STARY OLSA is a medieval Belarusian music band. It was founded in 1999 by its present leader Zmicier Sasnoŭski and now consists of six musicians. It takes its name from an old brook in Belarus.
The band's repertoire includes Belarusian folk balladry and martial songs, Belarusian national dances, works of Belarusian Renaissance composers, compositions from Belarusian aulic music collections (e.g. Polack Notebook, Vilnia Notebook), Belarusian canticles of the 16th - early 17th centuries, as well as European popular melodies of the Middle Ages and Renascence.
STARY OLSA cooperates with many knightly clubs from Belarus and Europe, museums and research centres, masters of early instruments, bands of folk, aulic, sacred and city avital music, as well as with solo performers using old instruments, as well as with fire show theartes.

The band's music makes it possible to restore sounds of many forgotten instruments. STARY OLSA uses for its performances maximal exact (in appearance, technology and materials) copies of old aged Belarusian instruments such as Belarusian bagpipe, lyre, gusli (Baltic psaltery) , svirel, jew's-harp, ocarina, Belarusian trumpet, birch bark trumpet, hudok (Belarusian rebec), tromba marina and drums.

The purpose is to completely reconstruct (whenever possible) musical traditions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where Belarus was the main cultural and geopolitical part in the 13th - 18th centuries, and where there was a unique combination of Belarusian folk and aulic music with European musical achievements of that time. In order to revive this cultural peculiarity the band's members mix early Belarusian instruments sound with all-European mediaeval instruments such as lute, rebec, cister, flute, Arabic drum.

Besides its own theatrical concerts, the band performs at mediaeval culture festivals, spear-runnings and folklore festivals.

The STARY OLSA band has recorded eleven albums and one musical project. The band's music is included into seven collections of old melody performers.

Hold onto your seats, because The Darkness is back with their upcoming album Dreams On Toast, which is out new and includes ‘Walking Through Fire', 'The Longest Kiss' and 'I Hate Myself'

This isn’t just an album — it’s a flamboyant, glitter-covered rocket ship to the peak of British rock glory. Packed with epic guitar solos, dangerously catchy hooks, and lyrics that walk the fine line between genius and absolute madness, Dreams On Toast will have longtime fans screaming in falsetto and new listeners wondering "Where have these glorious weirdos been all my life?"

The Darkness stormed the early 2000s rock scene with their debut album Permission to Land (2003), reviving the over-the-top spirit of classic rock. They quickly made waves with their flamboyant performances and tongue-in-cheek humour, winning awards and breaking records. After splitting following their second album, One Way Ticket to Hell...And Back (2005), the band reunited in 2011, releasing Hot Cakes (2012), Easter Is Cancelled (2019), and Motorheart (2021), among others.

Led by the wild and irrepressible Justin Hawkins, The Darkness is known for their theatrical stage shows, outrageous outfits, and Hawkins' iconic falsetto, often compared to Freddie Mercury. They fought through personal challenges, lineup changes, and a brief split, but their commitment to bombastic rock and humour kept them at the top, releasing seven albums and thrilling fans worldwide.

Perhaps the first alternative rock supergroup, The Breeders’ genesis came during the Pixies’ 1988 European tour alongside 4AD labelmates Throwing Muses – when Pixies bassist Kim Deal and Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donelly opted to team up for an extracurricular side project. Dubbing the new band “The Breeders” – after the mid-1970s folk-rock group that Dayton-based Deal had earlier formed with her sister Kelley – they recorded a demo that promptly got them signed by 4AD chief Ivo Watts-Russell. The Breeders – now including The Perfect Disaster’s Josephine Wiggs on bass – spent December 1989 in Edinburgh, Scotland, recording their debut album, Pod, with renowned recording engineer Steve Albini behind the board. Released initially on 4AD/Rough Trade, Pod was a critically acclaimed college-rock milestone famously namechecked by Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain as among his very favorites.
Deal, increasingly frustrated by her inability to have her songs included on Pixies albums, restarted The Breeders in late 1991, enlisting her sister Kelley as third guitarist. The band made its 4AD/Elektra debut with 1992’s four-song Safari EP, though Donelly had by that point left the line-up to start her own successful alt-pop band, Belly. Upon the Pixies’ dissolution later that same year, Deal recruited drummer Jim MacPherson and The Breeders became a full-fledged musical concern, kicking things off with a bang by supporting Nirvana on their 1992 European tour.

The Breeders’ second 4AD/Elektra release, Last Splash, arrived in 1993 to universal praise and seemingly constant college-rock radio airplay. “Cannonball,” the album’s first single, proved a surprise Top 40 hit while also reaching #2 at Modern Rock radio. What’s more, the song’s rollicking video – directed by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and award-winning filmmaker Spike Jonze – virtually defined MTV’s alternative programming of the period. As a result, Last Splash received RIAA platinum certification for sales in excess of 1 million.

The Breeders and Elektra ultimately parted ways in 2004, but the band remains a potent and productive force, with additional albums and EPs released though the 2000’s.

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An American radio icon, Joe is known best for his engaging, often philosophical, monologues and radio dramas. Joe’s radio programs are at times dark and frequently funny. Adding to the absurd atmosphere of his monologues and dramas are loops of percussive music over drones.

Throughout his career, Joe has been honored with many major industry awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award, and an Emmy. Over the years Joe’s distinctive approach to making radio has inspired producers around the country to experiment with and stretch the medium beyond traditional boundaries.  Be sure to subscribe to Joe's YouTube channel with full shows and/or selections uploaded each week. Go to:
https://www.youtube.com/c/JoeFrankOfficial

Find out more at www.JoeFrank.com

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