Akasa

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Akasa
General information
origin London , England
Genre (s) pop
founding 1988
resolution 1994
Last occupation
Sophiya Haque († 2013)
John "Jhalib" Millar († 2017)
Clem Alford

Akasa was a London- based pop band that was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s and with the single One Night in My Life, among others , was able to record some notable successes. The music style represents a fusion of western electronic pop music with traditional Indian music.

history

The group consisted of Sophiya Haque as the singer, John Jhalib Millar , who played the drums and tabla , and Clem Alford , who contributed the sitar , and the contributions of producer Martyn Phillips, who programmed most of the electronic sounds.

Career and founding of the band in 1988

Clem Alford had previously made a name for himself as a professional sitar player in the field of Indian music. Millar as well as Alford had both already realized musical projects in the traditional Eastern style and participated in various other musical projects.

Phillips and Millar had met when Phillips was looking for suitable musicians for an indopop production. Millar played some songs for him that he had written with Alford and Haque. The young producer was immediately impressed by the potential. Thus, the band signed a contract with Warner Bros in 1988 and was named Akasa.

Akasa means "from space" in Indian Sanskrit.

One Night In My Life 1989

As a result, the first single One Night In My Life was recorded in 1989 . The single was well received and several live performances in London clubs followed. The title appeared on numerous samplers.

A video was also produced for the single. It was filmed in Leighton House in Kensington, London and shows the dancing Sophiya Haque in front of an Indian accented backdrop. Jack Cardiff , who had filmed African Queen with John Huston in 1951 , was able to be won over to direct . The dance choreography was staged by Julia De Peyer.

Kamasutra 1990

The next year the single Kamasutra followed , which also got a promo video. In addition to the band, you can also see some dancers from the Union Dance Company-London, who accompanied the video with dance and choreographically visualized it. The choreography was done by Jon Smart. The French director Philippe Gautier directed. Kamasutra also found space on several samplers.

Album and later individual projects from 1992

In 1992 the first and only studio album was released, which received the title of the debut single, but was labeled Sophiya Haque and Akasa . In addition to the two previously released singles, the album contains five other tracks and three extended remix versions of the two pre-singles.

In addition to the album, additional musical material was created, which, however, was only made publicly available much later. After that, the band members went their separate ways. Sophiya Haque left the UK and went to Asia, where she joined the Star Television Network and worked for television there.

For Haque, the project should be a career springboard. She would later achieve considerable success as an actress, dancer and singer. Miller and Alford continued their collaboration on The Alien Mangoes project . Phillips has now also produced for other artists and has also achieved success. Later successful examples are, according to their own account, Londonbeat with their title I've Been Thinking About You or the band Erasure with the title Chours.

In 2001 a sampler called Green Songs appeared again. a. World & Country Music covered. A post by Akasa called Threading a Thin Line is listed . However, the sampler did not appear on a label.

In early 2013, Sophiya Haque died at the age of 41 after a brief battle with a recently discovered cancer. Interest in the group’s contributions to the London pop scene was re-awakened. Band member John Millar made selected video and song material available on his YouTube channel. He wrote textual contributions about the formation of the band and paid tribute to Sophiya Haque and also considered his two other former colleagues. In February 2013 John Millar published some previously unpublished pieces in a not finally mixed form on his YouTube channel.

In 2017, John Millar passed away under similar circumstances. The website john-millar.muchloved.com was launched in his memory . Producer Martyn Phillips also paid tribute to both deceased colleagues on his website and certified the project with special personal significance on his website.

Discography

Singles

  • 1989: One Night in My Life (WEA)
  • 1990: Kamasutra (WEA / EastWest)
  • 1992: Sweet is the Kiss

Albums

Other publications

  • 2001: Treading a Thin Line (sampler contribution to Green Songs, not published on label)

Music videos

  • 1989: One Night in My Life (Director: Jack Cardiff )
  • 1990: Kamasutra (Director: Philippe Gautier)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ One Night in My Life - Akasa. In: Last.fm. Last.fm, accessed November 10, 2019 .
  2. ^ A b Hans Ebert: Global Music Pulse, India . In: Billboard (Ed.): Billboard Magazine . Akasa, June 20, 1992, pp. 47 .
  3. ↑ a b What does akasa mean. Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
  4. ^ Richie Unterberger: Clem Alford | Biography & History. In: allmusic.com. All Music, Retrieved November 8, 2019 (American English).
  5. ↑ Clem Alford biography. In: last.fm. Last.fm, accessed November 8, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Clem Alford. In: Discogs. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Jhalib. In: Discogs. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Clem Alford: Instruments & Performance. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Jhalib Credits. In: Discogs. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
  10. ↑ a b c Akasa - One Night in My Life. In: Martyn Phillips. Retrieved October 31, 2019 (UK English).
  11. ↑ PeoplePill: Sophiya Haque: English actress, singer, video jockey and dancer - Biography, Life, Family, Career, Facts, Information | PeoplePill. Retrieved November 10, 2019 (American English).
  12. ^ A b Harris M. Lentz III: Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2013 . McFarland, May 16, 2014, p. 154 .
  13. ↑ akasa records and CDs. In: Musicstack Vinyl Records and CDs. Retrieved November 10, 2019 .
  14. ^ One Night in My Life - Akasa. In: Last.fm. Last.fm, accessed November 10, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Jörgen Stafrin: Stafrin's ski guide: Akasa - One night in my life. In: Stafrins skivguide. Retrieved November 2, 2019 (Swedish).
  16. ↑ Akasa - One Night In My Life - hitparade.ch. Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
  17. ↑ a b Akasa Compilations. In: Discogs. Discogs, accessed November 2, 2019 .
  18. ↑ a b Akasa - Kama Sutra. John Miller as "Bhilaj", accessed on October 31, 2019 (German).
  19. ↑ In Memory of Sophiya Haque ... and HMV. Retrieved November 10, 2019 (American English).
  20. ↑ Akasa And Sophiya - One Night In My Life (album). In: Discogs. Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
  21. ↑ a b West End star Sophiya Haque dies aged 41 tickets | London News Tickets | News and Information. January 22, 2013, accessed November 10, 2019 .
  22. ↑ The Alien Mangoes - All Things Dream In Love - 90 bpm. Accessed November 2, 2019 (German).
  23. ^ Music Production. In: Martyn Phillips. Retrieved November 2, 2019 (UK English).
  24. ↑ Various - Green Songs. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
  25. ↑ Laura Barnett: Actor Sophiya Haque dies aged 41 . In: The Guardian . January 17, 2013, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed November 2, 2019]).
  26. ↑ Josh Ferri: Sophiya Haque, Who Had Been Appearing in the West End's Private on parade at this age 41. In: Broadway.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
  27. ↑ AKASA & SOPHIYA HAQUE Tribute. Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Akasa & Sophiya Haque - Shadows. John Millar as "Bhilaj", accessed on October 31, 2019 (German).
  29. ↑ bhilaj. Accessed October 31, 2019 (German).
  30. ^ Memorial to John Millar, 1951-2017. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Akasa - One Night In My Life. In: Discogs. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
  32. ↑ Akasa - Kama Sutra (single). In: Discogs. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
  33. ↑ Akasa And Sophiya - One Night In My Life. In: Discogs. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
  34. ↑ Various - Green Songs. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
  35. ↑ Akasa - One Night In My Life. John Miller as "Bhilaj", accessed on October 31, 2019 (German).