1.
Boulogne-Billancourt
–
Boulogne-Billancourt is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 8.2 km from the centre of Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt. With an average income in 2013 of €47,592, nearly twice the French average of €25,548. Boulogne-Billancourt is the most populous suburb of Paris and one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe, formerly an important industrial site, it has successfully reconverted into business services and is now home to major communication companies headquartered in the Val de Seine business district. The original name of the commune was Boulogne-sur-Seine, before the 14th century, Boulogne was a small village called Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud. The church, meant to become a pilgrimage centre closer to Paris than the distant city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, was named Notre-Dame de Boulogne la Petite, gradually, the village of Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud became known as Boulogne-la-Petite, and later as Boulogne-sur-Seine. In 1924, Boulogne-sur-Seine was officially renamed Boulogne-Billancourt to reflect the development of the neighbourhood of Billancourt annexed in 1860. As for the name Billancourt, it was recorded for the first time in 1150 as Bullencort and it comes from Medieval Latin cortem, accusative of cors, meaning enclosure, estate, suffixed to the Germanic patronym Buolo, thus having the meaning of estate of Buolo. On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes, on that occasion, the communes of Auteuil and Passy were disbanded and divided between Boulogne-Billancourt and the city of Paris. Boulogne-sur-Seine received a part of the territory of Passy. Some of the events of the 1900 Summer Olympics took place in Boulogne-Billancourt. In 1929, the Bois de Boulogne, which was divided between the communes of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine, was annexed in its entirety by the city of Paris. On that occasion, Boulogne-Billancourt, to which most of the Bois de Boulogne belonged, Boulogne-Billancourt is famous for being the birthplace of three major French industries, cinema, automobile with Renault at Île Seguin, and aircraft. It is also famous for being the setting of the TV show Code Lyoko, with the city of Sèvres, Boulogne-Billancourt is part of the communauté dagglomération Val de Seine. Boulogne-Billancourt is served by two stations on Paris Métro Line 10, Boulogne – Jean Jaurès and Boulogne – Pont de Saint-Cloud and it is also served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 9, Marcel Sembat, Billancourt, and Pont de Sèvres. The Musée Albert-Kahn at 14, rue du Port, Boulogne-Billancourt is a museum and includes four hectares of gardens. The museum also includes photographs and film. The Musée des Années Trente is a museum of artistic and industrial objects from the 1930s, see also, Enseignement à Boulogne-Billancourt The public collèges in the commune include Jacqueline-Auriol, Bartholdi, Paul-Landowski, and Jean-Renoir
2.
Chanson
–
A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specializing in chansons is known as a chanteur or chanteuse, the earliest chansons were the epic poems performed to simple monophonic melodies by a professional class of jongleurs or ménestrels. These usually recounted the deeds of past heroes, legendary. The Song of Roland is the most famous of these, the chanson courtoise or grand chant was an early form of monophonic chanson, the chief lyric poetic genre of the trouvères. It was an adaptation to Old French of the Occitan canso and it was practised in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Thematically, as its name implies, it was a song of courtly love, some later chansons were polyphonic and some had refrains and were called chansons avec des refrains. A Crusade song was known as a chanson de croisade, in its typical specialized usage, the word chanson refers to a polyphonic French song of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Early chansons tended to be in one of the formes fixes—ballade, the earliest chansons were for two, three or four voices, with first three becoming the norm, expanding to four voices by the sixteenth century. Sometimes, the singers were accompanied by instruments, the first important composer of chansons was Guillaume de Machaut, who composed three-voice works in the formes fixes during the 14th century. Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois, who wrote so-called Burgundian chansons, were the most important chanson composers of the next generation and their chansons, while somewhat simple in style, are also generally in three voices with a structural tenor. Musicologist David Fallows includes the Burgundian repertoire in A Catalogue of Polyphonic Songs 1415-1480 and these works are typically still 3 voices, with an active upper voice pitched above two lower voices usually sharing the same range. The first book of music printed from movable type was Harmonice Musices Odhecaton and this genre sometimes featured music that was meant to be evocative of certain imagery such as birds or the marketplace. Many of these Parisian works were published by Pierre Attaingnant, composers of their generation, as well as later composers, such as Orlando de Lassus, were influenced by the Italian madrigal. Many early instrumental works were ornamented variations on chansons, with this becoming the canzone. French solo song developed in the late 16th century, probably from the aforementioned Parisian works, louis Niedermeyer, under the particular spell of Schubert, was a pivotal figure in this movement, followed by Édouard Lalo, Felicien David and many others. Another offshoot of chanson, called chanson réaliste, was a musical genre in France. Among the better-known performers of the genre are Damia, Fréhel, chanson can be distinguished from the rest of French pop music by following the rhythms of French language, rather than those of English, and a higher standard for lyrics. Canzone Russian chanson French historical chanson panorama Brown, Howard Mayer, in The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham
3.
Funk
–
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid- 1960s when African American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and rhythm and blues. Like much of African-inspired music, funk typically consists of a groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves. Funk uses the same richly-colored extended chords found in jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths. Other musical groups, including Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament-Funkadelic, soon began to adopt, Funk samples have been used extensively in genres including hip hop, house music, and drum and bass. It is also the influence of go-go, a subgenre associated with funk. The word funk initially referred to a strong odor and it is originally derived from Latin fumigare via Old French fungiere and, in this sense, it was first documented in English in 1620. In 1784 funky meaning musty was first documented, which, in turn, in early jam sessions, musicians would encourage one another to get down by telling one another, Now, put some stank on it. At least as early as 1907, jazz songs carried titles such as Funky, as late as the 1950s and early 1960s, when funk and funky were used increasingly in the context of jazz music, the terms still were considered indelicate and inappropriate for use in polite company. According to one source, New Orleans-born drummer Earl Palmer was the first to use the word funky to explain to other musicians that their music should be made more syncopated, the style later evolved into a rather hard-driving, insistent rhythm, implying a more carnal quality. This early form of the set the pattern for later musicians. The music was identified as slow, sexy, loose, riff-oriented, a great deal of funk is rhythmically based on a two-celled onbeat/offbeat structure, which originated in sub-Saharan African music traditions. New Orleans appropriated the bifurcated structure from the Afro-Cuban mambo and conga in the late 1940s, New Orleans funk, as it was called, gained international acclaim largely because James Browns rhythm section used it to great effect. Funk creates an intense groove by using strong guitar riffs and bass lines, like Motown recordings, funk songs used bass lines as the centerpiece of songs. Slap basss mixture of thumb-slapped low notes and finger popped high notes allowed the bass to have a rhythmic role. In funk bands, guitarists typically play in a style, often using the wah-wah sound effect. Guitarist Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers and Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic were notably influenced by Jimi Hendrixs improvised solos, Eddie Hazel, who worked with George Clinton, is one of the most notable guitar soloists in funk. Ernie Isley was tutored at an age by Jimi Hendrix himself. Jimmy Nolen and Phelps Collins are famous funk rhythm guitarists who both worked with James Brown, on Browns Give It Up or Turnit a Loose, Jimmy Nolens guitar part has a bare bones tonal structure
4.
Kazoo
–
The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a buzzing timbral quality to a players voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, one of a class of instruments which modifies its players voice by way of a vibrating membrane, a kazoo player hums, rather than blows, into the instrument. The oscillating air pressure of the hum makes the kazoos membrane vibrate, the resulting sound varies in pitch and loudness with the players humming. Players can produce different sounds by singing specific syllables such as doo, similar hide-covered vibrating and voice-changing instruments have been used in Africa for hundreds of years, often for ceremonial purposes. A popular belief is that Alabama Vest, an African-American in Macon, however, there is no documentation to support that claim. The first documented appearance of a kazoo was that created by an American inventor, Warren Herbert Frost, the patent states, This instrument or toy, to which I propose to give the name kazoo. Frosts kazoo did not look like present-day submarine-shaped kazoos, the modern kazoo—also the first one made of metal—was patented by George D. Smith of Buffalo, New York, May 27,1902. These machines were used for many decades, by 1994, the company produced 1.5 million kazoos per year and was the only manufacturer of metal kazoos in North America. The factory, in nearly its original configuration, is now called The Kazoo Factory and it is still operating, and it is open to the public for tours. In 2010, The Kazoo Museum opened in Beaufort, South Carolina with exhibits on kazoo history, the kazoo is played professionally in jug bands and comedy music, and by amateurs everywhere. It is among the instruments developed in the United States. In North East England and South Wales, kazoos play an important role in jazz bands. During Carnival, players use kazoos in the Carnival of Cádiz in Spain, in the Original Dixieland Jass Band 1921 recording of Crazy Blues, what the casual listener might mistake for a trombone solo is actually a kazoo solo by drummer Tony Sbarbaro or Red McKenzie. The Mound City Blue Blowers had a number of hit records in the early 1920s featuring Dick Slevin on metal kazoo. The vocaphone, a kind of kazoo with a tone, was occasionally featured in Paul Whitemans Orchestra. Trombonist-vocalist Jack Fulton played it on Whitemans recording of Vilia and Frankie Trumbauers Medley of Isham Jones Dance Hits, the Mills Brothers vocal group originally started in vaudeville as a kazoo quartet, playing four-part harmony on kazoo with one brother accompanying them on guitar. The kazoo is rare in European classical music, leonard Bernstein included a segment for kazoo ensemble in the First Introit of his Mass. The brief passages have the kazoo chorus sliding up and down the scale as the cheering rises, jesse Fullers 1962 recording of his song San Francisco Bay Blues features a kazoo solo, as does Eric Claptons 1992 recording of the song on MTVs Unplugged television show and album
5.
Music of France
–
The music of France reflects a diverse array of styles. In the field of music, France has produced a number of prominent romantic composers, while folk and popular music have seen the rise of the chanson. The earliest known sound recording device in the world, the phonautograph, was patented in France by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville in 1857. France is also the 5th largest market by value in the world, French music history dates back to organum in the 10th century, followed by the Notre Dame School, an organum composition style. By the end of the 12th century, a form of song called the motet arose, in the 14th century, France produced two notable styles of music, Ars Nova and Ars Subtilior. Burgundy, the mostly French-speaking area unified with the Kingdom of France in 1477 and this was followed by the rise of chansons and the Burgundian School. Influential composers included Louis Couperin, François Couperin and Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, Jean Philippe Rameau, a prominent opera composer, wrote an influential treatise on musical theory, especially in the subject of harmony, he also introduced the clarinet into his orchestras. In the late Renaissance and early Baroque period, a type of secular vocal music called Air de cour spread throughout France. The first French opera may be Akébar roi du Mogol, first performed in Carpentras in 1646 and his first was Cadmus from 1673. Lullys forays into operatic tragedy were accompanied by the pinnacle of French theatrical tragedy, led by Corneille and Racine. Lully also developed the beat patterns used by conductors to this day. The French composer, Georges Bizet, composed Carmen, one of the most well known, Claude Balbastre was an organist, harpsichordist and fortepianist. He was one of the most famous musicians of his time, henri-Montan Berton, son of Pierre, is principally remembered as a composer of operas, most of which were first performed at the Opéra-Comique. Chélard earned his living for much of his career as a violist at the Paris Opera and his 1827 opera Macbeth was a flop in Paris, but a great success in Munich. Jeanne-Hippolyte Devismes married the director of the Paris Opéra and her only known works are a song, La Dame Jacinthe, and an opera, Praxitėle, which was a success and ran for 16 performances. Harpsichordist and composer Jacques Duphly contributed to Jean-Jacques Rousseau dictionary, for articles relating to the art of playing the harpsichord, one of the major French composers of the time, and one of the most innovative composers of the early Romantic era, was Hector Berlioz. In the late 19th century, pioneers such as Georges Bizet, Jules Massenet, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, the last two had an enormous impact on 20th-century music - both in France and abroad - and influenced many major composers such as Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky. Erik Satie was also a significant composer from that era
6.
Hauts-de-Seine
–
Hauts-de-Seine is a department of France. It is part of the Métropole du Grand Paris and of the Île-de-France region and it is small and densely populated and contains the modern office, theatre, and shopping complex known as La Défense. Its creation reflected the implementation of a law passed in 1964, in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Hauts-de-Seine received national attention as the result of a corruption scandal concerning the misuse of public funds provided for the departments housing projects. Implicated were former minister and former President of the council of the Hauts-de-Seine, Charles Pasqua. Hauts-de-Seine is Frances second wealthiest département and one of Europes richest areas and its GDP per capita was €62,374 in 2003, according to INSEE official figures. Hauts-de-Seine is the base of Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the Republic from 2007 to 2012. He was previously the mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine in the department, Charles Pasqua was also based in Hauts-de-Seine. Website of the General council Prefecture website
7.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
8.
Egyptians
–
The Black Egyptian hypothesis is the hypothesis that Ancient Egypt was a predominately Black civilization, as the term is currently understood in modern American ethic perception. Mainstream scholars recognize that many indigenous Egyptians, including several Pharaohs, were of ancestry that, in the modern era, the Black Egyptian hypothesis goes a lot further, claiming that Egypt, from north to south, was a black civilization. At the UNESCO Symposium on the Peopling of Ancient Egypt and the Deciphering of the Meroitic script in Cairo in 1974, some modern scholars such as W. E. B. Du Bois, Chancellor Williams, Cheikh Anta Diop, John G. Jackson, Ivan van Sertima, Martin Bernal, the frequently criticized Journal of African Civilizations has continually advocated that Egypt should be viewed as a Black civilization. Diop and others believed the views were fueled by scientific racism. Diop used an approach to counteract prevailing views on the Ancient Egyptians origins. Since the second half of the 20th century, most scholars have held that modern notions of race to ancient Egypt is anachronistic. The focus of some experts who study population biology has been to consider whether or not the Ancient Egyptians were primarily biologically North African rather than to which race they belonged, in 1975, the mummy of Ramesses II was taken to France for preservation. The mummy was also tested by Professor Pierre-Fernand Ceccaldi, the chief forensic scientist at the Criminal Identification Laboratory of Paris. Professor Ceccaldi determined that, Hair, astonishingly preserved, showed some complementary data - especially about pigmentation, the description given here refers to a fair-skinned person with wavy ginger hair. Keita wrote that There is no reason to believe that the primary ancestors of the Egyptian population emerged and evolved outside of northeast Africa. Stuart Tyson Smith writes in the 2001 Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt that Any characterization of race of the ancient Egyptians depends on modern cultural definitions, not on scientific study. Thus, by modern American standards it is reasonable to characterize the Egyptians as black, several Ancient Greek historians noted that Egyptians had complexions that were melanchroes. There is considerable controversy over the translation of melanchroes, most scholars translate it as black. Alan B Lloyd wrote that there is no justification for relating this description to negroes. Melanchroes could denote any colour from bronzed to black and negroes are not the physical type to show curly hair. These characteristics would certainly be found in many Egs, ancient and modern, some of the most often quoted historians are Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Herodotus. Herodotus states in a few passages that the Egyptians were black/dark, lucian observes an Egyptian boy and notices that he is not merely black, but has thick lips
9.
Lebanese people
–
The Lebanese people are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The religious groups among the Lebanese people are Shias, Sunnis, Maronites, Greek Orthodox, Druze, Melkites, there is a large diaspora in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Africa. The term may include those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state. As the relative proportion of the various sects is politically sensitive and it is therefore difficult to have an exact demographic analysis of Lebanese society. The largest concentration of people of Lebanese ancestry may be in Brazil having a population of 5. The Lebanese have always traveled the world, many of them settling permanently, descendants of Lebanese Christians make up the majority of Lebanese people worldwide, appearing principally in the diaspora. As the second of two languages of Judaism, Aramaic was also retained as a language in the sphere of religion among Lebanese Jews. Arab influence, nevertheless, applies to all aspects of the modern Lebanese culture. The total population of Lebanese people is estimated at 13-18 million, of these, the vast majority, or 8.6 -14 million, are in the Lebanese diaspora, and approximately 4.3 million in Lebanon itself. There are approximately 4.3 million Lebanese people in Lebanon, in addition to this figure, there are an additional 1 million foreign workers, mainly Syrians and about 400,000 Palestinian refugees in the nation. Lebanon is also a multi-ethnic society, prominent ethnic minorities in the country include the Armenians, the Kurds, the Turks, the Assyrians, the Iranians and many European ethnicities. The Lebanese diaspora consists of approximately 8.6 -14 million, the majority of the Lebanese in the diaspora are Christians, disproportionately so in the Americas where the vast majority reside. An estimate figure show that they represent about 75% of the Lebanese in total, Lebanese abroad are considered rich, educated and influential and over the course of time immigration has yielded Lebanese commercial networks throughout the world. The largest number of Lebanese is to be found in Brazil, in the rest of the Americas, significant communities are found in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela, with almost every other Latin American country having at least a small presence. In Africa, Ghana and the Ivory Coast are home to over 100,000 Lebanese, there are significant Lebanese populations in other countries throughout Western and Central Africa. Australia hosts over 180,000 and Canada 250,000, in the Arab world, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf harbour around 400,000 Lebanese. Lebanese people also can be found in all of the 28 member states of the European Union, more than 2,500 ex-SLA members remain in Israel. They are denoted ** for this purpose, Lebanon has several different main religions
10.
Mathieu Boogaerts
–
Mathieu Boogaerts, is a French singer-songwriter. The son of a pharmacist mother and antiquarian father, Mathieu spent his childhood in Fontenay sous Bois before acquainting himself with the piano. At age ten he started playing an organ - intended for use by his mother, after two years of taking courses, he started his first musical group at age 13 with two fellow students and friends from middle school. After many years travelling the world, mostly Africa, he started penning some naive and his sketchy, intimate sound sometimes mixes African rhythms with reggae, and his influences such as the Dutch singer Dick Annegarn, with whom he toured in 1997. His album Michel is accompanied by a film made by Boogaerts himself. His music is known for its style and many of his songs include a very light
11.
Laurent Voulzy
–
Laurent Voulzy is a French singer and composer. Voulzy was born in Paris, France and he originally led the English-pop-influenced Le Temple de Vénus before joining Pascal Danel as guitarist from 1969 to 1974. However, he is best known for his songwriting efforts with singer/songwriter Alain Souchon and his solo singing career. Voulzy had a hit with the song Rockollection. The French lyrics were interspersed with lines from classic rock hits after the chorus. His major French hits also include Le Soleil Donne – sung in French, English and Spanish – and Les Nuits Sans Kim Wilde, in 2005, Voulzy co-produced and co-composed Nolwenn Leroys second album Histoires Naturelles. Voulzy had a hit with his album La Septième Vague which reached number one in 2006. Featured on the album is a cover of the Everly Brothers hit All I Have to Do Is Dream, the song was released as a single and was also included on The Corrs greatest hits album Dreams, The Ultimate Corrs Collection. Voulzy recorded in 2007 a duet with the French guitarist Jean-Pierre Danel on his hit album Guitar Connection 2, the song hit the French charts at No.7 in 2008. For his 2011 album, Lys and Love, Voulzy recorded a duet on the song Ma seule amour with English singer Roger Daltrey of The Who
12.
Alain Souchon
–
Alain Souchon is a French singer-songwriter and actor. He has released 15 albums and has played roles in seven films, Alain Souchon was born in Casablanca, Morocco. His family on his mothers side is Swiss, and he has dual French-Swiss nationality, six months after he was born, his family moved to France. When he was 15 his father died in an accident and his mother sent him to a French college in England, but due to problems registering he decided to stay in London and work. Upon returning to France he took up guitar, influenced by English, in 1970, he married and had his first son continuing to play in the cabarets and bars in the Rive Gauche of Paris. Souchon signed his first contract in 1971 with the Pathe-Marconi label but had no success, bob Socquet, the artistic director of RCA encouraged him to perform his song Lamour 1830 at the Rose DOr of Antibes contest. Souchon then began to collaborate with composer/arranger Laurent Voulzy, they would write together, Souchons first hit was Jai 10 ans, from the album of the same name. He continued releasing albums and in 1978 wrote the theme for François Truffauts 1979 film Love on the Run, at this time his second son was born. In 1980, he was invited to perform at lOlympia and he also began his acting career, most notably starring in the 1983 film Lété Meurtrier. Following the album On avance, he left RCA and signed with Virgin Records at 40 years old, in 1989 La beauté de Ava Gardner was voted best title of the year by the Victoires de la Musique. Then came Souchons biggest hit Foule sentimentale from 1993s million-selling Cest déja ça, at the 20th anniversary of the Victoires de la Musique in 1995, Alain Souchon received the award for best Chanson Originale for his song Foule Sentimentale. In 1996, he received the le Prix Vincent Scotto award given by the SACEM for his song Sous les Jupes des Filles, Souchon returned in 2005 with the hugely successful album La vie Théodore which contained the hit single. Et si en plus ya personne
13.
Texas (band)
–
Texas are a Scottish pop rock band from Glasgow. They were founded by Johnny McElhone in 1986 and feature Sharleen Spiteri on lead vocals, Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at the University of Dundee. They took their name from the 1984 Wim Wenders movie Paris, Southside debuted at number three in the UK and number 88 on the US Billboard 200 album charts. Despite the success of Southside, the follow-up albums Mothers Heaven and Ricks Road were less successful, peaking at #32, the bands fortunes changed in 1997 with the release of their White on Blonde album which entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and became their biggest seller. To date it has been certified platinum in the UK. Follow up album, The Hush was also successful, debuting at one on the UK album charts. The bands Greatest Hits album, released in 2000, was another big seller, again debuting at number one and also being certified six-times platinum. Texas would go on to release a further two albums, Careful What You Wish For in 2003, and Red Book in 2005. After the release of Red Book and a tour to support the albums release, lead singer Sharleen Spiteri launched a solo career, releasing her debut solo album, Melody, in 2008. As of 2017, Texass projected sales had accumulated to 40 million records to date, as well as scoring thirteen UK top ten singles, the bands debut single, I Dont Want a Lover, was released in January 1989. It reached No.8 on the UK Singles Charts and No.77 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as Top 40 positions in various countries worldwide. The band released their album, Southside, in March 1989. Despite this success, Texas spent much of the late 1980s performing as a band for acts such as Foregone Conclusion. However, three singles from the album all failed to make the UK Top 40, with Thrill Has Gone reaching No. 60, Everyday Now faring little better at No,44, and Prayer for You stalling at No.73. The bands second album, Mothers Heaven, was released in September 1991 and it was preceded by the single Why Believe in You, but this failed to reach the UK Top 40 stalling at No.66 on the UK Singles Charts. This did not bode well for the album, which peaked at No.32 in the UK. A second single, In My Heart, fared worse and became Texass lowest charting single in the UK,74, making it their fifth single in a row to failed to break the Top 40
14.
Sean Lennon
–
Sean Taro Ono Lennon is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, sean Lennon was born in New York City on October 9,1975, his fathers 35th birthday. He is of Irish, Welsh, and English descent on his fathers side, julian Lennon is his half-brother, and Kyoko Chan Cox is his half-sister. After Seans birth, John became a husband, caring for his young son until his death on December 8,1980. He attended Columbia University for three semesters before dropping out to focus on his music, in January 1984, when Steve Jobs was visiting Manhattan, he attended a party that his mother was throwing for Lennon, and Jobs gave him one of the very first Macintosh computers. His parents kick-started his musical career, his debut into the world came at age five. From childhood into his teen years, Lennon continued to collaborate with his mother, contributing vocals and receiving credit on her solo albums Its Alright, Starpeace. At 16 Lennon co-wrote the song All I Ever Wanted with Lenny Kravitz for his 1991 album Mama Said, by 1995 Lennon had formed the band IMA to play alongside his mother on her album Rising. Lennon also made appearances in film, featured in the cast of Michael Jacksons 1988 Moonwalker, Escher prints in Sonys 1990 promotional short-film Infinite Escher. In 1996, Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto were invited by Ono to remix the song Talking to the Universe for a Rising remix EP Rising Mixes and they met Lennon and invited him to join them on tour as a bass player. This eventually led to Lennons contributing to their side-project Butter 08 and he continued to play with them on tour, joining them on television and providing bass guitar and vocals on their EP Super Relax. Through his association with Cibo Matto, Lennon was approached by Adam Yauch, regarding Grand Royal, Lennon has said, I think I found the only label on the planet who doesnt care who my parents are and what my name is. Its a good feeling to know that I wouldnt have gotten the offer if they wouldnt have liked my songs, thats pretty rare in the music business. Lennons solo debut Into the Sun, was released in 1998, a music video for Home, a single from the album, was directed by Spike Jonze and enjoyed extended airplay on MTV. The album was produced by fellow Cibo Matto member Yuka Honda and they struck up a personal relationship as well as a creative one. He went on to tour supporting Into the Sun, during this period he appeared on radio programs such as The Howard Stern Show and KCRWs Morning Becomes Eclectic. He later recalled promoting the album as a bitter experience due to the focus on his family rather than his own music. In 1999, Lennons EP Half Horse, Half Musician was released featuring new such as Heart & Lung
15.
Vanessa Paradis
–
Vanessa Chantal Paradis is a French singer-songwriter, musician, actress and model. She became a star at 14 with the worldwide success of her single Joe le taxi. Since 1991, Paradis has been a spokesmodel for Chanel and she was in a relationship with American actor Johnny Depp from 1998 to 2012, they have two children, Lily-Rose and John Jack Christopher Depp III. Vanessas sister, Alysson Paradis, is also an actress, Vanessa Paradis was born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France, to interior designers Corinne and André Paradis. She began to develop her career at age seven when her uncle, record producer Didier Pain, helped her appear on the local television program LÉcole des fans. She recorded her first single, La Magie des surprises-parties, in 1983, although not a hit, it paved the way for the song with which she became internationally famous, Joe le taxi, in 1987 when she was 14. It was No.1 in France for 11 weeks and, unusually for a song sung in French, was released in the United Kingdom, where it reached No.3. It was taken from her first album M&J which, although it placed 13th in France, drew attention in the UK. In March 1989, at age 16, she left school to pursue her career. She released the album Variations sur le même taime in 1990, the album was written by acclaimed French composer Serge Gainsbourg, whom she met when she received the best singer award at Les Victoires de la Musique, on 4 February 1990. In 1990, Paradis won the 1990 César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in Noce Blanche, in 1991, Paradis promoted the fragrance Coco for Chanel. In the advertisement, she was covered in feathers, portraying a bird swinging in a cage. The advert was shot by Jean-Paul Goude, Paradis spoke of her continued admiration of Chanel in 2010 saying, The more I know them, the more I love Chanel. In 1992, she moved to the United States to work with Lenny Kravitz, Paradis started working on a new album in English, a language in which she was now fluent. Written and produced by Kravitz, the album, titled Vanessa Paradis, topped the French chart, one of the singles from it was Be My Baby, which made number 5 in France and gave her another Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at No.6. In March 1993, Paradis started her first international tour, the Natural High Tour, she performed in France, England, in February 1994, Live was released in France. In April 1994, Paradis filmed Élisa, under the direction of Jean Becker, elisa was a big success in France, and was released internationally. In 1997, Paradis played in Un amour de sorcière with Jeanne Moreau and Jean Reno, before filming Une chance sur deux, with Alain Delon, in March 1999, La fille sur le Pont, by Patrice Leconte was released
16.
Johnny Hallyday
–
Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. He has been called the French Elvis and he was married for 15 years to popular Bulgarian-French singer Sylvie Vartan and the two were considered a golden couple for 20 years. Hallyday has completed 181 tours, had 18 platinum albums, and has more than 80 million records worldwide. Hallyday remains largely unknown outside of the Francophone world, thus earning the nickname the biggest rock star youve never heard of in English-speaking countries, nevertheless, at an international level he is still considered as the only non-Anglophone rock musician having a large international reputation. He was made Chevalier of the Légion dhonneur in 1997, Hallydays father, Léon Smet, was Belgian, his mother, Huguette Clerc, was French. Johnny was raised by Desta and Lee from a young age. Johnny was always loyal to Lee and secured him a permanent job as a producer and A&R man with his label, Philips Records until Lees retirement. Influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock n roll revolution, Hallyday became famous in the 1960s for singing rock and his debut single, Laisse les filles was released on the Vogue label in March 1960. His first album, Hello Johnny, was released in 1960, in 1961 his cover of Lets Twist Again sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. It topped almost every European chart, although the track did not appear in the UK Singles Chart and he appeared on the American The Ed Sullivan Show with American singing star Connie Francis in a show that was taped at the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris. He also staged many appearances in the Paris Olympia under the management of the late Bruno Coquatrix, for their first concert, The Jimi Hendrix Experience opened for Johnny Hallyday in Évreux on 13 October 1966. Black-and-white footage, also from October 1966, exists of Hallyday partying with Hendrix, his manager Chas Chandler, there also is a widely published monochrome photograph of Hallyday walking somewhere in Paris in late May 1966 with Bob Dylan. At the end of the 1960s, Hallyday made a string of albums with Mick Jones and Tommy Brown as musical directors, on Je suis né dans la rue, Hallyday also hired both Peter Frampton and the Small Faces. Amongst their contributions are the songs Amen, Reclamation, and Regarde Pour Moi, often forgotten is Hallydays non-LP single and EP track Que Je Taime from the same sessions. By 1969 alone, his sales of records exceeded twelve million, one of Hallydays later concerts, 100% Johnny, Live à La Tour Eiffel in 2000, attracted an audience of 500,000 and 9.5 million television viewers. In December 2005, Hallyday had his third single in France, Mon Plus Beau Noël. Shortly before announcing his retirement from touring, he released an album, Le Cœur dun homme. The album hit No.1 in both France and French-speaking Belgium and his next album, Ça ne finira jamais, released in 2008, another No.1 on the French album chart, and its lead single, Ça nfinira jamais, also reached No.1
17.
DJ Shalom
–
Catman, is a French musician and electronic music producer from Paris. He founded his own label Slackness Records in 2001, co-founded La Maison Magasin in 2008, familiar with turntables since the age of 14, DJ Shalom a. k. a. Catman has worked with Silmarils, Julien Lourau, Bumcello, Piers Faccini, M, Tryo, Java, Femi Kuti, Tony Allen and he was also part of the group Olympic Gramofon. His first solo album, released in 2003, featured Piers Faccini, Sub-Z, Susie One, Vincent Ségalw and he has also worked in dance and theater. Juan Rozoff 1999 – Mozesli, Minea feat
18.
Sylvain Chomet
–
Sylvain Chomet is a French comic writer, animator and film director. Born in Maisons-Laffitte, Yvelines, near Paris, he studied art at school until he graduated in 1982. Chomet moved to London in 1988 to work as an animator at the Richard Purdum studio, in September of that year, he established a freelance practice, working on commercials for clients such as Principality, Renault, Swinton and Swissair. In addition to his career, Chomet created many print comics. In 1992 Chomet wrote the script for a science fiction comic called The Bridge in Mud.1993 saw Chomet writing the story for Léon-la-Came and this was published in 1995 and won the René Goscinny Prize in 1996. In 1997, Chomet published Ugly, Poor, and Sick and this won them the Alph-Art Best Comic Prize at the Angoulême Comics Festival. In 1991, Chomet started work on his first animated film, The Old Lady, in 1993, Chomet moved to Canada. During 1995 and 1996, he finished work on The Old Lady and it also received an Oscar nomination for best animated short film. Chomets first feature-length animated film, The Triplets of Belleville was also nominated for two Oscars in 2003, and introduced Chomets name to a wider audience. Upon the release of The Triplets of Belleville Nicolas De Crécy accused Chomet of plagiarising his work, the visual style of Les Triplettes de Belleville closely resembles the earlier work of Nicolas De Crécys 1994 graphic novel Le Bibendum Céleste. Chomets next film was The Illusionist, which premiered at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2010, the Illusionist, like Chomets previous work, has its roots in mid twentieth century popular French culture. It is based on a script that Jacques Tati had written in 1956 as a personal letter to his estranged eldest daughter. It was originally conceived by Tati as a journey of love, Chomet says that Tati wanted to move from purely visual comedy and try an emotionally deeper story and states that Its not a romance, its more the relationship between a dad and a daughter. It cost an estimated £10 million to make, and was funded by Pathé Pictures, another project, Barbacoa, originally stated to be released in late 2005, was canceled because of lack of funding. Chomet, for his part, says that he could not stand the creative environment, in 2005 he directed a segment for the collaborative film Paris, je taime, he was assigned the 7th arrondissement. It was Chomets first work in live action, in 2014, a couch gag directed by Chomet aired for an episode of The Simpsons. In the mid-2000s Chomet founded a studio in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Django Films studio was set up with the ambition to produce a number of films, Django Films never got close to employing the 250 artists that it would require, as reported by Scotland on Sunday in 2005
19.
The Triplets of Belleville
–
The Triplets of Belleville is a 2003 animated comedy film written and directed by Sylvain Chomet. It was released as Belleville Rendez-vous in the United Kingdom, the film is Chomets first feature film and was an international co-production among companies in France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Canada. The film features the voices of Michèle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin, and Monica Viegas, there is little dialogue, the majority of the film story being told through song and pantomime. She is accompanied by Champions loyal but obese hound, Bruno, and joined by the Triplets of Belleville, music hall singers from the 1930s, the film was highly praised by audiences and critics for its unique style of animation. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards—Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for Belleville Rendez-vous and it was also screened out of competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. The story focuses on Madame Souza, a woman raising her young grandson, Champion. Souza notices her grandson is sad and lonely, hinted as due to the loss of his parents, when this fails, she buys him a puppy named Bruno to cheer him up. Although he is happy, he quickly becomes melancholic once again. After discovering that Champion has a keen interest in bicycle racing, because it is implied that Champions deceased parents were cyclists. Years later, Champion becomes a professional cyclist with Souza as his coach, eventually, Champion enters the Tour de France but during the race, he and two other riders are kidnapped by two French mafia henchmen and brought to the bustling metropolis of Belleville. Souza and Bruno follow the men, but lose their trail soon after reaching the city, lost and with no way to find Champion, Souza has a chance encounter with the renowned Belleville triplets, music hall singers from the 1930s, now elderly women turned improvisational musicians. The sisters take Souza to their home and over time she becomes a part of their group. Meanwhile, the mafia boss drugs the kidnapped cyclists and employs a mechanic to build a stationary cycling machine for the racers to race on — to create their own mini Tour de France for gambling. At a fancy restaurant, the Triplets and Souza perform a jam session using a newspaper, refrigerator, vacuum, the mafia boss who kidnapped her grandson happens to be in the same restaurant and, with the help of Bruno, Souza realizes he has Champion. She tails one of the Mafias minions the next day and discovers their scheme and that night, several mob bosses and their henchmen arrive at the mafia hideout and place bets on the riders. Madame Souza, Bruno and the triplets then infiltrate the hideout and sabotage the contraption, unbolting it from the ground, the mob henchmen pursue them, but are all thwarted amidst the chase. The film ends with the group riding on out of Belleville. Metacritic, which assigns a score, rated it 91/100 based on 35 reviews
20.
Academy Awards
–
The various category winners are awarded a copy of a golden statuette, officially called the Academy Award of Merit, which has become commonly known by its nickname Oscar. The awards, first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are overseen by AMPAS, the awards ceremony was first broadcast on radio in 1930 and televised for the first time in 1953. It is now live in more than 200 countries and can be streamed live online. The Academy Awards ceremony is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony and its equivalents – the Emmy Awards for television, the Tony Awards for theater, and the Grammy Awards for music and recording – are modeled after the Academy Awards. The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best films of 2016, were held on February 26,2017, at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, the ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and was broadcast on ABC. A total of 3,048 Oscars have been awarded from the inception of the award through the 88th, the first Academy Awards presentation was held on May 16,1929, at a private dinner function at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with an audience of about 270 people. The post-awards party was held at the Mayfair Hotel, the cost of guest tickets for that nights ceremony was $5. Fifteen statuettes were awarded, honoring artists, directors and other participants in the industry of the time. The ceremony ran for 15 minutes, winners were announced to media three months earlier, however, that was changed for the second ceremony in 1930. Since then, for the rest of the first decade, the results were given to newspapers for publication at 11,00 pm on the night of the awards. The first Best Actor awarded was Emil Jannings, for his performances in The Last Command and he had to return to Europe before the ceremony, so the Academy agreed to give him the prize earlier, this made him the first Academy Award winner in history. With the fourth ceremony, however, the system changed, for the first six ceremonies, the eligibility period spanned two calendar years. At the 29th ceremony, held on March 27,1957, until then, foreign-language films had been honored with the Special Achievement Award. The 74th Academy Awards, held in 2002, presented the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, since 1973, all Academy Awards ceremonies always end with the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Academy also awards Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, see also § Awards of Merit categories The best known award is the Academy Award of Merit, more popularly known as the Oscar statuette. The five spokes represent the branches of the Academy, Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers. The model for the statuette is said to be Mexican actor Emilio El Indio Fernández, sculptor George Stanley sculpted Cedric Gibbons design. The statuettes presented at the ceremonies were gold-plated solid bronze
21.
Divinidylle
–
Divinidylle is a 2007 album by French singer Vanessa Paradis. It was recorded between November 2005 through June 2007, critical reception was favourable with Allmusic suggesting that it was likely Paradis best album yet. The first single, called Divine Idylle, was released to French radio in June 2007, according to Francophonie Diffusion, it was the most-played French single worldwide during 2007. This is the studio album by Paradis, the last being her 2000 release Bliss. The track Divine Idylle was covered by Taiwanese pop singer Jolin Tsai under the title Love Attraction for the 2009 album Butterfly. D
22.
Philippe Jaroussky
–
Philippe Jaroussky is a French countertenor. He began his career with the violin, winning an award at the Versailles conservatory. He is noted for a virtuosic coloratura technique and for compelling, Jaroussky was inspired to sing by the Martinique-born countertenor Fabrice di Falco. He received his diploma from the Early Music Faculty of the Conservatoire de Paris, since 1996, he has studied singing with Nicole Fallien. He has formed his own ensemble called Artaserse, and also performs with the Ensemble Matheus under Jean-Christophe Spinosi. On 29 July 2016 he performed David Bowies Always Crashing in the Same Car in the David Bowie Prom at the Royal Albert Hall, London. According to La Terrasse, this young singer with the tone of an angel and he received the 2007 best French lyrical artist award. Jaroussky was awarded The Best Singer of the Year at the Echo Classic Awards,2008 and he also received an Echo Classic Award in 2012 for the Album Duetti, which he recorded together with Max Emanuel Cencic. Charts List Alessandro Scarlatti, Sedecia, Re di Gerusalemme, Virgin Veritas Claudio Monteverdi, Lincoronazione di Poppea. K617 Pierre Menault, Vêpres pour le Pére la Chaize, k617 Giovanni Battista Bassani, La morte delusa. Opus 111 Antonio Vivaldi, Catone in Utica, dynamic Antonio Vivaldi, La Verità in cimento. Naïve – Opus 111 Solo recital, Benedetto Ferrari, Musiche varie, gens, Perruche, Smith, Grégoire, di Falco. Dynamic Solo recital, Un concert pour Mazarin, Virgin Classics,2004 Claudio Monteverdi, Selva morale e spirituale. Spiritualità e liturgia / I salmi vespertini / Vespro dei Martiri / Leloquenza divina, ambronay Edition Antonio Vivaldi, Orlando furioso. Naïve – Opus 111 Claudio Monteverdi, LOrfeo. van Rensburg, Gerstenhaber, Thébault, Gerstenhaber, Gillot, dynamic Solo recital, Antonio Vivaldi, Virtuoso cantatas. Naïve – Opus 111 Solo recital, Beata Vergine, Motets à la Vierge entre Rome et Venise, Grandi, Legrenzi, Cavalli, Antonio Rigatti, Giovanni Paolo Caprioli, Frescobaldi, Sances, Virgin Classics Solo recital, Vivaldi Heroes. Virgin Classics Solo recital, Carestini, the story of a castrato, Virgin Classics,2007 J. S. Bach, Magnificat – G. F. Handel, Dixit Dominus. Virgin Classics,2007 Antonio Vivaldi, Nisi Dominus and Stabat Mater, naïve Handel, Faramondo, in role of Adofo
23.
Oxmo Puccino
–
Oxmo Puccino is a hip hop musician born in Mali. In 1996 Oxmo Puccino made his debut with Pucc. Fiction, a contribution to the compilation L432, a series of subsequent mixtape appearances solidified his growing reputation within the French rap underground, and in 1998 he issued his solo debut, Opéra Puccino. Its 2001 follow-up, LAmour Est Mort, proved Puccinos creative and commercial breakthrough, after signing to the venerable jazz label Blue Note, Puccino assembled a new backing group, the Jazzbastards, to record 2006s Lipopette Bar. In 2007, rapper Styles P. used the instrumental of Black Desperado in his own album Super Gangster, the track was produced by DJ Green Lantern. In 2011, he was in a Nike ad promotion reciting a passage from Cyrano de Bergerac He has appeared in 2011 music video for 1990 by Orelsan and he was invited to sing the track in Orelsans live tour as a guest in the Paris Olympia gig in 2012. He is featured as the word artist on Ibrahim Maaloufs track, Douce, from the 2011 studio album. Puccino was born in 1974 in Ségou, Mali and he came to Paris one year later, and lived in the 19th arrondissement from the age of 5. Oxmo Puccino is the brother of the French international basketball player Mamoutou Diarra. Studio albums Live albums Non-charting 2003, The Best of Puccino Tape 2004, Puccino Airlines 2004, Time Bomb, Vol
24.
Arthur H
–
Arthur Higelin, better known under his stage name Arthur H, is a pianist, songwriter and singer. He is best known in France for his live performances – four of his albums were recorded live. He is the son of the French singer Jacques Higelin and Nicole Courtois and he first performed in 1988 in clubs in Paris, as leader of a trio with bassist Brad Scott and drummer Paul Jothy. His first album, Arthur H, combined rhythmic experimentation and bal-musette elements with a style which has been compared to Tom Waits. He toured widely around this time, particularly in France and Japan, adding a band member, Jon Handelsman. In early 1993, he did a season at the Magic Mirrors, an antique circus big top. In 1996, he released the album Trouble Fête, following which he performed a season at the Gymnase in Paris, the live album Fête Trouble included some tracks from these shows as well as others recorded on tour in Africa. He toured the USA and Canada in 1998, in 2000, he wrote the soundtrack for Michel Couvelard’s film, Inséparables, before touring in Asia and Canada. His next album, Pour Madame X, featured the band of Nicolas Repac, Brad Scott. In 2001, he took part in the show Cabaret Imprudent with Le Cirque Cahin-caha, the following year, he released the album Piano Solo, recorded live in a studio and mainly consisting of solo interpretations of earlier songs. This was followed by an album, Négresse Blanche, comprising tracks dedicated to the memory of famous women such as Marilyn Kaddish. In 2005, a tour of China was cancelled. This was the most commercially successful of his career, and included several duets, one with his father and another and he subsequently toured widely in France, Lebanon and Canada. In 2006, he published a book, Onirique attaque, containing lyrics, reflections and he also composed the soundtrack for the film L’homme qui rêvait dun enfant, directed by Delphine Gleize. The soundtrack was performed by an ensemble of children from a music school. The album Show Time, issued late in 2006, was recorded live on tour and includes duets with Matthieu Chedid, Pauline Croze, Lhasa de Sela and Jacques Higelin. In June 2008 he released the album LHomme du Monde, which won the award of Pop/Rock Album of the Year 2009 at La Victoire de la Musique. His 2010 double CD, Mystic Rumba, contained 24 songs from his repertoire performed solo at the piano, the next album, Baba Love, was released in October 2011
25.
Fatoumata Diawara
–
Fatoumata Diawara is a Malian musician currently living in France. She later took up the guitar and began composing her own material, the EP Kanou was released May 9,2011, and her debut album Fatou from World Circuit Records was released in September 2011. September 2012 also saw her board the Africa Express Train with Damon Albarn, Rokia Traoré, Baaba Maal, Amadou and Mariam, Nicolas Jaar, the show culminated in a 4. Since mid-2014 she has been in collaboration with Roberto Fonseca, with live performances. In 2014 she also extended her list of collaborations by a joint performance with Mayra Andrade and Omara Portuondo. 2005, Jules Verne Impact by Les Balayeurs du désert 2007, La Pequeña by Les Balayeurs du désert Official website BBC Radio 3 - World Routes, November 13,2010, field Report, Festival Sur le Niger 2015 by Tom Pryor, accessed November 11,2015. Fatoumata Diawara Reinvented, RFI musique, April 8,2009, “Oumou Sangare, Barbican Hall, London”, The Independent, April 28,2009, accessed June 8,2011. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, Cotonou Club, The Guardian, March 24,2011, afroCubism, WorldMusic. co. uk, accessed June 8,2011
