Rae & Christian

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Rae & Christian
Origin	England
Years active	1995–present
Genres	Electronica, Hip Hop
Labels	Grand Central Records

Rae & Christian are Grand Central Records' founder Mark Rae and fellow producer and DJ Steve Christian. Their music is broadly classed as Hip-Hop / soulful dance music and features such vocalists as The Jungle Brothers, Jeru The Damaja and The Pharcyde as well as contributions from Bobby Womack and The Congos.

In 1995 Mark Rae fulfilled a long-term dream by founding Grand Central Records in his hometown of Manchester. Around the same time he began work with techie genius Steve Christian and they have forged a partnership, making their own albums and producing or re-mixing the work of numerous mainstream and established artists. The pair first met when they were both occupying the same rehearsal space in Ducie House, Manchester. The first meeting actually took place when Steve, who is the production strength of the duo, walked past Mark’s studio and informed him that his music was out of key, in the nicest possible way! The pair embarked on a partnership that has seen them achieve critical and public acclaim for their work. ¹

In an interview with "Pride Of Manchester" ², Rae said:

“

We committed ourselves to promoting good music; hip-hop, soul, jazz, breakbeat, jungle, Jamaican reggae, house...we work with everything. I think a lot of people are under the impression we're just a hip-hop label, but we're actually just an "anything" label which is based in the pioneering sounds of everything from bleep house from Sheffield to London jungle."

”

The duo was the first act to emerge form Grand Central Records, a label that Mark Rae founded. It is a label that has reflected the confident cosmopolitan of post-rave Manchester since it’s birth in 1995. Their first release was an EP called "Pure Arithmetic", released in June 1995 under the band name First Priority. In 1998 they released their debut album as Rae & Christian, "Northern Sulphuric Soul", which was very well received and nominated for a Mercury Music Prize.

Several of the early acts to sign to the label, such as Aim, Only Child, Andy Votel and Funky Fresh Few initially met Rae when entering his Fat City Records shop as customers. Mark Rae acquired music makers and talented DJ’s through word of mouth and the personal touch, an ideal that would continue as the label expanded in size and reputation. A year after getting together, Rae and Christian enlisted the vocal skills of Veba to add a more diverse flavour to their sound. Contributions to the Grand Central Records compilations Frying The Fat and Central Heating attracted attention from the dance music press and their debut album, Northern Sulphuric Soul fulfilled this early promise. The swagger of the singles Spellbound and All I ask and Veba's quality vocal delivery ensured critical acclaim and admiration for the duo. Their joint appreciation of hip-hop's flavours did justice to the respected hip-hop acts they were able to call upon. The Jungle Brothers and Jeru The Damaja both contributed to the duo's songs and these attributes gave the pair an edge over other late nineties sampling groups. They embarked on some frenetic touring, travelling with their own percussionist; double bass player; female vocalist; scratch DJ, sax, flute and rhodes players, to compliment the skills of Mark behind the deck and Steve on the guitar.

At the same time as nurturing other acts on the label, their production and remix skills have been in demand by their peers (Lamb, The Pharcyde, Wai Wan) and mainstream stars such as Natalie Imbruglia, Simply Red and The Manic Street Preachers. Their second album brought in new dimensions to their sound as they brought in veterans such as Bobby Womack, Tania Maria and The Congos, which has added extra spice to their music. Sleepwalking, their second album, marked a change in approach for Mark Rae (DJ, beat merchant and lyricist) and Steve Christian (music maker and production-wizard). Moving towards more live instrumentation and more varied songwriting partnerships their sound has taken on a new shape. A continual process, they refine their combination of hip hop ethics, traditional song writing and 21st century production technology.

Although Rae has now released several solo and DJ mix album albums and undertaken a new partnership with sound engineer, Rhys Adams, he has expressed an interest in working with Steve Christian again. ³

“

"Unfortunately, Steve walked away from Rae & Christian. I've asked him a few times if he was up for doing an album and he said no. I'm still friends with him but I don't think he particularly enjoys the music industry. I don't see why he doesn't. We did fairly well to be honest with you.

But I've got to do my third (studio) album, which I'm halfway through. Basically, I work very fast and after that, I'll ask him again, and if he wants to do it, we'll have a go. But I can’t persuade someone who doesn't really want to do it anymore. I could buy the name off him but that's a bit of a rip-off for the fans. It has to be done properly and Steve has to be involved with all the music that’s made for it. That's the bottom line. I'm sure he'll be up for it in the future but it has to be on his terms for wanting to do it because I can't do it with someone who is not interested."

”

In his new partnership with Rhys Adams, initial releases came out under the band name ARP (Adams.Rae.Productions). After the demise of Grand Central Records, Rae started a new record label, Yes King Recordings, and his second project with Adams, the band Yes King.

However, in early 2007, Rae stated on his MySpace page, that new recordings were forthcoming both from himself as a solo artist and once again in partnership with Steve Christian within 18 months. In addition, Rae stated that he and Adams are currently in the process of re-editing the Rae & Christian back catalogue for a double CD of remixes, including acapella versions of tracks over alternative backing music. ⁴