AS
ONE "SO FAR...(SO GOOD) 12 YEARS OF ELECTRONIC SOUL"
RECENT
PRESS (CLICK
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This
is not a best-of compilation. It's an introduction. Ubiquity proudly
presents 19 tracks by Kirk Degiorgio that were
recorded and recovered for this retrospective.
With six albums to date, two successful labels, more pseudonyms
than an adulterous stock broker, and a discography that takes
up way too much paper, it's safe to say that Kirk Degiorgio needs
little introduction. What sometimes needs a little clarification
however is the lasting impression he has made not only on his
own fan base, but his peers, the generations of producers that
followed, and the dance music community as a whole.
First, there's the Kirk Degiorgio who played a critical role in
the formation and development of the intelligent techno community.
In his formative years working for a record dealer, Degiorgio's
ears perked not only to the otherworldly sounds of Detroit techno
and squelchy Chicago house, but the ease with which these producers
were rolling the tunes out. "After seeing the equipment that
Derrick May and Juan Atkins
were producting stuff with," he says, "I sold my record
collection and bought a sampler, keyboard and fx units."
What Degiorgio brought to his sound however was buckets of emotion
and warmth to the machine language released on THE labels of the
day like R&S, Planet E, B12 and his own Applied
Rhythmic Technology (A.R.T.). The latter would also see releases
from his fellow torchbearers like Aphex Twin, Carl Craig,
Steve Pickton, Sensurreal and Black Dog (Plaid) .
Describe first hearing one of your tracks out in a club.
"I remember how the bass was too loud when B12 played 'Dance
Intellect' at the Fuse Club in Brussels."
From this initial output about which time his now-renowned As
One monicker was adopted (along with Future/Past ,Elegy , etc.),
Degiorgio would see himself become forever inscribed as part of
the intelligent techno community, popularized by Warp Records
and their Artificial Intelligence series. This was a taste however
of what Degiorgio had to offer.
Degiorgio recent output clearly reflects having cross paths both
professionally and socially with London's nu-jazz and broken beat
scene including 4 Hero, IG, Domu, Seiji, Alex Attias and more.
Tucked in Degiorgio's legendary Op-Art studio in Suffolk, his
sound is also buoyed in part by one of the most treasured collections
of Black American music that side of the Atlantic.
He describes himself, as "a huge fan of a musical era that
is long gone, but I am not stupid or lazy enough to simply try
and emulate the records of that era - that is pointless. I apply
the factors that I like so much in those records - usually in
the recording techniques i.e. using vintage equipment. I also
aim for that 'warm' sound so lacking since the early 80's. But
the compositions and programming are always futuristic simply
because I never try and repeat myself or think anything about
'commercial potential', or whether it will work in a club."
Degiorgio's music is fitting tribute to the highly influential
tunes of days past, while clearly pushing the technological envelope.
Having released three albums of forward-thinking ambient techno,
it was natural then to hear the breaks, beats and rhythms of his
passion for jazz, funk and raregroove permeate the icey sheen
of his techno production. It became clear that Degiorgio's "Future/Past"
monicker would also end up being the blueprint for his musical
output.
In 1996, Clear Records released his defining transitional LP,
"The Message in Herbie's Shirts" (later released
on CD with additional tracks as "In With their Arps and Moogs
and Jazz & Things"). A year later, Degiorgio's ground-breaking
approach to genre-bending electronics led to his first major release
in 1997 for the Mo' Wax label, for which he also remixed the Carl
Craig classic, "BugInTheBassBin."
The critical and commercial success of this album, combined with
several high profile television ad soundtracks (Adidas, Microsoft,
Nike, Fanta) gave Degiorgio much wider exposure. By this point
Op-Art (his label) ceased allowing Degiorgio time to answer the
increased demand for music, remixes, and DJ gigs.
Describe first hearing one of your tracks from a passing car.
"Real pride and surprise when Colin Faver played 'Dance Intellect'
on Kiss FM."
While in a label-contract shuffle following the major-label purchase
of Mo' Wax, Degiorgio hosted a weekly music radio program called
R Solution (with 4 Hero and Phil Asher ) on KISS FM. Over three
years, Degiorgio presented over 150 shows of the best of "Black
music - new and old" to listeners across England until it
ceased in 2001. Showcasing new grooves, and old, deep soulful
music, on a given night one could hear the R Solution team playing
anything from the latest in beats and hip house music to sets
of West End Records tunes, Herbie Hancock , criminally rare Sun
Ra , and fitting tributes to Detroit music spanning the century.
Describe first hearing one of your tracks in a record
shop.
"Whenever I hear my records out somewhere it just sounds
vaguely familiar at first then I realize it's my own"
Look forward to loads of new music from Kirk Degiorgio in the
near future. He's continuing to record techno Eps with Dan Keeling
as Critical Phase for EMI-subsidary, New Religion. There's a forthcoming
project on Versatile France on a more techno/experimental tip,
along with more collaborations (look for the 'Super-A-Loof' EP
on Exceptional, a collaboration between Degiorgio and Jamie "Jimpster"
Odell , plus work with Stacey Pullen and Photek that may eventually
surface) and returning to the studio with vocalist Simon Jinadu
(who did the vocals on "Problems" and "I'll Be
Loving You"). Says Degiorgio: "It's nothing like anything
I or anybody has done before."
Finally, following a short Japan tour with Ubiquity labelmate
John Beltran , Degiorgio has begun to work on his follow-up As
One album to 2001's "21st Century
Soul".
-
Click Here
to read an exclusive interview with As One.
- Click
Here for
more info on Kirk Degiorgio (As One).
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