1.
Album
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Album, is a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century album sales have mostly focused on compact disc and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used from the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl, an album may be recorded in a recording studio, in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed live, the majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at times while listening to the other parts using headphones. Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of the recording, historically, the term album was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage the word was used for collections of pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, the LP record, or 33 1⁄3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. It was adopted by the industry as a standard format for the album. Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, the term album had been carried forward from the early nineteenth century when it had been used for collections of short pieces of music. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, as part of a trend of shifting sales in the music industry, some commenters have declared that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs, Albums such as Tubular Bells, Amarok, Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield, and Yess Close to the Edge, include fewer than four tracks. There are no rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as albums. These are known as box sets, material is stored on an album in sections termed tracks, normally 11 or 12 tracks. A music track is a song or instrumental recording. The term is associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks. When vinyl records were the medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves
2.
Rachid Taha
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Rachid Taha is an Algerian singer and activist based in France who has been described as sonically adventurous. His music is influenced by different styles such as rock, electronic, punk. Taha was born in 1958 in Sig, Algeria, although a second source suggests he was born in the Algerian seacoast city of Oran and this town was the birthplace of raï music, and 1958 was a key year in the Algerian struggle for independence against French authority. He began listening to Algerian music in the 1960s, including street-style music called chaabi, and music from the Maghreb region was part of his upbringing. He moved with his parents to France when he was ten years old and his father was a textile factory worker, with long hours and low pay, such that his life was compared to that of a modern slave, according to one account. The contrast between menial work during the day and fun during the night may have helped to develop his musical sensibility. In the late 1970s, Taha founded the nightclub called The Rejects or, in French, Les Refoulés, in the 1980s, Algerias indigenous pop music known as raï began to achieve international attention. Taha has suggested that Algerian musical styles and rock are closely linked, Taha was influenced by the North African raï band Nass El Ghiwane which was described as Moroccos answer to the Beatles or the Stones. In 1981, while living in Lyon, Taha met Mohammed and Mokhtar Amini, in 1982, Taha was the lead vocalist for the Arab-language rock group which they named Carte de Sejour, meaning Green Card or Residence Permit depending on the translation. He sang in both English and Arabic, but usually in Arabic, Taha was inspired by the group The Clash, Taha met members of the group The Clash in Paris, Taha believes his early recordings helped to inspire The Clash to create the song Rock the Casbah. A New York Times music reporter wrote, These were difficult years since record stores refused to stock their records because they didnt want Arabs coming in to their shops. There was little money, the band performed in suburbs of Lyon, the acerbic song created a splash, nevertheless, and won Taha some recognition as a serious artist. The group never achieved commercial success and, as a result, Taha had to work a series of day jobs in a factory, then as a house painter, a dishwasher. They recorded their first maxi album Carte De Séjour in 1983, in 1984, with the help of British guitarist Steve Hillage, the group achieved a sharp, driving sound which played well on the radio, and the LP was entitled Rhoromanie. In his songwriting, Taha wrote about living in exile and the cultural strife associated with being an Algerian immigrant in France and his song Voilà, Voilà, protested racism. Taha has had to cope with anti-Arab sentiment and confusion, for example, the New York Times stated in a story that Taha was Egyptian rather than Algerian. Later, in 2007, Taha-as-an-immigrant was mentioned in Frances National Center of the History of Immigration, when performing live, Taha wore various outfits, including at one point a leather fedora hat, then later a red cowboy hat. Their second and last LP entitled Ramsa was released in 1986, in 1989, Taha moved to Paris to launch his solo career
3.
Khaled (musician)
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Khaled Hadj Ibrahim, better known as Khaled, is an Algerian raï singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in Oran. He began recording in his teens under the name Cheb Khaled and has become the most internationally famous Algerian singer in the Arab world. His popularity has earned him the unofficial title King of Raï and his most famous songs are Didi, Aïcha and Cest la vie as well as Alech Taadi, which was prominently featured in the feature film The Fifth Element. Khaled Hadj Ibrahim was born in 1960 in Orans Eckmühl neighborhood, at the age of 14, he founded the Cinq Étoiles band and started performing in nightclubs and at weddings. In the 1980s, Khaled started producing and singing raï songs and he moved to France in 1986. On 12 January 1995, Khaled married Samira Diabi,27, with whom he has four daughters, in 1998, the documentary Khaled, Derrière le sourire was produced, recounting his life. He was awarded Moroccan citizenship in August 2013, which he didnt ask for, the song was also used in a Bollywood films Shreeman Aashiq and Airlift and a Mollywood film titled Highway. Khaled and producer Don Was appeared on the The Tonight Show on 4 February 1993, the latter track, which saw heavy rotation on MTV Europe, climbed to fourth on the charts in Germany. Known as the King of Rai, Khaled is a winner of awards, and has sold over 80.5 million albums worldwide including 10 diamond, platinum. In 2010 he performed Didi at the ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. With a record million downloads of the hit single Cest la vie on European and Canadian iTunes, the album contains a message of tolerance, love and peace, staying away from the themes of conflict that many other artists in the Arab world explore. Khaled tried to convey what Algerian immigrants suffer in Europe through the album, c’est la vie was Khaled’s first album after a five-year break from recording during 2011 presidential elections in France and the Arab Spring. This discography does not include a number of released on cassette in Algeria early in his career
4.
Faudel
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His grandmother performed regularly with the meddahates, groups of female musicians in Oran who play traditional music at weddings and other family occasions. It was Faudels grandmother who was responsible for putting the young boy in touch with his Algerian roots. His first public singing experience was during a wedding celebration in Oran. Faudel started to cover the tracks by Cheb Khaled and Cheb Mami at 12. Faudel and Les Etoiles du Rai soon became a fixture at the youth club. Faudel then went on to appear at clubs throughout the Paris suburbs, performing covers of Khaled, Zahouania and Mamis greatest hits, the turning-point of Faudels early career came at the age of 13 when he was spotted by Mohamed Mestar. Thanks to Momos guiding hand, Faudel soon built up his own repertoire, Faudel went on to study accountancy and metallurgy, but his passion for Rai soon led to him taking up a professional singing career. Faudels debut album, Baida, catapulted him to fame and he has also performed with Khaled and Rachid Taha on the live album 1,2,3 Soleils. His other albums include Samra and his album Un Autre Soleil and, most recently and he also has acted in a few roles, including Happenstance with Audrey Tautou. Even though Faudel was still in his teens, he managed to establish himself as the new voice of Rai. Indeed, in 1995 two French television documentaries were made about the young star from Mantes-la-Jolie - Saga cités. The following year Faudel would be chosen to represent the Ile-de-France region at the prestigious Printemps de Bourges Festival, and the young singers impressive performance in the New Talent category would only serve to increase his growing popularity. Meanwhile, Faudel embarked on a new series of concert tours while Momo set about getting his young protégé a recording deal. In order to produce the best demo tape possible, Momo, the demo tape would actually prove unnecessary - after Faudels impressive performance at the Printemps de Bourges, the young star was snapped up by major record label Mercury shortly afterward. Faudels original sound - which fuses traditional Arab Rai rhythms with new guitar, reggae, Afro-beat. After signing a contract with Mercury to produce five albums over the few years. The young singer then embarked upon another major tour, performing dates throughout France. In the course of new tour Faudel would appear in concert with a number of legendary Rai stars such as Khaled
5.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
6.
Barclay Records
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Barclay Records is a French record company and label founded by Eddie Barclay in 1953. Barclay was a bandleader, pianist, producer, and nightclub owner, with his wife, Nicole, who was the vocalist in his band, he started Barclay. The catalogue included the work of Stéphane Grappelli, Lionel Hampton, in 1978 the label was sold to Polygram Records. Barclay also had operations outside France, most notably in the U. S. Barclay Records is currently owned and distributed by Universal Music Group
7.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu
