Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating materials, generally including kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400 °C (2,200 and 2,600 °F). The toughness, strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainly from vitrification and the formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures.
Porcelain derives its present name from the old Italian porcellana (cowrie shell) because of its resemblance to the translucent surface of the shell. Porcelain can informally be referred to as china or fine china in some English-speaking countries, as China was the birthplace of porcelain making.Properties associated with porcelain include low permeability and elasticity; considerable strength, hardness, toughness, whiteness, translucency and resonance; and a high resistance to chemical attack and thermal shock.
Porcelain has been described as being "completely vitrified, hard, impermeable (even before glazing), white or artificially coloured, translucent (except when of considerable thickness), and resonant." However, the term porcelain lacks a universal definition and has "been applied in a very unsystematic fashion to substances of diverse kinds which have only certain surface-qualities in common".
Porcelain is the third studio album released by English musician Matt Cardle. The album was released on 25 October 2013 in Ireland, and on 28 October in the United Kingdom. Recording locations include London, Los Angeles and New York. It is primarily written by Cardle but, as with his previous albums, he worked with various songwriters, including Connor Reeves and American R&B artist Brian McKnight. Cardle has also produced the album and played the majority of the instruments.
The lead single was a duet with Spice Girl Melanie C, called "Loving You" which was released on 18 August 2013 and reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. A second single, "When You Were My Girl", was released on 13 October 2013. The album was released on digital download and physical CD as well as a very limited number of vinyl copies available through Cardle's official website. Porcelain is Cardle's first album to be released worldwide.
The Porcelain Tour in support of the album took place over the UK and Ireland in April 2014. The album received largely positive reviews. It reached number 11 on the UK Albums Chart, number 3 in the Independent Album Chart and number 22 on the Scottish Album Chart.
Porcelain is the second album by the band Sparta. It was released on July 13, 2004 on Geffen Records and peaked at #60 on the Billboard 200. The first single released from the album was "Breaking the Broken".
Riva may refer to:
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Zki & Dobre, known by many aliases, but currently most well known as Chocolate Puma (alternatively as The Good Men and as The Goodmen), are a Dutch house music duo from Haarlem, Netherlands. They comprise Gaston Steenkist ("Dobre") and René ter Horst ("DJ Zki"). They have produced multiple dance hits under various group names since the early 1990s. Their biggest international hits remains "Give It Up in 1993 credited as The Good Men and "Who Do You Love Now?" in 2001 credited to Riva featuring Dannii Minogue. They also founded their own record label Pssst Music.
As the Goodmen, their biggest hit was "Give It Up", a 1993 house music track based upon samba styled percussion and the simple, repeating vocal line of the song title. The percussion for the release was inspired by an earlier recording by Sérgio Mendes.
The song hit #1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1993 and made a brief appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #71. After being re-released in late 1993, it reached #5 in the UK Singles Chart.
Riva was a pop rock band from Zadar, Croatia, then Yugoslavia, in the late 1980s.
After forming in 1986, the band appeared on Zagrebfest 1988. Their song "Rock Me" won the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 in Switzerland, with a score of 137 points. According to author John Kennedy O'Connor in The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History it was an unexpected win. The band proved sceptics wrong bringing the first and only victory for Yugoslavia. The contest was organised in Zagreb in 1990. The group members parted ways in 1991.