock Charts during the week of April 13, 2008. It is the highest chart position for the band in the United States. "Believe" stayed at number 4 for six weeks.
After a disagreement with the band's UK label, The Sun and The Moon was never released in the UK. Endicott addressed the issue for the first time in public during a feature in the November 4, 2009 issue of the NME. "The big thing was the BBC counted us as the best new band of the year and at that point our label lost its shit. We got off a plane in London and there were billboards of us on the highway. Suddenly we weren't this indie band, we were the Spice Girls!" The band has since been in a legal battle with their UK label over the rights of The Sun and The Moon and the band's future releases.
