Freestylers

For other uses, see Freestyle.

The Freestlyers are an electronic music group, generally fitting into the breakbeat genre. However, while on tour, the size of the group may vary dramatically as well as the genre that characterizes the group. For example, in their latest Toronto show, on October 6, 2007, only Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey performed; their DJ set consisted of music such as hardhouse and funky house for the first hour, followed by big beat including a 1997 Chemical Brothers track and "Smack my Bitch Up," by the Prodigy. At around an hour and a half into the set, a short breakbeat mashup was played, followed by some popular drum and bass.

Career History

The Freestylers formed in 1996 when DJs and dance music producers Matt Cantor, Aston Harvey joined forces. Both of them had been involved in the British dance music scene since the 1980s. Cantor had recorded as Cut n' Paste and Strike with Andy Gardner (Plump DJs). Aston Harvey recorded as Blapps! Posse best known for the 1990 breakbeat dance hit "Don't Hold Back" before working with Definition of Sound, Rebel MC and DJ Rap (as DJ Rap and Aston). Harvey joined with Galea under the name Sol Brothers before Cantor was recruited to form the Freestylers. The group took their name from their first sample "Don't Stop The Rock" by Freestyle.

The trio's first single "Drop The Boom (AK-48)" on their own Scratch City Records in 1996 became a dancefloor hit in the UK and Miami. The band released the Freestyle EP in 1996 on Freskanova (Freskanova's parent label, Fresh, had released Cantor, Galea and Harvey's previous work). Andrew Galea left the Freestylers shortly after the release of the Freestyle EP.

After the departure of Andrew Galea, Matt and Aston formed an 11-piece band (initially an idea of their record label, Freskanova). This consisted of the 2 producers (Cantor and Harvey), a scratch DJ (Mad Doctor X), a guitarist (Tony Ayiotou), drummer (Clive Jenner), bass guitarist (Joe Henson), 2 MCs (MC Navigator and Tenor Fly) and 3 breakdancers (Coza, Marat, Tim).

The band's first album We Rock Hard was released in 1998. The single "B-Boy Stance" became a singles hit in the UK in 1998 featuring the contributions of rapper Tenor Fly. In 1999, the Freestylers enjoyed success in the U.S. with track "Don't Stop" reached the top 10 of the Billboard dance charts and "Here We Go" becoming a MTV Buzzworthy clip. We Rock Hard sold well in the US selling over 150,000 and reaching the top 30 of the Billboard Heatseeker chart.

Following the success of B-Boy Stance, the band were asked to remix tracks by Audioweb, Afrika Bambaataa and the Jungle Brothers as well as a big beat compilation album FSUK 2 and a Radio 1 Essential Mix featuring Beenie Man, Public Enemy, Whodini and The Fall.

The Freestylers released a mix album Electro Science in 2000. Their second album Pressure Point was released in 2001 with the track Get Down Massive featuring Navigator reaching top 20 on the Billboard dance charts in 2002.

During 2002 and 2003 the group began releasing singles under the artist name Raw As F**k which then became the title of their third album. Released in 2004, it featured the single "Push Up", which reached the top 30 in the UK and top 3 in Australia. Another single, which was previously released before "Push Up", called "Get A Life", was re-released and reached the top 20 in Australia.

Raw as F**k

Raw As F**k is an alternative name used by the band during 2002 & 2003 primarily for their vinyl releases. The band continued to use the alias in 2004 only this time for their album title rather than their group name.

Releases under the name "Raw As F**k"

• Punks / Demon Beats (12") (2002)
• The Slammer / Theme From Raw (12") (2002)
• No Replica (12") (2003)

All 3 releases went on to appear on the Raw as Fuck album.

Band members

Current

• Matt Cantor
• Aston Harvey
• MC SirReal
• Rich Budgen (Guitar)
• Dave Budgen (Bass)
• Clive Jenner (Drums)

Past

• Andrew Galea (producer)
• MC Navigator (vocals)
• Tenor Fly (vocals)
• Mad Doctor X (scratch dj)
• Tony Ayiotou (guitar)
• Joe Henson (bass guitar)
• Coza (breakdancer)
• Marat (breakdancer)
• Tim (breakdancer)

Other collaborators

• Million Dan
• Justin Warfield
• Spanner Banner
• Petra Jean Phillipson
• Valerie M
• Top Cat
• Soul Sonic Force
• Definition of Sound
• Julie Thompson
• Onallee (Reprazent)

Discography

Albums

• We Rock Hard (1998) #33 UK
• Pressure Point (2001) - #34 Australia
• Raw As Fuck (2004) - #66 Australia
• Adventures in Freestyle (2006)

DJ Mixes/Compilations

• Rough Technique Vol. 1 (1998)
• FSUK2 (1998)
• Electro Science (2000)
• Fabric Live 19 (2004)
• A Different Story Vol. 1 (2007)

Singles

• "Freestyle EP" (1996)
• "Adventures in Freestyle EP" (1997)
• "Uprock EP" (16th June 1997)
• "B-Boy Stance" (featuring Tenor Fly) (26th January 1998) #23 UK
• "Ruffneck" (featuring MC Navigator) (1998) #23 UK
• "Warning" (featuring MC Navigator) (1998) #68 UK
• "Here We Go" (1999) #45 UK
• "Now Is The Time"
• "Get Down Massive"
• "Told You So" (2002) #100 Australia
• "Get A Life" (2004) #66 UK, #15 Australia
• "Push Up" (featuring Theo) (2004) #22 UK, #2 Australia, #1 Belgium
• "Boom Blast" (featuring Million Dan) (2005) #75 UK
• "Fasten Your Seatbelt" (with Pendulum) (2005)
• "Painkiller" (featuring Pendulum & Sirreal) (2006)
• "In Love With You" (2006) #40 Australia
• "Electrified" (2007)

Interviews

Radio

• Radio Interview. Dec 2006 - 3SYN 90.7FM Melbourne, Australia

External links

• DJ Review
• Freestylers MySpace URL
• Freestylers/Freskanova information at Ruffnett
• Freestylers web page from Supercharged/Against The Grain
• Freestylers web page from Mammoth (US Record Label for We Rock Hard and Pressure Point)
• Allmusic.com Freestylers page
• Freestylers Push Up Video
• Freestylers VH1 page
• Freestylers discogs page
• Raw As F**k discogs page