Showing 1 - 25 of 83
Artist: Refugee
You have to feel for bassist/vocalist Lee Jackson and drummer Brian "Blinky" Davison. By the end of 1969, the three years of hard work they'd put in as the engine room of the Nice were beginning to pay dividends. From being P.P. Arnold's backing band, through the early days of psychedelia, they had gone on to lay the foundations for what would... [+] Read More
Artist: Refugee
Artist: Refugee
Artist: Clubland Refugees
Artist: Refugee Camp Allstars
Artist: Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars
Artist: Karenni Phe
Our band was formed in a difficult place, a refugee camp from Thail-Burma border. [+] Read More
Artist: John Forté
The first non-Fugee signed to the trio's Refugee Camp label, John Forté met the group through vocalist Lauryn Hill early in the '90s, before the Fugees had even signed a recording contract. Also of Haitian descent, Forté worked on production for their breakout album, 1996's The Score, and also toured as part of Wyclef Jean's solo project, the... [+] Read More
Artist: B.B. Gabor
Hungarian refugee B.B. Gabor (aka Gabor Hegedus) moved to Toronto and became quite popular in the early '70s. The singer/songwriter formed a backup band in 1980, the Instabands, and signed with Anthem. The 1980 self-titled debut was followed by Girls of the Future the next year. Gabor formed a new group in 1987, but committed suicide roughly a... [+] Read More
Artist: The Fugees
The Fugees translated an intriguing blend of jazz-rap, R&B, and reggae into huge success during the mid-'90s, when the trio's sophomore album The Score hit number one on the pop charts and sold over five million copies. The trio formed in the late '80s in the New Jersey area, where Lauryn Hill and Prakazrel Michel ("Pras") attended a local high... [+] Read More
Artist: Maryam Mursal
The life story of Somalia-born and Denmark-based vocalist Maryam Mursal would be unbelievable were it not true. One of the first professional female vocalists of Muslim faith, Mursal was a star in her homeland while still in her teens. Having developed the unique blend of Islamic and African influences that she calls "Somali Jazz" in the... [+] Read More
Artist: Yungchen Lhamo
Yungchen Lhamo has become the female voice of Tibet, singing its songs, practicing its Buddhist religion, and working quietly for her country's freedom from China. She was born under the rule of the superpower, but was encouraged by her grandmother to learn and sing the traditional music -- a dangerous thing, which, if discovered, could lead to... [+] Read More
Artist: Penny Nichols
Penny Nichols, with a background as a composer and vocal arranger, has worked as a backup singer for a wide variety of R&B and rock acts, including Jimmy Buffett, Arlo Guthrie, Art Garfunkel, Susie Quatro, and Donna Summer. She received a platinum record with Jimmy Buffett and a Grammy nomination. Nichols is one of the new lights in the modern... [+] Read More
Artist: Slavek Hanzlik
Slavek Hanzlik is a contemporary bluesgrass and instrumental musician who came to prominence in the mid-'90s. Hanzlik was born and raised in Prague, Chzechoslovakia and he stayed there until 1982, when he became a political refugee. He moved to Canada and was a citizen of that country for over a decade. He released his American debut, Spring in... [+] Read More
Artist: Gunnar Berg
Despite being placed in a children's home after the death of his father and enduring continuous ill health, Berg managed to study piano and eventually enter Copenhagen Conservatory, studying counterpoint, music history and instrumentation. After conducting refugee choirs for the Danish underground from 1943-44, Berg moved to Paris to study with... [+] Read More
Artist: The Conscience Pilate
Formed in April 1995 by Edward Pond and Joseph Moran, this Toronto-area band joined forces with Neil Leyton and Stacey Straye to become a force on the Canadian indie scene. Known for their high-energy performances and D.I.Y. philosophy, the band received wide acclaim and praise, including opening for the Manic Street Preachers during their 1996... [+] Read More
Artist: London Elektricity
The flagship act on West London's Hospital Records, London Elektricity specialize in sleek, organic coffee-table drum'n'bass in league with production maestros like Roni Size and E-Z Rollers. The duo of Tony Coleman and Chris Goss (both musicians) focus on live construction, with solos from flute and violin plus Coleman's thick double-bass on... [+] Read More
Artist: Myles Hunter
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Myles Hunter began his musical career in the mid-'70s in Ottawa, Canada, working with the band Avalon. He went on to perform and record solo, and with a number of other groups, including Refugee, Michael Fury, and Hunter-Greer.
Myles Hunter grew up in a very religious home, and, in fact, his early career plans... [+] Read More
Artist: Savage Rose
One of the most well-known rock groups from Continental Europe, Denmark's Savage Rose recorded a wealth of intriguing and eclectic progressive rock in the late '60s and '70s. In their early work, one hears faint echoes of the Airplane, Doors, Pink Floyd, and other psychedelic heavyweights combined with classical jazz and Danish-Euro folk... [+] Read More
Artist: Hamid el-Shaeri
Hamid el-Shaeri was born in the Libyan city of Benghazi, studied aviation in England, studied music in Cairo, and settled permanently in Egypt in 1974, after witnessing Colonel Gadaffi's public burning of western musical instruments. A refugee from his own country's hostile anti-modern policies, he steadily made a name for himself as Egypt's... [+] Read More
Artist: Ensemble Tartit
With their heartfelt vocal harmonies set to the complex rhythms of their shouts and handclapping and the accompaniment of the tehardent and imzod -- predecessors of the guitar and violin -- Ensemble Tartit brings voice to the nomadic music of the Sahara Desert. Formed by members of refugee camp women's association in Burkina Faso, the group... [+] Read More
Artist: Sparrow
Vancouver indie pop group Sparrow began as a solo vehicle for former Zumpano drummer Jason Zumpano. After the breakup of Zumpano and after spending some time playing keyboards for Destroyer, Zumpano decided to go it alone, recruiting a violinist and a cellist to play with him in the Sparrow. After ditching the "The" and adding another refugee... [+] Read More
Artist: Flying Saucer Attack
Formed in Bristol, England in 1993, the elusive avant-noise project Flying Saucer Attack primarily comprised the duo of singers/guitarists David Pearce and Rachel Brook, refugees from the group Lynda's Strange Vacation who formed FSA as an outlet for their interest in home-recording experimentation. Drawing influence from Krautrock, folk, and... [+] Read More
Artist: Harrod & Funck
Jason Harrod and Brian Funck met as students at Wheaton College in Illinois, after friends recognized a similarity in their atmospheric folk songs and introduced the two guitarists. They were "discovered" in 1991 when they opened for Brooks Williams, a highly respected figure in the Boston folk scene, at a Wheaton concert. Williams reportedly... [+] Read More
Artist: Badawi
Badawi was born Raz Mesinai in 1973 in Jerusalem. By spending a lot of time with Bedouins in the Sinai desert as a youngster, he picked up on their unique musical style. When he reached the age of seven, he was taken under the wing of dervish sheik Murshid Hassan (of the Palestinian refugee camp of Balata), who taught the youngster all about... [+] Read More
