Neo soul

Neo soul is a genre of popular music. The term was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contemporary R&B. Heavily based in soul music, neo soul is distinguished by a less conventional sound than its contemporary R&B counterpart, with incorporated elements ranging from jazz, funk, and hip hop to pop, fusion, and African music. It has been noted by music writers for its traditional R&B influences, conscious-driven lyrics, and strong female presence.

Neo soul developed during the 1980s and early 1990s, in the United States and United Kingdom, as a soul revival movement. It earned mainstream success during the 1990s, with the commercial and critical breakthroughs of several artists, including D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Maxwell. Their music was marketed as an alternative to the producer-driven, digitally approached R&B of the time.

Since its initial mainstream popularity and impact on the sound of contemporary R&B, neo soul has been expanded and diversified musically through the works of both African-American and international artists. Its mainstream presence declined during the 2000s, although newer artists emerged through more independent means of marketing their music. According to music journalist Mark Anthony Neal, "neo-soul and its various incarnations has helped to redefine the boundaries and contours of black pop."

Neo

Neo is a prefix from the ancient Greek word for young, neos (νέος).

Neo may refer to:

Acronym NEO

Computing

Soul

The soul in many religions, philosophical and mythological traditions, is the incorporeal and immortal essence of a living being. According to Abrahamic religions, only human beings have immortal souls. For example, the Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas attributed "soul" (anima) to all organisms but argued that only human souls are immortal. Other religions (most notably Jainism and Hinduism) teach that all biological organisms have souls, while some teach that even non-biological entities (such as rivers and mountains) possess souls. This latter belief is called animism.

Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle understood that the psyche (ψυχή) must have a logical faculty, the exercise of which was the most divine of human actions. At his defense trial, Socrates even summarized his teaching as nothing other than an exhortation for his fellow Athenians to excel in matters of the psyche since all bodily goods are dependent on such excellence (The Apology 30a–b).

Anima mundi is the concept of a "world soul" connecting all living organisms on the planet.

New Zealand men's national basketball team

The New Zealand men's national basketball team, nicknamed the Tall Blacks, represents New Zealand in international basketball competitions. The Tall Blacks name is one of many national team nicknames (indirectly) related to the All Blacks and/or the New Zealand silver tree fern.

History

The Tall Blacks competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and finished with a 1–5 record, their only win coming against Angola, in the playoff for eleventh place.

In 2001, they defeated Australia, in a three-game series to qualify for the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, United States. At the tournament, they finished fourth, after beating Puerto Rico in the quarter-finals, before losses to Serbia and Montenegro and Germany. Tall Blacks captain Pero Cameron was the only non-NBA player named to the All-Tournament team in Indianapolis.

The Tall Blacks also qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics, but again finished with a 1–5 record, and lost to Australia in the playoff for ninth place. Their most noted moment was on the 7th day of the games, when they defeated reigning the World Champions Serbia and Montenegro, by a score of 90–87.

Eric Lau

Eric Lau is a British music producer and DJ from London, England. His production style is characterized by heavy drums, often unrecognisable samples and a mixture of live and sequenced instrumentation.

He first gained exposure with the song "Im Fine" featuring Rahel on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Bubblers (Part 4), this release marked the resurgence of the stripped back soul style and was followed swiftly by his debut EP for Fat City Records.

He released his debut album "New Territories" in 2008 on Ubiquity Records to critical acclaim. Straight No Chaser wrote "New Territories represents the arrival of a talented artist and perceptive one-man production house."

After a two-year absence Lau returned in 2010 with a new EP titled "Kilawatt: V2", as the second instalment of the producer series released by Kilawatt. The release was received positively by both critics and fans.

On September 27, 2010, Lau released a 20-track instrumental LP entitled "Makin' Sound".

In February 2011 Lau followed up "Makin' Sound" with "Quadrivium", another 20-track instrumental project, featuring music inspired by the John Martineau book of the same name.