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Mezzoforte (album)
''Mezzoforte'' is the debut album of Mezzoforte on Steinar, released only in Iceland in 1979. It consists of eight instrumental songs. Along with their third record, Þvílíkt Og Annað Eins (1981), these two weren't remastered in 1996 with the rest of their early discography, or ever released internationally or on CD. Background Mezzoforte was founded in 1977 by four 15-17 year old musicians: Friðrik Karlsson, Eyþór Gunnarsson, Jóhann Ásmundsson and Gunnlaugur Briem. What brought them together was a shared interest in jazz and fusion music. Having played in Reykjavík (mainly in high schools) for just over a year they were offered a recording contract with Steinar Records and recorded their first album in Hljóðriti, the only 24 track studio in Iceland at that time. Simply titled Mezzoforte, it is the first Icelandic fusion album. The band was a five-piece band during the first years, Stefán S. Stefánsson played saxophone on the first album, but left soon after the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mezzoforte (band)
Mezzoforte is an instrumental jazz-funk fusion band from Iceland, formed in 1977.Larkin, Colin (1997) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music'', Virgin Books, , p. 321 They signed a record deal with Icelandic label Steinar. Their biggest hit single was "Garden Party" (1983), taken from their fourth album (second international release) Surprise Surprise. It peaked at number 17 in the UK Singles Chart. The solo that takes place two minutes into "Garden Party", was created and played on the flugelhorn by English trumpeter, Stephen Dawson. "Garden Party" was later covered by Herb Alpert, at a slower speed than the original, apparently as he had learned the track from the single played at the wrong speed. Another single, "Rockall" spent one week at number 75 in the same listing in June that year, and was used as a signature tune by several European radio chart shows. The band was named after the traditional musical term ''mezzo forte'', an instruction to play literally "moderately ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jazz Fusion
Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and keyboards that were popular in rock and roll started to be used by jazz musicians, particularly those who had grown up listening to rock and roll. Jazz fusion arrangements vary in complexity. Some employ groove-based vamps fixed to a single key or a single chord with a simple, repeated melody. Others use elaborate chord progressions, unconventional time signatures, or melodies with counter-melodies. These arrangements, whether simple or complex, typically include improvised sections that can vary in length, much like in other forms of jazz. As with jazz, jazz fusion can employ brass and woodwind instruments such as trumpet and saxophone, but other instruments often substitute for these. A jazz fusion band is less likely to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jazz Pop
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes all music that is popular and includes many disparate styles. During the 1950s and 1960s, pop music encompassed rock and roll and the youth-oriented styles it influenced. ''Rock'' and ''pop'' music remained roughly synonymous until the late 1960s, after which ''pop'' became associated with music that was more commercial, ephemeral, and accessible. Although much of the music that appears on record charts is seen as pop music, the genre is distinguished from chart music. Identifying factors usually include repeated choruses and hooks, short to medium-length songs written in a basic format (often the verse-chorus structure), and rhythms or tempos that can be easily danced to. Much pop music also borrows elements from other styles such as roc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sena (record Company)
Sena is an Icelandic company that specializes in event planning and promotion, movie distribution, entertainment and corporate events. It was founded in 2005 following Skífan's rebranding as Dagur Group as its distribution division. Sena also runs the (located at Smáralind shopping mall in Kópavogur), '' Háskólabíó'' and movie theaters A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a .... References External linksSena official site Companies based in Reykjavík [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Í Hakanum/Octopus
''Í Hakanum'' is a 1980 studio album by Mezzoforte (band), Mezzoforte, released on Sena (record company), Steinar and originally released in Iceland only. The September 1981 UK release, titled ''Mezzoforte'', had a different cover artwork, but since their first album, released only in Iceland, too was called ''Mezzoforte (1979 album), Mezzoforte'', ''Í Hakanum'' was usually referred to as ''Octopus'',liner notes which later became the title of the 1996 CD re-release. Seven of the eight tracks were included in 1983 on the compilation album Catching Up With Mezzoforte which also included 7 songs from their third album, ''Þvílíkt Og Annað Eins'' and peaked at #95 on the UK Album Chart. The song ''Shooting Star'' was released in 1982 on a double A-side single with third album’s ''Dreamland''. Midnight Express was released on a single in 1983 along with its live version from the Spelllifandi album. Background Though still in their teens, members of Mezzoforte were already work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Þvílíkt Og Annað Eins
''Þvílíkt Og Annað Eins'' is the 1981 studio album of Mezzoforte on Steinar. It is their third album, released only in Iceland only on LP. Along with their first record, Mezzoforte (1979), these two weren't remastered in 1996 with the rest of their early discography, or ever released internationally or on CD, however 7 of the 9 tracks from ''Þvílíkt Og Annað Eins'' were released internationally in 1983 on the compilation album ''Catching Up with Mezzoforte'' which also included 7 songs from their second album, '' Í Hakanum/Octopus'' and peaked at #95 on the UK Album Chart. Even though the third album’s title track was translated as ''Surprise'', the album is sometimes referred to in English as ''Dreamland'', which is the only song from the album released on a single, thus it can’t be confused with their fourth album, titled '' Surprise Surprise'' which was an international success, peaking at #23 on the UK Album Chart. The song ''Dreamland'' was released in 1982 on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compact Disc Digital Audio
Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA or CD-DA), also known as Digital Audio Compact Disc or simply as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs. The standard is defined in the ''Red Book'', one of a series of Rainbow Books (named for their binding colors) that contain the technical specifications for all CD formats. The first commercially available audio CD player, the Sony CDP-101, was released October 1982 in Japan. The format gained worldwide acceptance in 1983–84, selling more than a million CD players in those two years, to play 22.5 million discs. Beginning in the 2000s, CDs were increasingly being replaced by other forms of digital storage and distribution, with the result that by 2010 the number of audio CDs being sold in the U.S. had dropped about 50% from their peak; however, they remained one of the primary distribution methods for the music industry. In the 2010s, revenues from digital music services, such as iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube, matched ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friðrik Karlsson
Friðrik Karlsson is an Icelandic musician and songwriter. He studied classical and jazz/rock guitar and had success with the group Mezzoforte in 1983 with the U.K. top 20 hit, "Garden Party". He has contributed to the soundtracks of musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar and Saturday Night Fever and to that of movies such as Evita and Hercules. His TV work includes accompanying singers Madonna, José Carreras and Tom Jones. Karlsson has also appeared on albums and singles from Boyzone and Cliff Richard, among others. Karlsson has moved back home to his native Iceland, after living in London, where he among other jobs worked as a session musician playing guitar in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. He has released numerous new-age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1979 Albums
Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ''Chiquitita'' to commemorate the event. ** The United States and the People's Republic of China establish full diplomatic relations. ** Following a deal agreed during 1978, French carmaker Peugeot completes a takeover of American manufacturer Chrysler's European operations, which are based in Britain's former Rootes Group factories, as well as the former Simca factories in France. * January 7 – Cambodian–Vietnamese War: The People's Army of Vietnam and Vietnamese-backed Cambodian insurgents announce the fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the collapse of the Pol Pot regime. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge retreat west to an area along the Thai border, ending large-scale fighting. * January 8 – Whiddy Island Disaster: The Fren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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