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People may associate Spain with several things. The country has a significant history of football, including hosting two of the biggest clubs in the world, Real Madrid C.F. and FC Barcelona. Many love Spanish cuisine, whether it’s paella from Valencia, fabada from Asturias, or some mouth-watering churros. Some love the country for its art and architecture, while others enjoy its warm climate, but it also has a rich history of music. After all, this is the country that brought us both flamenco, and the classical guitar, though today, pop music dominates the landscape.

Enrique Iglesias is a name you’re sure to know, having sold over 135 million records worldwide. Further cementing his international success, he is also the best selling Latin artist in the United Kingdom, and best selling international artist of all-time in India. Enrique’s father, Julio, is also famous for his singing, but did you know Enrique wanted to avoid getting a record deal based off his father’s name? He used a stage name, “Enrique Martínez”, and claimed to be from Guatemala.

Amaia Montero, originally from Basque Country, is famous for her work with La Oreja de Van Gogh, and recently her solo career. She has impressively sung in a variety of languages, including French and Italian, and is also well known for her duetting skills. Here’s a fact you may not know, she was invited into La Oreja de Van Gogh because the guitarist heard her do a cover of Sinead O'Connor.

Fifteen Latin Grammys and three Grammys have been won by Alejandro Sanz. “Amiga Mía”, was hugely successful in the States, taking top five spots in three Billboard charts at once, in 1998. He also has eighteen number ones to his name in Spain and in 2013, Sanz received an honorary doctor of music degree from Berklee College of Music.

These are a few names from a large pop scene in Spain, get the bigger picture by listening to our specially curated “Made In Spain” playlist & on the app!

Symphonic, uplifting melodies combine with traditional heavy metal and speed metal to create the force of power metal. Also fairly unique to the genre is the keyboard as an instrument, as opposed to the standard guitars, drums and vocals band setup. Speaking of the vocals, you’ll notice power metal emphasises a more clean style than the growling prevalent in extreme metal. Sam Dunn traces its origins back to the legendary Ronnie James Dio, and Judas Priest, in Metal Evolution (2011).

In Europe, bands like Helloween, Running Wild, Rage, HammerFall, and Blind Guardian, create epic atmospheres with lyrical content regularly based in the fantasy realm. The continent has also produced one of the most commercially successful bands to wield the sword, DragonForce.

By contrast, the original American power metal acts took more influence from progressive bands (i.e. Queensryche, Fates Warning), and there was more emphasis on the lead guitars. From North America came Jag Panzer, Manowar, Savatage, and Sanctuary to name a few, whilst today, Kamelot and Iced Earth are a couple of bands keeping power metal modern.

Discover a whole new genre of music, or reacquaint yourself with some favourites, with our new Power Metal playlist! \m/

Starting today, the Sasquatch! festival takes over The Gorge Amphitheatre, in George, Washington for Memorial Day weekend. The amphitheatre itself is widely regarded as one of the most scenic and admired outdoor music venues in the entire world. The 20,000 capacity venue has hosted the festival since 2002, and boasts an eclectic lineup year on year!

Just some of the highlights from this weekend’s edition include Modest Mouse, Kendrick Lamar, Lana Del Rey, Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters, SBTRKT, Sleater-Kinney, Gogol Bordello, Alvvays, ScHoolboy Q, Run The Jewels and Hot Chip! Look out for comedians on the El Chupacabra Stage throughout as well!

We’ve scoured the lineup to find standout tracks from those performing so you don’t have to. Listen to our Sasquatch! playlist here, or with the Leaf.fm app.

Colombia has a rich, diverse tapestry of music, from cumbia and vallenato to rock en español and modern pop. We’ll look at two mega stars who have taken their music global, Shakira and Juanes. Afterwards, taste more of Colombia’s music, with a playlist we created for you!

Although Shakira may be best known for her brand of Latin pop, mixed with elements of the world’s folk music, she grew up on a diet of rock ‘n’ roll. Bands like Led Zeppelin and the Ramones helped shape how she sees herself as an artist. Beyond the over 400 awards she has won for her music, she is the founder of Pies Descalzos Foundation, a charity helping impoverished children throughout Colombia. Above you can see a metal statue of the lady herself, present in Barranquilla (her birthplace). It’s 15 feet tall, and weighs six tonnes. Of course, we can’t mention Shakira without mentioning her dance moves. Inspired by belly dancing, she has made everyone take notice of the way she moves her hips.

Juanes started his first band, Ekhymosis, in 1987, playing heavy metal. He was aged just 15 at the time. However, it was when he went solo and released Fíjate Bien in 2000, that the world started taking notice. The album received six Latin Grammy Award nominations, and is certified platinum. Juanes was named one of the most influential people in the world, by TIME in 2005, partially due to his activism work to eliminate the use of landmines globally.

Sources: Chicago Tribune http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-01-12/news/0301120069_1_shakira-william-mebarak-rock-side

Wikimedia Commons https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/EsculturaShakira.jpg

Soul, funk, disco, hip-hop and jazz itself are all influential ingredients that make up acid jazz. It’s a genre that came to be during the 1980’s in the U.K, a tongue-in-cheek reference to the dance genre in the spotlight (at the time), acid house. Percussion-heavy and groove-laced, it’s common that ensembles include a DJ as well as a full band.

Jamiroquai and the Brand New Heavies are two of the most commercially successful groups in the genre, both from London. 1994’s Brother Sister album did well in the charts for the Brand New Heavies, spawning hits in “Spend Some Time” and “Dream On Dreamer”.

Led by frontman Jay Kay, Jamiroquai have sold over 40 million records worldwide, scooped four prizes at 1997 MTV Video Music Awards and won a Grammy in 1998. By far, their most well-known track is “Virtual Insanity” from their third album, Travelling Without Moving. Many fans eagerly await their as-yet-untitled 8th studio album, expected some time this year.

Today, acid jazz has become more intertwined into what some would call neo soul, or jazz rap. You can hear the elements within A Tribe Called Quest’s output, and Chance the Rapper has cited acid jazz’s influence upon his appropriately titled Acid Rap mixtape.

Start exploring acid jazz on our Leaf.fm web playlist or on the app!

The Hindi language film industry based in Mumbai, India, is commonly known as Bollywood. Its output is comparable to Hollywood, with literally hundreds upon hundreds of films produced, and a couple of billion cinema tickets sold annually! Whilst its actors and actresses get a lot of the fame and glory, we'll focus on three music stars of Bollywood.

Mohammed Rafi was one of the biggest "playback singers", from 1950-1970. During his career, he received six Filmfare Awards (which are the most prestigious awards representing Bollywood cinema), as well as a National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer, in 1977.

Sunidhi Chauhan is generally considered India's best female singer today. She got her first big break with 1996 film, Shastra, and most recently won a PTC Punjabi Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer, for her duet with Gippy Grewal, “Chandi Di Dabbi” (in the film, Jatt James Bond).

Arijit Singh worked his way to the top through two reality shows, and became a household name in India after the commercially successful romance film, Aashiqui 2 (2013). He is one of the most popular male singers in the modern day.

This is just an appetiser, we’re sure you’ll want to delve into more of Bollywood’s greatest. Luckily, we have a playlist for that! Show your friends with the Leaf.fm app as well!

Source:

Easter is traditionally a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, but more recently it’s become associated with the Easter Bunny and eggs. The origins of the Easter Bunny likely derive from rabbits as a symbol of fertility, whilst eggs represent new life.

Highly decorated eggs were supposedly exchanged amongst Russian high society in the 19th century, which later developed into today’s Easter gift giving. We have a gift for you, a special Easter playlist filled with uplifting and inspiring songs for this weekend. If you haven’t already, download our app, and take this unique holiday with you wherever you are.

#NowPlaying Black Widow - Iggy Azalea Feat. Rita Ora