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John Hammond

John Paul Hammond (born 13th November 1942), also known as "John Hammond Jr", is a blues singer and guitarist. He usually plays acoustic guitars and dobros and sings in a barrelhouse style. Since 1962, when he made his debut on Vanguard Records, Hammond has made 29 albums. In the 1990s he recorded for the Pointblank label. Hammond has earned one Grammy Award and been nominated for four others. He is the son of the legendary record producer John H. Hammond.

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Trombone Shorty

Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews (born January 2, 1986) is a trombone and trumpet player from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Troy Andrews is the younger brother of trumpeter and bandleader James Andrews . Growing up in New Orleans' Treme neighborhood, "Trombone Shorty" was participating in brass band parades as a child, carrying his trombone even before his arms were long enough to reach all the positions of the slide. Andrews was a bandleader by the age of 6. Originally attracting attention for his youth, by his teens he was attracting attention for his musical virtuosity as well.

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Krakatau

There are several artists named KRAKATAU: 1. avant-fusion band led by guitarist Raoul Björkenheim. 2. Indonesian jazz outfit. They play fusion at first, but then experimenting by merging indonesian ethnic style with western jazz. 3. Russian experimental metal band which was formed in Moscow in 2004, inspired by the experiments of Mike Patton, and other worthy guru, so the band has always been close to the spirit of musical freedom.

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Black Coffee

There are several artists named Black Coffee: 1) <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/+noredirect/%D0%A7%D1%91%D1%80%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B... class="bbcode_artist">Чёрный кофе</a> (Cherniy Kofe/Black Coffee) a Russian heavy metal band, singing both in Russian and in English. 2) A Swedish band (<a href="http://www.blackcoffee.se/" rel="nofollow">http://www.blackcoffee.se/</a>)
(<a href="http://www.myspace.com/blackcoffeebluesrock" rel="nofollow">http://www.myspace.com/blackcoffeebluesrock</a>) 3)Durban-born (South Africa) Nkosinathi Maphumulo has been on the music scene for over a decade but only got his break a few years ago. Nkosinathi, otherwise known as Black Coffee, is popular for his smash hit remixes, most of which have dominated the airwaves in the past couple of years.

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Robert Glasper Experiment

“Real music is crash protected,” state the liner notes of Black Radio, a future landmark album by the Robert Glasper Experiment that boldly stakes out new musical territory and transcends any notion of genre, drawing from jazz, hip-hop, R&B and rock, but refusing to be pinned down by any one tag. Like an aircraft’s black box for which the album is titled, Black Radio holds the truth and is indestructible.

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Candlesnuffer

Candlesnuffer is the physical incarnation of the music of David Brown. David's history around the Melbourne scene extends back to the mid-70's when fresh out of school he joined AC/DC, only to be given the boot three weeks later for excessive artistic endeavour. He later formed Signals with fellow fine art students David Wadelton and Chris Knowles. In 1987 and 1988 he was playing with Dumb and the Ugly.

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Cam Nacson

== Bio == Cam Nacson was born on 7 April 1991 in Sydney. From an early age Cameron's memory retention for lyrics was what really blew people away. At 3 he could sing the Australian Twelve Days of Christmas--all the verses!!
He was very shy and quiet as a boy, and a deep-thinker--but, much to the surprise of his parents, when he was under nine Cam entered a talent quest at a popular holiday park. It was his first ever performance and he chose to sing Vanessa Amorosi's "Shine".

The Cat Empire

The Cat Empire is a six-piece alternative band from Melbourne, Australia. Their sound has been described as a fusion of jazz, funk, and rock with heavy Latin / Salsa influences (not to mention reggae, ska and dub). Currently, the Cat Empire consists of Ollie McGill (keyboard and backing vocals), Ryan Monro (bass and backing vocals), Felix Riebl (percussion and vocals), Harry James Angus (trumpet and vocals), Will Hull-Brown (drums), and Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwhala (decks, percussion). A strong, recurrent theme of their music is the rejection of materialism, war, and intolerance and an enthusiastic embrace of cultural diversity and the simple, carefree life.

The Cat Empire began as a trio with McGill, Riebl, and Monro in late 1999, and started playing a wide variety of gigs in Melbourne. The band soon expanded in 2001, adding Angus, Hull-Brown, and Khadiwala.

THE Cat Empire's message, on stage and in the studio, has always been about breaking down borders: musical, geographic, lingual. But they have never done it so powerfully as they do on their new album, Cinema. The album serves up a set which captures the inexorable force - and sheer joy - of their live performances, delivered in a format perfect for lounge-rooms, backyards, BBQ’s, cafes, road trips and parties all over the world.

Cinema, the band's fourth studio album, is a dazzling statement of a band at a peak of its powers, music designed to move the body and the mind. Right from the opening track, Waiting, this is music that leaps from the speakers.

All the elements that people love about The Cat Empire are there but the result is brighter, bolder. And yes, more cinematic. What grabs the ear immediately is that this is not a band playing with genres. In the past, The Cat Empire dived in to any musical style which took their fancy, from reggae to salsa, Latin to hip-hop. Cinema reveals a band that has developed an emphatic voice that is all their own.

``That's a sound that has emerged out of nearly 10 years of playing on stage together,'' says singer and percussionist Felix Riebl. ”The result is an album that's much more integrated than anything we've done before, with a Cat Empire sound that runs consistently through it. The lyrics are perhaps darker, but they are accompanied by music that is uplifting which gives it a strange but powerful feeling.''

Riebl adds: “At times the album is thoughtful, at times it makes you just forget and dance. But it is an album that has more sonic depth than we've ever had before, experimental in parts but with really direct choruses. It's going to be a great album to play live, especially on big stages and at festivals.''

Of course, the stage is never far from the thoughts of this band. In an age when so much of selling music seems to be about celebrity and fashion, The Cat Empire have risen to be one of Australia and indeed the worlds favourite live acts through sheer musicality and the power of their interaction on stage. The band - Riebl, Vocalist and trumpeter Harry Angus, keys player Ollie McGill, bassist Ryan Monro, drummer Will Hull-Brown and Jamshid Khadiwala (aka ‘Jumps’) on decks - played their 700th show in Amsterdam last year, and will hit the 800 mark in 2010. While it is not well known in Australia, The Cat Empire are one of the country's most successful musical exports, doubling their audience numbers at every return stop.

They have headlined some of the world's biggest music festivals, including Summersonic (Japan), Rock am Ring (Germany) and V Fest (UK), playing Bonnaroo (US) as well as to an audience of 300,000 at the Montreal Jazz Festival. They have also played on some of world's highest rating entertainment shows, including Dave Letterman and Jay Leno. This year their worldwide tour in support of the international release of Cinema will see them return to Canada, US, Europe, Japan and the UK, where they will play to a full house at London's Brixton Academy.

The knowledge that they would be playing songs from the new album on so many big stages focused the song writing sessions for Cinema. The album was recorded close to home at Sing Sing studios in Melbourne with producer Steve Schram, and he encouraged them to make an album that was their most collaborative song writing effort yet.

``That was a deliberate decision from all of us,'' says the lion of the live show - Vocalist and Trumpeter Harry Angus. ``With six people in the band sometimes there will be a song on an album that not everyone wants to play live. This album certainly gets around that problem. And I think that after so many years playing together the guys are much more confident about contributing to the writing. Steve encouraged us to do that. That's been great for us.''

Of working with The Cat Empire, Schram says “it was the perfect studio scenario; amazing players open to trying anything and willing to take a back seat when required. Egos were left at the door.” He adds “In terms of musicianship, it's no secret that they don't come much better than The Cat Empire. Yet Cinema shows that simplicity and one well placed note packs more of a punch and serves the song far more than musical chops alone. We set out to explore in depth the mood and character of each song while maintaining a focus on performance rather than studio trickery. “

After taking their longest break from studio recording after the release of 2007's So Many Nights, the band reconvened feeling refreshed. ``In 2008 we took a break from touring for 8 months. Then in 2009 we released our (live album) Live on Earth” Riebl says. ``When we came back to the band, and then into the studio we all rediscovered what we loved about The Cat Empire in the first place; that it is a band that can do the unexpected, that we have great energy and make music that is always a lot of fun to play on stage. The feeling right now is just like when we were starting out. We're all very excited about that.''

Cinema will be released ...
JUNE 25, AUSTRALIA
JUNE 29, CANADA
JULY 6, USA
AUGUST 2010, EUROPE & JAPAN

See www.thecatempire.com for tours and information
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