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The Cataracs

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The Cataracs
Background information
OriginBerkeley, California, U.S.
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • drums
  • guitar
  • synthesizer
  • programming
Years active2003–2014
Labels
Past members
Websitethecataracs.com

The Cataracs were an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, consisting of David "Campa" Benjamin Singer-Vine (born March 9, 1988) and Niles "Cyrano" Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988). The duo started out as an independent group, during their years at Berkeley High School. The two were first signed to the label Indie-Pop. Singer-Vine left the group in August 2012 with Hollowell-Dhar continuing on with the name The Cataracs by himself. Hollowell-Dhar also released materials starting in 2014, under the name of Kshmr.

Biography

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Early days

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The duo met in their second year attending Berkeley High School. Singer-Vine was featured in a rap CD that was being passed around campus. When Hollowell-Dhar eventually heard the CD, he subsequently created a response. However, the "diss" response brought the two together and they soon became friends. In 2003, the two joined to create what is now The Cataracs (named after the phrase "Who smoke 'til your eyes get cataracts" from Snoop Dogg's song "What's My Name Pt. 2").[1] In the summer of 2006, they released their first album, Technohop Vol. 1. In August 2006, the group joined with The Pack to make the single "Blueberry Afghani". The song soon became a hit and was chosen as a "Download of the Week" by 106 KMEL and many music sites such as The Fader, UK's Hip Hop Connection and XLR8R praised it.[2]

Singer-Vine attended Columbia College Chicago. Hollowell-Dhar is also a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at San Francisco State University. But in order to pursue their dreams and career in music, they both decided that they would have to leave school. The duo then packed their bags and moved to Los Angeles where they began working on their music full-time, creating songs like "Club Love" and "Baby Baby", the latter which went on to be featured on the hit reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians in early 2010.[3] By 2007, they released their second album, Technohop Vol. 2, and in 2008 they released their third album, The 13th Grade.[4]

Rise to fame

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In their new location, they discovered Manteca native Dev, a singer who posted much of her work on Myspace. Dhar asked if she would like to sing for them, which led to the song "2Nite." The Cataracs, along with Dev, signed to the Indie-Pop label, which also features musicians such as Young L.[5] They were later signed to a major label, Universal.[6] Through Universal, they began producing music for artists such as Far East Movement and Glasses Malone. As artists, The Cataracs received recognition through their 2010 single "Club Love", which received air play at clubs and on many different radio stations. Despite such accomplishments, the Cataracs have had their most mainstream success with the song "Like a G6" which was written by Singer-Vine/Dhar and produced by Dhar,[7] and also went on to peak at #1 on the Billboard charts.[8] The chorus for the song is sampled from lyrics in the song "Booty Bounce" by Dev, which they also produced. They were featured on two of Shwayze's songs on his 2010 mixtape Love Stoned. The duo also produced songs for albums such as The Pack's new album, Wolfpack Party.

In early December 2010, they collaborated with Snoop Dogg on the song "Wet". It became the lead single for his 2011 album Doggumentary. They produced "Kick Us Out" for pop trio Hyper Crush. In an attempt to bolster their fanbase, and get people more acquainted with who they are, they released Gordo Taqueria. This will serve as a 2012 EP leading up to their major debut release in the near future. Unlike much of their previous work, this album excludes samples or appearances from labelmate Dev.[citation needed]

Singer-Vine's departure

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On August 23, 2012, Hollowell-Dhar informed on the Cataracs Facebook page that Singer-Vine had left the group.[9] The note goes on to say that "The Cataracs, as of 2 weeks ago, have taken a new form. David informed us of a pretty big decision: the decision to follow his heart and put music down." Hollowell-Dhar went on to produce solely while keeping the name The Cataracs. The first show without Singer-Vine took place on August 25 at Cornell University. In 2016, Singer-Vine (under the name Campa) and Felix Snow formed Terror Jr with a lead singer that goes by the alias Lisa.[10]

2012–14: Final years and Hollowell-Dhar's transition into KSHMR

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In late 2012, Hollowell-Dhar, continuing under the name The Cataracs, released songs produced by himself and collaborating with artists such as Martin Solveig, Trevor Simpson, and Borgeous. He primarily focused on his EDM output, while still occasionally doing vocals in songs like "Big Dipper" featuring Luciana, "Ready For The Weekend" featuring Icona Pop, and "Alcohol (Remix)" featuring Sky Blu of LMFAO.

Early in 2013, The Cataracs released two music videos on Vevo: "Alcohol (Remix)" featuring Sky Blu, and "Missed U 2" featuring Petros. The latter was the first Cataracs video not to have vocals by Hollowell-Dhar. Also in 2013, The Cataracs collaborated with Martin Solveig on "Hey Now", and produced the song "Slow Down" for Selena Gomez's debut album Stars Dance.

In 2014, Hollowell-Dhar began releasing music under the name Kshmr, beginning with the song "Megalodon", though he did not reveal his real identity until the following year.

Discography

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Main articles: The Cataracs discography and The Cataracs production discography

References

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  1. ^ "The Cataracs interview: SXSW 2010". Spinner. March 10, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  2. ^ "The Cataracs | Tygereye Entertainment". Tygereye.net. May 31, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  3. ^ "THE CATARACS | Gratis muziek, tourneedata, foto's, video's". Myspace.com. November 15, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  4. ^ "The Cataracs". Facebook. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  5. ^ "Instagram photos and videos". Indie-pop.com. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  6. ^ "home". Universal Music. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  7. ^ "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com (in Swedish). Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  8. ^ "Like a G6 - Far East Movement". Billboard. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  9. ^ "David Singer-Vine Leaves the Cataracs". Popcrush.com. August 23, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  10. ^ Rohwedder, Kristie (October 21, 2016). "Terror Jr.'s 'Bop City' Tracks Graded On Their Kylie Jenner-ness". Bustle. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
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