Martin Freeland

Last updated

Man With No Name
Birth nameMartin Freeland
Also known asMan With No Name, M.W.N.N., Positiv Noize
OriginUnited Kingdom
Genres Goa trance, psytrance, techno
Years active1985–present
LabelsDragonfly Records, Perfecto Records, Atomic Records, TIP Records

Martin Freeland is a British psytrance artist, record producer and DJ, who has performed under the pseudonym of Man With No Name since 1990. He is best known for the singles "Teleport" and "Floor-Essence", [1] both of which appeared in the UK Singles Chart.

Contents

Music career

Early work: 1985–1993

Freeland's career began in the mid 1980s, working as a producer and remixer for various dance artists such as Belouis Some and Mirage. In the late 1980s he began producing original material under the names of Positiv Noize, Perfectly Ordinary People and Pisces, with the latter experimenting with the sound of techno with the single "Take Me Higher".

In 1990 Freeland released the single "Way Out West" under the name of Man With No Name. The track sampled lines from the western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly , and was backed with the acid house track "From Within The Mind of My 909", which was later featured on Richard Sen's 2012 compilation This Ain't Chicago: The Underground Sound Of UK House & Acid 1987–1991 on Strut Records.

Further singles in the early nineties, such as "Geddit?/120 Something" and the EP "From Within", echoed the sound of Detroit techno and British rave. It was during this time that Freeland attended one of the first UK trance parties Concept in Dance, where Paul Oakenfold introduced producer Ian St Paul to Freeland and his music. [2] Following this, Freeland produced several tracks under the MWNN title for two Concept in Dance compilations, Tribal Science and Digital Alchemy. One of these tracks was "Sugar Rush", which would later be released in remixed form as a single.

Goa years: 1994–1998

Having refined his sound to a harder, more melodic style of Goa trance, Freeland worked closely with Ian St Paul, Graham Wood and Raja Ram under the name of The Infinity Project, as well as contributing the single "Teleport" to the first TIP Records compilation. Teleport was simultaneously released on Dragonfly Records, where he again contributed tracks to a number of their compilations.

Back on the Concept in Dance label, Freeland released his first full-length album Moment of Truth. The singles "Floor-Essence" and "Sugar Rush" were taken from the album, though released on Perfecto. Freeland's connection with Perfecto led to him touring with labelmates such as Mozaic and Quivver, while the label's promotional plugging led to his singles reaching the UK Singles Chart.

Freeland also contributed to Positiva's rainforest charity project 'Earth Trance' in 1996 with the track "Osmosis". The compilation project featured tracks by trance artists across the scene and raised money for charity in the process.

The success of Man With No Name was recognised by the end of 1995, with Muzik voting "Floor-Essence" as the twelfth best single of the year, [3] and Moment of Truth being ranked as 26th Best Album of the year. Freeland was also a highly sought-after remixer, although he 'politely refused' to remix JX's 'There's Nothing I Won't Do' when asked by Hooj Choons. [4]

Freeland continued to release material on Perfecto for the rest of the 1990s, with a second album Earth Moving The Sun in 1998.

Progressive years: 1999–2003

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Progressive psytrance gained popularity, and Freeland's sound altered accordingly. Signing briefly onto Brighton trance label Atomic Records, a few further Man With No Name singles were released, while back on Dragonfly Freeland remixed "Teleport" into a more progressive 'Stripped' mix. A third album, again on Dragonfly, was then released in 2003.

Recent work

The last decade has seen little new material from Freeland, though he continues to tour the globe as Man With No Name. A few new tracks were released on TIP Records' compilation Future Sound Masters in 2005, which sparked rumours of a fourth album. [5]

In 2011, Perfecto Fluoro released three new remixes of the tracks "Floor-Essence", "Sugar Rush" and "Teleport", with contributions from Astrix and Nick Sentience. This was followed by Freeland remixing "Remember Love" by DJ's United, a collaboration between Paul Oakenfold, Paul Van Dyk and Armin Van Buuren.

Remix work

As Man With No Name, Freeland was a popular choice for remixes. Initially remixing tracks for Perfecto labelmates Grace and BT, he went on to remix four singles for Hooj Choons, two for Juno Reactor and even remixed a track for the Human League.

Collaborations and acknowledgments

As well as being a contributor to The Infinity Project, Freeland also produced tracks for Goa artists such as Dino Psaras, Cydonia, Psychaos and Ayahuasca. He also released a track under the name of Yogi & Grey One entitled "Big Trouble in Outer Space", which was later re-released under the Man With No Name title.

French Goa trance group Transwave paid tribute to Freeland, dedicating their track "Land of Freedom" to 'M.W.N.N.'. The track is featured on their album Phototropic (1996).

In 2017 psytrance producer Talamasca dedicated a track on his album A Brief History of Goa Trance to Man With No Name, using melodies from several of his tracks.

Discography

Albums

Chart singles

Singles

Related Research Articles

Psychedelic trance, psytrance, or psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full on, darkpsy, forest, minimal (Zenonesque), hitech psy, progressive, suomi, psy-chill, psycore, psybient, psybreaks, or "adapted" tracks from other music genres. Goa trance preceded psytrance; when digital media became more commonly used psytrance evolved. Goa continues to develop alongside the other genres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Oakenfold</span> British record producer and trance music DJ

Paul Mark Oakenfold, formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Massive Attack, the Cure, New Order, the Rolling Stones, the Stone Roses and Michael Jackson. Oakenfold was voted the No. 1 DJ in the World twice in 1998 and 1999 by DJ Magazine.

Goa trance is an electronic dance music style that originated in the early 1990s in the Indian state of Goa. Goa trance often has drone-like basslines, similar to the techno minimalism of 21st century psychedelic trance (psytrance). Psychedelic trance developed from Goa trance. The typically long songs built on progressive beat changes are said to put the listener in a “trance”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infected Mushroom</span> Israeli psytrance/electronica duo

Infected Mushroom is an Israeli musical duo formed in Haifa in 1996 by producers Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani. They produce and perform psytrance, electronica, dream trance and psychedelic music. They are one of the best-selling groups in Israeli music history in terms of both domestic and international sales.

<i>Ima</i> (BT album) 1995 studio album by BT

Ima is the debut studio album by American electronic musician BT, released on October 9, 1995, through Perfecto Records. The album is considered a major stepping stone in trance music, popularizing a more progressive approach. The album includes the 1995 single "Embracing the Future", which reached number one on the UK Dance Chart, as well as "Loving You More" featuring Vincent Covello. Following its release, Ima appeared on the UK Albums Chart for four weeks, peaking at 45. In 1996, the album was released in the United States in a double disc format, with the US Dance number one single "Blue Skies" featuring Tori Amos.

<i>Creamfields</i> (2004 album) Compilation album by Paul Oakenfold

Creamfields is the fifteenth DJ mix album by British electronic producer and disc jockey Paul Oakenfold, released in 2004. The double album was inspired by the annual Creamfields festival which at the time took place at the "Old Liverpool Airfield" organised by the Cream brand where Oakenfold had often performed. The album was released to commemorate Oakenfold's performance at the sixth annual Creamfields festival which took place several weeks after the album's release on 28 August 2004. Oakenfold performance at the festival was headlining the Cream/Goodgreef and Mixmag Arena. Creamfields was also the third in a series of mix albums of the same name commemorating the festival, with previous albums by different DJs being released in 2000 and 2001, with both releases carrying the same name. Oakenfold's Creamfields was considered a relaunch of the series

Etnica is a project originally formed by Carlo Paterno, Max Lanfranconi, Maurizio Begotti, and Andrea Rizzo. They are a very well known Goa trance project from Milan, Italy.

Mystica is a Goa trance project from Israel, and consists of Avi Peer, Joseph Master and Charlie Ben-moha.

Grace was a 1990s British dance music act, consisting of the DJs Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne and the jazz singer Dominique Atkins. The group's first single, "Not Over Yet", had lead and backing vocals by the original frontwoman Patti Low. Atkins recorded her own lead vocals for "Not Over Yet" when it was included as the first track on the group's only album If I Could Fly.

Suomisaundi, also known as suomisoundi, suomistyge or spugedelic trance, is a style of psychedelic trance that originated in Finland around the mid-1990s. "Suomisaundi" literally means "Finnish sound" in Finnish. Suomisaundi's biggest proponents are said to be Tim Thick and his label Thixx'n'Dixx.

Jan Johnston is an English professional singer & songwriter, best known for collaborating with some of the world's top trance music DJs and producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tilt (British band)</span> British electronic music duo

Tilt is an English group of electronic record producers, composed of Mick Park and Nic Britton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfecto Records</span> British trance record label

Perfecto Records is a British trance record label, founded by Paul Oakenfold in 1989. Perfecto was also a remix team consisting of Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne and in its later years, Osborne was replaced by Andy Gray. Perfecto Records have provided remixes for U2, Moby, New Order, Rolling Stones, Simply Red and more.

<i>The Goa Mix</i> 1994 remix album (DJ mix) by Paul Oakenfold

The Goa Mix is a two-hour DJ mix by British musician and DJ Paul Oakenfold. It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 1 as an Essential Mix on 18 December 1994 after the producer of the show, Eddie Gordon, chose Oakenfold to produce an eclectic DJ mix for the show which featured a burgeoning variation of electronic styles, having begun the previous year. Oakenfold had, at this point, developed his own unique Goa trance sound, influenced by his time at hippy gatherings on beaches in Goa, and employed it heavily into the mix, which also made pioneering use of film score samples. Oakenfold used the mix as an experiment in which he tried to fuse electronic music, especially trance music, with film score music, and then to overlay the result with vocal parts, samples and additional production. The mix was split into two parts, later referred to as the Silver Mix and the Gold Mix respectively. Reflecting the Goa influence, the album title did not evolve beyond its simplistic working name.

<i>Perfecto Presents: Another World</i> 2000 remix album by Paul Oakenfold

Perfecto Presents: Another World is the twelfth DJ mix album by British electronic music producer Paul Oakenfold, released in 2000. It is the second instalment in his Perfecto Presents series, a series of DJ mix albums themed around Oakenfold's label Perfecto Records. The album employs Oakenfold's progressive trance sound and sees a return to the Goa trance sound he had helped popularise with Goa Mix (1994) and Perfecto Fluoro (1996). Similar to those albums, it also features a more eclectic array of music genres, featuring music from film soundtracks, the ethereal wave band Dead Can Dance and a remix of a Led Zeppelin song. Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, at the time of release, it became the biggest-selling DJ mix album in the United States, where it reached the Top 50 of the Top Electronic Albums chart.

<i>Perfecto Fluoro</i> 1996 remix album (DJ mix) by Paul Oakenfold

Perfecto Fluoro is the fifth DJ mix album by British electronic producer and disc jockey Paul Oakenfold, released in 1996 on Oakenfold's label Perfecto Records, then a subsidiary of Warner Music UK who are also credited. Recorded eighteen months after the Oakenfold's ground breaking Goa Mix (1994), notable for its pioneering of goa trance and usage of film music, Perfecto Fluoro utilizes the same "epic" approach and feel, with liberal use of excerpts from film soundtracks, which is referred to in the album's liner notes track listing which lists not only track, artist and label, but also which film a song appears in, where relevant. There are also several excerpts of film dialogue sampled on some of the tracks; for instance, "Teleport" by Man With No Name contains some of Jeff Goldblum's dialogue extolling the virtues of teleportation from The Fly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Space Brothers</span> British trance music duo

The Space Brothers are a British trance music duo comprising Richard 'Ricky' Louis Simmonds and Stephen Christopher Jones, noted for producing under a variety of pseudonyms such as Chakra, Lustral, Ascension, Essence, Ultra High, Lamai and The Realm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wide Open Space</span> 1996 single by Mansun

"Wide Open Space" is a song by Chester rock band Mansun, released as a single on 25 November 1996. The song was the lead track of Four EP. The single's success led to alternative versions appearing on four of the next five Mansun singles. These versions were one live, one acoustic, and two remixes, the first and most popular by Perfecto, and a NRG version by The Trouser Enthusiasts. A completely different version credited to longtime engineer Mike Hunter was included as a hidden bonus track on their compilation Kleptomania. The song also appears on The Sound of Gran Turismo, a soundtrack album based on Gran Turismo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Oakenfold discography</span>

This is the discography of the trance DJ and record producer Paul Oakenfold.

<i>Oakenfold Anthems</i> 2008 remix album (DJ mix) by Paul Oakenfold

Oakenfold Anthems is a compilation DJ mix album by British electronic producer and disc jockey Paul Oakenfold, released in 2008 on WMTV. His eighteenth mix album, the album is a triple album containing popular electronic singles, mostly focused on the progressive house and progressive trance genres, that Oakenfold considers favourites, and the material on the album mostly draws from Oakenfold's label Perfecto Records. Indeed, the album cover contains the caption "The Classic Perfecto Mix".

References

  1. "Mega T Album". Megatalbum.com. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Interview with Man With No Name ahead of The Cream Reunion". Skiddle.com. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  3. "Rocklist.net...Muzik End of Year Lists". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  4. Muzik Magazine, 1996
  5. "Man With No Name – new album? – General Psytrance". Psynews.org. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  6. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 345. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.