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Yossi Fine

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Yossi Fine
Fine at Havana Club in Tel Aviv, 2011.
Fine at Havana Club in Tel Aviv, 2011.
Background information
Birth nameJoseph Thomas Fine
Born (1964-12-07) December 7, 1964 (age 59)
Paris, France
GenresWorld music, reggae, funk
OccupationMusician/producer
Instrument(s)Bass, guitar
Years active1981–present
LabelsAvila Street Records
Websiteyossifine.com

Joseph Thomas Fine (born December 7, 1964), known professionally as Yossi Fine, is a Jewish Israeli bassist and producer. He fronts the world music/reggae/funk band Ex-Centric Sound System.

Biography

Personal life

Fine was born in Paris, France, to a West Indian vocalist mother and an Israeli guitarist father.[1]

Early career

At the age of 16, Fine began working as a session musician in Israel.[2] He moved to New York City in 1985, performing with a variety of musicians around the city,[3] working regularly with the Gil Evans Orchestra from 1985-91.[4] In 1991, he received a Grammy nomination for his composition "Always Knows," which appears on the Stanley Jordan record Cornucopia.[5] Fine moved back to Israel in 1995.

Ex-Centric Sound System and Solo Work

In 1997, Fine formed Ex-Centric Sound System with drummer Michael Avgil and three Ghanaian vocalists, Nana Dadzie, Adevo Savour and Benjamin Kouleho, who also contribute melodies on flute, kalimba and balafon.[3] NME described Ex-Centric Sound System as "a band that mixes authentic African sounds with dub, techno and hip-hop," adding that the band is "a triumph of the collective imagination."[6] Their debut album, Electric Voodooland, was released in 2001. The New York Post called it "a beautiful beast… a very unusual album that avoids pop convention and clichés."[2]

In 2007, he released the solo album Live in Jerusalem, consisting of four tracks culled from his one-man bass tour. "Few people are brave, or crazy, enough to stand on stage with a few simple drum loops, an effects board and a bass, and go for it. Yet that's exactly what he does, amazingly well," wrote PopMatters. "The landscapes he paints are orchestral, lush and textured."[7] An introduction to Fine on Israeli music television station Music 24 proclaimed, "Yossi Fine does to bass what Hendrix did for electric guitar."[8]

Collaborations

Fine has frequently worked with Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré. After remixing a track for 2008's Vieux Farka Touré Remixed: UFOs Over Bamako, he took a larger role in Touré’s career, producing and playing bass on his 2009 album, Fondo, as well as remixing a track on the follow-up, Other Roads: Fondo Remixed, at Fine's studio in Novato, California.[9] Fine plays bass in The Touré-Raichel Collective, a collaboration between Touré and Idan Raichel, which led to the 2012 album The Tel Aviv Sessions.[10] Haaretz singled out his bass playing for being "flexible and dynamic."[11]

Fine has performed, recorded with and produced music for musicians across the globe, including Naughty By Nature (creating the bassline for their 1993 hit single "Hip Hop Hooray"),[7] Gil Evans, John Scofield, Kenny Kirkland, Lou Reed, Rubén Blades, Stanley Jordan, Me'shell Ndegeocello, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Anthony B, Karsh Kale, Cheb i Sabbah, Antibalas, Hassan Hakmoun, Hadag Nahash, Ofra Haza, Noa and Hamsa Lila.[3][7][9]

Considered a pivotal force in the evolution of the bass,[7] Fine has produced over 25 albums, and contributed bass to over 150.[5] In 2005, he received the ACUM Award for music producing, for his work on Hadag Nahash's 2004 LP, Homer Mekomi.[5] ACUM is Israel's music and literary rights association.

Artistic style

An early adopter of live looping in order to perform as a one-man band, Fine's style in his solo work has been called "extreme bass groove," incorporating drum & bass, breakbeat, dubstep and heavy metal influences. "When you cop such an attack on bass guitar, and make a line come at you with such power, that's extreme bass," he has said. "It's about creating a sound with tons of low end that pounds you in the chest and makes you go, Whoa!"[12]

Fine has called U2 guitarist The Edge a huge influence, stating that his "echo-laden sound" is "the most innovative without being too technical."[12]

Selected Discography

Solo

  • Live in Jerusalem (2007, EXS Music)
  • "Peace Is the Answer" (single) – Skyler Jett & Yossi Fine (2012, First Kiss Records)

With Ex-Centric Sound System

  • Electric Voodooland (2000, Relativity)
  • West Nile Funk (2004, IndieLand/EXS)
  • Afro Riddim Sessions, Vol. 1 (2006, In the Pocket Records)
  • Live In San Francisco (2010, Avila Street Records)
  • Premixes (2011, Avila Street Records)
  • Re Spect (5-CD box set) (2011, Avila Street Records)
  • Rubén Blades – Nothing But the Truth (1988, Wounded Bird Records)
  • Stanley Jordan – Cornucopia (1990, Blue Note Records)
  • David Bowie – Outside (1995, Arista/BMG)
  • Noa – Calling (1996, Geffen Records)
  • Karsh Kale – Realize (2001, Six Degrees Records)
  • Deepak Chopra – A Gift of Love, Vol. 2 (2002, Tommy Boy Records)
  • Karsh Kale – Broken English (2006, Six Degrees Records)
  • Cheb i Sabbah – Devotion (2008, Six Degrees Records)
  • Vieux Farka Touré – Fondo (2009, Six Degrees Records)
  • Vieux Farka Touré – Live (2010, Six Degrees Records)
  • The Touré-Raichel Collective – The Tel Aviv Session (2012, Cumbancha)

Producer

  • Shabak Samech - Shabak (1995, NMC)
  • Shabak Samech - Be'atifa Shel Mamtak (1997, NMC) (trans: In A Candy Wrapper)
  • Emil Zrihan – Ashkelon (1999, Piranha)
  • Hamsa Lila – Gathering One (2003, BRG)
  • Hadag Nahash – Lazuz (2003, Levantini)
  • Hadag Nahash – Homer Mekomi (2004, Levantini)
  • Eljuri - "En Paz" (2008, Manovill Records)
  • Vieux Farka Touré – Fondo (2009, Six Degrees Records)
  • Hadag Nahash – 6 (2010, HaTav HaShmini)

TV/Film Appearances

References

  1. ^ "Ex-Centric Sound System," Archived September 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine National Geographic. Accessed March 12, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Dan Aquilante, "Tower of Beautiful Babel," New York Post, July 11, 2000.
  3. ^ a b c Peter Margasak, "Ex-Centric Sound System," Chicago Reader, March 9, 2000.
  4. ^ "Yossi Fine Q & A + Video – Pt. 3," Guitarkadia, October 20, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c AvilaStreetRecords.com. Archived January 7, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Accessed March 12, 2012.
  6. ^ "Yossi Fine & Ex-Centric Sound System video," NME. Accessed March 12, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d Derek Beres, "Bass Makes the World Go 'Round," PopMatters, January 24, 2008.
  8. ^ "Yossi the Prophet," Music 24, December 27, 2006.
  9. ^ a b Andrew Gilbert, "Ali Farka Toure [sic] brings Mali to the World," Los Angeles Times, July 5, 2009.
  10. ^ David Brinn, "Idan Raichel's double life," Jerusalem Post, February 26, 2012.
  11. ^ Ben Shalev, "Israeli instrumental albums strike multiple chords," Haaretz, March 9, 2012.
  12. ^ a b Jimmy Leslie, "Ex-Centric Sound System, Vieux Farka Toure, Yossi Fine, Extreme Looped Grooves," Bass Player, November 2011.
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