Ashtech

Last updated

Ashtech
Birth nameAndrea Nicoletti
Born (1973-12-15) December 15, 1973 (age 45)
Genres Dub music
Electronica
Dubstep
Occupation(s)Record producer, bassist, musician, remixer, DJ
InstrumentsBass guitar, synthesizer, music programming, turntables
Years active1996–present
Labels Interchill Records, RareNoise, Sony BMG
Website ashtech.org

Ashtech (born Andrea Nicoletti, December 15, 1973, Italy) is an Italian producer, bass player and solo artist. His style combines original dub and urban electronica and it is characterised by the flavor of his heavy dubby bassline which features in all of his productions. Ashtech's recent work, primarily 'Walkin Target', released in 2007 on Interchill Records Involving input from fellow producer Gaudi and vocalist Cheshire Cat (Leftfield), was very well received by the UK and US electronica/dub scene. He has appeared at festivals such as Glade (UK) – Electric Picnic (Ireland) – Eclipse Festival – Waveform Festival (UK).

Dub is a genre of electronic music that grew out of reggae in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae. The style consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually through the removal of vocals, emphasis of the rhythm section, the application of studio effects such as echo and reverb, and the occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works. It was an early form of popular electronic music.

Electronica encompasses a broad group of electronic-based styles such as techno, house, ambient, jungle and other electronic music styles intended not just for dancing.

Bassline

A bassline is the term used in many styles of music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic, traditional music, or classical music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, cello, tuba or keyboard. In unaccompanied solo performance, basslines may simply be played in the lower register of any instrument such as guitar or piano while melody and/or further accompaniment is provided in the middle or upper register. In solo music for piano and pipe organ, these instruments have an excellent lower register that can be used to play a deep bassline. On organs, the bass line is typically played using the pedal keyboard and massive 16' and 32' bass pipes.

Contents

Early career

His first steps in music were originally as a DJ, approaching electronica and developing a passion for experimental music. Ashtech became an established figure in the Italian mainstream music scene, collaborating with many artists, both as a producer and as a composer, on a total of 14 albums, three of which with Almamegretta (4/4, IMAGINARIA, and Venite Venite) under BMG record label. His five-year collaboration with Almamegretta saw him touring extensively in Italy and Europe and sharing the stage with acts such as Tricky, The Wailers, Erykah Badu, Mory Kante, Compay Segundo, Groove Armada and Asian Dub Foundation. [1]

Almamegretta Italian band

Almamegretta are a SKA /rap/dub/world/reggae group from Naples, Italy. Their lyrics are in Napoletano. Their music became quite successful, leading to remix work for Massive Attack. Adrian Sherwood also remixed their album "Sanacore".

Tricky (musician) British rapper and record producer

Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws, better known by his stage name Tricky, is an English record producer, rapper and actor. Born and raised in Bristol, he began his career as an early collaborator of Massive Attack before embarking on a solo career with his debut album, Maxinquaye, in 1995. The release won Tricky popular acclaim and marked the beginning of a lengthy collaborative partnership with vocalist Martina Topley-Bird. He released four more studio albums before the end of the decade, including Pre-Millennium Tension and the pseudonymous Nearly God, both in 1996. He has gone on to release eight studio albums since 2000, most recently Ununiform (2017).

Erykah Badu American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress from Texas

Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Badu's career began after opening a show for D'Angelo in 1994 in Fort Worth; record label executive Kedar Massenburg was highly impressed with her performance and signed her to Kedar Entertainment. Her first album, Baduizm, was released in February 1997. It spawned three singles: "On & On", "Next Lifetime" and "Otherside of the Game". The album was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her first live album, Live, was released in November 1997 and was certified double Platinum by the RIAA.

WOP

During his last year in Italy, Ashtech collaborated with Raiz (Almamegretta's historical voice) on his first album, WOP for Universal Records and he produced the single "Wop". During the Wop tour, Ashtech decided to move to London in order to access the innovative music industry there.

"With Me"

After moving to London, Ashtech released "With Me" for the compilation album, The Dream Temple (Millennim Records), "Dub Hypnosis" for the album Continvvm Em:t Records, and "Earth Orbit" for the dub compilation Sub Signals Interchill Records. He also released his debut solo album Walkin Target, produced by Gaudi (musician) for Interchill Records. The album included four tracks featuring the vocal stylings of Cheshire Cat from Leftfield. [2]

A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set. If from several performers, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album. When the tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology.

Em:t Records was a British record label, based in Nottingham, which specialized in ambient electronic music. They were active from 1994 to 1998, and after a period of bankruptcy, re-established themselves in 2003 under new ownership and management. In summer 2006, the label officially ceased operations again.

Interchill Records is a Canadian independent record label specializing in downtempo/electronica music. Founded in Montreal, Quebec in 1995 by Andrew Ross Collins, Interchill got its start in the multi-sensory chill rooms of the early rave scene in Montreal. Originally launched to showcase and export Canadian ambient music to the rest of the world, the record label grew from a string of EPs to the seminal compilation 'Northern Circuits' and on to encompass music from producers around the planet. Now, after 19 years in operation and 51 albums in its catalogue, the label has soundly established itself as a key player in the downtempo electronic scene and is known worldwide for releasing hi-fidelity music that lasts. With a focus on 'organic electronica for expanding minds', Interchill maintains diversity while drawing a continuous thread through a wide variety of sounds and styles, bringing together the cutting-edge in dub, world-fusion, psy-chill, ambient, lounge and all points between. Over the years, Interchill has released albums from artists around the world like Eat Static, Mauxuam, Kaya Project, Gaudi, Ashtech, Adham Shaikh, Ishq, Pushmipulyu, Grouch (NZ) and Liquid Stranger.

Meditronica

His next album was released in 2007. After remixing Raiz's album for Universal Records, he produced the new dub project Meditronica, written in collaboration with Polcari, Dub Gabriel, Raiz and Eraldo Bernocchi. [3]

Eraldo Bernocchi is an Italian guitarist, producer, and sound designer.

Meditronica was released worldwide in March 2009 on the London-based label, RareNoise. [4]

Discography

Compilation albums

Productions and projects

Related Research Articles

Leftfield Band

Leftfield is a British electronic music group formed in 1989. It began as the duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley. In January 2010 Barnes resurrected Leftfield without Daley and, after touring for a few years, finished writing new material for a third album entitled Alternative Light Source. Daley declined to be involved and is focusing upon his solo career.

Twilight Circus is the dub and reggae project of multi-instrumentalist Ryan Moore, former bassist and drummer of the Legendary Pink Dots. Twilight Circus is becoming increasingly popular and well known for Moore's work with artists such as Big Youth, Michael Rose of Black Uhuru and Ranking Joe. He originally started off producing dub albums, before recording vocalists for inclusion on his critically acclaimed Foundation Rockers album. In the classic tradition of reggae, Moore releases 10" vinyl record singles, often in limited edition.

These Boots Are Made for Walkin Song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by Nancy Sinatra

"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No. 1 in the United States Billboard Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart.

Natalia Lafourcade Mexican singer

María Natalia Lafourcade Silva is a Mexican pop-rock singer and songwriter who since her debut in 2003 has been one of the most successful singers in the pop rock scene in Latin America. Lafourcade's voice has been categorized to have the potential of becoming a lyric soprano if she would have pursued a career in opera.

Ott is a British record producer and musician who has worked with Sinéad O'Connor, Embrace, The Orb, and Brian Eno, and has achieved recognition since 2002 for his own psychedelic dub tracks and his collaborations with Simon Posford. He has released two albums on Twisted Records: Blumenkraft (2003), Skylon (2008) and two albums on Ottsonic: Mir (2011) and Fairchildren (2015).

Mad Professor Guyanese reggae singer

Mad Professor is a British national dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music's second generation and was instrumental in transitioning dub into the digital age. He has collaborated with reggae artists such as Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly and Robbie, Pato Banton, Jah Shaka and Horace Andy, as well as artists outside the realm of traditional reggae and dub, such as Sade, Massive Attack, The Orb, Gaudi, the Brazilian DJ Marcelinho da lua, Grace Jones, and Perry Farrel.

Sean Kelly is a Canadian musician living in Toronto, currently playing guitar with Nelly Furtado and Lee Aaron. He founded the Toronto-based glam rock band Crash Kelly, and is the band's lead singer and guitarist. Kelly was a member of Canadian rock band Helix, playing bass guitar. He stayed with them for most of 2009 at which time joined Furtado's band on guitar. He is also guitarist for the Toronto rock group 69 Duster, which he co-founded with the ex-singer for Images in Vogue, Dale Martindale. He has done session guitar work for other bands as well, including Neil Leyton's 2003 album, Midnight Sun, and was a member of Jeff Pearce's band Rye. Kelly has also collaborated with Gilby Clarke, Rough Trade, Rudy Sarzo, Coney Hatch, and Canadian Brass.

Infusion (band)

Infusion were an Australian electronica band, originally from Wollongong which formed in 1995. They are best known for their ARIA Music Award winning song "Girls Can Be Cruel" and Six Feet Above Yesterday.

<i>Planeta Paulina</i> 1996 studio album by Paulina Rubio

Planeta Paulina is the fourth studio album by Mexican singer Paulina Rubio. It was first released by EMI Latin on 3 September 1996, and distributed in 22 countrys all around the world months later. The singer asserted partial creative control over the project taking as a co-producer and composer to the material and was assisted by various musicians and producers, namely K.C. Porter, Rodolfo Castillo, Cesar Lemos, Cesar Valle, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger.

Pier Paolo Polcari is an Italian musician. He is a keyboard player, composer and producer.

Earl Sixteen is a reggae singer whose career began in the mid-1970s.

Gaudi (musician) Italian composer

Daniele Gaudi is an Anglo-Italian musician, composer, record producer and solo artist, born 12 July 1963 in Bologna, he lives and operates in London since 1995. Dub, electronica, Reggae and worldbeat are the music genres that primarily surface in his 17 solo albums and his music productions since the beginning of his career in 1981.

Mikhail Tarasov, better known by his stage name Svoy, is an American producer/writer/artist for Universal Music Group in the genre of pop/electronica. He has ten self-produced albums released via Mack Avenue Records/Sony Music Entertainment formerly known as Rendezvous Entertainment belonging to multi Grammy-nominated RIAA Gold-certified musician/media mogul Dave Koz and legendary radio chief executive/record producer Frank Cody, P-Vine Records/Blues Interactions, Thistime Records and Songs of Universal/Universal Music Group, Inc., respectively.

Martin Stääf, aka Liquid Stranger, is a Swedish-born electronic musician, described by Generation Bass as "the epitome of Transnational Dubstep covering everything from Latin, Asian, Eastern European and Jamaican Dancehall dubs." Martin Stääf is known for his experimental approach to composition where he merges genres to create a unique style of music. Martin Woods of Chillbase describes Liquid Stranger's music as a "unique blend of Ambience, Big Band Jazz, Dubstep and Psychedelica drizzled over electronic Dub Reggae grooves." Stääf lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Bochum Welt is the stage name of the Italian electronic musician Gianluigi Di Costanzo. The name Bochum Welt is a combination of the German word for "world" (welt) and the name of a high-powered astral telescope.

Liquor Store Blues

"Liquor Store Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars for his debut studio album Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010), featuring vocals by Jamaican artist Damian Marley. It was released as the first promotional single from the record, on September 21, 2010 by Elektra Records in the United States; while in the rest of the world it was liberated by Warner Entertainment Group (WEG). "Liquor Store Blues" is a reggae track with dub influences written by Mars, Phillip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Dwayne Chin-Quee, Mitchum Chin Damian Marley and Thomas Pentz, known professionally as Diplo. It was produced by the former three, under their alias, The Smeezingtons and Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee. Musically, "Liquor Store Blues" has been described as borrowing "heavily from roots reggae" and from dub sounds, while lyrically it addresses a way of avoiding problems by drinking with hope that afterwards everything will be fine.

<i>Passione</i> (2010 film) 2010 documentary film directed by John Turturro

Passione is a 2010 documentary film directed by John Turturro. It was filmed on location in Naples, Italy. The film was released in the United States in June 2011.

References

  1. ↑ "Music – Reviews – webzine niceup". Niceup.org.nz. 2005. Archived from the original on February 2, 2008. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Billboard". 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Ashtech". Discogs.com. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Rarenoise Records". Rarenoiserecods.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.