Freq Nasty

Last updated

FreQ Nasty
Born (1969-11-15) 15 November 1969 (age 54)
Fiji
OriginFiji and New Zealand
Genres
Years active1994–present
LabelsBotchit & Scarper, Skint, Muti
Website www.freqnasty.com

Darin McFadyen, better known by his stage name FreQ Nasty, is a DJ and producer of breakbeat electronic music, [1] currently based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally from New Zealand, McFadyen's artistic career has taken him across the world, first as a resident in London's Fabric Nightclub, [1] to multiple tours in Europe and Australia. [2] He currently resides in the United States, where he has become a fixture amongst North American art and music festivals, most notably Burning Man.

Contents

Background

Born in Fiji, McFadyen spent his childhood in New Zealand, [1] where his appreciation for music began at an early age. [3] He credits his parents for his introduction to many different genres, most notably blues, jazz, and Polynesian styles of music. [4] He also acknowledges to being an ardent fan of the Beatles during his adolescence. [4] While in school he learned how to play guitar and drums, which he played in various bands. [3] Soon after his early exposure to writing music, he began to DJ and produce his own style of electronic music, drawing upon the influences of artists such as Funkadelic, Billy Boyo and the Greensleeves, and Public Enemy. [4] Aside from his pursuits as a musician, McFadyen has also been a longtime practitioner of yoga and Buddhism. Having practiced yoga since 1999 with the Satyananda lineage in London, he has also studied yoga and Buddhism with Buddhist monk and Professor of Comparative Religion Venerable Sumati Marut since 2007. McFadyen was married to Gabriela Valentina Ocampo on 15 December 2018.[ citation needed ]

Production career

FreQ Nasty has widely been considered a pioneer in breakbeat music since the genre's initial rise in popularity. [1] FreQ Nasty began his career in 1998 on the UK label Botchit & Scarper, where he forged his sound of ragga, hip-hop, dancehall, and heavy basslines at the apex London's 1990s dance music revolution. [1] Of his early releases, the singles "Boomin Back Atcha" and "Move Back" quickly became classics within the breaks genre. [1] In 2003, he moved to Skint Records, where he went on to release a list of top records, collaborating with and remixing a diverse range of artists including Fatboy Slim, Kelis, KRS-One, Roots Manuva, Rodney P, Bassnectar, Tipper, and reggae legend Junior Delgado. 2008 saw the release of "Creator", his crossover hit collaboration with Santigold, producer Switch and New York City lyricist Santogold, and the Fabric Live 42 mix CD, which was picked as DJ Magazine's compilation of the month. In early 2011 he released "Dread at the Controls" under California label Muti Music, which subsequently launched the seventeen-city "Monsters of Bass" tour. In that following December, FreQ's "Low FreQuency Pureland EP" was released, earning DJ Magazine's selection as the MoneyShot release for December, receiving a 10 out of 10 rating.

Activism and side projects

Alongside his career as an established music producer, FreQ Nasty is also known for his engagement as a social activist. In early 2008, he launched Giveback.net, a socially conscious website in which musicians donate music in support of non-profit "action campaigns" via music campaigns featured on the site. The first campaign, in support of the Tibetan People's Uprising Movement, featured a collaboration with Bassnectar on the single "Viva Tibet". FreQ Nasty has been a vocal advocate for musicians reaching out to support social issues, to which he is quoted:

It's time we as a music community reached out on a grassroots level and showed some love to those who need it, to whatever extent we feel able. Most of us don't vote, most of us see the news as something that happens to somebody else, and most of us have excess that the majority of the people we see on the news can only dream of. If we can help spread the idea that creating positive change in the world elsewhere is an investment in our own security and happiness, then I'm a happy DJ.

— FreQ Nasty, Giveback.net

FreQ Nasty also collaborated with San Francisco-based Heavyweight Dub Champion, remixing the group's "Snared" single in support of The World Family's creation of an irrigation system in the village of Gara Dima, Ethiopia. A similar collaboration was completed with singer-songwriter Michael Franti, in which Franti's single "The Future" was remixed in support of a Bay Area nonprofit to help create a music studio for at-risk youth in San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point district. FreQ's current side projects include the Dub Kirtan All Stars, a live 10 piece band of singers and musicians formed with producer David Starfire, and The Yoga of Bass, a series of talks given with yoga teacher Claire Thompson, both of which seek to open up the Yoga tradition to underground dance music club audiences. [5]

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

DJ mixes

Related Research Articles

Lo Fidelity Allstars are an English electronic music group who have recorded since the late 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Franti</span> American musician

Michael Franti is an American singer, songwriter, musician, poet, activist, documentarian, and rapper. Known for his participation in many musical projects, most with a political and social emphasis, including the Beatnigs and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. He is the creator and lead vocalist of Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, jazz, folk, and rock. He is also an outspoken supporter for a wide spectrum of peace and social justice issues, and he is especially an advocate for peace in the Middle East.

Kasson Crooker is an American electronic musician, a composer, and the artist behind Symbion Project, his solo moniker. His past bands are Freezepop, Splashdown, Larkspur, and Sirensong. DJ HMX, Komputer Kontroller, and Cosmonaut Zero were alias bands of Crooker used only for the videogames FreQuency and Amplitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Clarke (DJ)</span> Musical artist

David Maurice Clarke is an English electronic music DJ, producer and radio presenter. BBC radio presenter John Peel named Clarke "The Baron of Techno".

Matthew James Firth Coleman, better known by his stage name MJ Cole, is an English garage DJ, record producer and remixer.

Kota Hoshino is a Japanese composer and sound designer. As part of FromSoftware's sound team, Hoshino is best known for composing multiple games in the Armored Core series and as the bassist and vocalist of FreQuency.

Rodney Panton, also known as Rodney P is an English MC, as well as a radio and television personality who first gained attention via the UK hip hop scene in the 1980s. A former member of UK hip-hop group London Posse, Rodney P is known for rapping in his London accent.

Phil Kieran is a DJ, electronic music producer, recording artist and remixer from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He also composes original music and soundtracks for film and theatre, TV, radio and online media.

Ghislain Poirier, often known simply as Poirier, is a Canadian DJ/producer from Montreal who is signed to the Ninja Tune record label. He has, however, also worked with other labels such as Chocolate Industries, Rebondir, Shockout, Musique Large, Intr_version and 12k. His work mainly consists of original instrumental mixes and mixes featuring Montreal hip hop MCs including Omnikrom, Face-T and Séba. He also has collaborated with Beans, TTC, Lotek HiFi and Nik Myo. He is noted for popular remixes of tracks of rock and hip hop artists such as Les Georges Leningrad, Clipse, Editors, Bonde do Rolê, Kid Sister, Pierre Lapointe, DJ Champion and Lady Sovereign. Though he has worked in many different genres of electronic music, he is known for his eclectic taste in music and appreciation of tropical bass sounds.

Atomic Hooligan is a DJ/production duo from Watford, Hertfordshire, England, composed of Matt Welch and Terry Ryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mason (musician)</span> Dutch DJ and producer (born 1980)

Iason Chronis, better known as Mason, is a Dutch DJ and producer. He had a number one on the UK Dance Singles Chart in 2007 with his track "Exceeder". Exceeder had originally been an instrumental and had received a vinyl-only release in the UK in 2006. The new version of the track, "Perfect (Exceeder)", is a mashup with American rapper Princess Superstar's song "Perfect" and reached number 3 on the national British chart in January 2007. The track was a big hit in many countries worldwide. He also had chart success in 2011 with his song "Runaway"—which is a modern version of "Runaway" by Eruption, and "Boadicea", featuring Róisín Murphy—in 2016 with "Fashion Killa", and with many club releases since. Mason is the owner of the record label Animal Language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bassnectar</span> American DJ and record producer

Lorin Ashton, better known under his stage name Bassnectar, is an American DJ and electronic music producer. With a career spanning several decades, Bassnectar has gained recognition for his innovative sound design and energetic live performances. His music and performances typically combine elements of dubstep, drum and bass, and various other electronic subgenres, often characterized by heavy basslines and intricate, layered production. Bassnectar has released numerous albums and singles, and his impact on the electronic music scene has been significant, contributing to the popularization of bass-heavy dance music in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headhunterz</span> Dutch Hardstyle DJ and record producer

Willem Rebergen, better known by his stage name Headhunterz, is a Dutch DJ and music producer. Rebergen is also a voice actor. He has done dubbing for several movies and TV series. He started his career in 2005 working on Hardstyle music.

<i>FabricLive.42</i> 2008 compilation album by Freq Nasty

FabricLive.42 is a 2008 mix album by Freq Nasty. The album was released as part of the FabricLive Mix Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heavyweight Dub Champion</span> American hip hop group

Heavyweight Dub Champion is a music and art collective founded in Gold Hill, Colorado in 1997 by Resurrector & Patch. Heavyweight Dub Champion, also known as HDC, is rooted in electronic music, but they create their unique style by using real and acoustic instruments fused with synthetic and electronic elements. In 2005, they relocated to San Francisco, but the members of their constantly rotating lineup also come from New York, Australia and the UK. Denver's Westword Magazine describes their music as "a shamanistic wall of hip hop dubtronica" and the magazine awarded their debut album Survival Guide for the End of Time with the editors pick for Best Local Recording in 2003. HDC is perhaps best known for their live performance, in which they use a massive amount of vintage and electronic gear to perform what they call "Sonic Shamanistic Alchemy". The LA Weekly says, "The main HDC aesthetic is a cooled-out groove ... Their genius is the great virtue of '70s dub: never overdoing it."

Deekline is a British producer and DJ of breakbeat, breakstep, drum and bass and garage music. He is the innovator of breakstep music which is bass-heavy, breakbeat-infused 2-step, first characterised in his 1999 hit "I Don't Smoke", which reached No. 11 on the UK charts. He is the owner of Rat Records, which has released material of such artists as DJ Fresh, Jack Beats, Stanton Warriors, Wiley, Skinny Man, Rennie Pilgrem, House Breakers and Freq Nasty. Deekline has also had notable collaborations with British electronic music producers Ed Solo and Wizard. In 2011, he opened up his online clothing store, Bass Boutique.

<i>Noise vs. Beauty</i> Album by Bassnectar

Noise vs. Beauty is the eighth studio album by American DJ and record producer Bassnectar, released on June 24, 2014, by Amorphous Music. The album has been supported by multiple festivals he has played through 2014 and followed by the NVSB tour. An album titled NVSB Remixes was released digitally on October 28, 2014, consisting of remixes of tracks from Noise vs. Beauty, as well as new songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jungle Brothers</span> American hip hop trio

Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop trio composed of Michael Small, Nathaniel Hall, and Sammy Burwell. Hailed as pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hip-hop group to collaborate with a house-music producer. The trio released their debut album, Straight out the Jungle in July 1988. Their hip-house club hit single, "I'll House You" was added to the album in late-1988 reissues. Fostered by Kool DJ Red Alert, the Jungle Brothers' success paved the way for De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and eventually the Native Tongues collective that they founded.

Mario John Treadway, better known by his stage name, Souleye, is an American hip hop artist. He has released 12 albums, including his latest, Disguised As Tomorrow, which was released in March 2023. Among others, he has performed and recorded with BLVD, and his wife, Alanis Morissette.

<i>Reich Remixed</i> 1999 remix album by Steve Reich

Reich Remixed is a remix album of music by the American composer Steve Reich. It was released in 1999 by Nonesuch Records and features tracks produced by various American, British, and Japanese DJs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 162. ISBN   0-7535-0427-8.
  2. ↑ "RA: FreQ Nasty". Residentadvisor.net. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 "FreQ Nasty interview | The End". Endclub.com. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "An exclusive interview with FreQ Nasty!". Dancefloor Mayhem. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "ABOUT + CONTACT + extras". FreQ Nasty. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Price Request - BuyDomains". Giveback.net. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
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.