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Songwriter
Cali Pachanguero: meaning behind essential Colombian salsa by Jairo Varela

Cali Pachanguero is one of the best-known salsa songs that played a big part in the rising popularity of Colombian…

March 8, 2021
Meditation
Kumar Gandharva and the perseverance of musical spirit over disease

Kumar Gandharva was an eminent vocalist who sang Hindustani ragas and Carnatic devotional songs while also exploring…

March 5, 2021
Music Theory
Popular songs showing the mediant chord in all diatonic modes

In musical theory, the mediant refers to the third scale degree of the diatonic scale, and the triad rooted in the…

March 2, 2021
Songwriter
Locomotive Breath: fine groove born from Jethro Tull's studio session

Locomotive Breath is one of the more popular songs written by the British prog-rock band Jethro Tull, first released on…

February 28, 2021
Film
Gabriel's Oboe: soulful Morricone tune that soothes the Iguazu Falls

Gabriel's Oboe is a short instrumental piece written by Ennio Morricone for a key scene in Roland Joffé's period drama…

February 27, 2021
Songwriter
Ferry Cross the Mersey: Merseybeat classic arranged by the Fifth Beatle

Ferry Cross the Mersey is the best-known track of the Liverpool rock band Gerry and the Pacemakers released in the mid…

February 24, 2021
Songwriter
Oye Como Va: meaning and origin of the best-known cha-cha-chá song

Oye Como Va is one of the best-known cha-cha-chá songs, owing its unfading popularity to Carlos Santana who recorded…

February 22, 2021
Songwriter
Ladytron: Roxy Music's lunar landing with mellotron, oboe, and synth

Ladytron is one of Roxy Music's most noteworthy tracks released on their 1972 debut album. One of the song's strongest…

February 19, 2021
Piano
Pavane for a Dead Princess: who inspired Ravel's early piano piece?

Pavane pour une infante défunte or Pavane for a Dead Princess is a well-known piano piece with a leisurely and charming…

February 17, 2021
Nature Sounds
4 best stereo techniques to record nature sounds

The best time to record woodland sounds of crickets is at the very beginning of autumn when birdsongs have gone mostly…

February 15, 20211 comment
Songwriter
La Bamba: meaning and tragedy behind the best-known son jarocho

The widely known La Bamba epitomizes one of the most striking examples of the ways in which an old folk tune could be…

February 12, 2021
Meditation
Vishnu Sahasranama: chant meaning and complete lyrics by Subbulakshmi

Sahasranāma, literally meaning a thousand names in Sanskrit, is a common term for Dharmic religions of the Indian…

February 10, 2021
Music Theory
6 songs to unpack Ionian mode and the major scale

The polyphonic aspects of Western classical music distinguish it from other musical traditions such as Indian Сlassic…

February 7, 2021
Songwriter
Sugaree: Jerry Garcia's song referencing his lyricist's criminal past

Sugaree is a 1972 track that first appeared on Jerry Garcia's debut solo album, the guitarist who is widely regarded as…

February 5, 2021
Orchestra
Handel's Sarabande: obscure keyboard suite that found its iconic orchestration in Barry Lyndon movie

The sarabande is a fiery carnival dance that originated in the 16th century in Central America and then spread to Spain…

February 3, 2021
Songwriter
Lawdy Miss Clawdy: how Lloyd Price's first hit mixes blues and classics

Lawdy Miss Clawdy is a rhythm and blues track that kicked off the career of the prolific New Orleans songwriter Lloyd…

January 31, 2021
Songwriter
Marie Laveau: ballad of the legendary Voodoo Queen

Dedicated to the legendary Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau was composed by award-winning writer Shel…

January 29, 2021
Meditation
Shurangama Mantra as a vital Buddhist practice to save the universe and achieve enlightenment

Shurangama Mantra is the longest Buddhist chant highly revered in Tibet and China, where it is considered to be the …

January 27, 2021
Songwriter
El Manisero: essential rumba song behind Caribbean music world expasion

El Manisero or The Peanut Vendor is an essential rumba song written circa 1928 by the leading Cuban composer Moisés…

January 24, 2021
Orchestra
Les Indes Galantes: Rameau's controversial opera as the essence of Rococo style

Les Indes Galantes is Jean-Philippe Rameau's first stage work in the opéra-ballet form with a prologue and four entrées…

January 23, 2021