Fila Brazillia
This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (July 2009) |
Fila Brazillia | |
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File:Fila Brazillia Promotional Image.jpg | |
Background information | |
Also known as | 2 Loops Lautrec |
Origin | Hull, England |
Genres | Electronica, trip hop, ambient, house, downtempo |
Years active | 1990–2006 |
Labels | Pork Recordings Mindfood Mr Bongo Twentythree Kudos Kinetic Records Azuli Records |
Members | Steve Cobby David McSherry |
Website | http://www.23online.co.uk/ |
Fila Brazillia was an electronica collaboration from Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, in North-East England, formed in 1990 by Steve Cobby and David McSherry. They played electronica, ambient, techno, rock, funk and dub, and are often described as downtempo.
History
Their early releases on Pork Recordings (also based in Hull), Old Codes New Chaos, Maim That Tune, Mess, Black Market Gardening, Luck Be a Weirdo Tonight and Power Clown followed. After creating their own music label with Sim Lister, Twentythree Records, they released further albums A Touch of Cloth, Jump Leads, The Life And Times of Phoebus Brumal, Dicks and Retrospective. They also released a DJ mix album for the Azuli Records Another Late Night series, Another Late Night: Fila Brazillia in 2001 and Another Fine Mess: Fila Brazillia in 2002.
Their collaborations include working with Harold Budd and Bill Nelson to release Three White Roses & A Budd (Twentythree Records, 2002). They co-produced the first Twilight Singers LP Twilight as Played by The Twilight Singers with Greg Dulli in 2001. Cobby and McSherry have produced more than 70 remixes for artists including Black Uhuru, Busta Rhymes, DJ Food, Lamb, Radiohead and The Orb. Bill Hicks, the controversial American stand-up comedian, satirist and social critic, "appears" on Fila Brazillia's album Maim That Tune (1996) and the album is dedicated to Hicks.
Their music has made its mark both on small-screen blockbusters (such as CSI and Sex and the City) and cult cinema films such as Dogtown and Z-Boys, Riding Giants and Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos, a 2006 documentary about the New York Cosmos soccer team. One of their better-known songs, A Zed and two L's, appears on Jam, a black comedy sketch show by British satirist Chris Morris. Their song "Here Comes Pissy Willy" from the Power Clown album featured as the theme to the James Whale Show on Talk Radio in the late 1990s.
After releasing their Retrospective album in 2006, Cobby and McSherry quietly ended their longtime partnership. Currently, McSherry is a lecturer in Audio Production at the University of Lincoln.
Cobby went on in late 2006 to form Steel Tiger Records with Sim Lister. Over the course of 2007, the label saw various digital releases by J*S*T*A*R*S (Cobby and Lister), Peacecorps (Cobby and guitarist Rich Arthurs) and by The Cutler (Cobby and ex-head of Pork Recordings David "Porky" Brennand). The first formal album by The Cutler on Steel Tiger Records was released on 7 July 2008, and the most recent "Everything Is Touching Everything Else" (Steel Tiger Records ST016, 10 June 2013) – with vocals by Isobel Helen, Archie Heselwood, Andrew Taylor and Little Glitches – distributed by Kudos Records Ltd.
In 2013 Steve Cobby provided the soundtrack for the Hull 'UK City of Culture 2017' bid film - 'This City Belongs to Everyone', produced by Nova Studios - on 20 November 2013 Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, was announced as the winning City, and so as UK City of Culture 2017.
Discography
Albums
- Old Codes New Chaos (1994)
- Maim That Tune (1995)
- Mess (1996)
- Black Market Gardening (1996)
- Luck Be a Weirdo Tonight (1997)
- Power Clown (1998)
- A Touch of Cloth (1999)
- Jump Leads (2002)
- The Life and Times of Phoebus Brumal (2004)
- Dicks (2004)
Singles
- "Mermaids" (Pork Recordings, 1991)
- "Neanderthal" (Twentythree Records, 2007)
EPs
- Sycot Motion (Mindfood, 1996)
- Three White Roses & A Budd (with Harold Budd and Bill Nelson) (Twentythree Records, 2002 – recorded 2000)
- Saucy Joints (Twentythree Records, 2002)
- We Build Arks (Twentythree Records, 2002)
- One Track Mind (Twentythree Records, 2007)
Compilations
- Music for Freelance (1999)
- Retrospective (Twentythree Records, 2006)
Remixes
- Brazilification – remixes 95–99 (Kudos, 1999)
- 12 Brazilliant Remixes
- B2 – 21 Brazilliant Remixes (Twentythree Records, 2003)
- "Soul Sauce" Verve Remixed 2 (Verve Music Group, 2003)
DJ mix albums
- Another Late Night: Fila Brazillia (2001)
- Another Fine Mess: Fila Brazillia (2004)
References
- "Fila Brazillia, album review – Jump Leads" by Frank Tope, The Guardian, 8 February 2002, retrieved 16 Feb 2008
- "The ultimate summer mix – Europe's hottest dance festivals" by Matt Munday, The Guardian, 1 June 2002, retrieved 16 Feb 2008
- "The BBC Collective – Editor's Review – 'The Sound of Brazil, by way of Hull' – interview with Fila Brazillia" by Paul Clark, BBC, 22 August 2002, retrieved 16 Feb 2008
- "Fila Brazillia (Sonar 97) – DJmag.com's guide to the history of the Sonar Festival, Spain" DJmag.com, 2007, retrieved 16 Feb 2008
- "Fila Brazillia, Fabric, London – live performance review" by Pascal Wyse, The Guardian, 19 September 2000, retrieved 16 Feb 2008
- "Hull's City of Culture bid film revealed to the public" BBC News article,12 November 2013