Portishead are a band from Bristol, United Kingdom, named after a small coastal town twelve miles west of said musical hotbed, in North Somerset. They were initially known for their use of jazz samples and some hip-hop beats along with various synth sounds and the hauntingly beautiful vocals of singer Beth Gibbons. Their current sound drops the samples in favour of a harder, more abrasive edge, but retains Gibbons' vocals.
There are three bands called First Aid Kit: 1. Swedish indie/folk duo consisting of the young sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg from Stockholm.
The debut EP "Drunken Trees" was released on the 9th of April 2008 in Sweden on the label Rabid Records, owned by the Swedish electronic duo The Knife. The EP was re-released through Wichita Recordings early 2009.
Their debut album The Big Black & The Blue was released on January 25th, 2010. Source
www.myspace.com/thisisfirstaidkit
http://thisisfirstaidkit.com/
Sally Seltmann is an award-winning songwriter and singer based in Melbourne, Australia. She has previously released albums and performed under the name 'New Buffalo', and is well known as the co-writer of the song '1234', performed by Feist. Sally now returns with Harmony to My Heartbeat, the first single from her new album, due for release in early 2010. Previous recordings by Sally as New Buffalo include her debut EP 'About Last Night', which was released in Australia (through Modular) and the UK (through Heavenly).
Suzi Quatro (born Susan Kay Quatro, June 3, 1950, Detroit, Michigan) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actress. Suzi grew up in the States, experiencing the rock 'n' roll revolution as it happened. She became an icon of the 70's glam rock era with her tough girl image that went on to influence other female acts that arose in her wake, including The Runaways and L7.
1) The five member band from Minneapolis seems to follow the path blazed by Joy Division while attempting to offer a fresh perspective, though it often surfaces with a a sound straight-from-the-80s. 2) Descedents and Wipers influenced punk from Münster, Germany. 3) Idle Hands (1999-2002) was a poppy rock group from California. They played a very different style of music from most of their label-mates on Trustkill Records.
Kate Nash (b. 6 July 1987) is a singer/songwriter/pianist/guitarist from Harrow, North London, England, best known for the UK #2 hit "Foundations". Growing up in Harrow, London, Nash first became interested in music during her childhood when she learned to play the piano. She attended St. John Fisher school and moved onto the St. Joan of Arc School in Rickmansworth. Her talents were harnessed further when she wrote songs for her GCSE in Music and her time studying at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon, South London.
Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) started taking piano lessons at a very early age and played for a couple of years, but switched to the harp at seven. Her approach to the harp, from the percussive aspects of her playing to her chord changes, was also influenced by West African and Venezuelan harp music, which she began studying at a folk music camp she attended in her early teens. At the same time, she also listened to more vocal-based folk, punk, and jazz like Karen Dalton, Texas Gladden, Patti Smith, and Billie Holiday.
Somewhere within the sweaty twisted parking lot that is Los Angeles, Jonneine Zapata is thinking. She is thinking, writing and most importantly she is singing. With a voice that is at once powerful and tender, Jonneine is ushering in a new era of unabashedly honest rock that makes no bones about not taking any prisoners along the way. http://jonneinezapata.com
http://www.myspace.com/jonneinezapata
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jonneine-Zapata/18785062301
Kimya Dawson (born 17th November 1972) is an Olympia-based singer-songwriter, and a prominent part of the anti-folk movement. Dawson became well known as a member of The Moldy Peaches. Since the Moldy Peaches took a break from performing and recording in 2004, Dawson has released a string of lo-fi homemade albums, and toured widely in North America and Europe. In 2005 the Pharmacy and Matty Pop Chart performed as her backing band on a U.S. tour. In 2006 she collaborated with a number of friends to make a group, Antsy Pants, that recorded and released an album on Plan It X Records.