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Mar 18 2020

THE BRAZILIAN MUSIC STYLES YOU NEED TO KNOW

Leave a Comment / FEATURED, MUSIC / March 18, 2020

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When you think of the music of Brazil, the cornerstones of its culture are carnival – and music. It’s a country with many unique music genres, including samba, bossa nova and sertanejo – plus a knack of taking other genres such as pop, funk and rap and giving them a Brazilian makeover.

The richness of Brazilian music comes from mixing tradition and modernity and tapping into both national and regional traditions – it’s constantly evolving. Samba in particular is a huge part of Brazil’s cultural identity, both in terms of music and dance, and is considered ‘the heartbeat’ of Rio’s annual Carnival – the biggest, boldest and brightest event in the Brazilian calendar.

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Brazilian Music

Música popular brasileira, habitually shortened to MPB, is the catch-all term Brazilians use for Brazilian music in general. You can trace its history to the 1930s, when the national radio network made it possible for musicians to capture a national audience.

However, Brazil is home to many regional musical centres, including the city of Salvador de Baha, with its unique blend of African and Brazilian influences; Recife (home to música nordestina or northeastern music) and eastern Amazonia – home to lambada, while Sao Paulo has a thriving rock and punk scene.

The Traditional Brazilian Music Styles You Need to Know

Samba

Samba actually originated in Africa as the music of former slaves and African religions, but has become an icon of Brazilian national identity. Much like the blues in America, samba was originally a product of the sorrow of slaves who came to Bahia, a region in northeastern Brazil – ‘samba is the father of pleasure and the son of pain’ according to composer Caetano Veloso.

But its combination of music and passion transform sorrow into joy. It developed in Brazil in the early 1900s, in Rio’s favelas, with the first recorded version in 1917 ('Pelo Telefone' – ‘By Telephone’).

The original form of samba is samba de morro (morro meaning hill – it alludes to the slums located on Rio’s hillsides.) Here, the earliest samba style incorporated other music genres in the city, such as the polka, the maxixe, the lundu and the xote, creating a completely unique character.

There are various sub-genres of samba, which include samba-enredo, which is what the ‘samba schools’ perform at the Rio Carnival. ‘Enredo’ is Portuguese for ‘plot’ – this style is about singing stories.

Samba-choro is a mix of the two genres, while samba-exaltação is the most relaxed type of samba – check out 'Aquarela do Brasil' by Francisco Alves. Partido Alto has the most pronounced African influence.

As festive dance music, samba plays a huge role in Brazil’s Carnival celebrations – Carnival is a huge party that takes over the streets in the week leading up to Lent. A samba band consists mainly of percussion instruments playing syncopated rhythms and the music features call-and-response and imitation.

The band leader uses an Apito (a whistle) to signal breaks and calls, with metal drums - Repinique (or the Reps) – leading introductions, played with a wooden stick and one hand; Surdo – the large bass drums which old the beat, snare drums, shakers and agogô (double metal cow bells).

Choro

Choro pre-exists samba and literally means ‘crying, sobbing’, despite the music most often being joyous and celebratory. Its roots are in European salon music and Portuguese fado and it’s mainly instrumental, played with a flute a guitar, a clarinet and a cavaquinho – a miniature guitar introduced by the Portuguese. It’s known by some as ‘the New Orleans jazz of Brazil’ and, like much jazz, is based on improvisation and also for its dizzying speeds, and surprising changes of harmony.

One of choro’s most important composers was Pixinguinha who, in 1922, was part of the first Brazilian group contracted to play abroad when they travelled to Paris. Choro began to fall out of fashion in the mid-1950s, but underwent a revival in the 1970s and is still being played today.

Bossa Nova

Brazilian singer and composer Caetano Veloso said in an interview with the Guardian that, ‘Bossa nova is a sacred music for many Brazilians. It’s political and nationalistic and poetic. It’s a form of high modernist art that somehow became one of the most popular musics on earth’.

Veloso also revealed that it’s a rare example of music becoming popular by being more sophisticated (rather than, like rock ‘n’ roll, stripping out the complexity), as ‘it took the samba and added harmonic sophistication – extended chords and so on – and added a degree of lyrical complexity.’

One of its key architects was Antônio Carlos Jobim, a classically-trained pianist who helped to fuse elements of jazz with samba to create the bossa nova sound.

The music emerged at a very specific point in Brazilian cultural history – in a brief period of democracy between the early 1950s and the mid-60s, between two spells of military dictatorship, when industry, education, health and labour rights were all flourishing, as the society left behind its colonial past and looked out at the world.

The phrase bossa nova literally means ‘new trend’ or ‘new wave’, and it became the music of choice for the emerging smart, young, urban Brazilian middle class.

Bossa nova songs differ from samba songs in that their focus is more on the individual and the personal – love, longing and nature – whereas samba usually refers to the public sphere, with themes around carnival and politics. There’s also a difference in that there are no dance steps to accompany it, as there are with samba.

One of the most famous bossa nova tracks is 'Garota de Ipanema' – aka 'Girl from Ipanema'. The lyrics were written by a famous poet, lyricist, linguist and diplomat, Vinicius de Moraes.

The Portuguese lyrics are, however, very different from their English translation – the rhythm is displaced and the lyrics become languid, mimicking the movement of the girl passing by. Whereas in English, everything is on the beat. You can hear the difference when you listen to João Gilberto’s version.

The song, which reached No. 5 in the US pop singles chart in the summer of 1964, sung by João’s wife, Astrud, became a global hit, and bossa nova fever gripped the US, helped by its popularity amongst jazz musicians such as Charlie Byrd, Dizzy Gillespie, and Stan Getz and their fans.

The Beach Boys, with 'Busy Doin’ Nothin’ 'and The Beatles’ 'And I Love Her' brought in a bossa nova flavour, while Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald devoted whole albums to covers of bossa nova classics.

Musician Sérgio Mendes thinks the continuing appeal of bossa nova music is because, ‘it’s very sensual, it’s very romantic, and you can also dance to it. Those three components make it very, very beautiful. And it has great melodies – melodies that you can remember.’

Tropicália

In 1964, just as bossa nova was hitting big globally, Brazil’s left-wing government was deposed – replaced by a military regime which resulted in open repression by 1968. Bossa nova’s serenity and sun suddenly seemed out of touch in these darker times and a sound influenced by rock and electric guitars – Tropicália – emerged instead, as part of a wider cultural movement.

Led by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, the anarchistic, anti-authoritarian music and oblique lyrics of the Tropicalistas made them a target of censorship and repression by the military junta. The pair were eventually arrested and imprisoned and subsequently sought exile in London, where they resumed their musical careers.

The 1999 compilation, Tropicália Essentials, is a good introduction to the style, featuring songs by Gil, Veloso, Gal Costa and Os Mutantes.

Axé

Originating in Salvador in the 1980s, Axé fuses Afro-Caribbean genres including marcha, reggae and calypso with Brazilian influences from frevo, forro and carixada. The name comes from a Yoruba term, meaning ‘soul, light, spirit or good vibrations’.

Axé entered the mainstream in 1992, when Daniela Mercury released 'O Canto Da Cidade' – it remained at No. 1 for months and became an anthem for the Brazilian people. Axé’s current biggest star is Ivete Sangalo – check out 'À Vontade' for a flavour of Axé rhythms and style.

Brazilian Pop Music

The biggest genre in modern Brazilian music is sertanejo. Originating from the Brazilian countryside, it’s played across the country. Although there are some solo singers, many sertanejo artists are duos, often siblings, or duos of two men, such as Henrique and Juliano.

Brazilian Rap

Lifestyle site Highsnobiety claims that, ‘Brazilian rap has always felt caught between two worlds, unsure of whether to experiment with music indigenous to the country or follow the trusted pattern of American boom-bap.’ At the moment, trap is a big influence, but there’s still plenty of traditional Brazilian flavour to its rap scene.

The Best Brazilian Music Artists and the Top 25 Brazilian Tracks You Need on Your Spotify List:

1. Eu Incomodo - Sarah Roston

Sarah Roston is a rising star, who was discovered by Ed Cortes (best-known for composing the score for celebrated Brazilian film City of God.)

2. ‘Garota de Ipanema’ – Vinicius de Morae and Tom Jobim

This is the track that many would think of as the essence of Brazilian music – it’s certainly the epitome of bossa nova. Plus, it’s the second most recorded popular song in history after The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’.

3. 'Life on Mars' - Seu Jorge

Legendary samba star Seu Jorge performed the soundtrack for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, composed entirely of acoustic David Bowie covers sung in Portuguese – he also appeared in the film, as well as in City of God and Netflix crime drama Brotherhood. His other collaborations include the Mario C. remix of ‘Tropicália’ with Beck, and a fashion collaboration with designer Rachel Roy.

4. ‘Aquarela do Brasil’ – Gal Costa

Gal is one of Brazil’s most well-known singers and this is one of her most famous samba tracks.

5. ‘Baby’ – Os Mutantes

Os Mutantes were one of the key Tropicália movement bands, whose avant-garde music blended traditional and foreign influences.

6. ‘Wave’- João Gilberto

Gilberto is credited as changing the course of Brazilian music, as he brought bossa nova to a global audience. He died last year at the age of 88, leaving a huge and much-loved body of work behind. This track was later covered by Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, and Ahmad Jamal.

7. ‘Alma Boemia’ – Toninho Geraes

Samba singer and songwriter Geraes has recorded more than 250 tracks. This is one of his most well-known.

8. ‘Malandro’ – Elza Soares

Elza Soares was declared by BBC Radio to be ‘the Brazilian Singer of the Millennium’ in 1999 and is one of samba’s biggest female artists.

9. 'Essa Mina É Louca’ – Anitta

Anitta is one of Brazil’s most popular mainstream artists. The funk pop singer was born in Rio de Janeiro and this is from her award-winning third album – the title translates as ‘This Girl is Crazy’.

10. ‘Você Partiu Meu Coração’ – Nego do Borel

Nego do Borel is a contemporary funk singer – this track features both Anitta and the sertanejo artist Wesley Safadão.

11. ‘Balada’ – Gusttavo Lima

National heartthrob Gusttavo Lima’s songs are mostly about love and relationships. He had a hit in Europe with his single ‘Balada’ (Party).

12. ‘Trains and Boats and Planes’ - Astrud Gilberto

She may be best-known for singing ‘The Girl from Ipanema’, but Astrud had a long and successful solo career internationally. ‘Trains and Boats and Planes’ was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and showcases Gilberto’s ability to capture emotion.

13. ‘Essa Novinha é Terrorista’ – MC Kevinho

One of the big hits at Carnival, this is a song about a girl and her friends dancing at a baile funk party, which involves a dance similar to twerking, by one of Brazil’s most popular funk artists.

14. ‘Rap da Felicidade’ – Cidinho e Doca

Born and raised in the notorious favela Cidade de Deus, Cidinho e Doca became famous for promoting peace within the unstable community – the song begins, ‘I only want to be happy, to walk calmly in the favela where I was born.’

15. ‘Sorriso Negro’ – Dona Ivone Lara

Samba track ‘Sorriso Negro’, which translates as ‘black smile’ is a popular track played during Rio’s Carnival and is one of Dona’s most popular.

16. ‘Ponta de Lança’ - Rincon Sapiência

Hailed as Brazil’s great crossover rapper, Rincon Sapiência is loved by purists, and casual listeners alike and manages to incorporate both Brazilian funk and trap into his music. However, his popularity doesn’t stop him writing directly about racial injustice in his country.

17. ‘Rosa de Plástico' - Mariana Mello

Mariana started out as a model and fashion icon with a big Instagram following, breaking through with EP Mariana. The production, message and video of ‘Rosa de Plástico’ will be right up your street if you’re a fan of M.I.A.

18. ‘Perdendo o Juízo’- Flora Matos

In a country with high levels of hate crimes against LBTQIA+ and few legal protections, Flora Matos subverts traditional male rap themes, and defiantly sings about a woman who’s in love with her.

19. ‘Detalhes’ – Roberto Carlos

Carlos is knowsn as ‘O Rei’, which is Portuguese for ‘The King’. He was originally part of a famous teenage band, Jovem Guarda, before going solo and becoming famous across all of Latin America. He’s famed for his gut-wrenching love songs.

20. ‘Vamos Fugir’ - Gilberto Gil

Gilberto Gil began as a bossa nova artist, and then began experimenting with reggae, African music and rock. Later in life, from 2003-8, he served as Brazil’s Minister of Culture.

21. ‘Insensato Destino’ – Almir Guineto

Guineto used to be the director of famous samba school Salgueiro before starting on his solo career – this is one of his most famous songs.

22. ‘Ainda é Tempo pra Ser Feliz’ - Beth Carvalho

Beth Carvalho’s career spanned over 40 years, starting with bossa nova and then becoming a huge samba star. Known as ‘madrinha do samba’ (the godmother of samba), she worked with a range of legendary sambistas.

23. ‘Tristeza Pé No Chão’ - Clara Nunes

Nunes was considered one of the greatest samba and MPB singers of her generation, and was the first female singer in Brazil to sell over 100,000 copies of a record with ‘Tristeza Pé No Chão’. Her achievements earned her the title of ‘Queen of Samba’.

24. ‘Playsom’ - BaianaSystem

Hailing from Salvador, and rooted in the Jamaican soundsystem tradition, BaianaSystem are best seen live, where they fuse reggae and dub, Afro-Brazilian pagode and samba with electronic production to produce a blood-pumping live set.

25. ‘Me Deixa Legal’ - Maglore

Tie-dyed pop-rock and singalong hooks have made Maglore popular in their home country since their 2011 debut full-length album Veroz.

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Mar 12 2020

LEVEL UP: GET TO KNOW THE BEST JAPANESE VIDEO GAME COMPOSERS

Leave a Comment / MUSIC / March 12, 2020

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Japanese composers have been at the forefront of creating music for video games and are responsible for some of the most memorable soundtracks ever created. Whose music has regularly accompanied you, as you journey through the levels?

Koji Kondo

Kondo answered an ad for a sound designer posted by Nintendo in 1984, and has worked for the company ever since as a sound director and composer.

A true maestro, you’ll recognise the earworms he created for the Super Mario series, Star Fox and the Legend of Zelda series – his soundtrack for Ocarina of Time often tops the charts of video game music picks.

Junichi Masuda

Masuda heads up all the music for the Pokemon franchise, from the very first Game Boy game to the world-dominating Pokemon Go.

His music draws inspiration from the work of celebrated classical composers such as Stravinsky and Shostakovich, though he used the Super Mario series as a model of good video game composition.

Akira Yamaoka

Best known for the Silent Hill series, which he’s masterminded since its debut in 1999, Akira Yamaoka revolutionised survival horror, with Silent Hill 2 widely considered to be the best horror game of all time.

Yamaoka created the sound design as well as its music, which was one of the first games to introduce rock and industrial music, particularly in Japan. As well as a love of new wave and Nine Inch Nails, Yamaoka was also inspired by prog-rockers Goblin’s soundtrack for horror film Suspiria.

Shoji Meguro

Meguro is a prolific composer at Atlus, known for his work on the Megami Tensei series. He created cyberpunk jazz-techno hybrids for Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, and action-fuelled electronic and rock tracks on Maken X.

He gained an international audience for his work on Persona 3, which used pop-based vocals - the soundtrack sold over 100,000 copies.

Nobuo Uematsu

According to Classic FM, whose Hall of Fame poll has included Uematsu five times in its top 20, he’s ‘the Beethoven of video game music.’

Best known for scoring most of the titles in the Final Fantasy series, Uematsu is also referred to as ‘the John Williams of the video game world’.

Uematsu’s influences are diverse, bringing together everything from stately classical symphonic pieces and heavy metal to prog rock, new age and techno-electronica and jazz.

The intro to One-Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII was inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze, while the lyrics were inspired by the medieval poetry on which Carl Orff based Carmina Burana.

Yoko Shimomura

Perhaps the most famous female videogame composer, Shimomura has showcased a huge range of different musical styles in her soundtracks, most famously for the Street Fighter II and Kingdom Hearts series.

Her compositions include rock, electronica, oriental, ambient, industrial, pop, symphonic, operatic and chiptune.

Miki Higashino

Miki was the primary composer for the original Suikoden soundtrack – arranged versions of her original music for the game also appear on the Suikoden IV and V soundtracks.

She also wrote or co-wrote music for the Gradius series, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game and Contra III.

Michiru Yamane

The composer for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is also a pianist whose musical style draws on baroque, classical (her university thesis was on Bach) and rock traditions.

She’s best known for her two decades’ work for games company Konami.

Masato Nakamura

In his home country, Nakamura is most famous as a member of JPop band Dreams Come True, who have sold over 50 million CDs.

But internationally, he’s best known as the composer for the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Yuzo Koshiro

Koshiro is regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune and video game music, revolutionising it by producing music spanning genres as diverse as breakbeat, electro, hardcore, jungle, hip hop, jazz and synth rock.

Hailed by Nintendo Power as ‘arguably the greatest game-music composer of the 16-bit age’, his ahead-of-their-time soundtracks appeared on The Revenge of Shinobi, ActRaiser and Streets of Rage. The latter is said to have influenced electronica, grime and dubstep producers, together with artists such as Labrinth and Darkstar.

Masafumi Takada

Takada has worked on projects including killer7, Contact and No More Heroes, as well as the Danganronpa series, often partnering with guitarist and composer Jun Fukuda.

He’s also a founding member of the game development studio Too Kyo Games.

Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka

Known as a pioneer of chiptune music, Tanaka is one of gaming’s most celebrated figures – and one of its most prolific.

He joined Nintendo in 1980, and was in charge of sound effect design for early arcade games, including Space Firebird, together with video games such as Super Mario Land and Tetris. He also helped to design the sound hardware of the Game Boy and, as part of Creatures Inc., he composed music for the Pokemon anime series.

If you’re intrigued by the creative process of making games, then check out Red Bull’s exhaustive (nearly 2-hour) interview with Hip Tanaka (it’s subtitled in English).

Plus if you need musical effects, we have sounds, atmospheres and more – whether you need a track featuring a heartbeat or water noises, a clock, a drone, or a weather mood such as wind or extreme cold, check out our playlist hub.

Explore more Japanese music, including JPop and traditional styles, with our Japan Collection. Or if you'd like to read more, check out our articles on Traditional Japanese Instruments and Japanese YouTube Stars.

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Mar 12 2020

WHO ARE THE WORLD’S MOST SUCCESSFUL FEMALE ARTISTS?

Leave a Comment / FEATURED, MUSIC / March 12, 2020

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The music industry: it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl. From Beyoncé to Whitney Houston to Adele, women constitute a large percentage of music’s pantheon of greats – but who is the top female artist? Well, that’s actually a very tricky question to answer, as the word ‘successful’ can be defined in numerous different ways, especially when considering global superstars and influential female solo artists UK has produced.

Below, we answer all of the key questions surrounding inspiring women in music, such as ‘Who are the bestselling female artists of all time?’, ‘Who is the most popular female solo artist?’ and, ‘Which female artist has sold the most albums?’

Most Successful Female Artists

Madonna
Céline Dion
Rihanna
Adele
Katy Perry
Taylor Swift
Beyoncé
Ariana Grande
Selena Gomez
Whitney Houston
Mariah Carey
J. Lo
Diane Warren

The Bestselling Female Artists

Madonna

The Queen of Pop, Madonna, is the bestselling female artist of all time.

She’s released 14 studio albums, three soundtracks, five live albums and six compilations, plus 63 UK Top 10 singles. Since 1983, she’s sold an estimated 335 million albums and singles worldwide.

Madonna’s biggest seller is The Immaculate Collection (30 million copies and counting), and five of her singles are estimated to have registered sales of over five million units, including 'Like a Virgin' and 'Hung Up'.

Only The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson have sold more records worldwide than Ms Ciccone; plus, she’s clocked up 20 gold, 17 platinum and 12 multi-platinum album awards. Over a 40-year career (she first signed with Sire Records in 1982), the 'Material Girl' is estimated to have amassed a net worth of roughly $850 million.

Makes sense considering she’s the highest-grossing solo touring artist of all time, with over $1.4 billion in ticket sales.

Céline Dion

Second on the list is Céline Dion, the bestselling Canadian recording artist and bestselling French-language artist of all time.

The Quebec-born superstar has released 27 studio albums, 19 compilation albums, seven live albums and 137 singles – as a result, she’s sold over 250 million albums and singles worldwide.

Plus, she’s been touring almost non-stop since the mid-80s; the singer currently finds herself on her 15th concert tour (18th, if you include her three residencies).

Of course, Ms Dion has reaped the rewards of her hard work over the years: not only is she estimated to be worth around $800 million, but she also has 239 awards to her name, including five Grammys, six AMAs and seven Billboard Music Awards.

Rihanna

It’s rather incredible that Rihanna, the 30-something, Barbados-born singer who last released a record in 2016, is the third bestselling female artist of all time.

Like Céline, Rihanna has sold over 250 million copies of her music worldwide; her fans have 52 singles, eight studio albums and two remix albums to choose from.

Currently, Rihanna is the richest female musician in the world, estimated to be worth $1.7 billion. And although this is a lot to do with her beauty and fashion ventures, the Caribbean multi-hyphenate is known to have made stacks of cash during the ‘00s and ‘10s when she embarked on seven concert tours, five of which were worldwide.

Reportedly, her Diamond World Tour alone made over $140 million.

The Female Artist With The Fastest-Selling Album

Adele

Debuting at no. 1 in 32 countries and breaking first-week sales records just four days after its US release (it clocked up 3.38 million in its first week – over 5.77 million worldwide), Adele’s third studio album 25 became the world’s bestselling album of 2015, with over 17.4 million copies sold.

Plus she became the first female to have three top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time.

Alongside her record-breaking sales, Adele was the first artist to win an Oscar for her Bond theme and only the second female artist to take home six Grammys in a year – nabbing the big four: 'Album of the Year', 'Best New Artist, 'Record of the Year' and 'Song of the Year’ in 2012.

Plus, she’s a YouTube queen – she has racked up almost three billion views on her ‘Hello Video’ and 247 million views on the 2021 ‘Easy on Me’ video (it racked up 27.7 million views in its first 24 hours alone).

The Most Viewed Music Videos By Female Artists

Katy Perry - 'Roar'

Katy Perry’s 'Roar' (2013) has clocked up an astonishing 3.5 billion views (and 'Dark Horse' takes the number two spot with over 3.2 billion).

Stranded in the jungle after a plane crash with a quickly-dispatched, selfie-obsessed idiot, Katy proves herself a resourceful gal (evidence she’s a Bear Grylls fan, perhaps?).

She soon makes friends with a selection of animals and birds who, in turn, crown her the Queen of the Jungle, which just goes to show that she doesn’t require a Tarzan-type guy to save her.

Taylor Swift – 'Shake it Off'

Snapping at Katy’s heels, this single from Taylor Swift’s album 1989 saw her shaking off her country crown and shifting to pure pop. Clearly she was onto something as the video currently has over 3.1 million views.

Tay-Tay’s hater-crushing video proved too controversial for some, garnering accusations of cultural appropriation. However, the fact remains that it’s irritatingly catchy – you’ll quite literally have to sit on your hands to stop them reenacting Swift’s ‘shake, shake, shake’ move every time you hear the bop.

The Most Influential Performance From A Female Artist

Beyoncé

‘Let’s just cut to the chase: There’s not likely to be a more meaningful, absorbing, forceful and radical performance by an American musician this year, or any year soon, than Beyoncé’s headlining set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival’ – New York Times.

In 2018, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to headline Coachella. The modern-day icon performed for almost two hours and was joined on stage by more than 100 performers – a masterfully synchronised and colour-coordinated army of singers, dancers, majorettes, drummers and marching band members.

Plus, there was a reunion with Destiny’s Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams for 'Say My Name’, an appearance from her sister Solange during ‘Get Me Bodied', and husband Jay-Z came out for their duet, ‘Deja Vu’.

A masterclass in Black history, feminism and the iconography of historically Black colleges and universities’ (HBCUs) half-time shows, the set was a superpowered fusion of hits, covers and iconic black anthems, with spectacular choreography and blistering vocals throughout.

The Female Artist Who Has Won The Most Awards

Beyoncé

Beyoncé claimed the crown for the first music act in the Billboard 200 chart’s history to debut at no. 1 with their first six solo studio albums.

And her success during the 2000s saw her recognised as the Recording Industry Association of America’s 'Top Certified Artist of the Decade' as well as Billboard magazine’s 'Top Female Artist of the Decade'.

Altogether, the Houston-born singer has accumulated 542 awards, including 28 Grammys. Unsurprisingly, she is the most Grammy Award-nominated female in history – she has been nominated a grand total of 79 times!

The Most Streamed Female Artist

Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande is the most streamed female artist on Spotify, with over 29 billion streams to her name.

The only men that stand between her and the overall top spot are Drake, Ed Sheeran, Bad Bunny and The Weekend. Her most-streamed album? Thank U, Next, a fifth studio record that just so happens to contain her most-streamed song, ‘7 Rings’.

The Most Popular Female Solo Artist (According To Instagram)

Selena Gomez

Although people are often coming for her crown, Selena Gomez is the most popular female solo artist on Instagram, with over 299 million followers.

Right behind her are Ariana Grande (296 million followers), Beyoncé (239 million followers) and Taylor Swift (200 million followers).

The Most Albums Sold Ever By A Female Artist

Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston’s soundtrack to The Bodyguard is the third bestselling of all time – an estimated 45 million copies sold worldwide – and bestselling album from a female artist, helped in large by Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton classic ‘I Will Always Love You’.

The film may’ve made a movie star out of Whitney (playing singer/actress Rachel Marron), but you’ve actually got co-star Kevin Costner (aka Frank, her bodyguard) to thank for 'I Will Always Love You'.

The final song was slated to be a cover of Jimmy Ruffin’s 'What Becomes of the Broken Hearted', but as production got underway, a Paul Young cover of the song was featured in Fried Green Tomatoes. Costner, a country fan, suggested the Dolly Parton song should be the replacement and that Houston sang the introduction a capella to add more emotion.

The Most Streamed Christmas Hit By A Female Artist

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey’s 'All I Want for Christmas is You' was written in 1994 – and unbelievably didn’t actually hit no. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list until 2019, earning it the accolade of the ‘longest trip to no. 1’.

But now, it’s Spotify’s most-streamed Christmas song of all time, and with estimated sales of over 16 million copies, it’s the bestselling Christmas single by a female artist and the third bestselling Christmas song of all-time.

The Top Latin Female Artist

J. Lo

Jennifer Lynn Lopez does it all – she sings, dances, acts, designs, produces and runs multiple businesses. She has sold over 75 million records worldwide and remains the highest-paid Latin actress (she was paid over $1 million for taking on the titular role in biopic Selena.)

In 2018, Time named the multifaceted artist one of the most influential people in the world.

And all that was before starring in Hustlers, which gave J-Lo her highest opening weekend for a live-action film, and awards nominations at the Golden Globes, SAG awards, Critics’ Choice and Independent Spirit Awards.

The Most Important Female Songwriter in The World

Diane Warren

When Diane Warren became the first songwriter in Billboard history to have seven hits – all by different artists – on the singles chart simultaneously, the UK’s former Chairman of EMI Music Publishing, Peter Reichardt credited her as ‘the most important songwriter in the world’.

Warren has penned tunes for everyone from Elton John to Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga to Reba McEntire and Aerosmith (for the latter, she wrote the Oscar-nominated 'I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing' for the Armageddon soundtrack). Her songs transcend genre – for instance, 'Don’t Turn Around' has been recorded by eight different artists as varied as Tina Turner, Aswad and Ace of Base.

Warren has been named ASCAP Songwriter of the year six times, and Billboard’s 'Songwriter of the Year' four times. Plus her publishing company, Realsongs, was named one of the top five music publishing corporations and the most successful female-owned and operated business in the music industry. Both as a prolific songwriter and a businesswoman, Warren can be considered a tour de force.

Who Are The World’s Most Successful Female Artists?

In summary, the world’s most successful female artists are those who’ve been vital to the success of the industry and those who’ve kept the world – especially their fanbase – engaged.

Whether that’s reflected in their record sales, streaming stats or social media popularity doesn’t really matter as the music industry is constantly evolving, meaning it’s hard to compare one era’s golden girl to another.

Looking to read a little more about powerful women in the arts? Have a read of our The Edit article, focused on trailblazing women in music, film and TV. Rather listen to some female-led tracks? Head on over to our Kick-Ass Women playlist.

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This page was last updated 07/03/2024 and 27/06/2024.

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Mar 5 2020

DISCOVER: TRADITIONAL JAPANESE INSTRUMENTS

Leave a Comment / FEATURED, MUSIC / March 5, 2020

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The history of music in Japan is incredibly rich, with some experts classifying traditional Japanese music into over fifty genres. From gagaku to noh and kabuki, many of the genres are characterised by the traditional Japanese instruments that feature in them.

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Traditional Japanese Musical Instruments

Traditional Japanese music includes everything from solo music to chamber, court, festival and folk music, together with a variety of theatre music. Historically, Japanese folk music was strongly influenced by music from China, with some of its forms being imported from China more than a thousand years ago. Many popular Japanese musical instruments also originated in China and were then adapted to meet local needs.

The Earliest Music in Japan

Japan’s earliest classical music style was imported via monks who had been sent to China to study. Gagaku – meaning elegant or refined music – entered Japan around 589 (the term was first recorded in 701) and became popular in the Imperial Court in Kyoto. Up until the 10th century, the music was adapted to Japanese tastes, and new pieces were composed. But since then, the repertoire and the style of performance are almost exactly the same today as they were a thousand years ago.

A Gagaku ensemble has three types of instruments – percussion, wind and string. The percussion section features different sized drums, together with gongs and cymbals. The wind section includes the sho (a mouth organ), three different transverse flutes and the hichirikai, a short, double-reed instrument like an oboe. There are three main stringed instruments, the wagon, a 7-stringed table zither, the gaku-biwa, a 4-stringed lute, and the gaku-so, a 13-stringed table zither that’s a precursor to the koto.

Three of today’s best-known traditional Japanese instruments date back to that time – the biwa, the koto and the shakuhachi.

Traditional Japanese Stringed Instruments

The most popular Japanese stringed instruments are the koto, the biwa and the shamisen.

Koto

Historians think the koto was invented around the fifth to the third century BC in China, with the 13-stringed version coming to Japan during the Nara period (710-794).

This large, wooden instrument is played with picks worn on the fingers, and uses movable bridges placed under each string to change the pitch.

Of these traditional instruments, the koto is probably the most familiar and the most popular in Japan – it’s regarded as the country’s national instrument. During the New Year holidays Haru no Umi, a duet with the shakuhachi, is often piped in as background music, and during the cherry blossom (sakura) season, the popular tune Sakura, Sakura is performed on the koto.

Biwa

The biwa – a short-necked lute with a pear-shaped body played with a large plectrum – has many variations, but typically has three to five strings, and four to six frets. This is another instrument whose origins are Chinese, and it’s mainly used to accompany narratives and storytelling.

Taisho-goto

The taisho-goto is a uniquely-shaped type of koto, similar to a guitar, invented in 1912 when a Japanese musician, Gorō Morita, travelled overseas to perform and study. He was inspired by the variety of Western instruments, while the idea for adding buttons to change the pitch was taken from looking at typewriters! The taisho-goto uses metal strings, strummed with a pick, whilst pressing the key buttons.

Shamisen

The shamisen resembles a guitar, with a long, thin neck and a small rectangular body covered with skin. It has three strings, with the pitch adjusted by tuning pegs on the head, like a guitar or violin, but without frets. It’s played with a large triangular plectrum that’s used to strike the strings.

Sanshin

‘Sanshin’ translates as ‘three strings’ and the instrument’s ‘male’ string, middle string and ‘female’ string produce the lowest, middle and highest notes respectively. The sanshin is often compared to the banjo, but it’s a plucked instrument. Made with snakeskin and originating in Okinawa, the sanshin is often played at graduations or other special ceremonies there.

Traditional Japanese Percussion

Taiko

Taiko drums are seen at many summer festivals in Japan, and come in a variety of sizes. The most dramatic are the oo-daiko, which are the large drums positioned at the back of a taiko ensemble.

It’s said that taiko or wadaiko were used by feudal lords during war times to command troops and raise morale – the drums create an incredibly powerful sound.

Contemporary composer and taiko drummer Joji Hirota says that, ‘I love the range of the sound dynamics of the taiko drums – it goes from very delicate to really loud! There aren’t many comparable instruments. It’s partly to do with the leather they’re made from; it’s very durable. The resonance hits you directly; it’s able to deliver a lot of energy to the listener.'

Traditional Japanese Wind Instruments

Shakuhachi

The shakuhachi is a flute made of bamboo that’s played by blowing on one end.

Sometimes called a ‘five-holed bamboo flute’ in English, it has four holes on the front, and one on the back, and is characterised by its distinctively poignant tone. Shakuhachi music was originally used by Zen Buddhists as a spiritual tool for meditation practices known as ‘suizen’, ra-ther than public performances.

Nohkan

Used during noh performances, the nohkan is a transverse flute which creates a unique sound that produces a feeling of tension. It’s used to accompany the historical figures and deities in noh theatre who are ‘not of this world’ when they appear on the stage – the nohkan’s high-pitched sound changes the atmosphere for the audience.

Shinobue

The shinobue is another transverse flute, which plays an important role in noh and kabuki theatre music, together with Shinto music and traditional Japanese folk songs. There are two types of shinobue, the Uta or ‘song’, which is suited to solo and ensemble playing and the Hayashi or ‘festival’, which is more often used for festival or folk music, as it’s louder and higher-pitched.

Sho

One of the key instruments used in gagaku, the sho is a bundle of seventeen bamboo pipes, fifteen of which are fixed together with a metal reed. The instrument produces sound when air is inhaled or exhaled, causing the reeds to vibrate.

Its sound has been described as ‘a light shining down from heaven’, and it’s said that it also imitates the call of a phoenix, especially as the shape of the sho resembles a bird with its wings raised.

Explore these different aspects of Japanese music culture with our shamisen, shakuhachi and koto tracks.

Performing Traditional Japanese Music

In common with martial arts and other traditional Japanese art forms such as the tea ceremony and calligraphy, performing Japanese music has a spiritual character, and so the music is highly ritualised. The musician’s self-expression is minimized, which is the most obvious way in which Japanese performance differs from Western music.

Only a few genres in Japanese music are purely instrumental – most are songs with an instrumental accompaniment. However, even if there’s more than one singer, all vocal music only has one melodic line, and most songs are accompanied by a single type of instrument.

Modern Music with Traditional Japanese Instruments

Various contemporary artists bring traditional Japanese instruments such as shamisen and taiko drums into their music, giving them a whole new life. Often fusing them with Western instruments to give their tracks a unique personality, these are the bands to check out:

The Yoshida Brothers

The Yoshida Brothers have brought shamisen music up to date – their song Kodo was used in Nintendo Wii ads in the US. Their style pushes the shamisen’s sound into jazz, experimental music, rock ‘n’ roll and pop by combining it with more modern instruments.

Kodo

Elite taiko drummers Kodō (prospective members spend two years in training before joining) regularly tour in Japan and the United States, spending around a third of the year travelling the globe. Their shows also include other traditional Japanese instruments, such as the shamisen, together with traditional dance and vocal performances.

Wagakki Band

The Japanese band play rock music including electric guitar and bass fused with wagakki (traditional Japanese instruments), such as shamisen, taiko, koto and shakuhachi.

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Feb 13 2020

THE 23 BEST LOVE SONGS FROM MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS

Leave a Comment / FEATURED, MUSIC / February 13, 2020

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Looking for love? Wish your life could be soundtracked like a movie full of romance movie songs? Us too.

A successful soundtrack for a romantic film has to convince you to fall in love with the characters and their story – and make you believe in both.

The swooping highs and lows of love need to be expertly matched by a composer or songwriter to make you swoon – whether it’s heart-breaking or heart-warming.

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The Best Love Songs From Movie Soundtracks

From massive orchestral strings and romantic instrumental music to chart-topping pop and the iconic love songs from movies, these are our favourites:

1) Shallow - Lady Gaga & Mark Ronson (A Star Is Born, 2018)

Lady Gaga wrote Shallow with Mark Ronson, Dirty Pretty Things’ Anthony Rossomando and Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt.

As Gaga told Zane Lowe, ‘It’s two people talking to each other and talking about the need and the drive to dive into the deep end and stay away from the shallow area.’

In A Star is Born, Shallow marks a big emotional moment as the jumping off point for both the relationship between Lady Gaga’s Ally and Bradley Cooper’s Jackson, and the launch of the former’s career, whilst the latter’s begins to slide.

Gaga’s performance in the stadium scene as the song builds blasts out of the screen, instantly convincing you of Ally’s star power.

Gaga wrote the song with Mark Ronson, Dirty Pretty Things’ Anthony Rossomando and Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt.

As Gaga told Zane Lowe, ‘It’s two people talking to each other and talking about the need and the drive to dive into the deep end and stay away from the shallow area.’

If you need any further persuasion that this might be the most romantic song of 21st Century movies, the video of Shallow has had nearly 800 million views…

2) City Of Stars - Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone (La La Land, 2017)

La La Land’s soundtrack won the Oscar for Best Original Score – and Best Original Song for the gorgeous City of Stars.

From the glorious, sweeping opening ensemble tracking shot of LA’s commuters singing and dancing around their cars on the highway to the jazzy, upbeat strains of Another Day of Sun, the scene is set for a technicolour, Old Hollywood romance. As the overture, it establishes the film’s musical style as a blend of the contemporary and the traditional.

Ryan Gosling, as jazz obsessive Sebastian, famously learned to play the piano from scratch for the part, and the soundtrack takes in everything from a lush orchestral waltz for the magical Planetarium sequence to the dizzy joy of the Summer Montage/Madeline sequence and then the delicate, almost melancholic City of Stars, which first appears as a solo by Gosling, and later as a duet between him and co-star Emma Stone.

Gorgeous leads, amazing dancing and music, magical, romantic and just a little bit sad – you can see why it’s a modern classic.

3) I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard, 1992)

In terms of movie love songs, they don’t come much bigger than I Will Always Love You.

The soundtrack to The Bodyguard became the biggest-selling of all time (an estimated 42 million copies sold worldwide), helped by Whitney Houston’s cover of the Dolly Parton classic spending 14 consecutive weeks as Billboard’s No. 1 song on the Hot 100 Singles chart and 10 weeks at No. 1 in the UK.

The film may have made a movie star out of Whitney Houston (playing singer/actress Rachel Marron), but you’ve actually got co-star Kevin Costner (aka Frank, her bodyguard) to thank for I Will Always Love You.

The final song was slated to be a cover of Jimmy Ruffin’s What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, but as production got underway, a Paul Young cover of the song was featured in Fried Green Tomatoes. Costner, a country fan, suggested the Dolly Parton cover as a replacement – and that Huston sang the introduction a capella to add more emotion.

Looking For Inspiration for a Romantic Soundtrack? Check Out These Top 5 Tracks From Our Catalogue:

Love – Max Brodie

Why Don’t We Fall in Love – Craig Hardy, Carolyn Jordan and Gifty Dankwah

Fall in Love Again – Lincoln Grounds and Thomm Jutz

Seconds Away from Love – Chris Dececio and Jamie Elder

4) It Had to Be You - Harry Connick Jr (When Harry Met Sally,1989)

Is When Harry Met Sally the best romcom of all time? We say yes, and Harry Connick Jnr’s cover of It Had to Be You won him a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance.

Norah Ephron’s brilliantly-drawn Harry and Sally might seem destined never to get together, but the lyrics sum up exactly why the opposites eventually attract: ‘For nobody else gave me a thrill/For all your faults I love you still’.

It’s quite spiky, for a love song, but captures loving someone when you know all their infuriating quirks as well as their loveable ones.

5) She - Elvis Costello (Notting Hill, 1999)

Another cover, this time of She, Charles Aznavour’s classic from 1974. Costello’s version soundtracks ordinary chap Will (Hugh Grant) and global superstar Anna (Julia Roberts’) unlikely romance in Richard Curtis’s Notting Hill.

Aznavour’s version was originally used in the film, but American test screening audiences didn’t respond well to it, so Curtis brought in Costello to record the cover.

6) Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova (Once, 2007)

Girl meets Boy in Dublin and helps him to put together a demo of his music as they fall in love, portrayed through their songs in indie hit Once.

The love song Falling Slowly has a dash of Damien Rice in its stripped-back arrangement of piano and guitar and in the melding of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s voices – which took them to a win for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song.

7) Kissing You - Des'ree (Romeo + Juliet, 1996)

Des’ree appears in Baz Luhrmann’s colourful, kinetic reimagining of Romeo + Juliet, performing Kissing You as the lovers catch sight of each other for the first time during the ball at the Capulets’ mansion.

It’s a beautifully simple piano and soaring strings ballad that’s probably accompanied thousands of brides down the aisle since it was released in 1996.

8) Kiss Me - Sixpence None The Richer (She's All That, 1999)

For more teen romance, check out super-sweet Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer on the She’s All That soundtrack.

A classic romcom, Laney Boggs (Rachel Leigh Cook) is transformed from geeky art student into potential prom queen with the help of popular jock Zach (Freddie Prinze Jr). Kiss Me is the backdrop to the Big Reveal of Laney post-makeover.

9) Up Where We Belong - Jennifer Warnes & Joe Cocker (An Officer and a Gentleman, 1983)

Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes' Up Where We Belong played a crucial role in making audiences go wild for the super-romantic ending of An Officer and a Gentleman, when Richard Gere’s character – in full Naval uniform – comes into his girlfriend’s (Debra Winger) factory workplace and literally sweeps her off her feet.

Writer Douglas Day Stewart said that in the first edit, everyone laughed at the ending. Then director Taylor Hackford put Up Where We Belong over it, ‘and when that version of the film was shown to an audience, they went crazy. We realised then that it worked.’

10) It Must Have Been Love - Roxette (Pretty Woman, 1990)

It’s got a banging soundtrack, some beautiful frocks, much-repeated lines (‘Big mistake. Biiiig. Huge’), Richard Gere (again) and Julia Roberts’ megawatt smile.

The sexual politics may be questionable, but Pretty Woman ends with Vivian refusing to be Edward’s mistress and getting the fairytale she wants, seemingly on more equal terms (Edward: ‘So what happens after he climbs up and rescues her?’ Vivian: ‘She rescues him right back.’)

If, however, you haven’t got your ‘fairytale’ ending and you’re suffering from a broken heart, crank up Roxette’s It Must Have Been Love – acclaimed by The Guardian as ‘the greatest 80s power ballad of them all, and perhaps the greatest breakup song…

It follows the old Motown blueprint in perfectly blending ecstasy [musical] with agony [lyrical].

11) Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers (Ghost, 1990)

Nobody thought that pottery was sexy till Ghost put that sequence of Demi Moore throwing a pot with The Righteous Brothers’ Unchained Melody.

The song was originally written for a movie about life in prison, Unchained, way back in 1955.

From its humble origins, and post-Ghost, in 1999, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers called it one of the 25 most-performed songs and musical works of the entire 20th Century.

12) (I've Had) The Time Of My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes (Dirty Dancing, 1987)

Dirty Dancing's soundtrack is a clever combination of period pop with smashes like co-star Patrick Swayze’s She’s Like the Wind, Eric Carmen’s Hungry Eyes and Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes’s Oscar-winning (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life gave the soundtrack broad appeal.

The duet expertly mirrors Baby and Johnny’s dance – and the lyrics, ‘I’ve had the time of my life/And I owe it all to you’ fits the summer romance plot perfectly.

The soundtrack sold over 32 million copies, spent 18 weeks at No. 1 in the Billboard 200 album chart and went multi-platinum. Thus proving beyond all doubt that nobody puts Baby in a corner.

13) Come What May - Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge! 2001)

‘I believe in truth, beauty, freedom, and above all things, I believe in love’, declares impoverished writer, dreamer and grade-A Romantic Christian (Ewan McGregor) in Moulin Rouge!

The first musical nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in 10 years, director Baz Luhrmann’s fizzing fin de siecle romance throws everything at its soundtrack, from an operatic version of Queen’s The Show Must Go On to a sample of Chamma Chamma from the Hindi movie China Gate, via a quick blast of The Sound of Music and 12 songs in the Elephant Love Medley alone.

With kinetic editing that several critics compared with music videos, writer Christian, showgirl and courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman) and the rest of the Parisian cabaret crowd whizz through so many pop classics it took two years to clear all the rights.

David Bowie’s Nature Boy gives way to the frenetic stomp of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and there’s a memorably bonkers turn from Jim Broadbent sashaying around to Madonna’s Like a Virgin, whilst The Police’s Roxanne is given a sinister tango workover. Spectacular, spectacular, indeed.

However, Christian and Satine’s gorgeous love song, Come What May unfortunately missed out on a Best Song nomination at the Oscars, because it was originally written for – but not used in – Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.

14) Don't Stop Me Now - Queen (Shaun of the Dead, 2004)

The first ‘rom-zom-com’ may have seemed an unlikely hit on paper, but is fabulous fun, although interestingly, Pegg has said that while the film is a romantic comedy, ‘People always think it’s a romantic comedy about Shaun and [girlfriend] Liz; it’s not. It’s a romantic comedy about Ed and Shaun.’

The film ends, after all, with Shaun and his now zombified mate playing video games in a shed, accompanied by Queen’s You’re my Best Friend, offering a bit of bromance for V-Day.

15) Iris - Goo Goo Dolls (City Of Angels, 1998)

Nicholas Cage plays an angel sent to help humans make their transition to the afterlife – but when he falls in love with a woman (Meg Ryan), he has to choose between love and eternal life.

Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls encapsulates his struggle – the band’s frontman, John Rzeznik said that ‘I was thinking about the situation of the Nicholas Cage character. This guy is completely willing to give up his own immortality, just to be able to feel something very human. And I think “Wow! What an amazing thing it must be to love someone so much that you give up everything to be with them.” That’s a pretty heavy thought.’

16) Love Is All Around - Wet Wet Wet (Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1994)

Richard Curtis approached Wet Wet Wet about covering a song for Four Weddings – the band had their pick of three songs, the other two being Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, and Barry Manilow’s Can’t Smile Without You. Marti Pellow decided that they could make Love is All Around their own.

It proved the right choice: the song was Number One in the UK charts for 15 weeks, and spent so long knocking around the Top 75 (20 weeks), that the band eventually took the decision to delete the record from sale as so many people were fed up of hearing it (it was apparently still selling 120,000 copies a week). It’s sold 1.9 million copies in the UK, making it the best-selling love ballad of all time.

Not bad for a song which Reg Presley of The Troggs said that he knocked out in 20 minutes, at home with his family in 1968…

17) Kiss From A Rose - Seal (Batman Forever, 1995)

Director Joel Schumacher chose Seal’s Kiss from a Rose for the Batman Forever end credits, propelling it to Grammy wins for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1996.

The song is a total belter and has appeared everywhere from Lip Sync Battle to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Bones and animated animal X-Factor caper Sing.

18) La Valse d'Amélie - Yann Tiersen (Amélie, 2001)

Whimsical French comedy-romance Amélie has a soundtrack inspired by its heroine’s unique, quirky character.

Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet had Michael Nyman in mind to write the music, but a chance listen to a CD by French musician Yann Tiersen led to the film’s eclectic blend of toy piano, banjo, mandolin, accordion, melodica and vibraphone.

La Valse d’Amélie is a joyous accordion waltz that instantly conjures up Paris’s cobbled streets. A waltz needs two people and the theme chimes with Amélie playing hide and seek with her ‘other half’ and also demonstrating her emotional interactions with the film’s characters, as she seeks to secretly bring happiness to strangers wherever she goes.

19) You Make My Dreams Come True - Hall & Oates (500 Days of Summer, 2009)

It’s a story of boy meets girl, but as hopeless romantic Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt) tells you from the start, ‘this is not a love story.’

For sheer put-a-skip-in-your-step happiness, though, the sequence where Tom dances, high fives and beams his way through the park to Hall & Oates’ 80s classic You Make My Dreams takes some beating.

There are fountains, there’s a marching band, there are cartoon bluebirds, there’s old-school Hollywood musicals choreography – it exactly conjures up the giddy joy of falling in love in one two-minute scene.

20) April Come She Will - Simon & Garfunkel (The Graduate, 2009)

Interestingly, all the Simon and Garfunkel tracks used in the film were originally put there as placeholders, as the duo were supposed to be providing new tracks, but failed to deliver.

Deciding that the songs (The Sound of Silence; Scarborough Fair/Canticle, The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine and April Come She Will) perfectly underscored the emotions of the scenes, Nichols left them in.

But what fans remember as the film’s most iconic track, Mrs Robinson, doesn’t actually appear in its full version, as it hadn’t been completed in time.

Nichols needed a song for when Ben is racing to break up his girlfriend Elaine’s impending marriage. Garfunkel told Nichols that Simon was working on a song called ‘Mrs Roosevelt’; one name change later, and you’ve got a future classic.

Except, there was no verse, so in the film, you hear, ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo’ – as Garfunkel confessed, ‘that’s called a song not written yet – only the chorus was there.’ The final version was released as a single in 1968, and appeared on the duo’s next studio album, Bookends.

21) Baby You're My Light - Richard Hawley (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, 2008)

New York teenager Nick (Michael Cera) is heartbroken after a recent breakup and is still making mix CDs for his ex-girlfriend to try to win her back (aah, the nostalgia of mix CDs.)

Nick’s heartless ex bins the CDs, which Norah (Kat Dennings) finds and they bond – over the course of a single night - through their shared musical obsessions.

Amongst tracks from Devendra Banhart, Vampire Weekend and Band of Horses, Richard Hawley’s Baby You’re My Light is understatedly lovely.

22) Take My Breath Away - Berlin (Top Gun, 1986)

Berlin’s Take My Breath Away is the 80s power ballad.

The song was written by Giorgio Moroder, with lyrics by his frequent soundtrack collaborator Tom Whitlock and used over the romantic scenes between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis.

23) I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith (Armageddon, 1998)

If you’re feeling in the need for OTT with a side of cheese, then whack Aerosmith’s I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing on the Spotify playlist. Armageddon starred Steven Tyler’s daughter, Liv. U2 were originally slated to perform the song – the idea for Aerosmith performing it only came about after Liv was cast.

The song was written by Diane Warren, and inspired by a TV interview where actor James Brolin said to his wife Barbra Streisand that he didn’t want to fall asleep, ‘’Cause then I’ll miss you.’

Warren had originally thought the song would be sung by a diva like Celine Dion, but ‘for a guy to sing that song… it just makes it more compelling. That’s what women never usually hear their boyfriends or husbands saying, right?’

It’s got power, it’s got passion, you can belt it out at karaoke – as Big Songs go, it’s the perfect movie love song.

This page was last updated on 22/11/2022.

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Jul 18 2019

HISTORY OF JAPANESE MUSIC

Leave a Comment / FEATURED, MUSIC / July 18, 2019

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The history of Japanese music is rich and varied, from its traditional folk music to JPop’s global takeover.

Here’s our overview of the different forms and instruments used in traditional Japanese music, many of which are showcased in our Sounds Of Japan collection.

DISCOVER: SOUNDS OF JAPAN

READY TO FIND YOUR PERFECT SOUNDTRACK?

Classical Japanese Music

Historically, Japanese folk music was strongly influenced by music from China, with some of its forms being imported from China more than a thousand years ago.

Many popular Japanese musical instruments originated in China and were then adapted to meet local needs.

Traditional Japanese Music

Traditional Japanese music usually refers to Japan’s historical folk music. Two forms are recognised as the oldest forms - shōmyō, or Buddhist chanting, and gagaku, or theatrical court music.

Shōmyō & Gagaku

Shōmyō is a ritual music sung in a Buddhist ceremony by a group of Buddhist monks – literally translated, the word ‘shōmyō’ combines the characters for ‘voice’ and ‘wisdom’.

Gagaku is the oldest of Japan's musical traditions and includes dances and songs in two styles – kigaku, which is instrumental music, and seigaku, a form of vocal music.

Kabuki & Noh

There are several Japanese dramatic forms in which music plays a significant role. The main ones are kabuki and noh.

Kabuki is known for its highly stylised dancing and singing, together with its elaborate make-up (sported by a predominantly male cast).

Noh is a form of classical Japanese musical drama which has been performed since the 14th century. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature, with a supernatural being transformed into human form as a hero narrating the story – usually involving a mask being worn.

Noh has been dubbed ‘Japanese opera’ and is a ‘chanted drama’, but the singing is dependent on a limited tonal range. The music has many blank spaces (ma) between the sounds; the negative blank spaces are in fact considered to be the heart of the music.

The accompaniment is provided by a hayashi ensemble of three drummers and a flautist.

Instrumental Japanese Music

Traditional Japanese music is meditative in character, with highly ritualised performance – sharing much in common with martial arts, and other Japanese art forms such as the tea ceremony and calligraphy.

The music often looks to represent natural sounds, and the sounds of life, through percussion, wind and stringed instruments.

An interesting feature of classical Japanese music is its sparse rhythm and absence of regular chords. All of the rhythms are ‘ma’-based and silence is an important part of the songs.

Japanese Music Instruments

The key instruments used to play Japanese music are:

Shamisen
Shakuhachi
Koto

It’s played with a large triangular plectrum that’s used to strike the strings. The shamisen makes some of the best japanese violin music.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/joi/1284233442

The shakuhachi is a flute made of bamboo that’s played by blowing on one end.

Sometimes called a ‘five-holed bamboo flute’ in English, it has four holes on the front, and one on the back, and is characterised by its distinctively poignant tone.

Photo Credit: https://corneliusboots.com/

Historians think the koto was invented around the fifth to the third century BC in China, with the 13-stringed version coming to Japan during the Nara period (710-794).

This large, wooden instrument is played with picks worn on the fingers, and uses movable bridges placed under each string to change the pitch.

Of these traditional instruments, the koto is probably the most familiar and popular. During the New Year holidays ‘Haru no Umi,’ a duet with the shakuhachi, is often piped in as background music, and during the cherry blossom (sakura) season, the popular tune ‘Sakura, Sakura’ is performed on the koto.

Explore these different aspects of Japanese music culture with our shamisen, shakuhachi and koto tracks.

Traditional Japanese Artists

Many of the popular musicians playing the traditional music of Japan release albums and tour globally, bringing their music to a Western audience.

For a great introduction, have a listen to:

The Yoshida Brothers

Their debut album sold over 100,000 copies and since then they’ve toured the US and recorded an album in Los Angeles, attracting international fans.

Their music was also used in the TV commercial for Nintendo’s Wii. Their style pushes the shamisen’s sound from traditional music into jazz, experimental music, rock ‘n’ roll and pop.

The Nenes

The Nenes (‘sisters’ in Okinawan) are four women who sing Okinawan folk songs, performing on traditional instruments and in traditional costumes and reflecting the history of Japanese music.

Ryuichi Sakamoto recorded with them and took them on a European tour in the mid-1990s, which gave their music global recognition.

Kodō

Kodō are one of the elite taiko drumming groups and have been a major force in the post-World War II revitalisation of taiko drumming, regularly touring in Japan and the United States.

Their shows also include other traditional Japanese instruments, such as the shamisen, together with traditional dance and vocal performances.

We have a wide variety of Japanese music in our catalogue – from the traditional to the contemporary sounds of J-pop. One of our featured composers and artists is Joji Hirota.

Born in Hokkaido, Joji is a multi-percussionist, shakuhachi player, singer and Taiko drummer.

He founded Joji Hirota and the Taiko Drummers and was awarded the Ambassador’s commendation award by the UK Japanese Embassy for his contribution to musical activity outside of Japan in recognition for his achievements in a three-decade long career.

Where to Download Japanese Music

Looking for Japanese music? Audio Network’s Sounds Of Japan series showcases high quality, authentic music from shamisen-based rock to JPop, and delicate yet powerful Japanese instrumental performances.

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Sep 25 2018

10 MUSICIANS & THEIR STAGE NAMES

Leave a Comment / MUSIC / September 25, 2018

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READY TO FIND YOUR PERFECT SOUNDTRACK?

Within the music industry, it is not an uncommon phenomenon that artists adopt good stage names or performance personas.

The reasoning behind this can be varied; some artists wish to create a bit of anonymity, others to create a name that will make them stand out from the crowd, and others, well, you don't hear of many rappers called Aubrey, do you?

We take a look at 10 of our favourite name transformations and the stories behind them.

10 Musicians & Their Stage Names

1. Bruno Mars – Peter Gene Hernandez

Bruno - or should we say Peter - as one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 130 million records worldwide seems as good a place as any to start playing the name game.

The stage name Bruno, supposedly originated from a childhood nickname he adopted due to his father saying he resembled the pro wrestler Bruno Sammartino...look him up.

2. Eminem – Marshall Mathers 3

We won't even bother spelling out the logic behind Em-in-em's stage name.

3. Lady Gaga - Stefani Joanne Germanotta

Lady Gaga is undoudtedly at the forefront of the stage persona game.

The inspiration behind Stefani's stage persona is said to have come from the song 'Radio Ga-Ga' by Queen. The name was actually first introduced by her manager at the time - who was also her boyfriend - Rob Fusari, however it was Stefani who later added her own touch to the stage name by adding the 'Lady'.

According to Flybe magazine, Fusari actually sued Gaga for using this stage name after they no longer continued to work together. Sounds like they might have had a bad break up too.

4. Drake — Aubrey Drake Graham

'Aubrey' doesn't exactly give off the best rap vibes.

5. Snoop Dogg — Calvin Broadus Jr.

Not only did Snoop decide 'Calvin' wasn't quite right for a stage name, back in 2012, the 'dogg' evolved into a lion for the release of his debut reggae album.

6. Frank Ocean - Christopher Edwin Breaux

Frank Ocean has always been a fairly elusive character on the music scene. So it's not too surprising that Frank - or Christopher - decided to adopt a stage persona.

However, after a large segment of his career dedicated to staying in the shadows while writing for other artists, his emergence into the public spotlight could hardly be deflected with the rapid success of his first album 'Channel Orange' which soon made it to Billboard's Number 1 spot.

The origins of Ocean's name were reportedly taken from Frank's love of the 2001 film 'Ocean's Eleven'.

7. Gene Simmons - Chaim Witz

Chaim is a traditiional Hebrew name that Gene decided to shed shortly after moving to the States from Israel, as he and his mother thought Gene would be easier to pronounce.

8. Shania Twain – Eileen Regina Edwards

Country Queen Shania Twain holds the legacy of being the best-selling female artist of all time in country music. However, many of her fans are unaware that her real name is actually Eileen.

Popular belief around the origins of Shania's name are that the name comes from the Ojibwe or Cree word for 'on my way'. However, as her biographer Robin Eggar has exasperatedly repeated, there is no such Obijwe or Cree word that takes that meaning.

9. Elton John - Reginald Kenneth Dwight

Reportedly, Elton John chose his stage name by combining the names of saxophonist Elton Dean and LongJohn Baldry.

10. Stormzy – Michael Omari

Stormzy's rapid rise to fame through YouTube was one that will surely go down in rap history when his freestyle 'Shut Up' attracted 17 million views in 2015, nudging him to realease the track offically.

Stormzy is not the only stage name Michael has adopted either, he has also been known to go by Wicked Skengman, Big Mike, Stiff Chocolate and The Problem.

Stage Name Generator

Want to have your own stage name? Check out our stage name generator below and see what you end up with!