Pescador gets two Raindance Nominations

Harry Domenico Rossi’s debut feature film Pescador,  will be making its European premiere at Raindance Film Festival on 18th June, 2026. Pescador is described as fantastic and meditative after receiving two Raindance nominations Best Director of a Debut Feature for Rossi and Best Performance in a Debut Feature for Alex Wanebo. Pescador  appears in London following its World Premiere at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI Goa). Rossi also received the Peter Brunette Award for the Best Director at RiverRun International Film Festival where the jury statement announced “every step was a creative risk that pays off in poetry.” Pescador features a … Continue reading Pescador gets two Raindance Nominations

Transformation from pop icon to song craftsman

George Michael, pop star who bleached his hair blonde, wore tiny shorts and at the same time, critiqued his own image mercilessly, wrote one of the biggest hits of our age in “about an hour” in his childhood bedroom and would go on to collaborate with some of the greatest musicians of all time from Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder. He lived through the AIDS crisis and one of the most homophobic periods of British history and yet when he finally came out, he did so boldly and unapologetically. Wham! Were the first Western pop group to play in Communist … Continue reading Transformation from pop icon to song craftsman

Mimetic anonymity voice control

Trained as a Soprano for music theatre in the 1990s, at a stage school in New York, she learnt to control her voice into mimetic anonymity to fit the female characters of Walt Disney films and Broadway musicals. Mastering the problem of her vocal break the passaggio  the yodel-ish sound  that happens to everyone when their voice moves register, from chest to head was critical for stamping out individuality in her voice. In Vocal Break, Lauren Elkin seamlessly blends memoir, feminist manifesto and cultural history to explore a plurality of female singing voice- and how women have used them to defy convention, … Continue reading Mimetic anonymity voice control

Asha Bhosle, Bollywood playback singer dies at 92

Popular Bollywood playback singer, music icon, and film industry’s last Mughal passed away at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai today leaving behind her works. a body of work. “Her voice carried timeless brilliance” PM Modi said.  “ I like doing extraordinary things, Music has been my life. It has given me so much. I decided to do a spectacular concert on my 90th birthday. I doubt if anyone in the world has achieved this feat” Said the legend, who remained defiant of age and expectation. “I was around 10 when I started my singing career in 1943,Over the decades, I have … Continue reading Asha Bhosle, Bollywood playback singer dies at 92

Western classical music and minds of all its greatest composers

“Let me be your Ruskin or Baedeker, suppose a first visit, only a week, to Florence or Burges, what must absolutely not to be missed” Robin Holloway offer himself to as a master guide for this voyage. “My aim in this book is to offer an invitation to the glorious long voyage of western classical music for all those who enjoy and love it, and seek to deepen their enjoyment and love without getting caught up in musicology and technicalities: an entry to Aladdin’s cave, an injunction to taste and see re-angled for the sense of hearing in all its … Continue reading Western classical music and minds of all its greatest composers

Western classical music and minds of all its greatest composers

“Let me be your Ruskin or Baedeker, suppose a first visit, only a week, to Florence or Burges, what must absolutely not to be missed” Robin Holloway offer himself to as a master guide for this voyage. “My aim in this book is to offer an invitation to the glorious long voyage of western classical music for all those who enjoy and love it, and seek to deepen their enjoyment and love without getting caught up in musicology and technicalities: an entry to Aladdin’s cave, an injunction to taste and see re-angled for the sense of hearing in all its … Continue reading Western classical music and minds of all its greatest composers

Bob Marley Honoured

Late Legendary Bob Marley, a Jamaican singer, songwriter, guitarist  and one of the pioneers of reggae is being honoured by unveiling a green plaque at Battersea Park, London by Wandsworth Council on Saturday 25th October. Robert Nesta Bob Marley, a Rastafarian icon, who infused his music with a sense of spirituality and increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide, used to play football at Battersea Park while recording Exodus with the Wailers. Marley who was born in Nine Mile, Jamaica, began his career in ’63, after forming the group Teenagers with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, which eventually became the Wailers and … Continue reading Bob Marley Honoured

SattarBuksh wins trademark case against Starbucks

Sattar Buksh, a Karachi-based café owner famous for his humorous menu items like the “Besharam Burger”, LOC Pizza, got into trademark branding dispute with Starbucks. The multinational claimed that the resemblance in logo and name could confuse customers, dilute its brand and potentially infringe on trademark laws. When you think Starbucks, the multinational, you picture the iconic green siren. In Karachi two Pakistani entrepreneurs Rizwan Ahmad and Adnan Yousuf, opened a café called Sattarbuksh,  (buksh, meaning servant). They think it is parody not piracy. Although at first glance their logo resembled like a cheeky twin of Starbucks, except instead of mermaid, … Continue reading SattarBuksh wins trademark case against Starbucks

Imagine when John met Yoko

One to One John and Yoko – in cinemas now! Directed by Kevin Macdonald.  With Executive producer Brad Pitt. A Plan B film. Not only famous for being in The Beatles and being a groundbreaking performer, composer and songwriter, John Lennon met Yoko Ono in London at her art show and swept her off her feet. The Beatles broke up and John and Yoko took a two room apartment in Greenwich Village New York in the USA for 18 months  and enjoyed their romance and new life though continually campaigning at the same time against the American  Right Wing in particular the issue … Continue reading Imagine when John met Yoko

“Britain’s passion for esoteric Black music”

After the world war, the UK and America were the dominant forces responsible for emergence and evolution of nightclubs and electronic dance music from the 1950s onwards. Transatlantic Drift traces the rhythmic journey of dance music, following the pulse as it bounced between Europe, North America and Caribbean. Music, dance styles and nightclub spaces are not created in isolation; they are shaped by collective influences and shared experiences. Two British academics, Milestone, a sociologist, and Morrison, music journalism lecturer, reveals the interconnected story of dance music, taking in hotspots such as New York, Detroit, London, Manchester, Chicago, Düsseldorf and Ibiza. Britain’s love … Continue reading “Britain’s passion for esoteric Black music”