Lo-Key Fu
Encyclopedia
Biography
Lo-Key Fu is a contemporary producerRecord 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...
, performer
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
and remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
er based in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
who composes various styles of Breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
and performs his own music as a live electronic act. He is recognized on State, National and International levels as an artist at the forefront of Australia's movement in this genre, and his music has featured on multiple solo releases, soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s and compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s.
Lincoln Street Switch
From a long-term friendship and shared musical vision with local drum and bassDrum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
producer Scope (John Bamford), the collaborative Lincoln Street Switch EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
was released locally on CD format in November 2000 as a limited pressing. Named after a residence on Lincoln Street in North Perth
North Perth
North Perth can refer to:*North Perth, Ontario, Canada*North Perth, Western Australia, Australia...
where Scope located his studio for the duration of this project, the EP contained two studio produced tracks from each artist and an additional forty minutes of recorded collaborative improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
. This release marked Lo-Key Fu's first serious foray into live electronic music and formed the basis of techniques he would later develop for triggering and manipulating improvised loops
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
and samples from a Roland SP-808 Groove Sampler
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
.
Rollerskates
Following the release of Lincoln Street Switch, Lo-Key Fu joined local original band RollerskatesRollerskates (band)
Rollerskates are a five piece indie pop band originating from Perth, Western Australia. Rollerskates mix of electronic sounds, tight dance music, hip-hop undertones, rock elements and touches of funk have seen this five piece grow into a popular music group in Perth.-Early years:Rollerskates were...
as a live samplist, second keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, hip-hop MC and vocalist and he remained a contributory member of this outfit until December 2003. It was during this time that Lo-Key Fu originated and developed a technique that used hand movements over the Roland infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
D-Beam
D-Beam
The D-Beam Controller is a Roland Synthesizers interface that controls sound and effects via hand movements interacting with an infrared beam of light. Although controlled in a similar manner to a theremin, it should not be confused with one. The theremin operates with radio frequencies.It was...
technology of the SP-808 to interactively pitch bend
Portamento
Portamento is a musical term originated from the Italian expression "portamento della voce" , denoting from the beginning of the 17th century a vocal slide between two pitches and its emulation by members of the violin family and certain wind instruments, and is sometimes used...
samples in a manner that emulated record scratching
Scratching
Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...
as part of the bands live performance. In addition to composing, remixing and producing music for this group he also design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
ed artwork for CD releases and printed promotional material; most notably for the successful The Movement EP.
MusicOz
Lo-Key Fu entered the song A New Breed into the Dance category of the National MusicOz competition which resulted in him placing as the National Runner Up of this category for 2003.Itchy Techno Finger
The debut full-length solo album titled Itchy Techno Finger was released through QStik Records and launched to a capacity crowd at Ambar Nightclub (Perth, Western AustraliaPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
) in July 2004. This album subsequently received national air play on Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
, FBi
FBi Radio
FBi is an independent, not-for-profit community radio station in Sydney, Australia. FBi places a heavy emphasis on local alternative music: it has a policy that at least 50 per cent of its music content is to be Australian, of which at least half comes from Sydney musicians.FBi began 'test...
, 4ZZZ
4ZZZ
4ZZZ is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia...
, RTRFM
RTRFM
RTRFM is a not-for-profit, community radio station based in Perth, Western Australia. It is self-funded, largely through listener subscription and fund-raising events, however it does carry some "advertising material" at a maximum of 5 mins per hour. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, on 92.1 in the...
, Twin Cities FM
Twin Cities FM
Twin Cities FM , currently known on-air as 89-7, is a community radio station, broadcasting in Perth, Western Australia. Their studios are presently located beside the Edith Cowan University in Joondalup.-History:...
, Base FM and Pulse FM. After supporting Lee Coombs and Meat Katie
Meat Katie
Mark Pember, also known as Meat Katie, is a London-based tech-funk producer and DJ. He has gained popularity in recent years in developing his style of tech-funk, combining techno, tribal, electro, breakbeat and house music...
with a live performance at Breakfest 2004, Lo-Key Fu was nominated for Best Live Electronic Act and won the title for Best Electronic Producer at the annual WAMi
West Australian Music Industry Awards
The Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
Awards in 2005. Soon after, he received a software endorsement offer from Ableton
Ableton
Ableton AG is a Berlin-based music software company that produces and distributes the production and performance suite Ableton Live and a collection of related instruments and sample libraries.- History :...
(Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) via Musiclink Australia for their flagship product Live
Ableton Live
Ableton Live is a loop-based software music sequencer and DAW for Mac OS and Windows by Ableton. The latest major release of Live, Version 8, was released in April 2009. In contrast to many other software sequencers, Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for...
.
The Contender
In June 2006, Lo-Key Fu won The Contender, an International song competition held by Title Fight Recordings and Bijou Breaks for his original track Gung-Ho that included recorded vocals from singer Paula Graham. The 12" vinyl format was released internationally on 17 September 2007 featuring both the winning track, and a collaborative remix from Title Fight label owner Klaus 'Heavyweight' Hill and label manager Dopamine. Both versions of the song were then released in digital format on 24 September 2007 exclusively through BeatportBeatport
Beatport is an online music store specializing in electronic dance music and culture. Beatport is a privately held company owned and operated by Beatport LLC and based in Denver, Colorado.-History:...
.
Dead Famous
After supporting nu skool breaksNu skool breaks
Nu skool breaks is a term used to describe a sub-genre of breakbeat. The sub-genre is usually characterized by its darker and heavier bass lines that are normally dominant throughout the track...
forefather Rennie Pilgrem
Rennie Pilgrem
Rennie Pilgrem is an electronic music producer from England who is often considered responsible for the creation of the nu skool breaks genre. Before moving into breaks Rennie produced techno and acid house and was part of the influential rave group Rhythm Section along with Ellis Dee. Rennie is...
at Perth winter festival Major Break, Lo-Key Fu's first record with Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
label Dead Famous Records was released on 22 August 2008 and continued the label's format of depicting dead celebrities on the artwork with an image of martial-artist Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
. As a double a-side release, this record features two Lo-Key Fu tracks - Tech-Resurrection and Style of the Rising Filter - with the latter incorporating recorded vocals from singer Tenille Knievel. In the first week of release this record broke into the top ten breakbeat/electro bestsellers for established British record retailers Chemical Records and Juno Records and over the month following peaked at number 3 and 9 respectively on weekly charts; also appearing in Juno's top 100 bestsellers for the half-year period. Following the relative success of this release, Lo-Key Fu performed an original set at the Perth leg of Parklife - a nationally reputed spring festival - along with acts such as the Plump DJs, Soulwax
Soulwax
Soulwax, headed by David and Stephen Dewaele, are an alternative rock/electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Next to the Dewaele brothers, Soulwax consists of bassist Stefaan Van Leuven and drummer Steve Slingeneyer. They were first noticed after the release of their album Much Against Everyone's...
, Blackalicious
Blackalicious
Blackalicious is an American hip hop duo from Sacramento, California made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel . They are noted for Gift of Gab's often "tongue-twisting", multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's "classic" beats...
, Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
, Slyde and Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1999 in London, England, that consists of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ....
.
Vinyl Releases
- Style Of The Rising Filter / Tech-Resurrection, CAT#: DF14 (12"), Dead Famous Records, August 2008
- Gung-Ho, CAT#: TFBB01 (12"), Title Fight Recordings / Bijou Breaks, September 2007
Media Releases
- Radio Edits 2002, (House Of Fu), July 2002
- Crystal Queen, (House Of Fu), September 2003
- FortyForty, (House Of Fu), March 2005
Interviews
- "Lo-Key Fu: One Year Later" InTheMix zine
- "Lo-Key Fu: Breaks Performer, Remixer & Producer" InTheMix zine
Relevant Links
- Official website
- Lo-Key Fu at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...