{"key":"6630","name":"Anything Box","bio":"Anything Box is an electronica\/synthpop musical group based in Los Angeles. It is made of musicians Claude S., Dania Morales, and Paul Rijnders. They are known primarily for their 1990 hit song \"Living in Oblivion\" from the popular album 'Peace', which was released through Epic Records.After acrimonious fighting with that label and changing music times, the group broke off and has since released multiple independent albums to a devoted following of synthpop fans. They've also incorporated more industrial and techno influences. 1990's 'Peace' was notably followed up by 1993's 'Hope'.As time went on, their music has received some critical acclaim. Their 2001 album 'Worth, which was recorded in 1991 but released later for legal reasons, is named by Allmusic as \"one of the most beautifully dark synth-pop albums ever made.\" The band garnered attention for releasing a free EP entirely in MP3 format in 2003 as well. Their official site is www.anythingbox.com, which contains several free song downloads. They also have an active MySpace page at www.myspace.com\/anythingbox.These titles are all available on iTunes digitally as stated, or on CD:Elektrodelica (iTunes)Hope V3(iTunes)Worth V2 (iTunes + CdBaby.com)Peace(iTunes + Most Retail Stores) Recovered 1993-1995 (iTunes + CDBaby.com) The Universe Is Expanding (iTunes) The Effects of Stereo TV (iTunes + CDBaby.com)100% Air-Friendly Groove Pak (iTunes + CDBaby.com)The Diary 'Page One'(iTunes)The Diary 'Separate'(iTunes + CDBaby.com)","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/6630_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"607","name":"Erasure","bio":"Erasure are a synthpop duo from the United Kingdom consisting of keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell, both of them songwriters. After founding Depeche Mode, Yazoo and The Assembly, Clarke formed Erasure with Bell when he found the singer after placing an ad in 'Melody Maker'.Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single \"Who Needs Love (Like That)\". Beginning in late 1986 with the release of their single Sometimes, Erasure established themselves on the British charts; albums such as The Circus, Wild!, Chorus, I Say I Say I Say, Loveboat and Nightbird demonstrated a further diversity of sound.The album that boosted their career tremendously was The Innocents, which was released in 1988. A Little Respect and Chains of Love both hit the Billboard Top 100. Most people will probably remember Erasure for A Little Respect, which became one of their signature songs.Clarke formerly was a member of Depeche Mode and later had a successful career with the duo Yazoo (known as Yaz in the US). Later he split with Yazoo partner Alison Moyet and briefly formed The Assembly with producer Eric Radcliffe. After a successful Assembly single (\"Never Never\"), Clarke released an unsuccessful one-off single with vocalist Paul Quinn (\"One Day\"). He then placed a blind advertisement in Melody Maker looking for a vocalist for a new musical project. He selected Andy Bell, who was the forty-first to audition (and whose voice would often be compared to Moyet's). From the start, their success was founded upon their songwriting skills. Clarke's talent for writing melodic, catchy pop songs was evident from his years with Depeche Mode and Yazoo. Bell's gifts as a lyricist and melodist added depth and character to Clarke's style (additionally, Bell was openly gay from the beginning, and he reflected this in his lyrics at a time when society as a whole was more ignorant around queer issues than it is today - making Erasure's success all the more phenomenal). As pop craftsmen, the pair's work bears comparison with that of Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics, OMD, Alphaville, a-ha, Roxette and other pop songwriters.Though their productivity and record sales declined beginning in the second half of the 1990s, Erasure scored at least one Top 30 hit with the release of every new album. Few electronic bands have demonstrated the durability of Erasure.In 2005 Erasure made a comeback with their number one position on the US Dance Chart, eighteen years after their first chart-topper. This success was mirrored in the UK with the debut single from Nightbird (\"Breathe\") reaching number four in the charts. Erasure also enabled fans to configure and buy their own remixes of the single 'Don't Say You Love Me' through the band website. Each variant of the song was limited to a single download.2006 saw the release of the album Union Street, which features a collection of previously released Erasure songs that the band have reinterpreted with an acoustic \/ country & western style. The album is named after the recording studio in Brooklyn where it was recorded.A new album, Light at the End of the World, was released in 2007.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/607_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"150000 - 300000"}

{"key":"65143","name":"Kon Kan","bio":"Kon Kan was a Canadian synthpop duo consisting of musicans Barry Harris (vocals, keyboard, guitar) and Kevin Wynne (vocals) formed in 1988 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Their debut album, 'Move to Move' (1989), produced the international hit single \"I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden)\" (also known as \"I Beg Your Pardon\"), which sampled pop country star Lynn Anderson's \"Rose Garden\". Their name is a parody of the Canadian content regulations (often referred to as \"Can Con\") that mandate that thirty per cent of songs played on commercial radio stations in Canada must be Canadian in origin.Though their aforementioned hit single earned much success, particurarly in the U.K. where it spent many weeks on the charts and peaked at #5, it also left the group saddled with the 'one hit wonder' label outside of Canada. Yet, from the same album, they returned to the Canadian charts with another original\/cover combination, \"Puss N' Boots\/These Boots (Are Made For Walkin')\". The track included samples of Led Zeppelin's \"Immigrant Song\" and Nancy Sinatra's \"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'\". Another single, \"Harry Houdini\", failed to chart completely in America, but scored a Top 40 placing in Canada and also peaked at #14 in the New Zealand Singles Chart.Wynne, who sang on all but two tracks from 'Move to Move', left the group shortly after its release. Growing separate from the music industry, he's currently a semi-pro video golfer. Harris released two more albums under the group's original name. He then went on to form the eurodance inspired group Outta Control together with musicians Kimberley Wetmore and Rachid. He also later became a celebrated remixer under the moniker Thunderpuss, with the \"Kon Kan\" name being dormant for several years now.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/65143_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"424","name":"Jimmy Somerville","bio":"Jimmy Somerville (b. June 22, 1961) is a Scottish pop singer. Was a star in the 80's with Bronski Beat and The Communards as well as while working solo.Born and raised in Glasgow with his signature falsetto singing style, he happens to also be a left-wing human rights activist.He went solo when the Communards split up in 1988.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/424_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"10000 - 30000"}

{"key":"65142","name":"Belouis Some","bio":"Belouis Some (born Neville Keighley, 12 December 1959), is a British new wave musician. He had a few minor hits in the 1980s with \"Some People\", \"Round and Round\", (which appeared on the soundtrack album to the film Pretty in Pink), plus \"Imagination\", which reached #17 on the UK Singles Chart.Albums:-Some People (1985) -Belouis Some (1987) -Living Your Life (1993)Singles:-\"Target Practice\" (initial version) (1984) -\"Imagination\" (1985) UK #17 (1986) US #88-\"Some People\" (1985) UK #33 US #67-\"Target Practice\" (re-issue) (1986)-\"Round Round\" (1986) -\"Let It Be With You\" (1987) UK #53 -\"Animal Magic\" (1987) UK #68-\"Some Girls\" (1988)-\"Sometimes\" (1993)-\"Something She Said\" (1993)-\"Let Me Love You For Tonight\" (1995)","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/65142_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"please contact"}

{"key":"34728","name":"Alison Moyet","bio":"Alison Moyet (born Genevi\u00e8ve Alison Jane Moyet on 18 June 1961 - Billericay, Essex, England), is an English pop singer-songwriter noted for her bluesy voice.Moyet was born to a French father and English mother. She grew up in Basildon, where she attended school. After leaving school at 16, she worked as a shop worker and a piano tuner. She was involved in a number of punk rock, pub rock and blues bands in the South East Essex area during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including The Vandals and the Screamin' Ab Dabs, The Vicars, The Vandals (UK 1978) and The Little Roosters.Her mainstream pop career began in 1982 when she formed the electro-pop duo Yazoo with former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke. The duo had several hits, including \"Situation\", \"Only You\", \"Don't Go\" and recorded two albums, \"Upstairs At Eric's\" and \"You And Me Both\". The group was notable for melding Clarke's trademark electronic sounds with Moyet's warm, soulful voice.In 1983 Moyet and Clarke decided to disband Yazoo. While Clarke went on to form Erasure, Moyet signed to CBS (in part because it had been Janis Joplin's label), and began her solo career.In 1984 she released her debut album \"Alf\" (titled after her punk-era nickname). Alf included contributions by popular producers\/songwriters Swain and Jolley, as well as a song, \"Invisible\", written by Motown legend Lamont Dozier. The record was a hit in Britain, reaching number one in the album charts. Alf spawned 3 hit singles, \"Love Resurrection\", \"Invisible\" and \"All Cried Out\". In the US, \"Invisible\" was a Top 40 hit (something Yazoo had never achieved).In 1985 Moyet performed at the historic Live Aid concert, alongside Paul Young. She also released a single not featured on \"Alf\", a cover of the standard \"That Ole Devil Called Love.\" The single went to #2 on the UK singles chart. (At present, it remains Moyet's highest-charting UK single.)In 1986 Moyet had another big UK hit with the single \"Is This Love?,\" followed in 1987 by the album Raindancing. Raindancing spawned further hit singles, including a cover of Floy Joy's \"Weak In The Presence of Beauty\" and \"Ordinary Girl\". In 1987, she scored another cover hit with \"Love Letters\"; the video for the song featured comedy duo French & Saunders.Following a period of personal and career evaluation Hoodoo was released in 1991. Hoodoo, which took several steps away from the glossy pop sheen of Raindancing and was a far earthier and more personal album. Compared to her earlier releases, Hoodoo received little label support and only minimal promotion. The album sold respectably in Britain, and was nominated for a Grammy for the single \"It Won't Be Long.\" However, the release of Hoodoo marked the beginning of what was to become a long fight for Moyet to secure complete control of her artistic direction. Like many similar artists of Moyet's calibre (including Aimee Mann and the late Kirsty MacColl), Moyet was reluctant to record a radio-friendly \"pop\" album simply for the sake of creating chart hits.Moyet's next album Essex (1994) was also a source of controversy for her; in order for the album to be released, her label (now Sony) insisted that certain Essex tracks be re-recorded and re-produced, and that there be additional material remixed to create a more 'commercial' package. The video for the single \"Whispering Your Name\" again featured Dawn French.Following the release of Essex, Sony released a greatest-hits compilation of Moyet's work the following year. Singles entered the UK charts at number one. Following incredible CD success and a UK tour, Singles was re-issued as a double CD set which included \"No Overdubs\", a bonus live CD. Upon re-issue Singles again charted, this time in the top 20.Due to prolonged litigation with Sony, Moyet did not record or release a new studio album for over eight years after the release of Essex. During this time, however, Moyet recorded vocals for Tricky, Sylk-130, Ocean Colour Scene, The Lightning Seeds and King Britt, and was featured on the British leg of the Lilith Fair tour. 2001 saw the release of The Essential Alison Moyet CD.In August 2002, after years of holding out and refusing to compromise, Moyet was finally released from her Sony contract. Moyet signed to Sanctuary Records and released her first studio album in eight years, Hometime, an album which Sony had refused to release. Hometime was produced by the Insects, who had also produced works by Goldfrapp and Massive Attack. The release of the CD launched Moyet into the top five best-selling female UK artists of 2002 and resulted in a Brit nomination for Best Female Vocal as well as a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize.Moyet's following CD, Voice, an eclectic collection of covers, was released on 6 September 2004 and entered the UK charts at number seven. The album was later re-issued with a bonus track, \"Alfie.\" A companion DVD, One Blue Voice, was released in 2006. After signing with the W14 Music label in late 2006, Moyet released the all-original The Turn in October 2007. As of this writing (15 Sept 2008), Moyet will be touring North America for the first time in 14 years after the huge success of the Yazoo Reconnected Tour of 2008.www.alisonmoyet.com\/","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/34728_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"10000 - 30000"}

{"key":"21110","name":"Howard Jones","bio":"There are three persons with this name.1. Howard Jones (born John Howard Jones on February 23, 1955) is an English singer and songwriter.He is the eldest of three boys. His birthplace is Southampton, England, and he spent his early years in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, and attended the Royal Grammar School. He now lives with his family in Somerset, England.When he was young, he used to give piano lessons. One of his clients was a girl named Jan Smith, who he later married. Whilst working with her, a vehicle crashed into their van, injuring Jan. She claimed compensation and used the money to buy Howard a synthesiser, Moog Prodigy. The shop delivered two by mistake, and Howard liked the combination of the two so much that he paid for the extra one.He hit the charts in 1983 with a song called \"New Song,\" which made it into the UK top ten. Speaking with Songfacts, Jones explained the song is his manifesto, and why he wanted to get in the music business and write songs to begin with. Said Jones: \"I was working in the factory at the time - I was doing the gigs at night and I was working in the factory. And I wanted to say to people, 'You can. It is possible to do what you really want to do if you've got enough guts and determination. You can do what you're really good at in this life if you set your mind to it.' And so really that's what that song's about. It's about letting go of fear and seeing both sides of an argument and throwing off the things that hold you back mentally.\"Jones subsequently had three more hits over the next twelve months and a UK Number 1 album, Human's Lib. He acquired a hardcore fanbase made up of both starstruck teenagers and more mature music lovers, who saw the musicianship which went into the electronic sounds of his songs. His mother ran his fan club. Jones was a close temporal and stylistic contemporary of Nik Kershaw, and the two musicians were often conflated in the affections of the contemporary pop audience.Howard was known as a respectable face of pop, combining innovative synthesiser music with strong feelings on animal rights and life's excesses. In his early days, he performed with a mime artist called Jed Hoile, who used to do improvised choreography while doused in white paint as Howard played behind him.In the summer of 1984, he released a single called \"Like To Get To Know You Well\", which he said was 'dedicated to the original spirit of the Olympic Games'. Although it wasn't an official Olympic anthem for the Games in Los Angeles that summer, it caught on and was a huge worldwide hit. The sleeve featured the song title in ten different languages; while Howard sang the title line in French and German on the extended version. The song appeared in the film Better Off Dead.Howard's second album was a ground breaking 'remix' album. It contained six songs, all but one of which had been previously released, but which appeared in elongated formats, including the multi-lingual version of \"Like To Get To Know You Well\". The album was called The 12 Inch Album and the sleeve featured a miniature Howard standing next to a 12-inch ruler.When he released his second studio album, Dream Into Action, in 1985, he introduced his own backing band, including future Soul II Soul singer Caron Wheeler as one third of female backing vocal trio Afrodiziak. Playing bass guitar, meanwhile, was Howard's own brother Martin, who had to have an extra string added to his instrument to play some of Howard's bass lines, which were originally played on a keyboard without regard for the range of a real bass guitar. One of the singles released from this album, \"No One Is To Blame\", was later re-recorded and featured Phil Collins as drummer and producer.In July 1985, Howard performed at Wembley Stadium as part of the Live Aid concert, singing his 1984 hit \"Hide And Seek\" while playing a piano belonging to Freddie Mercury.Howard had his last UK Top 40 hit in 1986 and thereafter concentrated on production, songwriting and running a successful vegetarian restaurant, though he had Billboard Top 10 success in the States in the 1990s. His eldest son, Ois\u00edn (pronounced Osheen), was born in 1985 and is now an actor.In 2005, he competed on the American TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time, losing to Irene Cara. Although he lost the in-studio vote to Cara, he won the online poll vote.2. Howard Jones is the current lead singer of American metalcore bands Killswitch Engage and Blood Has Been Shed.Jones resides in Connecticut. His first success was in Connecticut with the band Blood Has Been Shed. After the release of The Novella of Uriel, the band went on tour, but Jones was eventually approached for a bigger project. Howard Jones replaced the lead singer of Killswitch Engage, Jesse Leach, in July of 2002, shortly after the release of Alive or Just Breathing, Killswitch Engage's Roadrunner Records debut album.Meanwhile, Blood Has Been Shed released their third album, Spirals in 2003. Critical reviews were mixed, with some saying the album was a bit stray from the music found on I Dwell and Novella, while fans found it to be the band's most sonically-challenging album yet.The first time KSE fans heard Jones they were impressed by him. Later he would be heard on the song \"When Darkness Falls\", which was first released on the soundtrack for the movie Freddy vs. Jason. Finally, Killswitch Engage released their first album with Jones as the new singer, as well as Blood Has Been Shed drummer Justin Foley. The End of Heartache would spawn two successful singles, \"Rose of Sharyn\" and the Grammy-nominated title track, \"The End of Heartache\". There was a minor spot of controversy with some fans over the Grammy nomination, as the song that was picked was a remixed version that would eventually appear on the Resident Evil: Apocalypse soundtrack. The differences between the original recording and the remixed version are the fact that the song is sung in a traditional singing style rather than using the original scream track that appears on the album, and several sections of the song have been shortened for a more commercially dynamic vision.In November 2006, Killswitch Engage released their fourth album (and second with Howard Jones) entitled As Daylight Dies. The album has spawned the singles \"My Curse\" and \"Arms of Sorrow\", and it has been cited by the band through numerous interviews that the album recalls influences from bands in the NOLA music scene, as well as metal bands like Pantera and Machine Head.Despite his front man role in Killswitch Engage, Jones is still the lead singer for Blood Has Been Shed.Aside from singing, Jones has also taken on the role of a manager to new and upcoming artists. Currently, he manages two bands, Twelve Tribes, Mikoto, and also the producer Zeuss.He is also known for his vocal styles, which include deep, booming roars, a higher, raspier scream, and operatic clean vocals. The clean style is absent from most of his work with Blood Has Been Shed, however, with Killswitch Engage, he usually makes use of all of his vocal styles in almost every song, particularly in As Daylight Dies and Holy Diver.3. Howard Jones is an English folk singer and musician. He was a member of The Electropathics and currently performs with Albireo and as a solo performer.","featuredImage":"https:\/\/assets.allamericanmusic.com\/images\/21110_h_0.jpg","feeRange":"30000 - 50000"}