Mr. C

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Mr. C
Birth nameRichard West
Also known asEast LA Tek, Sycophant Slags, Indigo Kidz
Born (1965-01-02) 2 January 1965 (age 59)
Mile End, London
Origin Holloway, London, England
Genres House, electronic, dub, Tech House
Occupation(s)Singer, rapper, record producer, DJ, actor
Years active1987–present
LabelsSuperfreq, Get Physical Music, Poker Flat, Adjunct Audio, Wagon Repair

Richard West (born 2 January 1965), known as Mr. C, is an English house music DJ, producer and rapper. [1] [2] [3] He was the resident DJ at the early acid house "RIP" nights at Clink Street, London, [4] and later was the co-owner/co-founder of London's The End nightclub.

Contents

West was the frontman for The Shamen during their most commercially successful era. He is a proponent of tech house, a fusion of house and techno music.

Career

West was born in London in 1965. He started MCing in the London clubs aged 16 and earned a reputation as a fast-talking, vivacious rapper working with LWR radio's Ron Tom, Jasper the Vinyl Junkie and Jazzy M. He joined with Colin Faver and Evil Eddie Richards to become resident rapper at Camden Palace. West recorded his first deep house track with Eddie Richards as Myster-E, "Page 67", [5] which was released in August 1987.

This inspired West to become a DJ in late 1987. He has since organised, promoted and been resident DJ at: Fantasy (1988), Base (Dungeons 1989), Release (1991), Harmony (1992), Drop (1993), Cyclone (1994), Vapourspace (1994 and 1995), Flavour (The End, 1995 and 1996), Subterrain (The End, 1995–2002), Superfreq (worldwide 2002–present) and Super Disco Freq (LA, 2010–present).

In December 1995 West opened the night club The End in London with Partner Layo Paskin [6] (of Layo & Bushwacka!) and AKA bar three years later, which had its 23rd anniversary in December 2018. West is founder and owner of Plink Plonk records, co-founder of End Recordings and co-founder and owner of the Superfreq label.

He has recorded under the names Myster-E, Unity 2, Nu Jacks, Bass Bureau, Mantrac, Somnambulist, Animus Amour, Killer Loop, Mr. C and Tom Parris, Mr. C and 16B and the Sycophant Slags. West is best known as frontman of The Shamen with whom he achieved a string of top 10 hits including "Move Any Mountain" and the UK number 1 hit "Ebeneezer Goode". [7] [8] In 1995 he created the mix album Fantazia DJ Collection 3 – Back to the Old Skool.

He has also released mix albums Psycotrance vol 1, X-Mix 6 on Studio K7, Sunterrain 100% Unreleased on his End recordings imprint and most recently Superfreq Express on his Superfreq label. West now records solo as Mr. C and collaborates as the Sycophant Slags with Francis Harris aka Adultnapper, as the Indigo Kidz with Affie Yusuf, with [a]pendics.shuffle and with Omid 16b.

He has released on Poker Flat, Wagon Repair Records, Get Physical Music and Adjunct Audio. He has released a solo EP titled "I'm gonna Give You Some" and the albums Smell The Coffee and Incidents. He has collaborated with Affie Yusuf, Omid 16b and [a]pendics.shuffle. [9] He has remixed for Mikael Stavöstrand and David Scuba, Francis Harris, Xo Chic, Joint Custody & Affie Yusuf. His "Soulfuric" track was released on Alola and his "Liquid Acid" track was released on DJ Pierre's Acid 88 album on Afro Acid.

Superfreq record label

Superfreq released eight EPs from various artists and one mix-set by Mr. C, but had then been a dormant record label since 2006. Superfreq relaunched in February 2013 [10] and has since released prolifically [11] with forty digital EPs and two albums.

Personal life

West is married to the Mexican actress and model Xochitl Marbach. [12] [13]

Related Research Articles

House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120-130 beats per minute as a re-emergence of 1970s disco. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.

Tech house is a subgenre of house music that combines stylistic features of techno with house. The term tech house developed as a shorthand record store name for a category of electronic dance music that combined musical aspects of techno, such as "rugged basslines" and "steely beats", with the harmonies and grooves of progressive house. The music originally had a clean and minimal production style that was associated with techno from Detroit and the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adamski</span> English DJ, musician, and record producer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homelands (festival)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shamen</span> Scottish electronic dance music band

The Shamen were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter Stephenson joined shortly after to take over on keyboards from Angus. Several other people were later in the band. Angus then teamed up with Will Sinnott, and together they found credibility as pioneers of rock/dance crossover. When rapper Mr. C joined, the band moved on to international commercial success with "Ebeneezer Goode" and their 1992 Boss Drum album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Above & Beyond (band)</span> English electronic music group

Above & Beyond are an electronic music group consisting of English DJs Jono Grant, Tony McGuinness and Finnish DJ Paavo Siljamäki. Formed in 2000, they are the owners of London-based electronic dance music labels Anjunabeats and Anjunadeep, and also host a weekly radio show titled Group Therapy Radio. The trio has been consistently ranked among DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJs Poll, having placed at No. 6 in 2007, No. 4 in 2008 & 2009, No. 5 in 2010 & 2011, No. 51 in 2018, No. 22 in 2019, No. 19 in 2020, No. 21 in 2021, No. 30 in 2022, and most recently No. 40 in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The End (club)</span> Nightclub in the West End of London

The End was a nightclub in the West End of London, England. Started in December 1995 by DJs Layo Paskin and Mr C, it was also responsible for the label End Recordings.

This is a summary of 1992 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.

<i>Boss Drum</i> 1992 studio album by The Shamen

Boss Drum is the Shamen's 1992 album, released a year after the death of bassist Will Sinnott. It features their UK number one single "Ebeneezer Goode". Critics gave the album positive feedback and the album reached number three on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in December 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebeneezer Goode</span> 1992 single by The Shamen

"Ebeneezer Goode" is a song by Scottish electronic music group the Shamen which, heavily remixed by the Beatmasters, became their biggest hit when released as a single on 24 August 1992 by One Little Indian. The group's original version featured on the vinyl edition of their fifth album, Boss Drum (1992).

The Beatmasters are an English electronic music group who gained success in the UK in the late 1980s with four top 20 hit singles. They then went on to produce and remix records for many other artists. The group's string of chart hit singles include "Burn It Up", "Hey DJ! ", "Who's in the House" and "Rok da House". The latter, having been recorded in 1986, is one of the earliest examples of hip house and most likely the first song of the genre. Hip house is a subgenre of house music which features rap vocals performed over a house rhythm track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Move Any Mountain</span> 1991 single by the Shamen

"Move Any Mountain" is a song by Scottish electronic music group the Shamen, first released under the title "Pro›gen". With an official remix by the Beatmasters, the song was re-released in the UK in summer 1991 and was their first top-10 single, reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart. It was included on the band's second album, En-Tact (1990), and is also their only top-40 hit in the US, where the song peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Richards</span> Musical artist

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Layo & Bushwacka! is the pseudonym of British DJ duo Layo Paskin and Matthew Benjamin, who released four tech house albums between 1998 and 2012.

Joshua Harvey, otherwise known as Hervé, is a producer/DJ from the UK. Hervé is known for bass-orientated as well as eclectic productions and DJ sets. He also runs the label Cheap Thrills, which has released music by Fake Blood, Jack Beats, Lone and Project Bassline, amongst others.

<i>Global Underground 033: Rio</i> 2007 compilation album

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phorever People</span> 1992 single by the Shamen

"Phorever People" is a song by Scottish electronic dance music band the Shamen. It features vocals by singer Jhelisa Anderson and was released in December 1992 by One Little Indian as a single from their fifth album, Boss Drum (1992). The single topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and was another hit for the group in the UK, going to number five on the UK Singles Chart. It also became a top-10 hit in Denmark and Ireland, while reaching the top 20 in Austria, Finland, France and Sweden. A music video, directed by British director Richard Heslop, was made to accompany the song.

<i>Ministry of Sound Anthems</i> 2007 compilation album by Various artists (mixed by Kev and Cass)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Heldens</span> Dutch DJ and producer (born 1995)

Olivier "Oliver" J. L. Heldens is a Dutch DJ and electronic music producer from Rotterdam. He is regarded as a pioneer of the future house genre, propelling it to international attention and scoring numerous chart successes, including "Gecko (Overdrive)", "Last All Night (Koala)", "The Right Song", "Fire in My Soul", and "Turn Me On". He also produces techno songs under the alias HI-LO, which comes from "Oli H" in reversed form, and runs the label Heldeep Records. Through February 2021, he is the 460th-most-streamed artist on Spotify, with over a billion cumulative streams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omid 16B</span> British-Iranian electronic music producer/composer and DJ

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References

  1. "The Shamen's Mr C Talks Disco Biscuits With His Old Mate Ebeneezer Goode". Vice.com. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  2. "Mr C, creator of the notorious Ebeneezer Goode, sees it as his duty". The Independent . 4 February 1996. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  3. "MR C: THE ACID EVANGELIST". DJMag.com. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  4. Reynolds 1998, p. 52.
  5. "Mr.C -IDJ Magazine". Internationaldjmag.com.
  6. Gordon, Kim Hunter (8 October 2005). "How it all turned out right in The End". The Observer . ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  7. Simpson, Dave (5 March 2012). "How we made ... Ebeneezer Goode by the Shamen". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  8. "Mr C: "I was on ecstasy and acid on Top Of The Pops"". Mixmag.net. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  9. Yoder, Sean-Michael apendics.shuffle and Mr. C "Something Strange" review, Ibiza-Voice.com, Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  10. "MR C CELEBRATES 25 YEARS". DJMag.com. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  11. Nightingale, Luke. "Quarantine Q&A: Mr. C". Festicket, 1 May 2020. Retrieved 10 Jan 2021
  12. "DJ Mr C". DJGuide.nl. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  13. Reeves, Mosi (20 March 2003). "Circles of Love". Miami New Times . Retrieved 14 May 2020.

General references