Laïko

Laïkó (Greek: λαϊκό τραγούδι, pronounced [laiˈko traˈɣuði], "song of the people"; "popular song", pl: laïká [tragoudia]), is a Greek music genre composed in Greek language in accordance with the tradition of the Greek people. Also called folk song or urban folk music (Gr: αστική λαϊκή μουσική or λαϊκά τραγούδια laïká tragoudia), in its plural form is a Greek music genre which has taken many forms over the years. Laïkó followed after the commercialization of rebetiko music. It was strong dominated by Greek folk music and is used to describe the whole of the Greek popular music. When used in context it refers mostly to the form it took in the period from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Rebetiko and Elafró tragoudi

Until the 1930s the Greek discography was dominated by two musical genres: the Greek folk music (demotiká) and the Elafró tragoudi (literally: "light[weight] song"). The latter was represented by ensembles of singers/musicians or solo artists like Attik and Nikos Gounaris. It was the Greek version of the international popular music of the era. In the 1930s the first rebetiko recordings had a massive impact on Greek music. As Markos Vamvakaris stated "we were the first to record laïká (popular) songs". In the years to follow this type of music, the first form of what is now called laïkó tragoudi, became the mainstream Greek music.

Laika

Laika (Russian: Лайка; c. 1954 – November 3, 1957) was a Soviet space dog who became one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth. Laika, a stray dog from the streets of Moscow, was selected to be the occupant of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 that was launched into outer space on November 3, 1957.

Little was known about the impact of spaceflight on living creatures at the time of Laika's mission, and the technology to de-orbit had not yet been developed, and therefore Laika's survival was not expected. Some scientists believed humans would be unable to survive the launch or the conditions of outer space, so engineers viewed flights by animals as a necessary precursor to human missions. The experiment aimed to prove that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure micro-gravity, paving the way for human spaceflight and providing scientists with some of the first data on how living organisms react to spaceflight environments.

Laika died within hours from overheating, possibly caused by a failure of the central R-7 sustainer to separate from the payload. The true cause and time of her death were not made public until 2002; instead, it was widely reported that she died when her oxygen ran out on day six or, as the Soviet government initially claimed, she was euthanised prior to oxygen depletion.

Laika (company)

Laika Entertainment, LLC. is an American stop-motion animation studio specializing in feature films, commercial content for all media, music videos and short films. It is best known for its stop-motion feature films, Coraline, ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls. The studio is owned by Nike co-founder and chairman Phil Knight and is located in Oregon's Portland metropolitan area. His son, Travis acts as its president and CEO. The company had two divisions, Laika Entertainment for feature films and House Special Formally Laika/house for commercial content. Laika spun off the commercial division in July 2014 to focus on feature film production exclusively. The new independent commercial division is now called HouseSpecial.

History

In the late 1990s, Will Vinton Studios, known for its stop-motion films and commercials, sought funds for more feature-length films and brought in outside investors, which included Nike, Inc. owner Phil Knight. In 1998, Knight made his initial investment and son Travis started work at the studio as an animator. In 2002, Phil Knight acquired financially struggling Will Vinton Studios to pursue feature-length productions. The following year, Henry Selick, director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, joined the studio as a supervising director. In July 2005, the successor to Will Vinton Studios, Laika, was founded and opened two divisions: Laika Entertainment for feature films and Laika/house for commercial work, such as advertisements and music videos. They also announced their first projects, a stop-motion film Coraline and CGI animated film Jack & Ben’s Animated Adventure.

Laika (band)

Laika is a British band founded in 1993 by the ex-members of Moonshake, Margaret Fiedler and John Frenett, and producer and engineer Guy Fixsen. The band was named after the Russian dog Laika, the first animal to orbit the earth.

Sound

Musically, the band could be described as electronica with "dreamy" female vocals. However, it also relies on a more organic approach to songwriting with live drums and percussion, together with guitars and samples, creating a complex layered and polyrhythmic blend of beats and diverse analogue sounds that defies simple categorization.

History

Fiedler, born in Chicago, USA, (and previously an early member of Ultra Vivid Scene and a collaborator with Moby) moved from New York City to London in 1989 in search of music which better suited her interests. The first significant band she joined was Moonshake, in which she was one of two lead vocalists, a songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist predominantly playing guitar, keyboards and samplers. Moonshake's songwriting was split between Fiedler and the other singer, David Callahan, who had a very different style: Callahan favoured an art-punk storytelling approach with a dub/funk undercurrent while Fiedler preferred a more enveloping and abstract approach drawing on rhythmic Krautrock-esque loops and murmured vocals. The early Moonshake records (released on the Too Pure label) were engineered by the producer Guy Fixsen, who had also worked with bands including My Bloody Valentine and The Breeders.