Sub Focus

Nick Douwma (born 13 April 1982), better known by his stage name Sub Focus, is an English electronic music producer. He has been releasing records since 2003. On 12 October 2009, he released his self-titled debut album. He released his second album, Torus, on 30 September 2013.

Music career

2005–08: Early career

In March 2005 he had a number one single on the UK Dance Chart with "X-Ray / Scarecrow". The single reached number 60 on the UK Singles Chart. In June 2008, he hit number one on the UK Dance Chart again with "Timewarp / Join the Dots".

2009–10: Sub Focus

In August 2009, he cracked the UK Top 40 for the first time with "Rock It / Follow the Light", which reached number 38. "Rock It / Follow the Light" also got him a third UK Dance Chart #1, as well as reaching the B-List of BBC Radio 1's playlist. Sub Focus has also remixed selected works of The Prodigy, Deadmau5, Rusko, Dr. Octagon, Empire of the Sun and Dizzee Rascal. On 6 October 2009, Sub Focus released "Smooth" which was free to download. On 12 October 2009 he released his debut studio album Sub Focus, the album peaked to number 51 on the UK Albums Chart.

Sub Focus (album)

Sub Focus is the self-titled debut album from British drum and bass producer Sub Focus. It was released on 12 October 2009 through RAM Records. The album primarily features drum and bass tracks, however there are tracks showcasing dubstep, electro, house, breakbeat and trance music elements. "Rock It / Follow the Light" managed to break in to the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. Two later singles, "Could This Be Real" and "Splash", both fell just below peaking at #41. The album charted at #51 in the UK Albums Chart.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Nick Douwma. 

Focus…

Bernard Edwards, Jr., better known as Focus..., is an Atlanta-based record producer who first rose to fame when signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. Since then he has produced tracks for Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Jadakiss, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé Knowles, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Bishop Lamont, Tony Yayo, Stat Quo, Outlawz, The Game, Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q, Mac Dre, Ice Cube, Anderson Paak, Jon Connor, Joe, Marsha Ambrosius , Slum Village amongst many others.

Biography

Focus... is the son of the late Bernard Edwards, co-founder of disco and R&B band Chic. He was born in Manhattan, New York, and raised in the Tri-State Region. Edwards, Jr credits his father with his love for the production side of music, which he developed from an early age, attending numerous studio sessions with his father.

Focus...'s production talents were first recognized by Dr. Dre when an artist Edwards, Jr had produced, Daks, greatly impressed the Aftermath label head. signed Focus... so that the two could then continue working together.

Focus (Holly Starr album)

Focus is the second studio album from the Christian singer-songwriter Holly Starr. The album released on October 2, 2012 via Save the City Records. The producers on the album were Chuck Butler, David Garcia and Christopher Stevens. The album received critical acclamation from music critics, yet it did not get much commercial success because it failed to chart.

Background

The album released on October 2, 2012 by Save the City Records, and the producers on the album were Chuck Butler, David Garcia and Christopher Stevens. This was the second studio album from the songstress Holly Starr.

Critical reception

Focus garnered critical acclaim from eight music critics. Robert Ham of Allmusic rated the album four stars, calling it a "pleasant surprise" because it kept up with contemporary musical trends. At Cross Rhythms, Matthew Cordle rated the album a perfect ten, noting how the album comes "with a cleaner, tighter, more stripped-back sound, less electric and more acoustic" than its predecessor, and it is "Impeccably produced, this is a thoroughly modern pop sound conveying a thoroughly ancient message." Christian Music Zine's Joshua Andre rated the album four-and-three-fourths, saying that this is a "brilliant" release on which "Holly's poignant lyrics and well-crafted pop melodies and ballads is sure to propel her soon, if not already, into the same league and caliber of songwriting as Nichole Nordeman and Jason Ingram." Grace Thorson of CM Addict rated the album four-and-a-half stars, affirming that the release is "well-rounded".

FOCUS

FOCUS is a computer programming language and development environment. It is a language used to build database queries, and is regarded as a fourth-generation programming language (4GL). Produced by Information Builders Inc., it was originally developed for data handling and analysis on the IBM mainframe. As newer systems were developed and smaller computers became more powerful, the available platforms for FOCUS were extended to personal computers and in 1997, to the World Wide Web in the WebFOCUS product.

Relation to other 4GLs

RAMIS, the first 4GL, was the direct ancestor of FOCUS, having been principally developed by Gerald D. Cohen and Peter Mittelman while working at Mathematica Products Group in 1970. The product was sold by Mathematica to a number of in-house clients (including Nabisco and AT&T), and was also offered by the National CSS timesharing company for use on their VP/CSS operating system (a derivation of IBM's CP/CMS which is now called VM/CMS). In 1970, Cohen decided to leave Mathematica and form Information Builders, after which he recreated the product he had built at Mathematica in the form of FOCUS which was released in 1975. The syntax of FOCUS in its simplest elements is almost a direct clone of the syntax of RAMIS bearing a resemblance similar to the differences between various early dialects of SQL). At the same time, NCSS decided to work on its own product, later called NOMAD. All three products flourished during the 1970s and early 1980s, but Mathematica's time ran out in the mid-80s, and NCSS also failed, a victim of the personal computing revolution which obviated commercial timesharing (although it has since been revived in the form of ASPs and shared web servers). RAMIS was sold through to several companies, ultimately landing with Computer Associates. NOMAD suffered a similar fate. FOCUS, under Cohen's direction, continued to flourish by expanding their product.

Alpines

Alpines is a UK duo based in Kingston upon Thames in South London, made up of Bob Matthews (guitar and production) and Catherine Pockson (pianist, singer/songwriter). Since forming in 2010 the band has toured and supported The Naked and Famous, Emeli Sandé and Florence + the Machine at the Alexandra Palace on 10 March 2012. In 2011 Alpines signed a deal with EMI Music Publishing (now Sony/ATV). Alpines released their debut album Oasis on 26 May 2014 on their own label, Untrue Records.

Media

Their track "Drive" was used by Rankin in a video for fashion designer Hannah Marshall in 2011. In 2011, their track "Cocoon" was used during an episode of the US crime series CSI, and "Fossilised" was used in another CSI episode in 2012. Their song "Empire" which was released as a video in May 2012 was used by Sky Atlantic for the trailer of the new series of Boardwalk Empire season 3 Autumn 2012 and by ESPN for US Barclays Center Classic in November 2012.

In August 2012, their song "Got Me Wrong" from their Early Hours EP was featured in All Saints Autumn/Winter Fashion Collection TV Campaign in which Catherine and Bob also appeared. All Saints have issued Alpines Basement session videos of "Got Me Wrong" and "Chances". Alpines have continued their association with Rankin whose Hunger TV Company has produced their videos of "Got Me Wrong" and "Chances" including a studio piano performance of "Chances".