A cosmopolitan trio initially comprising Brian Molko (b. 10 December 1972, Brussels, Belgium; vocals/guitar), Stefan Olsdal (b. 31 March 1974, Gothenburg, Sweden; bass) and Robert Schultzberg (b. Switzerland; drums). Molko, the son of an American banker father and Scottish born-again Christian mother, spent time in Belgium, Lebanon and Liberia before his parents settled in Luxembourg. The seeds of Placebo were sown when Molko met Olsdal at school in Luxembourg when both were eight years old. When they chanced upon each other again in 1994 at London's South Kensington tube station, they decided to mark the occasion of their reacquaintance by forming a band. Molko had spent the previous four years at drama college but now decided to pursue music full-time. The duo's music slowly evolved from art-rock to an offbeat punk/new wave base, a transition that was aided considerably by the recruitment of drummer Schultzberg. He had formerly played in a Swedish-based band with Olsdal, and had come to London to study percussion. They made their debut at the end of 1995 with a single, "Bruise Pristine", for the independent record label Fierce Panda Records. The reaction this caused ensured a major label bidding war for their services. A second single, "Come Home", released on Deceptive Records in February 1996 followed, while the band considered their options.
They performed at David Bowie's 50th birthday party in 1997. Their self-titled debut album was well-received, but the band's profile was subsequently heightened by the success of the UK number 4 hit "Nancy Boy" and media interest in Molko's androgynous image. English drummer Steve Hewitt (b. 22 March 1971, Manchester, England), who had played with the band at several early gigs, replaced Schultzberg before recording began on Placebo's second album. The anthemic "Pure Morning" (UK number 4) and "You Don't Care About Us' (UK number 5) introduced Without You I'm Nothing, on which Molko's songwriting achieved a more assured, reflective tone. The band members also made cameo appearances in Todd Haynes" glam rock tribute movie, Velvet Goldmine. The band continued their occasional partnership with Bowie in 1999, performing an exciting live version of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy" at February's BRIT Awards, and in the summer recording a new version of "Without You I'm Nothing". The first sign of new Placebo material came in July 2000 with "Taste In Men". The single's tunelessness was indicative of the melodic paucity of the band's third album, Black Market Music. The follow-up Sleeping With Ghosts marked a return to form, with stand-out tracks including "Special Needs" and "The Bitter End".
The limited edition release of the album included an additional CD of intriguing cover versions, most notably Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)", Big Star's "Holocaust" and the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?".
Standing at a towering 6'8", caramel complexioned, handsome features, and blessed with a voice that could melt frozen butter is how one could accurately describe Montell Jordan.
Montell is part of a rare breed of male R&B vocalists who possess both the smooth, church-honed style of a Teddy Pendergrass or Marvin Gaye, that can also swing with the raw, street sounds found in the Hip-Hop arena.
Growing up knee-deep in South Central Los Angeles, his experience in the hood was a typical of the notorious gangsta life. "Yeah, I got jumped coming home from school. I lived in a really bad area and being involved in the church kept me out of trouble on Saturdays. I could tell you the stories about playing ball around the corner while The Bloods and The Crips were shooting because I've been there. My story is that even through all that sh*t that goes on in the inner city and in South Central, somehow I didn't gangbang and found a way to go to church and college."
Montell's love affair with music began with playing piano in church at the tender age of 11, and later learning to play several instruments including alto sax and percussion. Though influenced by the music of Stevie Wonder, Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr., Montell couldn't envision a career in music and did not actually start singing until he was 16. He continued his education by enrolling and earning a degree in Organizational Communications at Pepperdine University, while keeping an ear in music. "I was studying and preparing to go to Law school. That's when I joined a music group and learned about jazz music. During that time, I hooked up with a Hip-Hop producer named Chi-Luv who was really into mixing and deejaying, and we started working together."
On his riveting 12 track debut album, This is How We Do It [on Def jam], Montell Jordan has successfully bridged the gap between traditional R&B harmonies and phat beats that equal slammin' tracks.
"I produced and wrote lyrics for every track on the album (O j i Pierce co-produced)," says Montell proudly. "I wanted to do it to present me as an artist, a self-contained entity. I have to sing my songs from experiences. I can't lie and say it was made up." With his impressive album debut keeping it real, Montell Jordan deserves recognition within the elite "MJ" class.
Dmx the dog of the squad was born December 18, 1970 in Baltimore Maryland in the projects. His family knew in the area he lived that he would get in trouble alot so he moved to Yonkers New York with his aunt. There he showed a talent in music. He was signed to Columbia Records where his first album was brought out called Born Loser. Peepz wasn't feeling him then in 1996..so he had to come out wiht something rougher and harder. That's when he started appearing on artists songs such as LL cool J, John forte, The Lox , Ma$e and many more.
Peepz was feeling him then so he knew he had to come out with something strong to keep him image alive. That's when 98 came around and he brought out It's Dark and Hell is Hot was under Def Jams Records which sold 3 million copies. Now he is one of the best Eastcost rappers alive. He says he started rappering for the ladies and if he wasn't the best rapper right now he would have been stop rappering...but he is the best.So lets welcome Dmx to our world...Where my doggs at.
If there was one defining characteristic to hip hop in 1997, it was the jiggy factor- an aesthetic of unapologetic flash, fashion and glamour that ruled everything around us and made hip hop life nice and organized. Of course, for each movement there always exists a counter-movement; for each yin there is a yang; and for each designer-label clad champagne sipper, there must be an uncompromised figure lurking in the shadows, ready and willing to reclaim rap from the penthouse to the pavement. Embracing this return to the anarchy, enraged and raw, Def Jam Records presents 1998 as the Year of Pandemonium.
The human embodiment of such exhilarating and unadulterated chaos exists in none other than Ruff Ryders/Def Jam's very latest lyrical sensation, DMX. "I love to write rhymes," says the Yonkers-born MC. "I love to express what real niggas feel, what street niggas feel. They need to be heard. They need to know there is a voice that speaks for them, and I am that voice." Within the tumultuous annals of hip hop's dog-eat-dog history, second chance opportunities are few and far between. However, every now and then the experienced and distinguished bark of a particularly cagey canine re-emerges from rap's chaotic kennels, representing the triumph and perseverance inherent in true greatness.
Winner of The Source magazine's prestigious "Unsigned Hype" award for January of 1991, the native of Yonkers, New York has recently crashed the airwaves and mix tape circuit with a number of unforgettable guest appearances (LL Cool J's "4,3,2,1," Mase's "24 Hours to Live," Mic Geronimo's "Usual Suspects," The Lox's "Money, Power and Respect," Ice Cube's "We Be Clubbin' (Remix)" and Onyx's "Shut 'em Down",) inducing a fever pitch buzz for the release of his kinetic debut single for Ruff Ryders/Def Jam, "Get At Me Dog."
Utilizing a classic, tension-filled BT Express guitar sample, the single's keen balance of street grit and dance floor bounce provides the perfect backdrop for the Dark Man X's unshakably aggressive vocal delivery; one whose distinctively hoarse timbre is but the table setter for his main course of irrepressible rhyme: What must I go through to show you shit is real And I ain't never really gave a fuck how niggas feel I rob and I steal Not cuz I want to, cuz I have to And don't make me show you what the mac do If you don't know by now you slippin' I'm on some bullshit that's got me jackin' niggas, flippin' Let my man and them stay pretty, but I'm a stay shitty Cruddy, it's all for the money Is you with me? Despite all the excitement that currently surrounds him, only a select, informed crew of heads may recall DMX? first go around (with the 1992 promotional single, "Born Loser") for Columbia Records.
Like many talented MC? signed to their first deal, X was left in the unfortunate scenario of languishing while other artists on the label? roster prospered. "Columbia tried to put me behind other groups," DMX reflects of the situation. "They were like, 'Well, we're gonna put out Kriss Kross, then we're gonna put out Cypress Hill and then we're gonna put you out.' And I was like, 'Well I'm better than all of them niggas.' So I didn't wanna wait. They let me out of the contract and I'm glad that they did." "I always knew there would be a point when someone would say, 'Somebody needs to make money off this nigga cus he's hot'. That's when Irv Gotti brought me to Lyor Cohen at Def Jam. I guess it's that point now. I guess the world wasn't ready for the gutter until now. Now they ready for the gutter shit, so now they get the fuckin' gutter."
Having originally earned his name by way of his human beat boxing expertise, DMX later experimented with other acronyms true to his evolving, revolutionary vocal steez (Divine Master of the Unknown) while honing his skills around his home in Yonkers' School Street Projects. Along the way, he bumped heads and built long-lasting friendships with fellow Y-O residents and Bad Boy Recording artists, The Lox. "Those are the pups," DMX says of Bad Boy's latest rising stars. "I trained 'em, raised 'em, they doin' their thing and I'm proud of them. I didn't teach I em everything they knew cuz they were doin' it before me, but I influenced them."
With the entire Yonkers crew helping out on It's Dark And Hell Is Hot, on the smoldering "Niggaz Done Started Something," the bonds obviously remain strong. The Album's additional sterling guest spots include Brooklyn's finest, Jay-Z, adding his acid-tongued wit and wisdom to the downtempo stinger, "Murdergram," along-side Ja who makes an impactful debut. But ultimately it's the range, cleverness and fierceness of DMX's solo showcases that truly distinguishes It's Dark And Hell Is Hot from the remainder of the rap hordes. A startling descending string line provides a dramatic backdrop for "Stop Being Greedy's," philosophies of rap economic opportunity.
"Crime Story," produced by Irv Gotti, finds DMX dropping a compelling heist-and-duck narrative over a slinky, Blaxploitation flick-style bassline-and-congas rhythm track. In the tradition of lyrical giants like Slick Rick and Biggie Smalls, "Damien," finds our hero trading verses with himself in the character of a fake friend with evil intentions. Meanwhile, "How's It Goin' Down?" displays the male and female scenario of this dog's persona via a romantic episode without your typical sappy-ass ending. All of which re-affirms DMX's role as one of hip hop's most exciting "new" voices.
If the uncompromising nature of It's Dark And Hell Is Hot, musical menu isn't enough to intrigue the fickle minds of rap fanatics, leave it to this human pitbull's own description of his newest creations to cut right to the heart of matters: "It's the same shit they been gettin', man: Raw dog, no condom, straight in the ass, real" This dog's day has arrived. Get at DMX.
Lately he's been away for a while, writing a book "E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX"(with Smokey D. Fontaine), making a movie "Cradle 2 The Grave"(with martial-arts star Jet Li) and working on his fifth album "It's Not A Game", which was originally slated for a fall 2002 realease.
DMX has been married for 13 years to his wife Tashera Simmons. They have three sons: Xavier, Tacoma and Shawn.
Anyone that knows Edsel Dope, knows one of two people--one of the hardest working artists in the music industry, or a complete mental case who's probably dropped his pants in front of you and screamed, "Touch it, you know you want to..." Either way, one thing is for certain--he's one of a kind, and is the visionary behind one of the most explosive and underrated acts in music. Dope--Edsel, guitarist Virus, bassist Sloane "Mosey" Jentry, and drummer Racci Shay--are more than a dreadlocked rock band with industrial roots, they're four combustible personalities that combine Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction, with a modern edge that recalls Motley Crue's eagerness to "Shout At The Devil." At the helm of the madness, Edsel Dope fronts the band with all the piss and vinegar of the New York City streets his band was founded on, brilliance and arrogance rolled into one tightly wound powder keg, primed to explode at any moment.
With the release of Group Therapy, the band's third album, the keg is packed, the fuse is lit, and Dope are hell-bent on making their loudest statement to date. Released on their own Recon Records, and partnered with Artemis Records, the album takes listeners on a journey into a realm where music is more than a catchy radio single or a hi-definition video with little sonic-boom to back it up. Group Therapy offers thirteen tracks that run the gamut from the frenetic pacing of "Paranoia" and the scalding surge of "Burn," to the more emotive and melody-driven "Another Day Goes By" and "Sing," encompassing everything we've come to expect from the band's previous releases, while stretching their extremes throughout. "On the lighter stuff, it remained lighter, but not as dark. The lighter stuff on the last record was still a little dark," says the frontman. "We did mix it up a bit, though. With a song like 'Now Is The Time,' that's one of the heaviest songs on the record, but it's got a three-part harmony in the chorus. Or a song like 'I Am'--that's really singable, but I'm screaming, 'Fuck you, I am what I am' throughout the song. We kind of just did what we wanted to do this time, and wrote songs that we thought made sense with what was going on in my head, while putting a good foot forward for the band both musically and conceptually--it's dreadlocks, mohawks, melodies and metal."
While the seismic assault of the music is enough to rattle anyone's foundation, it's Dope's vision that sends the band careening past their contemporaries. While the band's said dreadlocks and mohawks do their fair share in contributing to the band's rock 'n' roll image, style is just the tip of the iceberg when the frontman hails his band's visual dynamic. "I don't know that it's important in the big scheme, but it's very important to me," he says of his band's image. "It's not important to me in that image is the way we look, it's more in the way that the band is represented. It doesn't stop at the fact that I have dreadlocks or dress a certain way, it goes into the way your record looks when you open it up and go through the artwork, and your website, and your stage--it's all part of the package, and it's very important for me to go above and beyond the call of duty to put forth an entertaining spectacle for my fans."
Hence his eagerness to turn Group Therapy into a multi-faceted listening experience, a musical adventure that captures not only the essence of the band's music, but also of their live spectacle and visual overload. "Watch the album," declares the band's namesake, and he's put his money where his mouth his, producing a full-length music video for each of the album's thirteen tracks, and including the videos on the album release. "This never would have been possible without starting our own label," claims Edsel. "The major labels have a specific format that they're used to following and they don't think outside the box. I wanted to break all the rules this time and provide an overload of content, while showing everyone that you don't have to jack up the price to do so." This multi-media onslaught will sell for $12.98, far less than the band's previous major label release which contained no multi-media section at all. "This band has never just been about listening. I like the idea that this band makes you want to speed while you're driving down the road, because it makes you feel adrenalized, but I also like the idea that while you're sitting on your laptop, emailing and IMing your friends, you can pop the Dope record in and watch it while you're listening to it. That's image. That's what's important to us, to put forth an entire, well-rounded package. That's what makes me happy and makes me feel good, because we've worked hard to make all this happen. If it doesn't sell five copies, will I care? Of course I'll care, but at the same time, I know it's fucking killer, and if you don't get it, that's just too fucking bad..."
"Especially on this album, there are very broad scopes of where this band can go, and that's been the goal ever since we got deemed a one-trick pony on the first record, when no one wanted to talk about the music, they just wanted to talk about my Dope image and the fact that I used to sell drugs," continues the frontman. "So making this record, unlike the last one, it was just me and my band--mainly my guitar player "Virus" , really--sitting in a room. We made the decisions, and it's only been the decision of me, Virus, and the band around us that made this album come to fruition. This record was done in a real old-school Dope way--a couple of guys sitting around in a bedroom with a bong, some beer, and lots and lots of hours...Because of that, I think it's a dirtier record, and it's more of a fun record to play live. Dope's always going to be about a raunchy, dirty groove, but I think nowadays we need to push ourselves to make that groove a little smarter than it was five years ago. I feel like we've combined the spirit of Appetite For Destruction and G'N'R's Lies into one record--we've got 'Patience,' and we've got 'Welcome To The Jungle.' There's something for everyone on this record, and once you get invited into our world, you usually stay in it. There aren't a lot of people who see Dope live, whether we're headlining or opening for someone else, who don't like Dope's music or Dope's live show. There might be people that don't like me, but that's not the point," the singer says with a laugh.
The point is, with Dope, we've got a band that embraces and epitomizes everything that isn't wrong with the music industry in 21st Century. Instead of making excuses, they've taken action, and instead of pointing fingers, they raise their middle ones. "We've just taken back that state of mind that this band has had since the beginning," says Edsel. "We're in control of our own destiny, and we're not going to let anyone else change that." And whether you love them or hate them, for that, you've got to respect them. While the rest of the music industry cries about how things used to be, Dope are stepping to the forefront and showing people how it should be.
Don't be scared, a little Group Therapy never hurt anyone…
Promoe (Mårten Edh) is a Swedish emcee, and member of Swedish hip-hop group, Looptroop Rockers. Promoe has released three albums and quite a few 12”s. Promoe’s albums to date are: Government Music, Long Distance Runner, and White Man’s Burden. The label is Looptroops own, David versus Goliath (DvsG), which is distributed through Burning Heart. Soundism has given their sound treatment to most of Promoe’s recent releases.
Promoe got regonition from the first of the albums but increasingly so with the second album, which made the charts properly, in Sweden and worldwide.
The lyrics have always been political, though slightly shifting in nature.
Government Music, with its cover art borrowing from the the legacy of Aleksandr Rodchenko, and a song bearing ode to the Orwellian George Lucas motion picture THX 1138.
Long Distance Runner, where Promoe started to get heavily into a more ethical perspective with him clad in a big white dress on the album cover and moving the focus a bit to also include subjects such as abstinence from drugs and alcohol.
White Man’s Burden, borrowing it’s title from Kipling’s poem with the same name deals in great detail with contradictory nature of being a white rapping/toasting rasta like artist recording in Jamaica and at the same time being conscious of subjects such as feminism and racism.
Mining Israelian Goa trance of its hottest intensities, Infected Mushroom remain one of the Middle East's biggest international cult successes. Erez Aizen's cheap background in obsessed bedroom computer tinkering had led him into and out of a number of crude dance efforts, and when a mutual friend suggested he should get together with Amit Duvdevani, a trash metal fan who had just returned from an aborted career path in India, the two found enough in common to surreptitiously explore the rising psychedelic trends pouring out the nation's clubs. The results -- 1998's The Gathering, which was heavily inspired by the surreal ambient dance of Simon Posford, X-Dream, and Transwave, and 2000's Classical Mushroom, an aggressively melodic trance LP that broke the European, Japanese, and American markets -- elevated Infected Mushroom to one of Israel's key trance producing duos.
In the year 1991 A.D., Type O Negative arose from the decaying remains of the neo-barbaric thermonuclear warriors known as Carnivore. Together once again were bassist/vocalist Peter Steele and keyboardist Josh Silver, who had not stood on the same stage since the death of Fallout. This time, they were joined by guitarist Kenny Hickey and drummer Sal Abruscato. Their first release was 1991's Slow Deep & Hard, an angry cry from Peter Steele to the cold world. I don't care what anyone says, I love this album and it's quite possibly their greatest. Steele's lyrical contents included such topics as infidelity, public opinions, women [big surprise], suicide, and more. With most bands, the first album gets to be real boring after a while or in some cases is the worst talent-wise; but I could say no such things about this album.
One year later, the band supposedly recorded live at Brighton Beach, the release was titled The Origin of the Feces [with quite an appropriate cover, it's out of print now...for obvious reasons; what a shame!]. Just so you know, this album is not a live record. In fact, that's a pretty well-known thing by now. Obviously, this is why the original version said NOT LIVE AT BRIGHTON BEACH at the bottom of the cover. The band was asked to do a live album by Roadrunner, and to save money they recorded in a studio and put the voices/crowd in afterwards... is that genius, or what? Frontman Steele did all the talking, and between the songs it was made quite clear that Peter had a personality to match his ominous stature and angry lyrics as he threw insults back at the rude crowd.
Tough guy, he's even been stabbed (probably more than once). Half-way into the show, as they led from "Gravity" into "Pain" [part of "Prelude to Agony"], Peter got word of a bomb threat [heh heh] and asked the crowd to leave the club. Obviously, the show eventualy continued. Personally, I used to prefer this album over the previous one because the "live" cuts of the songs seemed so much kooler, but lately I have been listening again to the original Slow Deep & Hard material more.
Somewhere between The Origin of the Feces and 1993's Bloody Kisses, Peter was transformed. I don't mean to speak on behalf of him, but the musical style and lyrical content began to shift. The songs became more tragic, and Peter's anger was diminishing as he became more like a victim with a broken heart than the enraged man he was. The band's first big hits were from this release. "Black Number One" and "Christian Woman" [both with videos] finally got Peter and company on the airwaves...of course, it took a great deal of censoring first [on account of lengths and content of the songs]. Unfortunately, drummer Sal Abruscato split with the band to join Life Of Agony; a venture he obviously saw as more profitable [his loss]. Johnny Kelly fell off a bar stool and took over drums for the Bloody Kisses shows. The Lords of Flatbush finally made it big; and toured with such bands as Motley Crue, Nine Inch Nails, God Lives Underwater, Queensyche, and other bands.
Another version of Bloody Kisses was released...this time in digipak [cardboard] version with a bonus track "Suspended in Dusk." Not only was an extra song added, but a few were cut such as the ingenius "We Hate Everyone" and many little non-musical bits which were scattered between the tracks on the previous version such as "Machine Skrew" and "Fay Wray Come Out and Play." Luckily, I stumbled upon an import from Germany called Live, Rare, & Hard which had "Suspended in Dusk," perverse/humorous version of "Summer Breeze," the radio edits of "Black No. 1" and "Christian Woman," and some live Carnivore material.
[supposedly there are only 300 copies of this release in existence, don't ask me how I got lucky enough to get one]. The Origin of the Feces was also re-released with a new cover [obviously the old one was not suitable especially since circulation of this album to record stores increased, too bad] and a bonus track, Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," however it has a touch of "Iron Man" in it too.
After plenty of touring, Type O Negative released October Rust in 1996. It was a long-awaited follow-up to Bloody Kisses...and far from a disappointment! The material on October Rust is a far cry from any Carnivore material [well except for "The Glorious Liberation of the People's Technocratic Republic of Vinnland by the Combined Forces of Europa" which might fit on a Carnivore album if it were 'roughed up' a bit].
Type O Negative's sound may have fully-matured with this latest release. It's very romantik music in a dark way. There's still some sarcasm mixed in there...would it be a Type O Negative release without it?? October Rust subjects the listener's mind to tragedy, romance, deviance, and darkness. So far there are two videos: "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend" and "Love You To Death"... although I have not seen MGG yet. Type O fans, please don't sit around waiting for MTV to play them. Since the release of October Rust, i have become fairly disenchanted with the album. For some reason, it didn't hold my interests the way their other releases have.
Fortunately, the Fall of 1999 brought with it the release of Type O Negative's fifth album, World Coming Down. This album is everything that October Rust should have been. World Coming Down is Type O Negative's sound, aged to perfection. The band returns to their riff-oriented, deep, droaning style. Steel, Silver, & Company have put together a masterpiece of tragedy. It seems apparent that Peter is going through a difficult and lonely time in his life, which may be unfortunate for him, but it does wonders for their sound. This album even includes some short, mysterious interludes; however i would have liked to hear something more abstract, much like the short bits done on Bloody Kisses or even S,D,&H's "The Glass Walls of Limbo" but every album has it's own theme, i suppose.
The most apparent theme to World Coming Down seems to be the tragic and empty feeling of loss. Let's face it, it's pretty obvious with songs like "Everyone I Love is Dead" and "Everything Dies"... but despite the tragic nature of this album, the sound is very bright and powerful. Songs such as "Who Will Save the Sane", "Creepy Green Light" have some kind of bright charisma to them, though it's difficult to put a finger on it. The band grooves out on "Pyretta Blaze" and "Daytripper." Overall, the album has a sophisticated melancholy to it. If Type O's world is truly coming down, the world has never seen such a great, green blaze of glory.
If you get a chance to see the band live, I suggest you take advanatge as they put on quite a show. No, they don't wear giant halloween costumes or spit fake blood everywhere or have sacrifices on stage...as Peter puts it "We're one of the most uncool bands around." As you can imagine, the band has quite a stage presence, not just because Pete and Josh tower on the stage. I give them lots of credit for their minimal, but effective decoration... my favorite of which being the twilight forest canvas backdrop, not to mention their instruments sprayed flat-black with green frets. The show is just unbelievable, especially to those who are obsessed with their music ...like I used to be. Yes, i have finally grown up a bit, I guess. But seriously, in my opinion, Type O Negative is one of the greatest real bands that are left .
