Photek
is Rupert Parkes
(born 1972, St Albans, England), a Los Angeles-based British record producer and DJ. He joined the drum and bass scene relatively early (his first release was in 1992, a collaboration with Rob Solomon
a.k.a. Lexis
), and is still one of its most respected players. In the mid-to-late Nineties he was a very active remixer, and he has also done some soundtrack work, most notably for The Animatrix
.
|
PHOTEK TICKETS
|
Styles
His early tracks are somewhat
ambient, but already feature the rhythm pattern of his seminal 1997 work
Modus Operandi, which embodies most of his mid-nineties style: atmospheric, but at the same time very cold and paranoid, consisting mostly of
jazz-influenced, highly complex drum patterns and sequenced
double bass lines, sometimes with minimalistic synth melodies on top.
His 1998 follow up to
Modus Operandi
was the
Form & Function album. Photek is also influenced by traditional
Japanese music and culture, with song titles as "Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu (2 Swords Technique)" (named after the
Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu technique) and "The Seven Samurai" (named after
the movie of the same name).
His album
Solaris
(released in 2000) saw quite a bit of change to his music, with gloomy house tracks alongside free-form ambient noise and the usual
snare drum attacks. It included the house single "Mine To Give" (featuring
Robert Owens), which
reached the top spot of
Billboard
s
Hot Dance Club Play in 2001.
After
Solaris
, he paid his way out of his contract with
Virgin Records sublabel
Science, and continues to release 12-inch singles on his own
Photek Productions
label. These tracks are more club-oriented and reminiscent of the recent work of
Roni Size. Parkes also worked with
Nine Inch Nails on the album
With Teeth
by providing additional programming on "All The Love In The World" and remixing the single "The Hand that Feeds", he's rumored to also have been working with
Pharrell.
His latest album
Form & Function Vol. 2
was released on 24 September 2007. He also contributed music to the movie
Dreamland
.
Other monikers
- Aquarius
- Baby Boys (with Goldie)
- Code of Practice
- Origination (with Lexis)
- Phaze 1
- The Sentinel
- Special Forces
- Studio Pressure
- Synthetics
- System X
- The Truper
Discography
Albums
- Modus Operandi
(1997, Virgin) UK #30
- Form & Function
(1998, Virgin) UK #61
- Solaris
(2000, Virgin)
- Form & Function Vol. 2
(2007, Sanctuary)
[1]
Singles and EPs (incomplete)
- "Natural Born Killa" (1995, Metalheadz)
- "The Seven Samurai/Complex" (1995, Photek)
- "T'raenon" (1996, Op-ART)
- "The Hidden Camera" (1996, Virgin) UK #39
- "The Third Sequence/Titan" (1996, Virgin)
- "Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu (Two Swords Techniques)" (1997, Virgin) UK #37
- "Risc vs. Reward," issued in the US only (1997, Virgin)
- "Modus Operandi" (1998, Virgin) UK #66
- "Terminus" (2000, Virgin)
- "Mine to Give" feat. Robert Owens (2001, Virgin) U.S. Dance #1, UK #44
- "MDZ.04 Album Sampler" (2004, Metalheadz)
- "Rinsa" (2005, Photek Productions)
- "C Note" (2005, Photek Productions) [Also feat. In Playstation Portable game such as: WipEout Pure]
- "Quaman" (2005, Photek Productions)
- "Love & War" (2007, Sanctuary)
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
References
- British Hit Singles & Albums