Pop Levi | |
|---|---|
 Pop Levi at The Good Ship, London, 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jonathan James Mark Levi |
| Also known as | Jr. Hi, Mozambique Courier |
| Born | 22 September 1977 Surrey, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, record producer, filmmaker |
| Labels | Counter, Invicta Hi-Fi, Neon Gold |
Pop Levi (born Jonathan James Mark Levi, [1] [2] 22 September 1977) [3] is an English singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.
Levi grew up in the suburbs of Birmingham and attended Shrewsbury School, a public school in Shropshire between 1991 and 1994 [4] where he would skip church to write songs in the basement. [5] In 1997, Levi re-located to Liverpool to study at LIPA [ citation needed ] and formed the experimental instrumental band Super Numeri with Karl Webb and James Morgan [6] [7] who signed to Ninja Tune in 2002 and released albums "Great Aviaries" in 2003 and "The Welcome Table" in 2005. During this period, Levi also played bass for Ladytron live and on the album Witching Hour. [8] [9]
In 2004, Levi released singles "Rude Kinda Love" and "Reindeer In My Heart" on the independent "Invicta Hi-Fi" label set up by Daniel Hunt of Ladytron. [10] A planned follow-up single in 2005 entitled "Kissed Her Sister" was shelved along with the album "Foxwatch", [11] and Levi formed The Emergencies [12] with organ player Jake Field and Zukanican members, rhythm guitarist Dominic Lewington (AKA Domino), bass player Harry Sumnall and drummer James Pagella. The band played regularly around Liverpool as "Pop Levi & The Emergencies" [13] [14] including slots at the Merseyside Unity Music Festival and Unite Against Racism Festival. Now backed by The Emergencies, Levi released "Blue Honey", his last single on "Invicta Hi-Fi", before signing to Ninja Tune. [15] After signing the new deal, Levi moved to Los Angeles which resulted in The Emergencies disbanding. With Lewington still on board, [16] Levi recruited drummer Marius Simonsen and bass player Luke Muscatelli (AKA Lucky Beaches) and the band moved to the US, living together in the same house in Echo Park, Los Angeles. [17] The new backing band was named "Woman". [18]
In February 2007, Levi released his debut solo album on Counter Records, an imprint specifically created for Levi by Ninja Tune. The Return to Form Black Magick Party was self-produced and recorded over several years, solely on a lap top & D16 recording machine, at Liverpool studio/rehearsal space The Kif [17] (where a previous Super Numeri album was recorded[ citation needed ]) and whilst on tour with Ladytron [19] in a number of different locations in "England, China, France, Greece, LA, New York" [20] such as "on trains, in planes, in warehouses, on the top of Cathedrals, at the beach, in bathrooms, hotel rooms and tombs. I made sure to capture the first take of everything I recorded and then took the tracks to Sacramento to be mixed". [21] The album was toured extensively across the US, UK, Europe and Australia, and was listed as one of Lauren Laverne's favourite artists to make it big in 2007 on BBC Two's The Culture Show .
In July 2008, Levi released the follow-up album Never Never Love , which was preceded by the single "Dita Dimoné" which made BBC Radio 6's 'Record Of The Week'. Levi set out to make the follow-up, in contrast to the loose feel of the debut, sound artificial and soulless, that it sounded "like Japanese toys falling in and out of love with each other". The album was recorded at Westbeach Recorders [22] and Westlake Recording Studios, in the same room Quincy Jones recorded Michael Jackson's Thriller and Off The Wall albums. [23] Following the recording of the album, Lewington was asked to leave, returning to England to pursue solo projects, while Simonsen returned to Norway [24] and joined pop band Montée, [25] leaving Levi with no band to tour the album. Levi and Muscatelli played sporadic shows across LA as a duo, with Muscatelli shifting from bass guitar to synth bass. Aside from a handful of solo acoustic shows in London, there was also no tour to support the album in the UK either.
2008 also saw the emergence of Levi's World Empire, Inc. film and music production company. [26] In September, the 37th Festival Nouveau Cinema in Montréal held the world premiere of You Don't Gotta Run, a surreal 37-minute docu-featurette directed by auteur Lucky Beaches and starring Levi. [27]
A planned double album of home demos and outtakes entitled "Micro Sex Tapes", which was originally set for release in 2009 was never released. [23] [28] A stand-alone double A-Side single "Police $ign/Terrifying (For Kenneth Anger)" was released in June 2009, [29] with a new lineup featuring drummer Hayden Scott. [30] An early version of Police $ign was featured in the in-game soundtrack of Gran Turismo 5.
In 2009, Levi travelled to Norway where drummer Simonsen was now based [31] to record his third album, tentatively titled "Records", which was intended to be live and raw sounding.[ citation needed ] The album was recorded in a mountain-top converted barn [32] and re-titled "Smack Musick", [33] however, after being left in a state of limbo for 2 years, with the last scheduled release date being March 2011, it was eventually shelved. [32]
In April 2011, "Levitation Vol. 1" was temporarily made available as a free download via worldempireinc.com. The 14 track mixtape was recorded and mixed mostly in 2010-11 at The White Arc, Levi's studio in Los Angeles. [34] The release was followed up by "Motorcycle 666" in July 2011, recorded during the "Smack Musick" sessions in Norway. [32] The b-side "Rock Solid" was recorded at The White Arc. [35] The single was backed by select dates in London and Liverpool, with a new lineup with Muscatelli now on guitar. [36]
Levi has also produced and performed with Canadian-born artist and American Apparel model Bunny Holiday in Los Angeles and on a five-city tour of China. [37] In 2010 Pop Levi and Bunny Holiday directed the music video for former N.W.A star Arabian Prince's "Let's Hit The Beach" single on Stones Throw Records. [38] The duo also directed a music video for "The Look" to promote the 2010 VansXStüssy shoe collaboration. [39]
Levi's song "Sugar Assault Me Now" was used in the trailers for the 2010 film, Get Him to the Greek [40] and his music has also been featured in numerous television shows including Chuck, Entourage and 90210.
In November 2012, Levi released his third solo studio album Medicine, [41] his last for Counter Records. The album was preceded by single "Strawberry Shake", featuring a remix by Tom Vek, and followed by 5-track EP "Starlight & Wonder Vol. 1". [42] An album showcase gig set to take place at The Lexington, London was cancelled at the last minute due to change in artist management.
In November 2013, Levi released "Secrets" under the pseudonym Jr. Hi [43] [44] via Neon Gold Records, featuring guest vocals by The Weeknd. [45] Levi's management Roxwell had previously confirmed that Levi had been working with a number of artists including The Weeknd, Kimbra, Switch and Robert DeLong. [46] In February 2014 a second track "Trillion Girls" was released, featuring guest vocals from Childish Gambino. [44] [47]
In December 2013, Levi wrote and produced the Childish Gambino song "The Party" for the album Because the Internet , which was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2015 Grammy Awards. [48]
In September 2014, Levi and Bunny Holiday formed the Industrial/Electronic duo crush_DLX, releasing through their SoundCloud 1 track a day for 370 days in an Audio Series format called MICRO SEX TAPES 370º. [49] The series has produced collaborations with Ariel Pink [50] and Cabaret Voltaire founder Stephen Mallinder. [51]
In 2020, Levi signed to Toronto based label Boiled Records. On 2 December 2020, he released the album Mark Of Paradise. [52] This was quickly followed up by Juicy Diamond on 17 March 2021. [53]
In February 2022, Levi started a new band with Muscatelli under the project name "The Big Kill". [54]
Albums
EPs
Remix
Singles
Mixtape
Albums
The following are the music videos starring and/or directed by Pop Levi.
| Year | Song | Artist | Director | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Mark Of Paradise | Pop Levi | Pop Levi | Boiled Records |
| 2020 | Touch Of You | |||
| 2012 | Coming Down | Lucky Beaches | Counter Records | |
| Strawberry Shake | Bunny Holiday | |||
| 2011 | Motorcycle 666 | William Overby | ||
| 2010 | Chyna Girl | Bunny Holiday | Pop Levi | World Empire, Inc. |
| Teach Me How To Bunny | Pop Levi & Bunny Holiday | |||
| Let's Hit The Beach | Arabian Prince | Stones Throw | ||
| The Look | Bunny Holiday | Bunny Holiday & Pop Levi | World Empire, Inc. for Vans | |
| Tender Young Flesh | Pop Levi & Bunny Holiday | World Empire, Inc. | ||
| Tender Young Flesh (Live Cam) | ||||
| 2009 | Terrifying (For Kenneth Anger) | Pop Levi | Dylan Mulick | Counter Records |
| 2008 | Everything & Finally | Auntie Mum | ||
| Semi-Babe | Aaron Willmer & Martin Dobson | |||
| Dita Dimoné | Neil Mclean | |||
| Mai's Space | Auntie Mum | |||
| Never Never Love | Neil Mclean | |||
| 2007 | Pick-Me-Up Uppercut | Mox & Pop Levi | ||
| 2007 | Pick-Me-Up Uppercut | Brian Harty | ||
| 2006 | Sugar Assault Me Now | Brian Harty | ||
| Reindeer In My Heart | Pop Levi | Invicta Hi-Fi | ||
| Blue Honey | Christian Swegal | Counter Records | ||
| 2005 | Blue Honey | Jackie Passmore | Invicta Hi-Fi | |
| 2004 | Rude Kinda Love | Good Times |
Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, which featured cut-up samples of hip-hop, soul, funk, spoken word and various other types of music, as well as video and multimedia. According to Spin, "in '87 Coldcut pioneered the British fad for 'DJ records'".
Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More and managed by Peter Quicke and others.
Ladytron are an English-based electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Scottish lead singer Helen Marnie, Bulgarian-Israeli Mira Aroyo, and Englishman Daniel Hunt. Reuben Wu (synthesizers) was a member from 1999 until 2023. They have released seven studio albums: 604 (2001), Light & Magic (2002), Witching Hour (2005), Velocifero (2008), Gravity the Seducer (2011), Ladytron (2019) and Time's Arrow (2023). They also issued the live album Live at London Astoria 16.07.08 in 2009 and the compilation album Best of 00–10 in 2011. They have produced remixes for artists such as Dave Gahan, Erasure, Goldfrapp, Apoptygma Berzerk, Placebo, Blondie, Gang of Four, Christina Aguilera, Nine Inch Nails, Bloc Party, Kings of Convenience, Soulwax and Róisín Murphy.
Andrew Carthy, known professionally as Mr. Scruff, is an English record producer and DJ. He lives in Stretford, Greater Manchester and studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University. Before he could make a living from his music alone, he worked as a shelf stocker in the Hazel Grove branch of Kwik Save.
Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva, is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial success with albums Run Come Save Me and Slime & Reason. He has been described as "one of the most influential artists in British music history." His most recent studio album, Bleeds, was released in October 2015.
Hexstatic are an English electronic music duo, consisting of Stuart Warren Hill and Robin Brunson, that specializes in creating "quirky audio visual electro." Formed in 1997 after Hill and Brunson met while producing visuals at the Channel 5 launch party, they decided to take over for the original members of the Ninja Tune multimedia collective Hex that had disbanded around the same time. They soon collaborated with Coldcut for the Natural Rhythms Trilogy, including the critically acclaimed A/V single "Timber".
Skalpel are Polish nu jazz DJs, musicians and record producers, Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudło, from Wrocław, Poland. Their musical style is a distinctive blend of hip hop beats, laced with samples lifted from the rich seam of Polish jazz records of the 1960s and 1970s.
Super Numeri were an English instrumental avant-garde group based in Liverpool and signed to the Ninja Tune label in 2002.
Fin Greenall, known professionally as Fink, is an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and disc jockey born in Cornwall and currently based in Berlin and London. From 1997 to 2003, he focused on electronic music and DJ'd internationally, releasing in 2000 his debut album Fresh Produce on Ninja Tune. Since the 2006 release of his album Biscuits for Breakfast, the name Fink has also referred to the recording and touring trio fronted by Greenall himself, completed by Guy Whittaker (bass) and Tim Thornton (drums).
Foley Room is the sixth studio album by Brazilian electronic music producer Amon Tobin, released on March 5, 2007, through Ninja Tune. The album was supported by the "Bloodstone" single, which was released digitally on January 9, 2007, and physically on January 21.
Joe Corrales Jr., also known as Yppah, is an American electronic/rock musician. He is currently signed to Future Archive Recordings and resides in Long Beach, California, United States.
The Death Set is an experimental music band with roots in punk rock, sometimes referred to as art punk. The band formed in 2005 in Sydney. Six months after its inception, the band moved to the United States, living in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Brooklyn, where the band found an audience for its style of experimental, cross genre, punk rock. Moving after less than two years in each city the band has been nomadic, yet thrived in each base. All members now currently live in Brooklyn, New York. The band fuses punk rock sound and energy, electronic music production and hip hop sampling into their recordings. Their live shows are high energy events, inciting crowd chaos and sometimes played at crowd level with the audience surrounding the band.
Shadow Records was launched in 1995 as a sub-label of Instinct Records, with a focus on the more organic side of the underground electronic music scene. The label's first release in 1995, Abstrackt Workshop, featured performances by DJ Krush, Funki Porcini, and Marden Hill in addition to songs from labels like Pussyfoot and Yellow Productions.
The Flanger is a German music project, founded in 1997 by Uwe Schmidt and Bernd Friedmann, who have both been active in the music business since the early 1990s. The two musicians met up to program their first album Templates at Mira Musica, Santiago de Chile in 1997. Their musical goal was to generate their own vision of non-repetitive, organic and extremely complex music that is far removed from the well-trodden paths of techno and other established styles of so-called contemporary music.
The Heavy are an English rock band from Bath, Somerset, England, formed in 2007. They have released six albums as well as a wide array of singles. Their music has been widely used in the media, with their 2009 single "How You Like Me Now?" becoming their biggest hit.
That Bad Eartha is a twelve-song reconfiguration of material from American singer Eartha Kitt's first two eight-song, 10-inch albums issued by RCA Victor. It contains all eight songs from the 1953 album RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt. It repurposes the cover image and title, and four of the songs from Eartha's 1954 second 10-inch album, That Bad Eartha . In this way, it could be considered an expansion of the first short-length album, supplementing it with packaging and selected songs from the second.
Ema Jolly, better known by her stage name Emika, is an English electronic musician of Czech origin currently residing in Berlin. Her self-titled debut album was released in October 2011 via Ninja Tune and received generally positive reviews.
Chasing the Saturdays is the second extended play by British-Irish girl group The Saturdays. It was released on 27 January 2013 in the United States and Canada alone through Fascination and Mercury Records. The EP was the group's first release under Mercury since signing a US distribution deal. The EP collection is titled after their reality television programme, Chasing the Saturdays, which is broadcast through American television network E!. It follows the band trying to break into the American music market.
Food is the sixth studio album by American singer Kelis. It was released on April 18, 2014, becoming her first album released under Ninja Tune Records. After parting ways with Jive Records in 2007, Kelis signed to Interscope and will.i.am Music Group in 2009, through the label she released her fifth studio album, Flesh Tone, which saw Kelis experiment with a dance sound. In 2011, Kelis began work on the follow-up to Flesh Tone; however, she left Interscope and signed to Federal Prism, before officially signing to the British independent label Ninja Tune for the release of Food. Food is an R&B and soul album with a diverse musical style that incorporates funk, Afrobeat, Memphis soul, and neo soul. Its songs feature crackling horns, brass, earthy guitars, simmering electronics and vocals from Kelis that were noted as being breathy, smoky and sultry.
Jay Daniel is an electronic musician, producer, and selector from Detroit, Michigan, United States. In addition to his own label, Watusi High, Daniel has released music on Sound Signature, Wild Oats, and most recently released his debut album, 'Broken Knowz' on Ninja Tune. Son to Naomi Daniel
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
