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DJ Swamp | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Ronald K. Keys Jr. |
Born | 1967 (age 56–57) Cleveland, Ohio, US |
Origin | Cleveland, Ohio, US |
Genres | Hip hop, electronic |
Occupation | Disc jockey, |
Instrument(s) | Turntables, vocals, Sampling |
Years active | 1996–present |
Labels | Decadent Guidance Sesame Workshop Records Warner Bros. 20th Records |
Website | djswamp |
Ronald K. Keys Jr. aka DJ Swamp is an American hip hop DJ, turntablist, producer and vocalist. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He currently resides in Los Angeles, United States. In 1996, he won the title of US DMC Champion, his first year entering the tournament. Swamp toured with Beck for four years and later broke away into a solo career with his release "Never is Now" in 2001. Alternative Press gave "Never is Now" an 8/10 rating. [1]
His follow-up, a drum 'n' bass EP, Instruments of Torture, was recorded with Jack Dangers of Meat Beat Manifesto. Vinyl Disciple produced several music videos, including four 3D music videos. The music video for "The Leaders will Follow" is the first music video to incorporate 3D video scratching. [2] [ failed verification ] His music video for "Rock Rollin'" features Dave England of Jackass fame.
DJ Swamp has produced several DJ tools that are considered standards, including "skip-proof" records, which have the same sample repeated over and over so that if the needle is bumped it will land in the same sample.
DJ Swamp's scratch at the beginning of The Crystal Method track "Name of the Game" is one of his most recognizable scratches. The song is featured in several films, including Tropic Thunder . [3]
DJ Swamp released a new single in 2021 "Wearin' My Mask"
In 1996, as a first time entry, he won the DMC US DJ Championship. He ended his set using pitch manipulation to play Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water", followed by him smashing his records. [4]
After winning the 1996 US DMC Championships, Swamp found himself still driving a street sweeper for a living in Ohio. He was making calls looking for gigs and a chance to break into the music scene full-time when he heard Beck was going to be in town. He formulated a plan to pose as a reporter and slip in a demo of him mixing and scratching Beck's tracks. He waited for Beck all day but never got to meet him. He did, however, give his demo tape to Beck's publicist. A few weeks later Beck called Swamp and he joined the tour as Beck's DJ. The two toured together for four years. [5]
From 2016–2018 DJ Swamp toured as a member of the band Ministry.
After years of touring with Beck, DJ Swamp released his first album, "Never is Now", which was supported by the successful single "Worship the Robots." The song featured Simple Text voice Fred as the rapper. The text application vocals were chopped up and manipulated to make it more like rap than just spoken text. Also on the album was "Disintegrator" which was featured in the movie "Orgazmo" and appeared on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.
As a solo artist DJ Swamp has opened for such artists as Daft Punk, The Prodigy, Bassnectar, Nero, The Crystal Method, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Mix Master Mike, Datsik, Diesel Boy, Outkast, Fuel, Method Man and Redman.
Swamp has built a loyal following around the world appearing in festivals, rock shows, hip-hop shows and even raves. His stage performance consists of him Mixing, Scratching, Magic Tricks and even Emceeing. Crowds are often overwhelmed by his stage presence, heavy bass sound, crowd interaction and give-a-ways.
DJ Swamp's scratching can be heard throughout the movie Thirteen which won an Academy Award and was the first movie for director Catherine Hardwicke of Twilight fame. He was featured in the DJ documentary Scratch and the motion picture Clockstoppers .
In 1996 DJ Swamp formed Decadent Records, which allowed him to distribute his scratch tools vinyl and digital releases. Under this label he invented several DJ tools that are considered standards, including his infamous "skip-proof scratch tool" records which have the same sample repeated over and over in a straight line so that if the needle is bumped it will land on the same sample. A technique that has been copied by most battle breaks and scratch records and are a staple in many turntablist sets.
DJ Swamp has become the go to man for studio scratching in Los Angeles and has appeared on songs by Beck, The Crystal Method, Vanilla Ice, Katy Perry, Supreme Beings of Leisure, Ben Folds, Belinda, Oblivion Dust, Kid Rock, Twiztid, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, Hanson, The Bloodhound Gang, Morcheeba, The Dandy Warhols, R. L. Burnside, Faithless, OPM, Devo, Save Ferris, Say Anything, Dust Brothers, Kool Keith, Sticky Fingaz, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Death Grips and Better Than Ezra.
In 2017, the band Ministry announced him as a new member of the band.[ citation needed ]
ABC In Concert, The Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Jools Holland, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, MuchMusic, Farmclub.com, MTV Awards, TFI Friday, ESPN's Summer X Games 2000, ESPN /ABC Winter X Games 2001, and Top of the Pops.
He has been featured in Rolling Stone , Spin , Subculture , Ray Gun , Mean , DJ Times, Keyboard , Mix , Los Angeles Times , and URB .
As a professional DJ he has been featured in songs for major artists. [6]
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK garage styles.
Faithless are an English dance music band that formed in 1995, with its core members being Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. Their first album, Reverence, was released in 1996 and their most recent, All Blessed, in 2020. They have sold millions of physical records, and their catalogue was uploaded to streaming sites in 2018. They average almost 3 million listeners a month on Spotify. Faithless' records have charted at No. 1 in numerous countries and they were voted the 4th greatest dance band of all time by Mixmag.
Maxwell Alexander Fraser, better known by his stage name Maxi Jazz, was a British musician, rapper, singer, songwriter and DJ. He was the lead vocalist of British electronic band Faithless from 1995 to 2011 and 2015 to 2016.
Ayalah Deborah Bentovim, better known by her stage name Sister Bliss, is a British keyboardist, record producer, DJ and songwriter. In the studio, she is best known for her work with Rollo Armstrong as one half of the production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss, and particularly as part of Faithless.
Community Service is a continuous mix album released by American electronic dance music duo The Crystal Method. It features remixes of Crystal Method songs, remixes created by The Crystal Method, and songs from other artists. Remixed songs from popular bands Garbage, P.O.D., and Rage Against the Machine make appearances and the final track contains voice samples from The Matrix. A follow-up album, Community Service II, was released with a subsequent tour in 2005.
Tweekend is the second studio album by American electronic music duo the Crystal Method, released on July 31, 2001, by Outpost Recordings and Geffen Records. The album title is derived from the demise of the West Coast rave scene in the late 1990s and 2000s.
Zach Sciacca, better known as DJ Z-Trip, is an American DJ and producer. He is a pioneer of the mashup movement.
"Silence" is a song by Canadian electronic music group Delerium featuring Canadian singer and co-writer Sarah McLachlan, first released as a single in May 1999. Over the years, its remixes have been hailed as one of the greatest trance songs of all time, over two decades after its initial release. The Tiësto remix of the song was voted by Mixmag readers as the 12th-greatest dance record of all time.
A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audio players or computer sound cards, sometimes with the addition of samplers and effects units, although it is possible to create one using sound editing software.
"A Neverending Dream" is a 1996 song by German group X-Perience, released as the second single from their debut album, Magic Fields (1996). It charted in Germany, Hungary and Switzerland and was the band's biggest hit. The song entered the German Singles Chart at number 91, went to number four in October/November 1996, and spent over 18 weeks in the charts. Over 350,000 copies of the singles were sold in Germany and the single was eventually certified Gold. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "A Neverending Dream" peaked at number 29 in December 1996. A music video was also produced to promote the single.
"Mixed Bizness" is a song by American musician Beck. It was released as the second single from his 1999 album Midnite Vultures. Released in 2000, the CD single included five non-album tracks/remixes. It peaked at number 34 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was featured in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle and American Dad. The primary drum beat heard throughout the track is a sample from “Honky Tonk Women” by The Rolling Stones.
"Mope" is a song by American comedy rock band Bloodhound Gang, released in September 2000 as the fourth single from their third studio album Hooray for Boobies. The song contains numerous samples such as "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco, "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica, the Pac-Man theme song, and Homer Simpson shouting "holy macaroni" from the "Treehouse of Horror VI" episode of The Simpsons. A music video for the single was released in June 2000.
"Name of the Game" is the first single from The Crystal Method's second studio album, Tweekend. Despite the popularity of the song, The Crystal Method almost never play it live. The track features guitars by Tom Morello, vocals by Ryan "Ryu" Maginn, and scratching by DJ Swamp; it also contains samples from "Calling All Freaks" (1974) by Tina Dixon. The song enjoyed mainstream success as well as remixes by popular artists.
"Hey! Baby" is a song written by Margaret Cobb and Bruce Channel, first recorded at Clifford Herring Studios in Ft. Worth Tx, and recorded by Channel in 1961, first released on LeCam Records, a local Fort Worth, Texas label. After it hit, it was released on Smash Records for national distribution. Channel co-produced the song with Major Bill Smith and released it on Mercury Records' Smash label. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, starting the week ending March 10, 1962.
"Insomnia" is a song by British musical group Faithless. Released as the band's second single, it became one of their most successful. It was originally released in 1995 and reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart, topping the UK Dance Chart in the process. When re-released in October 1996, the song achieved a new peak of number three in the United Kingdom and topped the charts of Finland, Norway, and Switzerland, as well as the American and Canadian dance charts. It also featured on Faithless's 1996 debut album, Reverence. The music video for "Insomnia" was directed by Lindy Heymann.
"I Want More" is a song recorded by UK dance group Faithless, released as a single on 23 August 2004. It features a vocal sample from the singer and pianist Nina Simone. Also sampled in the intro and outro is an excerpt from Pink Floyd’s "On the Run", from the 1970s album The Dark Side of the Moon.
"Out of Nowhere" is a song by Gloria Estefan. The single was the only commercial release of the compilation Greatest Hits Vol. II. The song is written by Emilio Estefan, Jr., Randall Barlow and Liza Quintana, and produced by Estefan Jr. and Barlow. It was released as the album's second single on April 24, 2001 by Epic Records.
"Points of Authority" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It is the fourth track on their first studio album, Hybrid Theory. The song was released in 2001 as a promo release. A CD single for the song was set to be released in the UK in September 2001, but instead, "Papercut" was released as the third single from the album. It was later planned as the fifth official single from the album, planned for a January 2002 release but was cancelled for unknown reasons. In its place, the song's remix version was released. Mike Shinoda's verses originally had different lyrics, and Chester Bennington's parts became no different from the Hybrid Theory version.
"Adagio for Strings" is a track by Dutch DJ Tiësto. It was first released in January 2005 as the fourth single from the album Just Be. A Trance remake of the classical music composition by Samuel Barber, the track takes the melody of the aforementioned piece and adapts it into 4/4 time. In 2013, it was voted by Mixmag readers as the second greatest dance record of all time.
"Galbi" is an Arabic musical poem by Yemenite Aharon Amram that was sung by Israeli Yemenite singer Ofra Haza and others. The 1988 remix of the song, taken from the album Shaday, was issued as the follow-up to Haza's worldwide chart hit "Im Nin'Alu ".