(DJ/turntablist, b. 1958) Born Joseph Saddler in Barbados, Flash was the inventor of turntablism – the use of a DJ’s equipment as a musical instrument. He started out in the Bronx in the early 1970s becoming the first DJ to manipulate records by hand, cutting and mixing songs into each other. Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ opines ‘Flash is fast, ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1978–89, 2000–06) One of Australia’s greatest and most underrated bands. Built round the complementary songwriting skills of Robert Forster and Grant McLennan (with Lindy Morrison, drums and Robert Vickers, bass), the band’s thoughtful but powerful indie rock obviously owes a certain debt to Dylan, but with a punky feel; best showcased on 1983’s Before ...
When The Sugarhill Gang and Kurtis Blow made an impact on the mainstream pop charts in 1979, rap was immediately palmed off as a novelty. However, the style not only survived, but has proved to be so influential that, in varying degrees, pop, rock, heavy metal and reggae have all borrowed from hip hop ...
As the 1970s played out and disco took over, a new generation reacted against the commercial homogenization of black music by creating a completely new sound. This sound came from the streets and was accompanied by its own dress code, language, dance styles and attitude: hip hop was a way of life. Whereas disco was symbolized by ...
Jungle was a reaction against happy rave’s crossover commercialism. The music did not so much die as go back underground, becoming darker and more sinister in order to reflect the prevailing, early 1990s mood. By this time in dance music, there had been plenty of media scare stories about ecstasy fatalities. As drug use spiralled for some clubbers ...
It used to be easy to talk about rap or hip hop, because essentially everybody knew where they stood: the artists made 12-inch singles that didn’t get played on the radio; they dressed in acres of brightly coloured leather, with people break-dancing and body-popping around them; and nobody came from farther west than New Jersey. Back in the day ...
It has been argued that all rap is political: a genuine black street statement, giving voice to those outside the musical or social establishments in a way that connects with a similarly dispossessed audience, and so its very existence is a political act. While many will be justified in thinking this is patently nonsense, it is, actually ...
This was a decade when the impact of dance culture on rock and vice versa sometimes led to exciting results: it opened with ‘Thriller’ and closed with the Madchester scene of Happy Mondays. Punk had subsided to become the less threatening new wave movement, which, along with the new romantics, dominated the early days of the decade. As ...
Despite initial comparisons to her fellow Londoner, the late Amy Winehouse, and other female soul acts – Adele has been likened to everyone from the late Whitney Houston to a combination of Joni Mitchell and Carole King – there’s no denying she is now widely thought of as a unique talent. ‘I keep getting called “the new Amy Winehouse” and ...
With its tribal masks, arcane percussion instruments and grand sense of theatre, the Art Ensemble of Chicago always seemed to be more than just a jazz band. Indeed, the group grew from the communal activities of the Chicago-based AACM, which quickly became a magnet and laboratory for freedom-seeking African-American musicians in the city, including saxophonists Roscoe ...
Billy F. Gibbons (b. 1949), also known as the Reverend Willie G, led his Texas boogie band, ZZ Top, to international superstardom in the early days of MTV, combining a unique image with driving Southern rock and a series of eye-catching videos. At the music’s core was Gibbons’ tasteful blend of rhythmic crunch and fiery soloing, ...
Bowie’s eponymous debut album appeared in June 1967. David Bowie was the work of a man who didn’t yet know quite what to do with his talent. However from 1971 to 1973 Bowie would, with the aid of a newly assembled band, produce a trio of albums that for many are both his finest moments and high watermarks in ...
David Bowie has inspired more musicians than most recording artists, but he naturally also had his own formative influences. Who Does He Love ? It almost goes without saying that Elvis Presley was important to him: few of the musicians who became teenagers in the Sixties weren’t overwhelmed by The King’s stunning larynx and greaseball beauty. Perhaps revealingly, Bowie ...
In March 2013 it was announced that ‘David Bowie is’ – an exhibition at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum – had become the fastest-selling in the institution’s history. The traditionally minded V&A had clearly cottoned on to the fact that Bowie, more than any music icon, enabled them to fulfil their remit of exploring art and design in the ...
(Drums, 1909–73) Possibly the most famous jazz drummer, Gene Krupa played in the ‘press roll’ style of Chicago, where he first recorded in 1927. He was a traditionalist and kept time largely on the snare, with either sticks or brushes, playing two-beat on bass drum. He joined Benny Goodman in 1934 and became a key factor ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
CURATED
Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.