Monday 13 August 2012

Early Musical Influences

A Child of the 80s



Music quickly became a big part of my childhood, not just through listening intently to a multitude of sounds, but by being influenced by my very musical family, with my mother as a Professional Soprano and vocal trainer and my father being a violinist and pianist. Although learning to play a few instruments myself, I can't quite hit the right notes vocally, which is rather unfortunate - not just for me, but for those who have ever had the displeasure of hearing my incredibly sharp or flat tones :). Yes, as you are right to think, some vocals are just so bad, that no amount of training helps.

From a very young age, the sounds of all types of genres became embedded. Classical, the swinging 60's, funky 70's through to late 80's. Born in 1984, my earliest musical memories resonate from the late 80s, where I heard the likes of Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, Pet Shop Boys, Elton John and Phil Collins on the radio & cassette player.

Alexander O'Neil- Criticize  

Whitesnake- Looking For Love


As diverse as some of the artists just mentioned are, I also became very fond of material from Pavarotti, and the 'Three Tenors' when grouped together with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras.

Pavarotti & Lucio Dalla (Caruso)

Early 90s - The Dawn of Music Discovery!

As a 7 year old in 1990, I could already pick up a change of tide with popular music styles. This was the Electronic and Techno era beginning, with some Techno vibes from Snap, Haddaway and Corona to Reggae grooves from UB40, Shabba Ranks, Inner Circle. This is definitely where my musical soul was born! Yes there was also the development of Hip Hop and R&B, however this fell upon deaf ears at such a young age.
My very first radio to cassette recordings were from the DJ Dr Fox (Neil Fox) shows, and Radio1 Top40 on Sunday evening's, always listening intently to the chart countdown. I remember repeating both A and B sides of my collections continuously until the dreaded reel started to get caught, or worse CHEW UP! Was there ever a worse feeling as a child than seeing your favourite hits (which took so much effort to get in particular order) self destructing right in front of your eyes?

Haddaway- What is Love

Let me know you're own experiences, or sounds that have influenced the music you listen to now.








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