Album

Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, then from 1948 as vinyl LP records played at 33 ¹⁄₃ rpm. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century albums sales have mostly focused on compact disc (CD) and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used in the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl.

An album may be recorded in a recording studio (fixed or mobile), in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to several years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately, and then brought or "mixed" together. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed "live", even when done in a studio. Studios are built to absorb sound, eliminating reverberation, so as to assist in mixing different takes; other locations, such as concert venues and some "live rooms", allow for reverberation, which creates a "live" sound. 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 separate times while listening to the other parts using headphones; with each part recorded as a separate track.

Iwan Fals

Iwan Fals (born Virgiawan Listanto; 3 September 1961 in Jakarta) is an Indonesian singer–songwriter. In 2002, Time magazine named him as a Great Asian Hero.

Early life

Iwan was born Virgiawan Listanto in Jakarta, on 3 September 1961 to Harsoyo, a soldier, and Lies Suudijah. He studied at SMP 5 Bandung and SMAK BPK Bandung. He continued his studies at Sekolah Tinggi Publisistik and then Jakarta Arts Institute. At the age of thirteen, he appeared as a street musician in wedding ceremonies and other social events.

Career

While he was 18, Iwan Fals, Toto Gunarto, Helmi and Bambang Bule formed a group named Amburadul. The group released the album 'Perjalanan' in 1979, which was not successful, but was re-released with the added track '3 Bulan' as '3 Bulan' (1980) in 1980. The group disbanded and played no further role in Iwan Fals' career.

As part of his early career, Iwan Fals also recorded some comedy albums, after winning a comedy country singing contest. He sang of comic situations and themes, and his first release was on 'Canda Dalam Nada' (the A-side featured five songs by Iwan: Generasi Frustrasi, Dongeng Tidur, Imitasi, Kisah Sepeda Motorku (aka. Kopral), and Joni Kesiangan while the B-side consisted of songs by Tom Slepe and Pusaka Jaya). The songs Dongeng Tidur, Joni Kesiangan and Kisah Sepeda Motorku were released, with one new song, Ambulance Zig Zag, on the Iwan Fals mini-album Canda Dalam Nada, while Generasi Frustrasi and Imitasi were also included on the 'Yang Muda Yang Bercanda II' multiartist comedy compilation.

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper from Compton, California. Lamar embarked on his musical career as a teenager under the moniker K-Dot, released a mixtape which garnered local attention and led to his signing with Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). Lamar began to gain major recognition in 2010 after his first retail release, Overly Dedicated. The following year, he released Section.80, his first independent album, exclusively through iTunes. The album included Lamar's debut single, "HiiiPoWeR". By that time, Lamar had amassed a large internet following and had already worked with several prominent artists in the hip hop industry, including The Game, Snoop Dogg, and Busta Rhymes.

Lamar secured a recording contract with Aftermath and Interscope Records in 2012. His major-label debut album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, was released in October 2012 to universal acclaim. The record contained the top 40 singles "Swimming Pools (Drank)", "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe", and "Poetic Justice". Upon its release, the album debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In early 2013, MTV named Lamar the No. 1 "Hottest MC in the Game" on their annual list.

J. Tillman

Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), also known as J. Tillman or Father John Misty, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and drummer. Maintaining a steady output of solo recordings since 2004, Tillman is a former member of indie rock bands Saxon Shore, Fleet Foxes, Jeffertitti's Nile, Pearly Gate Music,Siberian,Har Mar Superstar,Poor Moon, Low Hums, Jonathan Wilson, Bill Patton, The Lashes, Stately English, and has toured extensively with Pacific Northwest artists Damien Jurado, Jesse Sykes, and David Bazan.

Early life

Tillman grew up in an Evangelical Christian household in Rockville, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. The oldest of four children, he has a brother and two sisters. His father was an engineer at Hewlett-Packard. Before Tillman settled on a career as a musician, he briefly had ambitions of becoming a pastor because of the performance aspect when he was approximately six years old. He comments that his parents focused on the spiritual aspects of his upbringing, which he describes as "culturally oppressive". They were estranged for many years, but have since resumed contact. After learning drums at a young age, Tillman learned guitar when he was 12.

Jamie Lidell

Jamie Lidell (born Jamie Alexander Lidderdale on 18 September 1973, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England) is an English musician and soul singer living in Nashville, Tennessee.

Lidell was formerly a part of Super Collider.

Career

Lidell is known for layering tracks made with his voice into a microphone and performing the percussion and melody as a sequenced, beatboxing one-man band. Then over his augmented voices, he sings soul-inspired songs. This exercise makes for energetic live performances. Lidell has become renowned for his diverse range of genre-exploration. Following the release of his 2008 album, Jim, Lidell commented,

I want it to be about music, I think every musician does. But I think inevitably it ends up becoming about personality, which is what gives rise to the music, so people want to make sure that they get a bit of both. The more things do well, the more people want to know why it does well.

His song "Multiply" was used on the television show Grey's Anatomy, and was also included on its second soundtrack. Another song from his album Multiply, "A Little Bit More", was featured in a series of commercials for the U.S. retailer Target.