February 10, 2012
Nero is a British electronic music act consisting of Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray with Alana Watson a vocalist, who are best known for producing drum and bass, dubstep and house. Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray were both born in 1984 and spent their childhood in suburban Northwood, London.
Ray played classical guitar and Stephen, encouraged by his jazz-loving father, played cello. By the time a mutual friend introduced them at the age of 15, Stephens was attending the specialist music school at Pimlico. Outside school both were making electronic music on home computers. They began working together at 17, setting up a studio in Stephens’ bedroom.
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February 9, 2012
Malcolm McLaren (1946 – 2010) was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls. As a solo artist, McLaren had an innovative career that helped introduce hip hop to the United Kingdom.
About his contribution to music, McLaren has said about himself: ‘I have been called many things: a charlatan, a con man, or, most flatteringly, the culprit responsible for turning British popular culture into nothing more than a cheap marketing gimmick. This is my chance to prove that these accusations are true.’
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February 6, 2012
Hugo Leclercq (b. 1994), known by his stage name Madeon, is a French electropop producer. He started composing music at the age of 11, and adopted a nu-disco style under the name Madeon in 2010. In the fall of that year, he gained popularity for his award-winning remix of ‘The Island’ by Pendulum.
In the summer of 2011, a YouTube video of his live mashup ‘Pop Culture’ went viral, which combines 39 pop hits into one song. He is known to use Novation’s Launchpad, a MIDI controlled monome, and FL Studio (FruityLoops).
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January 26, 2012
Derek Vincent Smith (b. 1983), better known as Pretty Lights, is an American electronic music artist. Smith wrote and produced hip hop music while attending high school in Fort Collins, Colorado, but the music of such artists as Aphrodite attracted him to American raves. After graduating from high school, he attended University of Colorado at Boulder, but dropped out during his freshman year to focus instead on his music. Smith’s music relies heavily on digital sampling and crosses many genres, forming a combination of ‘glitchy hip-hop beats, buzzing synth lines, and vintage funk and soul samples, sometimes grime.’
Pretty Lights’ sound is generated by synthesizing samples and organic beats using the Novation X-Station, monome, and the Akai MPD32. Smith uses these digital controllers to program the music production software Ableton Live 8. Due to the sample-based nature of his music, Smith releases all his music for free with a recommended donation, so as to avoid having to clear samples. When performing live, Smith uses two Macbook Pros running Ableton Live 8 and two Akai MPD32s.
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January 21, 2012
Soulwax, headed by David and Stephen Dewaele, are an alternative rock/electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. They were first noticed after the release of their album ‘Much Against Everyone’s Advice.’ But after that the Dewaeles started focusing on their other projects such as The Flying Dewaele Brothers and 2manydjs, but also hosting a show on Belgian television, ‘Alter8.’ Other than the Dewaele brothers, Soulwax also includes bassist Stefaan Van Leuven and drummer Steve Slingeneyer. The 2004 album ‘Any Minute Now’ spawned three singles in ‘E Talking,’ ‘NY Excuse,’ and the title track. ‘E Talking’s’ music video was controversial and restricted to post-watershed broadcast on music television channels (typically late at night). Set in London’s Fabric nightclub, everyone in the video is depicted as being on a different drug, from A-Z (including popular drug nicknames).
The duo has also produced a number of official and unofficial remixes, including ‘Daft Punk Is Playing At My House’ and ‘Get Innocuous!’ by LCD Soundsystem, ‘Robot Rock’ by Daft Punk and ‘DARE’ by Gorillaz. David and Stephen are friends of artists Tiga, LCD Soundsystem and Whomadewho. The only official compilation ‘As Heard on Radio Soulwax Pt. 2,’ was released in 2002 and is composed of 45 tracks the Dewaele brothers were able to clear the rights from. They originally requested rights for 187 tracks and got clearances for 114 of them. 62 were refused and 11 remained untraceable.
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January 15, 2012
Major Lazer is a collaborative musical project from DJ/Producers Diplo and Switch. Made up of DJs Diplo and Switch, the two were introduced after working with M.I.A..
The duo’s first album ‘Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do’ was released in 2009, on Downtown Records. It was recorded in Jamaica at Tuff Gong Studios. Vocalists such as Santigold, Vybz Kartel, Ward 21, Busy Signal, Nina Sky, Amanda Blank, Mr. Vegas, Turbulence, Mapei, T.O.K, Prince Zimboo, Leftside and others contribute guest vocals to the album, as well as additional production from Afrojack and Crookers.
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January 15, 2012
Tenacious D is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1994. Composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jack Black and lead guitarist and vocalist Kyle Gass, the band has released two albums – ‘Tenacious D’ (2001) and ‘The Pick of Destiny’ (2006). The band’s studio releases and live performances feature a full band lineup, including such musicians as guitarist John Konesky, bassist John Spiker and Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman.
The band originally performed as an acoustic duo, which gained popularity in 1999 when they starred in their eponymous television series and began to support large rock acts. Tenacious D’s music showcases Black’s theatrical vocal delivery and Gass’s acoustic guitar playing abilities. Critics have described their fusion of vulgar absurdist comedy with rock music as ‘mock rock.’ Their songs discuss the duo’s purported musical and sexual prowess, as well as their friendship and cannabis usage in a style that music critics have compared with the storyteller-style lyrics of rock opera.
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January 15, 2012
Kavinsky, real name Vincent Belorgey (b. 1977), is a French electro house artist, and has released three EPs on the Record Makers label: ‘Teddy Boy’ in 2006, ‘1986’ a year later, and ‘Nightcall’ in 2010. His work has been remixed by SebastiAn and others. In addition to his music career he has also appeared in several films including ‘Steak,’ directed by longtime friend Mr. Oizo. The SebastiAn remix of ‘Testarossa Autodrive’ off the ‘1986’ EP is featured in the video game ‘Grand Theft Auto IV.’
Kavinsky’s fellow producer Surkin once jokingly claimed in an interview that Kavinsky was his father. There has been a long running joke since. Kavinsky’s production style is very reminiscent of film soundtracks of the 1980s. He has also been compared to many similar French house artists including Daft Punk and Danger. Kavinsky’s single ‘Nightcall’ was featured in the opening credits of the film ‘Drive.’
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January 15, 2012
Kode9 (born Steve Goodman) is a London-based electronic music artist, DJ, and owner of the Hyperdub record label. MC, The Spaceape, is a frequent collaborator. Initially inspired by what he calls the ‘hardcore continuum,’ he also draws on dub reggae, and was one of the founding members of the early dubstep scene (which he views as a continuation of developments originally stemming from UK Hardcore).
He has released two full-length albums: ‘Memories of the Future’ and ‘Black Sun’ (both featuring the Spaceape). Kode9 has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Warwick. In 2009, MIT Press published his book, ‘Sonic Warfare: Sound, Affect, and the Ecology of Fear,’ exploring the uses of acoustic force and how sound can be deployed to set moods of dread and fear, how sound can be used as torture, as a weapon and as a threat.’
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January 14, 2012
Larry Levan (1954 – 1992) was a DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern dance club. He developed a cult following who referred to his sets as ‘Saturday Mass.’ Influential US DJ François Kevorkian credits Levan with introducing the dub aesthetic into dance music. Along with Kevorkian, Levan experimented with drum machines and synthesizers in his productions and live sets, ushering in an electronic, post-disco sound that presaged the ascendence of house music.
Born, Lawrence Philpot, Levan was openly gay and got his start alongside DJ Frankie Knuckles at the Continental Baths, as a replacement for the DJ from The Gallery, Nicky Siano. Levan’s DJing style was influenced by Siano’s eclectic style, and by The Loft’s David Mancuso, who briefly dated Levan in the early 1970s. As Knuckles was still trying to make his way in the New York club scene, Levan became a popular attraction perhaps due to his ‘diva persona,’ which he developed in the city’s notoriously competitive black drag ‘houses.’
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January 4, 2012
Fatima Al Qadiri (b. 1981) is music producer born in Senegal and raised in Kuwait during the Gulf War, who now resides in Brooklyn.
She previously released an EP under the name Ayshay, featuring spectral chanting of traditional Islamic songs in Arabic.
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January 1, 2012
Michel Waisvisz [whyz-vizz] (1949 – 2008) was a Dutch composer, performer and inventor of experimental electronic musical instruments. He became the artistic director of STEIM (STudio for Electro Instrumental Music) in Amsterdam from 1981, where he collaborated with musicians and artists from all over the world. His involvement with STEIM goes back until 1969, when it had been co-founded by his mentor and friend Dick Raaymakers.
Waisvisz had a passionate dedication to a physical, bodily approach to electronic music which he has expressed in the use and presentation of his many developments of hardware and software instruments. From his point of view electronic music is created in direct musical interaction with individual technology, allowing for instant travels into sound through improvisation.
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