Zouk Nation - "Zouk is the dance of the 21st Century"

Shola Ama. born on March 18, 1979, in London, is an English singer who scored her biggest hit in 1997 with a cover of Randy Crawford’s “You Might Need Somebody”. She is half Caribbean (of Dominican & St. Lucian origin), quarter Irish and quarter Scottish.

Shola attended Quintin Kynaston School in the early 1990s, it was here that her passion for music and performing was allowed to blossom. Shola’s discovery has become the stuff of legends. At 15 singing to herself at Hammersmith tube station she was over heard by a D’Influence music producer who was so amazed with what he heard he brought her into the studio.

Tiziano Ferro (born 21 February 1980 in Latina) is an Italian latin pop singer. He also records Spanish versions of his Italian albums and has had notable success in Europe and Latin America, Ferro has sold more than 8 million albums worldwide.

In 1997 he participated in the Sanremo Music Festival but didn’t make it past the first week of selections. In 1998 he was among the 12 finalists, and was discovered by two producers, Alberto Salerno and Mara Maionchi.

His 2001’s debut album, Rosso Relativo was characterized by a R&B/hip-hop flavor. The Spanish version of this album was called Rojo Relativo and fared very well throughout Spanish-speaking parts of the world.

The Canadian band Delerium is from Vancouver, British Columbia, and was originally formed in 1987, as a side project of the influential industrial music act, Front Line Assembly. Throughout the band’s history, their musical style has encompassed a broad range, including dark ethereal ambient, voiceless industrial soundscapes, and electronic pop music.

Xavier Kurt Naidoo is a German singer and composer of Hindu descent, who performs primarily in German and occasionally in English. Born in the city of Mannheim October 2 1971, he is known for his deep voice and has collaborated with many famous artists such as Wu-Tang Clan, RZA, Deborah Cox, Sabrina Setlur and Stress.

He sings in a number of different styles, including R & B, soul, pop and occasionally rock. His lyrics often deal with society, God and love. His most famous releases include Ich Kenne Nichts, 20.000 Meilen, Souls on Fire and Sie sieht mich nicht. Naidoo’s popularity grew when he joined the band Söhne Mannheims in the late 90s. His third album “Telegramm für X” has already reached platinum status twice.

Murillo Roser was born on May 9, 1979 in Barcelona. She comes from a family linked to the entertainment world and at a very young studied classical dance, music theory and singing. As a teenager she completed her artistic training in both modern dance and tap dancing.

She began her career as a singer in several major Catalonia orchestras and also worked as a catwalk model for Gaudí (Barcelona). Her big break came when she became a finalist on the Spanish talent show Popstars in 2002.

Nichols, born Stephen Nichols, had only one goal in his teens, becoming an athlete. He concentrated on  practicing a wide range of sports including, football, Thai boxing and swimming, until back problems finally put a stop to any possibility of a career. Instead he pursued a degree in marketing during the day, while he honed his dance skills at night clubs in the evening.

D. Lopes (Daniel Lopes), a first generation Cape Verdean in America, was born in Boston Massachusetts. At the age of three he moved south to the tough city of Brockton. He started his musical career singing in an Elementary school chorus when he was three years old. At the age of seven, he started free-styling and later became a DJ. In 2003, he released a five-track album whose single “Die For These Words” got heavy rotation on WERS (88.9) station in Boston, MA.

You can’t ignore Andru Donalds: the Jamaican is almost two meters tall (6 foot something), trim and athletic. Most obvious characteristics are his long dreads – almost notorious for any man from the Caribbean island. But that’s it, cliche-wise. In contrast to most if his countrymen, Andru Donalds is not only about Reggae and Rastafari mythology. This is easily explained by the experiences of his childhood and youth.

Born David Constantine Brooks at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, Mavado has lived in the ghetto all his life. Growing up in Cassava Piece was never easy for Mavado or his family, with his grandmother often playing the maternal role. It was in the church that Mavado was first given a microphone to sing by his granny at age four. From then, Mavado was a permanent fixture at every church function and rally.

When one tries to come up with a list of non-traditional music one can dance Brazilian Zouk to, music by the Gipsy Kings immediately come to mind. And for that reason they have earned themselves a place on the Zouk Artist Directory as an honorary Zouk artist.

The Gipsy Kings are largely responsible for bringing the joyful sounds of progressive pop-oriented flamenco, called Sevillana in Spain, to the world. The band started out in Arles, a town in the south of France, during the ’70s when brothers Nicolas and Andre Reyes, the sons of renowned flamenco artist Jose Reyes, teamed up with their cousins Jacques, Maurice and Tonino Baliardo.