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News & Events

7 Nov

Spread Some Winter Joy With the Sound of Music

Buying presents for children at Christmas can be an easy choice, since they often write their letters to Santa in advance. However, buying a present for a partner or family member can involve some thought.   Everyone Loves Music A portable media player is always a pleasant gift, as they are ideal to use at the gym or during a gentle stroll. Popular companies now market portable media and digital audio players, but many mobile (or smart) phones allow you to store song, movies and books; depending on the memory storage that they offer. Memory cards for mobile phones come in a variety of sizes which makes them a great gift for music and movie lovers. Technology today has come far from the personal stereo and portable CD player, which was impossible to run with for fear it would jump and ruin the CD playback. The MP3 player in mobile phones has caused more success than the sale of individual MP3 players put together. In 2007, over one billion music phones had sold. Since mobile phones can also make phone calls, text and browse the World Wide Web, individual MP3 players have taken a back seat in the field of technology. The Growth of MP3 Players The first MP3 players available were the same size as a deck of cards, but nowadays they look the size of a matchbox. The smaller or slimmer they are, the more general the popularity and need. MP3 players are delicate and require careful maintenance. Many of them will come with a connecting wire so that you can upload music from your computer onto the device. iTunes is a popular music platform where you can buy and download music to your individual MP3 player or music phone. In addition, you can upload your favourite CDs onto your music platform and then transfer them onto your music player. Music mobiles and MP3 players even provide the option of choosing a personal playlist that you know will motivate you when you feel you need an extra shot of mental stimulation.   The popularity of personal MP3 players is down to the fact that you can complete many tasks, without the music skipping. A flash drive is incorporated into the device for a pleasant experience. Runners can apply a portable MP3 device to an armband for comfort without the risk of it slipping out of a pocket: plus music is a fantastic motivator. The Popularity of Music Phones MP3 players first began functioning in mobile phones in 2001. By 2005, all of the major mobile phone manufacturers had released music phones. One reason why Apple invented the iPhone so quickly is because of the rapid success of media players in mobile phones. While this phone is popular worldwide, there are other phones offering exactly the same gadgets.  However, mobile phones that do offer so many applications such as the media player option may also have a short battery life and require a daily charge. Mobile phones now allow you to check your bank account while travelling to work on the train, listen to music or the radio aloud or with headphones, play games, text, make calls, browse the Internet, take pictures and watch movies and TV. With so much variety, is it any wonder why the sales of individual MP3 players are fallen? Many of these smart phones offering all of the above are available freely on a set contact. If you sign up for a mobile phone contract as a gift for a loved one, it may be useful to opt for insurance, especially if the phone is worth several hundred pound. This protects against accidental damage and theft. As the music mobile has completely stolen the multimedia market from the individual market, it has become a clear winner when choosing your stocking fillers this year.

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5 Nov

5 Classic Christmas Songs

As shops start to pile on the festive cheer and stock-up on Christmas delights despite the fact there are still three full months between now and the big day, chances are you either love this fact or hate it. Whether you find yourself muttering your way around stores about it being too early to sell Christmas stuff and play Christmas songs or skipping merrily down the aisles while singing along to the lyrics, there can be no denying that Christmas songs are big business.   Every year many of us indulge in our favourites, be that modern takes on classics, hymns or catchy carols. And recent research has highlighted that a chunk of us are more likely to spend more on gifts when stores play Christmas songs. Nowadays, we hear lots of tunes sung by the likes of Slade, Mariah Carey, The Pogues and Band Aid as we go about our day – but we mustn’t forget about the classic Christmas songs which continue to entertain and bring joy to listeners many decades after they were launched. 1. The Christmas Song This classic tune was first penned in 1944 by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells, and is able to succinctly sum up Christmas – with chestnuts on the fire and mention of Jack Frost, mistletoe, reindeers and turkey within the lyrics. This song is often subtitled Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire, and was initially subtitled Merry Christmas To You, and is said to have been written during a red hot summer. 2. White Christmas Written for the 1942 film Holiday Inn by Irving Berlin, this song became a hit straightaway, reaching the top spot in October of that year and staying put for 11 weeks. Its success generated a film of the same name in 1954 starring Bing Crosby. 3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Just the title of this track is likely to have you humming along merrily, as it conjures up Christmases of our childhood for so many of us. This song was first aired on the radio in November 1934 and an impressive 400,000 copies had been sold by that Christmas. With lyrics by “Haven” Gillepsie, this classic tune is said to have been outlined in around 10 minutes by American songwriter John Frederick Coots. Over the years, versions have been sung by Nat King Cole and the Jackson 5. 4. Walking In The Air The animated classic of The Snowman, a book by Raymond Briggs, became an instant hit when first shown in 1982. Its success was thanks in part to the brilliant theme tune by Howard Blake. Haunting and memorable, the song was originally sung by Peter Auty, but it was Aled Jones who took it into the charts in 1985. 5. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer Written by Johnny Marks and based on the 1939 story of the same name, this song was first sung by Harry Brannon in 1949 – before Gene Autry’s recording reached number one in Christmas 1949 and went on to sell 2.5million copies in the first year alone. Inspirations Wholesale sell a wide range of Christmas trees including 7ft Christmas trees

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24 Oct

WHAT HI-FI? AWARD KIKO ‘BEST STREAMING SYSTEM’

It seems like only yesterday that we launched our latest network music system, Kiko, but we are delighted to announce today that it won ‘Best Streaming System, £2,000 +’ in the prestigious What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision Awards 2012. After months of deliberation and thousands of hours spent testing the ‘best of the best’, What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision have picked Kiko as ‘best-in-class’. Check out their 5 star review where they declare Kiko ‘bang on the money.’ Everyone’s raving about Kiko, with 5 star reviews streaming in from tech experts and music fans across the globe, including Mail on Sunday, What Hi-Fi?, Slashgear andStuff. More praise for Kiko Kiko was awarded ‘Product of the Month’ in the Gramophone Awards 2012. Praising the ‘neat Setup Wizard’, Gramophone noted that ‘Kiko was up and running in about 10 minutes flat’, making it the ideal hi-fi for the modern customer. Convenient and compact, Gramophone explain that this ‘seriously cute system’ can play ‘everything from bargain-basement MP3 right up to 192kHz/24-bit hi-res audio’. Hi-Fi Choice have also offered a superb 5 star review, selecting Kiko as Editors Choice. After rigorous sound testing, they declared Kiko ‘a genuine success’ that is both ‘spellbinding and a true pleasure to listen to’ and makes ‘any song compelling and involving to hear.’ And it’s not just music that sounds incredible with Kiko. Tech magazine T3 love our latest network music player, describing it as an attractive and versatile system that ‘can also beef up your TV’s sound output, connecting via HDMI’, while Stuff have written another impressive 5 star review stating that Kiko is a great ‘hub for a cinema system as well as just a hi-fi.’ Everyone loves Kiko With so many fantastic reviews, Kiko is the perfect system for attracting a host of new customers.  

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19 Oct

A Guide to Latin Dance

Martha Graham once said in a very succinct and apt way, “Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” Every nation in the world has some form of music and dance as integral parts of their history. However, perhaps no form of dance can enable the soul to speak more eloquently than Latin dance. The sheer energy, frame, grace, power, sexiness and charisma of this dance form, decades ago, took the world by storm and still holds it in-thrall. There are dozens and dozens of dance forms that come under the umbrella of Latin dance so we thought (with it being Strictly season) that we’d take a closer look at five extremely popular Latin dance forms. Cha Cha Cha Even the name of the dance, Cha Cha Cha, can get the feet a-tapping! This dance originates from Cuba and has its origins around 1952-53. Technically speaking, the dance movements for the Cha Cha Cha start on the second beat and it also had a split fourth beat. Traditionally, this dance is accompanied by good old Cuban music or Latin rock. There are a few variations from country to country as well. Samba The Samba originated in Brazil in the early 20th century, with a few of its steps first detailed in the early 1910s. This is a partner dance, which is lively and very energetic. The technique behind the Samba involves the bending of the knees, which causes the couple to have a bobbing action. Rumba One dance form that shows the marriage of two different cultures is the Rumba. It has a distinct mix of Cuban and African influences and has a ballroom version. The ballroom version of the Rumba is to a slower beat and even restrained compared to the Afro-Cuban Rumba. One of the signature moves of the Rumba is the hip sway, which takes place when a dancer is balanced on just a foot! Paso Doble This Spanish term stands for double step and that is the core of this Latin dance form. It is performed by a duo and is a very lively style of dance. Interestingly enough, it has close links to the Spanish tradition of bullfighting. It is a very structured dance form and, as a result, it is mostly performed at competitive levels. Argentine Tango Even though there is some debate about whether this is a true Latin dance form or not, the Argentine Tango is considered by many to be inextricably linked to the history of Latin dance. This is probably one of the slower dance forms among the several Latin dance forms and is marked by a couple dancing in close embrace to nostalgic music. This article was produced by leading Latin America Tour operator – Journey Latin America who offer superb holidays to Argentina, Brazil, Peru and the whole of the South American continent. IMAGE ATTRIBUTION http://www.flickr.com/photos/tammylo/424762097 http://www.flickr.com/photos/78207463@N04/7636143384 http://www.flickr.com/photos/34094515@N00/5054723509 http://www.flickr.com/photos/vdrg/5561136811/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/ana_cotta/2711677973

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9 Oct

CLASSIC BRIT AWARD WINNERS

The 2012 Classic BRIT Award winners were announced on 2nd October and Linn is proud to be able to bring you several recordings by the award-winning artists in Studio Master quality.   Firstly a big congratulations to Benjamin Grosvenor, who is having a great fortnight having won a Gramophone Award at the end of September.  His debut album on the Decca label, ‘Chopin, Liszt, Ravel’ saw him crowned winner of the Critics’ Award.  This is a highly prized award as it is voted for by the industry.  Linn’s ‘Mozart Symphonies 38 – 41’ by Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra won this award in 2009.   John Williams enjoyed the rare privilege of winning two awards in one night!  He won the Composer Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award, both well deserved.  John Williams’ Concerto for Violin and Orchestra performed by violinist Emmanuelle Boisvert with sterling support from Leonard Slatkin conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra is out now on Naxos.   The charismatic conductor Vasily Petrenko was named Best Male Artist for the second time, having first won the award in 2010.  He is already a multiple award winner having won the 2011 Gramophone Awards Orchestral Recording of the Year with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic as well as the German Echo Klassik Awards 2012 for Newcomer of the Year and the Gramophone Award for Young Artist of the Year 2007.  His recording of Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 2 & 15 is a compelling performance demonstrating both his characteristic depth and flair.   Best Female Artist went to Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti whose latest album, ‘The Silver Violin’, celebrates the world of 20th century film music.  Highlights include the iconic theme from Schindler’s List and Shostakovich’s Romance from the Gadfly.  This is Nicola’s second BRIT Award having been named Young British Classic Performer in 2008.   MasterCard’s Breakthrough Artist Of The Year was Milos Karadaglic who has wowed the critics with his debut on Decca, ‘Latino’.  Milos’ inspiration moves from the Mediterranean to the sultry sounds and passion of Latin America and his talent is immediately apparent.  

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25 Sep

Do Gold and Platinum Records Really Measure a Musician’s Success?

Do gold and platinum records really measure a musician’s success? In the music world, you often hear phrases like ‘gold record’ or an artist going ‘multi-platinum’ without actually understanding what the phrase even means. For more than half a century record labels and other bodies have been handing out ‘gold’ or ‘platinum’ records to represent sales success for musicians, but what do the labels mean and are they a good way of measuring a musician’s success? The history of gold and platinum records The first gold record was given to Glenn Miller for his song Chattanooga Choo-Choo in 1942 by his record label. As was the tradition in the early years, gold records were usually given by record labels to their artists as an internal celebration of sales, and as such the labeling system was not standardised. An artist could receive a gold record for whatever amount of records sold that their label saw fit. The practice did become standardised however in 1958 when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIIA) started their Gold Award Program. This led the way for the RIIA to become responsible for all music sales certification in the United States, which evolved past gold and into categories like ‘platinum’ and ‘diamond’. The gold records that aren’t gold (or even records) You might think that considering the price of gold and platinum that all these records would be pricey for RIIA. Well fear not, because the records aren’t metal at all. Most nowadays are made from plastic that has been sprayed to look like metal, and they aren’t real records either. If you put them in a player all you’d hear would be a scratch, not the song or album that the award is for. Even new versions that come with ‘golden’ or ‘platinum’ CDs aren’t playable either. Platinum for a million SHIPPED, not sold. A major criticism of the RIIA certifications is that they are based on the number of records shipped to retail outlets and not on how many are actually sold. While the number is a rough indicator of records sold, it can actually be a pretty poor estimate if a label ships out thousands and records and they don’t sell off a music store’s shelves. Theoretically, as long as a label can get stores to buy up stocks of an album based on believed saleability, a record can go gold or platinum without actually selling one copy off the shelves to a real customer. However the usual basemark numbers from the RIIA of 500,000 for gold and 1,000,000 for platinum are based on US numbers. Every country has different benchmarks (adjusting for population and other factors) as ruled by their recording associations. For example, a platinum album in the UK represents 300,000 and in Uruguay just 4,000 albums sold. So do they measure success? In a way certification measures success because stores will not buy the records if they do not think that they can sell them. Records therefore are probably more of an assessment of their sales appeal than of actual sales. However one must admit that incidences of shipping vastly outnumbering sales are few, and therefore certification is a good way of measuring a musician’s success. This is a guest post by Daniel Roberts. Occasional guest blogger on unusual use of gold and full time personal finance. Daniel currently repersents Regal Assets a great resource for gold and platinum investment solutions.

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21 Sep

Linn Kinos – The Heart Of Your System

Google Derived from Linn’s flagship Kisto System Controller, the Linn Kinos gives outstanding audio performance from stereo or surround-sound music, making the most of your CD collection and bringing you the benefit of improved sound quality from high-resolution formats such as Super Audio CD or DVD-Audio.   With the Linn Kinos System Controller at the heart of your home entertainment system, controlling your system is simple. Partner Kinos with Linn’s latest Kinik control interface and you can operate your system wirelessly from your Pocket PC. The simplicity of this rich graphical touchscreen interface helps you to access and control your audio and video sources from the comfort of your armchair.   Supporting stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 processing, Kinos is also the perfect solution for the finest home-theatre systems. It precisely decodes and processes a comprehensive range of surround-sound formats.   Linn’s Kinos supports both PAL and NTSC and Composite, Component (YPbPr), RGB and S-Video.   When the Linn Kinos is used with Linn’s Unidisk range of multi-format disc players, an RS232 link can be used to enable automatic pre-selection of the most appropriate decoding algorithm or analogue channels, determined by the disk type being played and the signal received.   Linn’s Kinos can also be programmed to control other elements of your system for the complete home-theatre experience. Your projector powers up, your cinema sized screen drops into place, the light dim for that theatre like experiance and even your popcorm maker can spring into action.   Concealed sockets on the front panel of the Linn Kinos provide a user-friendly, quick access solution for less frequently used products increasing the range of uses of the Kinos. For example, a games console, video camera or headphones can easily be connected.   The Kinos from Linn also benefits from ‘silent power’ delivered by a Linn Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS). Where conventional power supplies operate through the standard audio bandwidth, Linn high-frequency Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) instead convert power at frequencies well outside the audio bandwidth ensuring the audio signal is unaffected by this conversion and all you hear is the music.   Like all Linn pre-amplifiers, Kinos incorporates Knekt technology which means you can also enjoy music throughout your home as part of a Linn Knekt multi-room system.   The Kinos system controller is designed and precision-engineered to complement other Linn components and makes a perfect partner for Linn’s Unidisk multi-format disc players, Akurate power-amplifier range and the Akurate loudspeaker system. Add more power amplifiers with internal Aktiv cards to enjoy the improved performance of an Aktiv system.  

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