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Moby
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August 6th, 2010Moby
Richard Melville Hall, better known as Moby, is an American DJ, singer-songwriter and musician.Born 11th September 1965 in Harlem, New York City and raised in Darien, Connecticut, Moby started playing the classical guitar, piano and drums when he was nine years old. At seventeen he joined the hardcore punk band Vatican Commandoes, who released three EPs before disbanding in 1985, and this was followed by stints with the post-punk group AWOL (who released a self-titled debut album in 1983) and the alternative rock group Ultra Vivid Scene. However, he soon decided to continue as a solo performer under the name Moby (a reference to the fact he is related to the Moby Dick author Herman Melville – also the reason for his middle name).
Moby eventually signed with Instinct Records in 1990 and released a number of singles, including the UK Top 10 hit Go and the Top 40 single I Feel It/Thousand, along with albums Moby and Ambient. During this time Moby also produced remixes for artists like The Prodigy, Erasure and Michael Jackson.
After signing for the major label Mute Records in 1993, Moby scored a hit with the single Move (You Make Me Feel So Good). This was followed by the albums Everything Is Wrong, which included the UK Top 30 singles Feeling So Real and Everytime You Touch Me and was named Album of the Year by Spin magazine, and the 1996 follow-up album Animal Rights, including the single Come on Baby.
However, it was 1999’s Play that really launched Moby into the mainstream. Released in May 1999, the album shot to number one on the UK Albums Chart and sold over ten million copies worldwide – making it the bestselling electronica album of all time. It was also critically acclaimed and produced nine singles, including the UK Top 20 hits Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, Natural Blues and Porcelain.
Since then, Moby has released a further four studio albums, selling millions of copies worldwide and producing hits like We Are All Made of Stars, Extreme Ways, In This World (ft. Jennifer Price), Lift Me Up and New York, New York (ft. Debbie Harry). He is currently working on his tenth studio album, which he says will be more acoustic and less electronic than recent releases.
Tags: DJ, Extreme Ways, hardcore punk, I Feel It, In This World, Moby, Vatican Commandoes, We Are All Made of Stars -
July 19th, 2010David Guetta
David Guetta is a renowned French electro house music producer and DJ.Born 7th November 1967 in Paris, France, Guetta began DJing in his mid-teens. Although initially playing just pop music, he developed a passion for electro after listening to a track by Farley Jackmaster Funk. He produced a number of club singles during the 1990s, including Nation Rap with Sidney Duteil and Up & Away with Robert Owens, but didn’t enjoy mainstream success until the turn of the century.
In 2000, Guetta founded Gum Productions with his friend and collaborator Joachim Garraud, and set about producing his debut studio album. Just a Little More Love was released on 10th June 2002 and the title single was a minor hit, appearing on the soundtrack to the 2004 British film The Football Factory. The DJ’s second album, 2004’s Guetta Blaster, brought him even more attention and produced three hit singles: Money (ft. Chris Willis and Moné), Stay (ft. Chris Willis) and The World Is Mine (ft. JD Davis).
Guetta achieved more notable mainstream success with the release of his third studio album in 2007. Pop Life reached number two in the French charts and produced the UK Top 10 hit Love Is Gone (ft. Chris Willis), as well as the follow-up singles Baby When the Light (ft. Cozi Costi), Delirious (ft. Tara McDonald), Tomorrow Can Wait and Everytime We Touch.
However, it was 2009’s One Love that made Guetta into an international star. The album sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide and received three Grammy Award nominations. It spawned three UK number one singles – When Love Takes Over (ft. Kelly Rowland), Gettin’ Over (ft. Chris Willis, Fergie and LMFAO) and Sexy Bitch (ft. Akon) – as well as the Top 40 hits Memories (ft. Kid Cudi) and One Love (ft. Estelle).
In 2009, Guetta also produced the US number one smash hit single I Gotta Feeling for the Black Eyed Peas – which has since gone on to become the fifth most successful single in international music history.
Tags: David Guetta, DJ, electro, French, house, producer -
July 10th, 2010Fatboy Slim
Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim, is an English DJ, musician and record producer, credited with bringing electronic dance into the mainstream during the 1990s.Born Quentin Leo Cook in Reigate, Surrey on 31st July 1963, the musician landed his first job – as a drummer for the British new wave rock band Disque Attack – in his mid-teens. He studied at Brighton Polytechnic and developed his DJ-ing skills in the thriving Brighton club scene, before joining The Housemartins in 1985. The band gave Cook his first taste of success, as they produced seven UK Top 40 hits, including the number three single Happy Hour and the number one smash hit Caravan of Love.
The hits continued with Cook’s next two group projects, Beats International and Freak Power, who scored the UK Top 5 songs Dub Be Good to Me and Turn On Tune In Cop Out respectively. After enjoying such success with three different groups, Cook decided to go solo under the pseudonym Fatboy Slim.
His debut solo album Better Living Through Chemistry was released in 1996. It produced his first Top 40 hit Everybody Needs a 303 and the single Going Out of My Head. This was followed by his second album, 1998’s You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby – Cook’s most successful record to date. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and hit the Top 40 in the US (where it sold over a million copies), and also spawned four UK Top 10 singles – The Rockafeller Skank, Gangster Trippin, Praise You and Right Here, Right Now . In 2000, it was voted as one of Q magazine’s 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
Since the turn of the century, Cook has released four more studio albums – Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, Palookaville, I Think We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat and Here Lies Love – which have sold millions of copies around the world. They have also produced a number of hit singles, including Sunset (Bird of Prey), Weapon of Choice, Slash Dot Dash and Wonderful Night.
Cook is currently performing on the European music festival circuit.
Tags: Disque Attack, DJ, English, Fatboy Slim, Norman Cook -
