A haphazard look at music

Martin Solveig [b. 1976; real name, Martin Picandet], a native of France, has created a career that combines the elements of producing, DJ’ing and performing quite unlike nearly anyone else in today’s world of popular music.  Solveig’s historical influences included Prince, Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder—a decidedly eclectic group—and the non-conformity of his taste has clearly increased his popular appeal.  At the age of 21 he started his own record label, Mixture Stereophinic, where the first track his company released (“Heart of Africa”) sold ten thousand copies.

Solveig has since earned worldwide acclaim for the quality and technical merits of his music videos.  He also hosts a weekly radio show from Paris, titled C’est la vie, which is available everywhere online—both live and as a podcast.

His success only continued to skyrocket after joining up with Dragonette [ca. 2005], an electro-pop trio from Canada currently comprised of Martina Sorbara (songwriter, vocals), Dan Kurtz (producer, bassist), and Joel Stouffer (drummer).  The group signed a recording contract in 2005 with Mercury Records, shortly after the release of their self-titled EP.  That deal caused them to relocate to London, and they toured extensively throughout the U.K. as well as back home in Canada.  Their success in clubs and on stage did not translate to significant airplay, however, as several songs struggled to make it into the top 100 on the U.K. Singles Chart.  Nonetheless, they enjoyed a Juno nomination in 2008 for Best New Group.

Dragonette had partnered with several house DJs in the past, but their pairing with Martin Solveig is what gave them a tremendous boost in popularity.  Their greatest collaboration to date has been on the song, “Hello” [2010], which also launched an incredibly well received music video produced, naturally, by Solveig.  The song literally went on to significant commercial success, as South Africa’s landline provider, Telkom, selected the tune as background music for TV ads that announced the launch of their wireless division.  On a personal note, in 2009 Solveig was named a Chevalier of Arts & Letters for his contribution to the arts, one of the highest accolades a French citizen can receive.

Yolanda Be Cool and DCUP [ca. 2009] is a collaborative recording and performing effort between a band from Australia—comprised of Sylvester Martinez and Johnson Peterson—and an Australian combo-DJ / remixer / producer by the name of Duncan MacLennan (a.k.a., DCUP).  The trio’s initial project involved the single, “Afro Nuts” [2009], which the duo performed and DCUP remixed.  However, it was their second release, “We No Speak Americano” [2010] that launched their international career.  This song, a product of Australia’s indie label Sweat It Out, made the Top 40 charts in the U.S. and Canada—as well as receiving maximum airplay in Europe and Latin America plus, of course, Australia—and had reportedly sold more than a million downloads in the U.S. alone by the spring of 2011.

The group’s name was lifted from a throwaway line in the Quentin Tarantino film, Pulp Fiction [1994], where the character played by Samuel L. Jackson recites the phrase, “Yolanda, be cool!” during one of the more dramatic moments in the movie.

“We No Speak Americano” is best described as “electro-swing.”  It samples extensively from a 1956 Italian hit whose title translates to “You Pretend to Be an American,” which is sung in the Neapolitan dialect by Renato Carosone [1920–2001], one of the most popular Italian recording artists of the post-WWII era.  The success of their peppy dance remix was a major factor in the group’s extensive 2011 tour schedule, which put them on the road almost continuously from March through November.  In addition to nine appearances in Australia and another seven in the U.S., Yolanda Be Cool performed in such far-flung locations as Salvador [Brazil], Ibiza [Spain], Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], and Lausanne [Switzerland].

Noah and the Whale is an indie folk band from Twickenham, London, England, formed in 2006. The group consist of Charle Fink (vocals/guitar/ukelele), Tom Hobden (fiddle/keys), Matt “Urby Whale” Owens (bass guitar), Fred Abbott (guitar/ keys), and Michael Petulla (drums).  Their sound is often compared to that of Neutral Milk Hotel and Bonnie “Prince” Billy , no doubt two of the bands biggest influences. The band cites folk and punk as their biggest influences. The band are also avowed fans of the film The Squid and The Whale (which was the partial inspiration for the band’s name), and film director Wes Anderson.

In 2008, after a few singles, ther band released their debut album, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down. It went to #5 on the British Album Charts and eanred many great reviews. Up until the release of the album, the band was joined by Laura Marling as a back-up vocalist, but since she has fledging solo career, she had to leave the band shortly after the release of Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down.

Hurt but undaunted, the band began work on their second album in 2009 with an entirely different approach. Their second album, the First Days of Spring, does not contain any female back-up vocals, a response to Marling’s departure from the band. The album was released in late August 2009, a little over a year since the release of their debut album. It further cemented the band’s career, selling well and earning positive reviews.

Their most recent album, Last Night on Earth, was released in March 2011, selling well due to the strength of the single “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.” which peaked at #14 on the UK Singles Charts. The album propelled to the UK Top Ten, and is even experiencing modest chart success in the US, peaking at #135. The album has gone Gold in the UK.

Alexandra Stan is currently the most successful solo artist in her native Romania. Born on 10 June, 1989, shortly before the overthrow of Nicolae Ceausescu, she studied music at the Traian Lyceum in her hometown of Constanta, and is currently pursuing her education at the Faculty of Management Andrei Saguna. She is pursuing a degree in International Relations and Law.

In the meantime, she is also actively pursuing a career in music. In 2009, she released her first single “Lollipop,” which sampled “Fergilicious” by Fergie, Her second single, “Mr. Saxobeat,” topped the charts in her native Romania, and has made headway in other parts of Europe, even reaching #6 in France. Her first album was released worldwide in September on Ultra Records, entitled Saxobeats, with “Mr. Saxobeat” going platinum in Italy and her YouTube videos earning millions of views. It is due to be released in the US at the end of October and has yet to have a release date in the United Kingdom. “Mr. Saxobeat” was also the first Romanian language single to top the singles chart in Germany since 2004’s “Dragostea din tei” by Moldovan act O-Zone.

There is also another single released from the record, entitled “Get Back (ASAP),” which is making the rounds on the charts internationally. It has peaked at #4 in her native Romania, and has charted in other countries, such as France (where it peaked at #18), Slovakia, Czech Republic and Belgium. The single has yet to be released in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.