Planningtorock | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Jam Rostron |
| Born | 26 January 1972 Bolton, England |
| Genres | Electropop [1] |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels |
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Jam Rahuoja Rostron (born 25 January 1972), better known by their stage name Planningtorock, is an English electronic musician and record producer who lives in Tallinn, Estonia. [2] Rostron identifies as transgender and non-binary, and uses they/them pronouns. [3]
In 2004, Rostron launched their label Rostron Records with Planningtorock's EP Eins, following it in 2005 with a compilation LP Carousel of Souls that featured songs from The Knife and The Soft Pink Truth. [4] They sang backing vocals on the Badly Drawn Boy track "Outside is a Light 2", a B-side from the 1999 single "It Came From the Ground". [5]
After signing to Chicks on Speed's record label in 2006, Planningtorock released the limited edition 7" single "Changes/I Wanna Bite Ya", before their debut album was released the following summer. [6]
In 2006, Planningtorock remixed the song "Marble House" by The Knife. [7]
In 2010, Planningtorock collaborated with The Knife and Mount Sims to write an opera for the Danish performance group Hotel Pro Forma. The opera, titled Tomorrow, In a Year , is based on Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species . Tomorrow, In a Year was released on 9 March 2010 by Mute Records and received generally favourable reviews from contemporary critics; according to the music review aggregator Metacritic , it garnered an average score of 67/100. [8]
Rostron worked as the sound designer and composer for the Bruce LaBruce film The Bad Breast; or, The Strange Case of Theda Lange in 2010. [9]
Rostron began correspondence with James Murphy after he sent them a fan email that said "Really like the Planningtorock stuff – just saying". Murphy later invited them on LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver tour before signing them to his label DFA Records. Planningtorock co-wrote the song "Answering Machine" from the album From the Cradle to the Rave by DFA label-mate Shit Robot in 2010. [10] DFA released Rostron's second studio album, W, on 23 May 2011. [11] Rostron had been working on the album's songs since 2007, eventually writing more than 27 songs. [12] W received positive reviews from contemporary critics; according to the music review aggregator Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 72/100. [13] The album included a cover of Arthur Russell's song "Janine."
In an interview with Resident Advisor, Rostron stated: "Last summer after touring W, I had a bit of a creative meltdown and wasn't sure about making music any more—then I wrote 'Patriarchy Over And Out', and suddenly the goal of the next album became clear". During this period Rostron legally changed their name to Jam. They also revealed that in the spring of 2012 they set up a studio space with Olof Dreijer (of The Knife), Hermione Frank (also known as rRoxymore), and Paula Temple. [14]
Rostron states that "Patriarchy Over And Out" was a turning point "which was the beginning of being more direct and experimenting with being more political". [15]
On 8 March 2013, Rostron released Misogyny Drop Dead EP [16] and in mid-July released "Let's Talk About Gender Baby", a vinyl-only remix of "Full of Fire" by The Knife. [17]
On 29 October 2013, Rostron announced a third studio album All Love's Legal [18] along with a music video for its opening track "Welcome". [19]
On 31 August 2018, Rostron released "Transome" as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Powerhouse . It was followed by a second album track, "Much To Touch", on 12 October 2018. Both were released via Human Level / DFA Records. Powerhouse includes several tracks in which Rostron sings about their family and childhood in Bolton, England. The title track is a tribute to Rostron's mother; Rostron has said, "She's basically the powerhouse of the record. It was the hardest track to write, to pin down and express my love and adoration for my mum, because there's so many things that she's done for me, for the family, for my sister. She's the powerhouse, for sure." [20]
On July 22, 2020, Rostron released the EP, Planningtochanel, on Human Level. The six songs found on PlanningtoChanel originate from a collaboration between Planningtorock and Chanel sound director Michel Gaubert which soundtracked the Parisian fashion house's Autumn-Winter 2020 show earlier that year. This release exemplified Rostrom's approach to music which they described as seeking new ways to 'queering sound' in an interview with Pop Matters. Another fashion-focused production then followed with the release of Planningtokenzo, an eleven-minute release from March 26, 2021, that was originally commissioned to soundtrack the Fall/Winter 2021 collection from Japanese fashion brand Kenzo.
On June 22, 2021, Planningtorock announced Gay Dreams Do Come True, a new EP on Human Level that was conceived in the aftermath of getting married, and celebrated the all-consuming joy of their queer love and the sense of belonging and safety that can came with it. "I feel there's something very political about owning queer happiness", Jam said, "cutting it out and saying: we have a right to be happy. I want to make quite blatantly gay music to take up space. I felt like I was gay-dreaming on the day Riinu and I got married! There were little birds and stars around my head." The EP featured a series of hand illustrated portraits made of queer and trans friends of Planningtorock that tied to each song celebrating queer love by Korean Illustrator Joyce Lee. A series of remixes for each track from Gay Dreams Do Come True were also released with contributions from Parisian ballroom artist and legend Kiddy Smile, English ATRIP, French artist rRoxymore, British producer and DJ Maya Jane Coles, Belgian artist The Magician, Hot Chip's Joe Goddard, Ukrainian producer Alinka and British duo Kassian.
Planningtorock was among the artists who featured on Kick IIII , the third of LPs released by Arca in 2021 for XL Recordings. Their collaboration, "Queer", was described as "a regal, fist-in-the-air anthem set to a gargantuan gothic trap beat" in Philip Sherburne's Pitchfork review of Alejandra Ghersi's extensive album project.
In addition to original music and collaborations, there have been a number of high-profile Planningtorock remix commissions in the past few years. In August 2019, Planningtorock's remix of "Ever Again" by Robyn was released as part of the Swedish singer's campaign for the album Honey. Their 'Queered Version' of "La Vita Nuova" by French artist Christine & The Queens was included alongside remixes by A.G. Cook and Danielle Baldelli & Marco Dionigi on the La Vita Nuova (Remixes) released on August 28, 2020, on Because Music.
In 2021, Planningtorock remixed Lady Gaga's "1000 Doves" for the US singer's Dawn of Chromatica remix album which also featured Arca, Rina Sawayama, Shygirl, Mura Masa, Charli XCX, and A. G. Cook. A Planningtorock remix of Moby's cover of "Heroes" by David Bowie was included on the Reprise - Remixes album released on Deutsche Grammophon in May 2022, which saw a cast of modern producers from house, techno, ambient and modern classical circles rework music from the US artist's 2021 album Reprise .
Planningtorock has stated that the distortion of their vocals allows for the "playing around with gender alongside communicating what I feel is the emotions within the songs. Because I am really interested in expanding upon the limits that we live in – how we are defined – and it is an experiment". [12]
Kristine Elizabeth Weitz, widely known by her stage name Kristine W, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and entrepreneur. She is most widely known as a dance music artist. Born and raised in Pasco, Washington, she found early success competing in pageants and talent contests, winning Miss Washington and a preliminary swimsuit award as well as a NFT award in the Miss America pageant. Kristine W is now one of the most popular dance club artists of all time, with 17 #1s to date on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. She is currently listed among Billboard's 8 Greatest of All Time Top Dance Club Artists, and she was ranked number three in Billboard's Top Dance Artists of the Decade. She is especially popular in the gay community and is an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights, frequently performing at pride rallies and charity events for pro-LGBT organizations throughout the U.S.
DFA Records is an American independent record label founded in 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. They previously had a production team called The DFA, consisting of Goldsworthy and Murphy.
Matthew Sims, commonly known by his stage name Mount Sims as well as Mt. Sims, is a Berlin-based American DJ, performance artist and producer. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sims began his career in the local music scene. Sims was involved in several groups, the most notable of which was Citizen King, an Alternative Rock band famous for their 1999 hit "Better Days ", which reached #25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, Citizen King would not see any further success, and the band disbanded by 2002. Around the same time, Sims relocated to Los Angeles, where he continued his music career as a solo artist. Starting Mount Sims as an electronic music act, later releases have also shown influences from post punk, new wave, and Dark wave. Sims is almost exclusively responsible for every aspect of his music, providing vocals, instrumentation, and production. He was originally supported by three dancers, one of which was the dancer/choreographer Ryan Heffington. The last incarnation, Mt. Sims, was a three-piece band that included Rand Twigg on bass and Andre Lange on drums.
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Karin Elisabeth Dreijer is a Swedish singer-songwriter and record producer. Dreijer was one half of the electronic music duo the Knife, formed with their brother Olof Dreijer. Dreijer released their debut solo album under the alias Fever Ray in January 2009. Their second studio album, Plunge, under the same alias, was released in October 2017.
Robert Swire-Thompson is an Australian record producer, singer, songwriter, and DJ. He is the founder and vocalist of the drum and bass and electronic rock band Pendulum, as well as DJ and co-founder of electro house duo Knife Party formed of Swire and Gareth McGrillen.
Nathan Fake is an English electronic music artist from Necton, Norfolk, England. He has released music on the Border Community, Ninja Tune, and Cambria Instruments labels.
Ari Gold was an American pop singer and songwriter. He was openly gay, and regularly addressed being both Jewish and gay. He starred in an autobiographical theater production Ari Gold– Untitled: The Making of a Gay Pop Star.
Booka Shade is a German house duo. It is made up of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, described as veterans of the Frankfurt electronic music scene. They have released 7 studio albums, including Memento (2004), Movements (2006), The Sun & the Neon Light (2008), More! (2010), Eve (2013), Galvany Street (2017), Cut the Strings (2018), various EPs and a mix album for DJ-Kicks.
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W is the second solo studio album by English recording artist Planningtorock, released on 23 May 2011 by Rostron Records and DFA Records.
All Love's Legal is the third studio album by English musician Jam Rostron, known by their stage name Planningtorock; the album is their first since they came out as genderqueer, and it was released on 14 February 2014 by Human Level, a label Rostron formed to promote queer and female music producers. Featuring themes of feminism, gender, and queerness, All Love's Legal differs from Planningtorock's previous record W (2011) due to its less subtle lyrics and pop-orientated disco style. The album was promoted with several pre-album track releases, remixes by Rostron themself and other musicians such as TR/ST, Holly Herndon, and fellow Human Level artist rRoxymore, and music videos Rostron self-directed with an all-female team. Reviewers strongly praised the musical style and sound, but had mixed opinions on its use of sloganeering in delivering socially-charged statements.
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Frenk DJ is a former disc jockey.
"La vita nuova" is a song by French singer-songwriter and producer Christine and the Queens featuring American recording artist Caroline Polachek, from the EP of the same name. He performed the song on the Global Goal: Unite for Our Future concert on 27 June 2020. On 11 August 2020, Christine announced that a series of remix EPs of the album's title track would be released, with the first and second EPs released on 14 August and 28 August respectively.
Kick IIII is the seventh studio album by Venezuelan record producer and singer Arca. The album was scheduled to be released on 3 December 2021, but released early on 2 December 2021, through XL Recordings as a continuation to her 2021 record Kick III, and is the fourth entry in the Kick quintet. Kick IIII was supported by the accompanying lead single "Queer" featuring Planningtorock, and features cellist Oliver Coates, Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson, Planningtorock, as well as production from Cardopusher.
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