King Britt
Encyclopedia
King Britt is an American DJ
and record producer
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
King Britt is his actual legal name.
, as a buyer for the singles/import section. His extensive knowledge of dance music made him an in demand buyer in the company. He went on to make many connections in the music community, bringing in records and new labels from all over the world. Soon meeting them all in person.
King also enters Temple University
.
King also produces his first commercial release "Tribal Confusion" on groundbreaking dance label, Strictly Rhythm
. He collaborated with music partner Josh Wink
to create this classic. Their musical partnership continues until 2001.
winning group Digable Planets
. The tour continues for 2 yrs with a 3 month opening slot with Sade
.
. Their first release was a collaboration between King and wordsmith/singer Ursula Rucker
called Supernatural. The song went on to become a staple tune in the US rave scene and is revered as a classic in many countries. Ovum Recordings is still in operation but King resigned from his position in 2001.
compared his sound to that of Soul II Soul
and De La Soul
.
, Martin Fry
from ABC
, Kathy Sledge
, Grover Washington Jr, De La Soul
and others. This was his tribute to his 80s heroes. It would be his last album for Ovum Recordings and Columbia Records
.
King pursues much more production work releasing an amazing body of work. Most of them listed in this accurate discography of all of his works.
as Quasimoto
, De La Soul
, Dice Raw
, Ivana Santilli
and Butterfly from Digable Planets.
". A recreation of self proclaimed bride of christ, Sister Gertrude's original Preservation Hall
album gets new life. The record goes on to be included in the Michael Mann
's 2006 film Miami Vice
, on the AdBusters
compilation, Live Without Dead Time. the hit HBO television show True Blood
.
, this record was praised by the legends of techno Derrick May
and Carl Craig
, including many of the songs in their sets. Derrick even contributed to the liner notes.
for composition.
to coincide with a Sun Ra
exhibit, that was touring. They soon took the concept further, while they were residents at The Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia.
Now Saturn Never Sleeps is a band, label and curated monthly in Philadelphia.
. Special guests include Rucyl, Ryat and Astrid Suryanto, who sings on the club hit Now.
He also produces Canadian rock stars, Bedouin Soundclash
. The album Light the Horizon is the fruit of their labor.
King Britt continues to remix everyone from Tori Amos
and Miles Davis
to Saul Williams
and Meredith Monk
.
or
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
King Britt is his actual legal name.
1987: Tower Records Years
King starts working at the famous Tower RecordsTower Records
Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....
, as a buyer for the singles/import section. His extensive knowledge of dance music made him an in demand buyer in the company. He went on to make many connections in the music community, bringing in records and new labels from all over the world. Soon meeting them all in person.
King also enters Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
.
1990: The Beginning of Producing/Djing
King Britt begins his first dj residency at the now legendary Silk City in Philadelphia and the now defunct, Revival. These 2 dj residencies would help change the course of dance music in Philadelphia and lay the foundation for King's musical future.King also produces his first commercial release "Tribal Confusion" on groundbreaking dance label, Strictly Rhythm
Strictly Rhythm
Strictly Rhythm is an American record label, best known for its highly regarded house-music catalogue. It is considered by many to be one of the genre's most important and influential labels.-History:Strictly Rhythm Records is house music...
. He collaborated with music partner Josh Wink
Josh Wink
Josh Wink is an electronic music DJ, label owner, producer, remixer, and artist. He is a native of Philadelphia, United States. A pioneering DJ in the American rave scene during the early 1990s, Wink was the most prominent exponent of the tribal forms of techno and house in the U.S...
to create this classic. Their musical partnership continues until 2001.
1992: The Digable Planets Years
King Britt tours worldwide for the Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning group Digable Planets
Digable Planets
Digable Planets is an American alternative hip hop trio based in New York City, composed of Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler , Mary Ann "Ladybug Mecca" Vieira and Craig "Doodlebug" Irving . They released their debut album Reachin' in 1993, and their follow-up album Blowout Comb in 1994...
. The tour continues for 2 yrs with a 3 month opening slot with Sade
Sade (band)
Sade is a British smooth jazz band that formed in 1983, named for Nigerian lead singer Sade Adu. Their music features elements of R&B, soul, jazz, and soft rock....
.
1994: Ovum Recordings (early years)
King Britt and Josh Wink start Ovum RecordingsOvum Recordings
Ovum Recordings is a house music record label founded by Josh Wink and King Britt in October 1994. It is based in Philadelphia....
. Their first release was a collaboration between King and wordsmith/singer Ursula Rucker
Ursula Rucker
Ursula Rucker is an American spoken word recording artist. Rucker is known for a diverse repertoire, and for utilizing techniques that catch her listeners' attention.-Biography:...
called Supernatural. The song went on to become a staple tune in the US rave scene and is revered as a classic in many countries. Ovum Recordings is still in operation but King resigned from his position in 2001.
1998: When The Funk Hits The Fan
Under the name "Sylk130", King releases the now neo soul classic When The Funk Hits the Fan on Ovum/Columbia Records. This album went to sell over 500,000 copies worldwide and will be re-released in 2012 as part of a box set collection for Sylk130. In a favorable review of the 1998 album When the Funk Hits the Fan, BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
compared his sound to that of Soul II Soul
Soul II Soul
Soul II Soul are a British group that was created in London in 1988. They are best known for their 1989 UK chart-topper and U.S. Top 5 hit, "Back to Life ".-Career:...
and De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
.
2001: Remember's Only
King Britt releases "Sylk130" Re-Member's Only, which features Alison MoyetAlison Moyet
Alison Moyet , is an English singer, songwriter and performer noted for her bluesy voice.Her UK album sales have reached a certified 2.3 million, with 800,000 singles sold, all in the UK, where all seven of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the Top 40 UK Album Chart,...
, Martin Fry
Martin Fry
Martin Fry is lead singer of the band, ABC.-Biography:He grew up in Bramhall, Stockport, alongside his younger brother Jamie .-ABC:...
from ABC
ABC (band)
ABC are an English band, that charted ten UK and five US Top 40 singles between 1981 and 1990. The band continues to tour and released a new album, Traffic, in 2008.-Formation:...
, Kathy Sledge
Kathy Sledge
Kathy Sledge , the youngest of five sisters, Carol,Debra,Joni and Kim. She is an American singer who has had several hits on the International Pop and Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, including "Take Me Back To Love Again," which hit #1 in 1992. She is the granddaughter of former opera singer...
, Grover Washington Jr, De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
and others. This was his tribute to his 80s heroes. It would be his last album for Ovum Recordings and Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
.
King pursues much more production work releasing an amazing body of work. Most of them listed in this accurate discography of all of his works.
2003: Adventures in Lo Fi
King Britt releases Adventures in Lo Fi on London's BBE label. Guests include MadlibMadlib
Otis Jackson Jr. in Oxnard, California, known professionally as Madlib, is a Los Angeles-based DJ, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and music producer...
as Quasimoto
Quasimoto
Quasimoto is the alter ego or the side project of hip hop producer Madlib, from Oxnard, California. Quas is known for the raised pitch of his voice as if he was inhaling helium. Another notable characteristic is Quas inter-changing with Madlib's voice. One day in the studio, Madlib decided to...
, De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
, Dice Raw
Dice Raw
Dice Raw is a hip-hop artist associated with The Roots, and one of the founding members of musical group Nouveau Riche.In 2000, Dice Raw recorded his solo debut album, Reclaiming the Dead on MCA Records....
, Ivana Santilli
Ivana Santilli
Ivana Santilli is a Canadian R&B singer and multi-instrumentalist, who has recorded both as a solo artist and as a member of the 1990s R&B/pop combo Bass is Base. Santili is presently signed to CP Records.-Early life and career:...
and Butterfly from Digable Planets.
2005: Sister Gertrude Morgan
Fast forward a few years, King Britt produces "King Britt Presents: Sister Gertrude MorganKing Britt Presents: Sister Gertrude Morgan
King Britt Presents: Sister Gertrude Morgan is an album by King Britt released on September 6, 2005.-Track listing:...
". A recreation of self proclaimed bride of christ, Sister Gertrude's original Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...
album gets new life. The record goes on to be included in the Michael Mann
Michael Mann
Michael Mann is the name of:*Michael Mann , musician and professor of German literature, son of Thomas Mann*Michael Mann , Anglican clergyman...
's 2006 film Miami Vice
Miami Vice (film)
Miami Vice is a 2006 American crime drama film about two Miami police detectives, Crockett and Tubbs, who go undercover to fight drug trafficking operations. The film is a loose adaptation of the 1980s TV series of the same name, written, produced, and directed by Michael Mann...
, on the AdBusters
AdBusters
The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based not-for-profit, anti-consumerist, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia...
compilation, Live Without Dead Time. the hit HBO television show True Blood
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
.
2006: The Nova Dream Sequence
Still continuing to dj/produce, King changes his direction a bit and shares his love of techno music with the release of Interpretation under the moniker The Nova Dream Sequence. Released on Munich based label CompostCompost Records
Compost Records is a German record label established by Michael Reinboth in 1994.Gilles Peterson called Compost "the most consistent and forward thinking record label of continental Europe."-The label:...
, this record was praised by the legends of techno Derrick May
Derrick May
Derrick May, also known as Mayday and Rhythim is Rhythim, is an electronic musician from Belleville, Michigan U.S.A. He was born an only child in Detroit in 1963 and began to explore electronic music early in his life...
and Carl Craig
Carl Craig
Carl Craig is a Detroit-based producer of techno music, and is considered to be one of the most important names in the Detroit second generation of techno producers and DJs...
, including many of the songs in their sets. Derrick even contributed to the liner notes.
2007: The Pew Fellowship In The Arts Award
King Britt wins the prestigious Pew Fellowship in the ArtsPew Fellowships in the Arts
The Pew Fellowships in the Arts is an organization established by the Pew Charitable Trusts in 1991 which awards grants to Philadelphia-area artists. The grants provide artists with an economic freedom that presents the opportunity to focus on their individual practices over a considerable period...
for composition.
2009: Saturn Never Sleeps (the birth)
King Britt and multimedia artists Rucyl, start Saturn Never Sleeps, an electronic improvisational group as well as a label. They came together to curate an evening of music for the Institute of Contemporary Art in PhiladelphiaInstitute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia
The Institute of Contemporary Art or ICA is a contemporary art museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The museum is associated with the University of Pennsylvania, and is located on its campus. The Institute is one of the country's leading museums dedicated to exhibiting the innovative...
to coincide with a Sun Ra
Sun Ra
Sun Ra was a prolific jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, poet and philosopher known for his "cosmic philosophy," musical compositions and performances. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama...
exhibit, that was touring. They soon took the concept further, while they were residents at The Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia.
Now Saturn Never Sleeps is a band, label and curated monthly in Philadelphia.
2010: The Intricate Beauty
The Intricate Beauty by King Britt is released on the historic Nervous RecordingsNervous Records (US)
Nervous Records is a New York City record label of underground house music and hip-hop, founded in 1991. Noted for early productions by notables including Armand Van Helden, Mood II Swing, Masters At Work and Josh Wink...
. Special guests include Rucyl, Ryat and Astrid Suryanto, who sings on the club hit Now.
He also produces Canadian rock stars, Bedouin Soundclash
Bedouin Soundclash
Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band currently based in Toronto. Their sound can be described as reggae and ska.-History:The band's current lineup consists of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, and bassist Eon Sinclair with Sekou Lumumba on drums. Their debut album, Root Fire, released in 2001...
. The album Light the Horizon is the fruit of their labor.
2011: Yesterday's Machine
King Britt along with partner Rucyl, release Yesterday's Machine the debut album from Saturn Never Sleeps.King Britt continues to remix everyone from Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
and Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
to Saul Williams
Saul Williams
Saul Stacey Williams is an American poet, writer, actor and musician known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop and for his leading role in the 1998 independent film Slam.-Biography:...
and Meredith Monk
Meredith Monk
Meredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
.
Quick Discography
- 1998: When the Funk Hits the Fan
- 2001: Re-Members Only
- 2001: The Philadelphia Experiment RemixedThe Philadelphia Experiment (album)The Philadelphia Experiment is the self-titled album resulting from a collaborative project including Uri Caine , Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Christian McBride...
- 2002: Hidden Treasures by Scuba
- 2002: Black to the Future
- 2002: "Cosmoafrique" by ObaFunke
- 2003: Adventures In Lo-Fi (BBE RecordsBarely Breaking EvenBarely Breaking Even is a British record label started by two DJs, Peter Adarkwah and Ben Jolly. The name BBE comes from The Universal Robot Band's 1982 track `Barely Breaking Even'. It has two sublabels: Deep Funk, and Urban Theory...
) - 2005: Late Night with King Britt
- 2005: King Britt Presents: Sister Gertrude Morgan
- 2006: Nova Dream Sequence: Interpretations
- 2007: Cosmic Lounge
- 2007: This Is King Britt
- 2009: Deep And Sexy 4
- 2010: The Intricate Beauty
- 2011: "Yesterday's Machine" by Saturn Never Sleeps
or
External links
- King Britt official site
- Full Discography
- [ King Britt] at AllMusic
- King Britt pro profile on Apple site
- DJ Mixes