Showing 1 - 10 of 35
Genre-bending greats
Life, John Clewley, Published on 16/07/2024
» Swamp Dogg (real name Jerry Williams Jr) is a well-known black American singer, songwriter, producer and Williams Jr's alter ego. A few years back, I wrote about Blame It On The Dogg: The Swamp Dogg Anthology 1968-1978, which features some of his hit R&B songs (put out under his real name and alter ego), such as She's A Heartbreaker by Gene Pitney and Stop Knocking by Ruth Brown.
Seventeen will be first K-pop group to perform at famed Glastonbury Festival
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 25/03/2024
» Here's the latest K-pop news this week. Seventeen will become the first K-pop group to perform at Glastonbury Festival and BamBam will hold his solo world tour finale at Rajamangala National Stadium.
A woman in a man's world
Life, John Clewley, Published on 19/07/2022
» US R&B legend Big Mama Thornton is one of the forgotten "originators", to use Dr John's term for Professor Longhair, of rock'n'roll. The late Alabama native, who died almost exactly 38 years ago on July 25, 1984, recorded the first version of Leiber and Stoller's Hound Dog in 1952. After the record was released in 1953, it reached the top spot on Billboard's Rhythm & Blues Records Chart and sold 2 million copies. It was her biggest hit, but it paled in comparison to young Elvis Presley's version, which sold more than 10 million copies and helped propel Presley to global fame.
Top of the (T)-Pops
Guru, Suthivas Tanphaibul, Published on 18/03/2022
» Taking most of the limelight in the Asian music industry is the K-Pop wave or Korea pop music. The genre has successfully connected people who are poles apart in origins while also shedding light on non-Western music and pop culture. Thai pop music, in particular, has flown under the radar for quite some time, with only a few names appearing on and off on global stages. However, with the power of social media, T-pop has become a rising tide during the last couple of years. Guru presents a quick look at up-and-coming Thai pop artists along with quick interviews with them.
Honouring a pioneer
Life, John Clewley, Published on 04/08/2020
» Sonia Pottinger was a trailblazing pioneer in Jamaica's male-dominated music industry as she played an important role in the development of popular music in the Caribbean island. She was the first female record producer in Jamaica and her pinnacle came during the 1960s, beginning with the ska era after which she made a transition to rocksteady and finally reggae.
In Fine Style
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 12/01/2020
» Since the dissolution of One Direction in 2015, Harry Styles has been striving for the kind of self-reinvention that would set him apart from his peers. And if the success of his 2017 eponymous solo debut is any indication, he's on the right path towards a flourishing post-boy band career, careening down the highway of 70s-style rock stardom à la Mick Jagger and David Bowie. On his latest studio album Fine Line, these classic rock stylings make way for soaring power pop laced with folk-rock and psychedelia. And despite the record's overall heartbreak theme, Styles sounds more at ease with himself than ever.
This woman's work
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 24/11/2019
» "A woman's work/ A woman's prerogative/ A woman's time to embrace/ She must put herself first," the opening verse of Mary Magdalene from FKA twigs' latest full-length album is sung from the perspective of a fallen woman whose fate runs parallel to that of the titular figure. Following her much publicised break-up with actor Robert Pattinson as well as some serious health issues, the English artist finds common ground with the Biblical character.
On her own terms
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 28/07/2019
» Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Yunalis Zara'ai, aka Yuna, has come a long way since her MySpace days and her 2012 Pharrell Williams-produced self-titled debut. While her early materials exist mostly in the dreamy realm of folk-infused indie-pop, her subsequent output has crossed over into the R&B/hip-hop territory in a way that not many pop upstarts could pull off (her third international studio album, Chapters, welcomes guest appearances from some of the biggest names in R&B like Usher and Jhené Aiko).
Creating a buzz
Life, John Clewley, Published on 19/02/2019
» Some years ago, I reviewed Colin McPhee's marvellous book, A House In Bali, about life and gamelan music (traditional Balinese music -- mainly percussive and driven by metallophones or gongs) in Bali during the 1930s. Published in 1947, the book details how a young man, after hearing some rare gamelan music on old records, journeys to Bali in 1929 to seek the music that will change his life. It is an enchanting book, well worth reading.
Cardi B to lead girl power charge at Grammy Awards
Life, Published on 07/02/2019
» Rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake may lead the nominations, but Sunday's Grammy Awards looks set to be a showcase for girl power.