Swiss Alternative Rock Groups - *Maana, the Shell, the Young Gods, the Chocolate Rockets (Paperback)

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Not illustrated. Excerpt: *Maana, commonly referred to as Maana, are a five-man band from Basel, Switzerland. They are a five piece band, with Manuel Brkli performing the vocals and guitar, Jan Krattiger on guitar, Jenny Jans on piano, Samuel Burri on bass, and Lorenz Hunziker on drums. Maana were first founded by Manuel Brkli and Jan Krattiger, when they were an acoustic duo, before coming together with bassist Samuel Burri, pianist Stephan Bader and drummer Lorenz Hunziker. They started performing in local venues around Basel, before supporting for their local heroes Lovebugs in 2003. They were quickly snapped up by the label Inside Agency, and soon begun recording some of their songs. Soon enough they were supporting for even bigger bands, including well-known British acts I Am Kloot and Keane, Mew and even a-ha. Maana's first record, Fast Days EP, was released in December 2003 throughout Switzerland. It contained five tracks from which the band had recently recorded. The band was then able to gain world wide exposure, with their signature track, "Miss Evening", being featured on the soundtrack of EA Sports game, FIFA 2005. The song, which had been getting frequent airplay in Switzerland and around Europe, was heard by hundreds of thousands of people, who would form the basis of their wide and dedicated fan base. In late 2004, "Miss Evening" was released as Maana's first single, around Switzerland. But to combat the increasing global demands for their music, their Fast Days EP and "Miss Evening" single were soon released for legal download on iTunes, Sony Connect and Amazon. The CD version of the EP was a hot seller at the Virgin Megastore in New York's Times Square, where staff made a Manana shelf display. Feeling that their popularity ha... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=10434692