Archive

Archive were formed by Darius Keeler and Danny Griffiths in 1994 from the ashes of UK breakbeat act Genaside II. Together with female singer Roya Arab and young rapper Rosko John, the band released their first album "Londinium" on Island Records in 1996, a mix of dark Trip-Hop (in the same vein as Massive Attack), rap and alternative rock. The album received moderate critical acclaim, but due to internal dispute the band split up later that year.

However, in 1997 Keeler and Griffiths reformed Archive with another female singer (Suzanne Wooder) and in 1999 released their second album "Take My Head", a mix of pop and symphonic trip-hop far more melodic than its predecessor. The band have described this album as their least favourite of their albums.

Between 2002 and 2005 the band released three albums with Craig Walker, formerly of Power of Dreams, as singer, to growing popularity and critical acclaim, including a large following in France and Poland. These albums have seen Archive gradually turn away from their roots in Electronica and Trip-Hop and towards more psychedelic and progressive style of bands such as Pink Floyd, Mogwai and The Secret Machines. The band also composed the soundtrack to the French film Michel Vaillant, released in November 2003.

Archive announced at short notice that Walker would not be joining the band's tour in November 2004 "due to unforeseen circumstances". Another statement from Darius Keeler hinted at personal problems keeping Walker from touring [1]. In an interview with TV station arte in late 2005 [2], Keeler and Griffiths confirmed that Walker is in fact no longer in Archive but working on a solo album.

In autumn of 2004, Archive announced that Dave Pen (Birdpen) would be replacing Walker on the Noise tour - due to the continuing personal problems between Walker and the rest of the band. During this same tour, Keeler and Griffiths met the singer Pollard Berrier at one of their shows in Vienna, Austria. The three began writing and rehearsing together, and were recording in Southside Studios, London by September 2005.

In May 2006, Archive released "Lights", from which the first single was "System". Dave Pen contributed on three tracks of the album and Maria Q sang on four tracks.

They have been touring in Europe since 2006, with Dave Pen, Pollard Berrier and occasionally Maria Q as singers. As the critical reaction to their "Lights" tour has been excellent, they recorded a live DVD in Paris in January 2007.

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Aim

Aim (born Andrew Turner) is a British musician, DJ and producer, who was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Aim's sound is a blend of funky electronic music and hip hop beats, a sound which typified the Grand Central Records label. Much of Aim's work is instrumental, though his records include collaborations with other artists who provide vocals, including Stephen Jones of Babybird, Diamond D, Souls of Mischief, QNC and Kate Rogers.

Aim has also worked as remixer, mixing songs for a variety of artists including Ian Brown, Saint Etienne, The Charlatans, Lil' Kim, Thunderbugs, Archive, Down to the Bone, Texas and former label-mates Rae & Christian.

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Air

Air is a French (from region Île-de-France) music duo, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. The name Air is a backronym for Amour, Imagination, Rêve[1] which translates to Love, Imagination, Dream.

Air's debut EP, Premiers Symptômes, was followed by the critically acclaimed album Moon Safari, the re-release of Premiers Symptômes, The Virgin Suicides (soundtrack), 10 000 Hz Legend, Everybody Hertz, Talkie Walkie and Pocket Symphony.

Their most recent album, Pocket Symphony, was released on March 5, 2007. The album features former Pulp vocalist Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, and is produced by Nigel Godrich. Air went on a European tour in March, followed by a North America tour that included an appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

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Trip Hop

Trip hop is a music genre also known as the Bristol sound or Bristol acid rap. The trip hop description was applied to the musical trend in the mid-1990s of downtempo electronic music that grew out of England's hip hop and house scenes. The Trip hop genre is quite the phenomena in that many of the artists labeled in the genre express distaste in the label. Many artists have said they would much rather be labeled as Hip Hop or not have a genre at all. Sometimes characterized by a reliance on breakbeats and a sample-heavy, often moody sound pioneered by Coldcut's remix of Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid in Full", trip hop gained notice via popular artists such as Massive Attack, Moloko, Portishead, Tricky, Björk, Thievery Corporation, Amon Tobin, and rock-influenced sound groups such as Ruby, California's DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Gorillaz, Unkle, and the UK's Howie B. Morcheeba, originating from Hythe in Kent, Londoners Glideascope and New York's Bowery Electric are also often associated with this sound. The latest additions to this line of performers are Jem and Australia's Spook.

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Massive Attack

Massive Attack are an English trip hop band. Founded in Bristol in 1988, the band consists of Robert Del Naja and Grantley Marshall. With the release of their debut album Blue Lines (1991), Massive Attack were critically acclaimed for their fusion of jazz, hip hop, rock, and soul elements into a new genre, trip-hop. With the release of later albums such as Protection (1994) and Mezzanine (1998), the band integrated forms of electronic music into their sound. Yet the band have retained a broad fan base, their work has been used in many feature films and television shows, such as Sliver, The Matrix, Charmed and House.

They have released four studio albums, two movie soundtracks, one remix album, and a greatest hits collection. Massive Attack are constant collaborators and have worked with a diverse mix of artists, from Sinéad O'Connor to reggae musician Horace Andy to Madonna.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_attack