Artist of the Day: Ancient Astronauts (producers)

Ingo Möll & Tom Strauch

Their very name, “Ancient Astronauts,” implies a mash-up of the distant past and the far future; traits exemplified in their melding of old school hip hop, funk, and dub reggae with forward-thinking flair and production technique. The Ancient Astronauts are Kabanjak and Dogu hailing from Cologne, Germany . . .via outer space! Coy with their true origins, the duo can only confirm that they returned to planet Earth in 2001 after traveling the musical cosmos for thousands of years.

Those familiar with the phenomenon of “ancient astronauts,” a belief that extraterrestrial beings visited Earth in ancient times to mingle and trade ideas with early human civilizations, won’t be surprised that upon returning this particular spaced-out duo quickly set up a terrestrial sound studio, a record label Switchstance Recordings, and a successful production, remixing and DJ career dropping sound bombs all over the world.

Already having remixed for Fort Knox Five, Up Bustle & Out, Ladybug Mecca of Digable Planets, Zion I, and Dr. Rubberfunk the Ancient Astronauts have linked up with a variety of new sonic collaborators including Bootie Brown and Imani of legendary hip hop group The Pharcyde, Azeem, Tippa Irie, Bajka, Phat Old Mamas, Ulf Stricker, Raashan Ahmad and Entropik to record their debut album We Are To Answer! A block-rockin’ boom-bappin’ sonic tour-de-force, We Are to Answer is a musical vision of life on Earth and beyond!

The label itself is famous in the international club and boardsports circles for its extremely funky productions as well as the dynamic sets of its DJ Collective. Renowned events such as Air & Style/AUT, Winter Music Conference/USA, Midem/FR, Roxy Chicken Jam/CH, Burton European Open/CH, Popkomm/GER and many more have experienced the unique and typical styles of Switchstance, while the likes of Nightmares On Wax, Fort Knox Five, LTJ Bukem, Soulpatrol, Mr. Scruff or Kid Loco have long become fans of the label and its music (Discogs, 2010).

You can listen to Ancient Astronauts' music at:
http://www.last.fm/music/Ancient+Astronauts



Released Albums:
Ancient Astronauts - Classic EP
Ancient Astronauts - Put Em Up EP
Ancient Astronauts - We Are To Answer

Reference:
(2010). Ancient Astronauts. Discogs. Retrieved from http://www.discogs.com/artist/Ancient+Astronauts

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Artist of the Day: Thunderball (producers)

With their latest full-length album, Cinescope, Washington, DC-based trio, Thunderball return from their Fort Knox duties in full form. Cinescope features 12 vivid soundscapes that fuse Latin funk, Afro rhythms, Indian dub and Mediterranean soul. With this release, Thunderball broaden their scope pushing the boundaries of their music both sonically and vocally. On Cinescope they teamed up with long time collaborator Mustafa Akbar on the jazz funk thriller, "Return of the Panther" and on the soulfully introspective, "Elevated States." Mustafa teams up with Miss Johnna M to rock the party on the '60s rave-up track, "Get Up with the Get Down." Thunderball also enlisted the talents of Thievery Corporation's MC's Roots and Zeebo of See-I to create the dub ragga, "Strictly Rudeboy," and the godfather of hip hop, Afrika Bambaataa, for the electro-pop anthem, "Electric Shaka."

Thunderball are globally renowned purveyors of sophisticated, stereophonic-thrillers, and cinematic dub. Since 1997 their productions have shifted effortlessly between the genres of drum & bass, breakbeat and downtempo, building a strong following for their signature sound. The former duo of Sid Barcelona & Steve Raskin are now officially joined by long-time collaborator, Rob Myers. Rob, a fellow ESL Music compatriot, records & tours with Thievery Corporation playing sitar & guitar, most notably on the Thievery classic, "Lebanese Blonde."

As one of the first artists signed to ESL Music, Thunderball released their first album, Ambassadors of Style, (1999) to critical acclaim. Rolling Stone lauded the album with 3 1/2 stars for its "smooth, cosmopolitan drum and bass." Drawing from their love of '60s and '70s soundtracks, Brazilian beats and Afro-funk rhythms, Thunderball creates multi-faceted soundscapes designed for modern spy chases and late-night encounters. Thunderball's seminal second recording, Scorpio Rising, (2001) was a downtempo classic, hailed by All Music Guide as "blaxploitation funk, cinematic soul, bossa nova lounge, downtempo dub, and downtown drum'n'bass [that] all come together to create a hipster vibe few other groups could even aspire to, let alone create." Scorpio Rising's integration of live instrumentation helped establish the organic sound that shaped the future of Thunderball.

After Scorpio Rising, Steve, Sid and Rob joined forces with Jon "JonH" Horvath to found Fort Knox Recordings and the DC-based mega-group Fort Knox Five. As the Fort Knox Five the group has released six highly successful singles and completed many high-profile remixes for the likes of A Skillz & Krafty Kuts, Skeewiff, Tito Puente, and Louis Armstrong. They also produced 4 tracks on Afrika Bambaataa's latest album. Their efforts culminated this year with the release of the Fort Knox Recordings debut CD, The New Gold Standard.

Thunderball actively perform their music worldwide as DJs; as the Thunderball Sound System (featuring Mustafa Akbar and Rex Riddem), and as an 8-piece live band. Thunderball have brought their explosive performances to jet-set destinations like Australia, Bangkok and Moscow, to the warm beaches of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico (Artist Direct, 2010). 

You can listen to Thunderball's music at:
http://www.last.fm/music/Thunderball


Released Albums:
Thunderball - Scorpio Rising
Thunderball - Ambassadors of Style
Thunderball - Cinescope

Reference:
(2010). Thunderball. Artist Direct. Retrieved from http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/thunderball/856557
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