"Ramesh Srivastava was born on June 26, 1983, in Austin, Texas, to Patricia Noel Goettel and Rajendra Kumar Srivastava. His father is from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, while his mother is American, from New Jersey. He attended Leander High School in Leander, Texas, and later attended the University of Glasgow in Glasgow, Scotland, majoring in literature."
"The son of Reidar, a chief physician at a hospital, and Henny, an economics teacher, and brother to Gunvald, Håkon, Ingunn and Kjetil, Morten grew up in Asker in southern Norway. His early musical influences included Uriah Heep, Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Johnny Cash, Simon and Garfunkel, David Bowie, and James Brown. Morten's father had contemplated becoming a classical pianist; Morten also took piano lessons for a while but lacked the discipline to practice. At the age of four he started writing music and playing piano."
"Death, taxes, and life's other inevitability: break-up records. Sad-eyed Swede Sarah Assbring already has one under her belt, if you count 2005 Scandinavian release Look! It's El Perro Del Mar! (later refashioned with a slightly different tracklisting in the UK and North America as the self-titled El Perro Del Mar). But that's the thing about break-ups and, by extension, break-up records: At the time each feels like a cataclysm to end all cataclysms, the definitive statement on cessation. Yet in light of the next one-- and, God help us, chances are there will be a next one-- all the ones before can seem quaint, trite, overblown, and anything but definitive. So it makes sense that Assbring should craft another ode to getting over it, just as it makes a certain sad kind of sense that the gal who sang of being sad all day long (and thinking about being sad all night long) and suggested loneliness can be pretty would again find herself in a position to make such a record. Refreshingly, Love Is Not Pop does indeed make what came before it seem quaint, representing a significant maturation for El Perro Del Mar both in sonics and sentiments. If Look!/ El Perro Del Mar was Assbring rebounding from a failed high school romance to the tune of a candy bender and the familiar, comforting sounds of 1960s pop music, Love documents a more complicated, post-collegiate parting of ways against the more sophisticated sounds of late nights and dancefloors, courtesy of co-producer (and Studio half) Rasmus Hägg."
"Over the years his versatile and adaptable voice has lent itself to several musical genres, including synth-pop, Christian pop, rock, jazz, folk and even drum ‘n’ bass; while his interest in theology, nature, environmental issues and politics has frequently seeped into his recordings, giving much of the material a spiritual – and often philosophical – slant. With his chiselled, boyish looks and distinctive vocals, Harket was certainly the most marketable member of a-ha – but the transition to a successful solo career, following the band’s hiatus in the 1990s, wasn’t without its challenges…"
"The trilogy of Radio Dept's first few albums have no skips, no songs worth forgetting and consistently surprising turns that I can't get enough of. In my eyes, Lesser Matters, is their main masterpiece, their heart and soul at its most ethereal, detailed, interior and intimate. It feels like a concept album of a love that Johan can't forget, from eight years ago..., 2003-8, ie 1995. A song about love both present and past. Someone present he can't connect with, "where damage isn't done," "Keen On Boys," and someone he was in love with back then that he can't let go of, "your father," "lost and found," "strange things will happen," etc."
