Edan
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| Edan | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Edan Portnoy | |
| Origin |  Rockville, Maryland, United States |
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| Genre(s) | Hip hop | |
| Years active | 2001–Present | |
| Label(s) | Lewis Recordings | |
| Website | Official website | |
Edan Portnoy is an American alternative hip hop performer, based in Boston, Massachusetts. He is an emcee, DJ and record producer.
He is known for his eclectic mix of classic mid-80s till early 90s hip hop with 60s rock, funk and other styles. His mix-tape Sound of the Funky Drummer accumulates hip hop tracks, sampling James Brown's "Funky Drummer", which has been called the most-sampled record of all time. In 2005, he released the album Beauty and the Beat, which drew approbation for its ingenious lyricism as well as the production, which features samples from sundry genres, including funk, psychedelia, and 60s rock.
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[edit] Biography
As an only child, he attended Berklee in 1997-2000, majoring in production. The Rockville, Maryland native had already been experimenting with 4 and 8 track home recording using both live instruments and a Native Tongues inspired, sample-based approach since 1996 when went to the Berklee College of Music. Continuing on this path Edan completed the officially unreleased album Artchitecture on an 8-track digital cassette recorder in his dorm room while in his sophomore year. The only tracks to be released from this project appeared on his debut single in 1998. This 12" contains the songs "The E's Have It featuring Eric Ferguson" and "Migraine," and was released by the now defunct and never was Boston indie imprint Biscuithead Records. The single introduced Edan's slightly askew humor (sample lyric: "The principal got nervous/When I ran into his office shirtless") and dusty production style to the world.
After leaving Berklee College of Music in 2001, Edan began work on his official debut album, Primitive Plus. The single "Rapperfection", which featured MC Mr. Lif, was released on Sun/Moon Records, after which Edan became the first artist signed to UK label Lewis Recordings, which released the single "Mic Manipulator." Around this time Edan began performing with several musicians from Berklee under the name Fiber. The band performed mainly in the Boston area, playing Edan's songs interspersed with long jazz improvisations during which he would scratch records and play with a delay pedal. The affiliation was short-lived, however, as Edan soon left to pursue solo ventures and Fiber began performing with MCs Bomshot and Professor Shuman. Primitive Plus was released in 2002 to critical acclaim. Edan handled all the production, rapping and turntablism on the album, with the exception of guest slots from Mr. Lif and Alaskan Fishermen member Father Time. In addition, production on one track, "Key-Bored," was done by Memory Man. The experimental/throwback vibe of the album was also fused with some of the '90s innovations in rhyming and scratching, which led to the album's title, explained on the title track as "primitive plus futuristic".
Edan then released a mixtape, Fast Rap. This collection of golden era burners by luminaries such as Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap and lesser known mic rippers like Black, Rock & Ron was credited by some as sparking a renewed interest in "fast rap" and influencing eBay auctions for the records used on the tape.
A non-LP track single, "Drop Some Smooth Lyrics," followed on Edan's own Humble Mag label, backed by the Kool Keith impression, "Ultra '88." In 2002 he released the lo-fi "Sprain Your Tape Deck EP," which featured some of the CD-only cuts from Primitive Plus and two new tracks. All of these songs had been recorded live in his home studio directly to an ordinary cassette deck after his 8-track finally broke. Deprived of the ability to overdub, all of the EP's scratching, mixing and effects were done live as Edan rapped to a sequencer and drum machine.
Edan then began producing other artists, providing remixes for Mr. Lif, on songs such as Live From the Plantation and Souls Of Mischief, and album cuts like Akrobatik's "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle." Teaming up with fellow Boston MC/DJ/producer Insight in 2003, Edan began performing a new live set. "Edan & Insight" (later billed as Duplex) often incorporate their DJ abilities into performances and tried to establish a high level of showmanship. Edan's "Johnny The Fox" routine involved rhyming with the mic in one hand while cutting up doubles of the Thin Lizzy song's intro with the other, and can be seen performed in the independent film SBX.
Edan's first single from his follow up album was "I See Colors," a psychedelic track featuring his own Moog synth work over a loop which, as he acknowledged in the lyric, had been used before to great effect by Prince Paul. Edan mixes between two versions of the sampled track in the song's chorus. The lyrics concern psychedelic visions which can be attained without the use of drugs. The b-side, "The Science of the Two," was the first recorded collaboration with Insight. Released in early 2004, the single whetted fans appetites for what appeared to be a more ambitious direction for his next album. Another mixtape, "Sound Of The Funky Drummer," also appeared in 2004.
Beauty and the Beat, released in early 2005, was critically well received. The album finds Edan wishing he could "put Syd Barrett's face on Biz Markie's body" with "Kool G Rap's brain". The album features Mr. Lif, Insight, Percee-P and Dagha, and is again produced by Edan himself.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Edan
- 2001 Artchitecture
- 2002 Primitive Plus (Lewis Recordings)
- 2005 Beauty and the Beat (Lewis Recordings)
[edit] EP's
- 2002 Sprain Your Tapedeck (Lewis Recordings)
[edit] Mixtapes
- 2001 Fast Rap
- 2004 Sound of the Funky Drummer
