Steve Rodway

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Steve Rodway (born in Cambridgeshire),[1] also known under the alias Motiv 8 or Motiv8, is an Eurodance music producer and remixer.

While known for many remixes, including those produced for The Doobie Brothers, Saint Etienne, Pulp, and Pet Shop Boys, as well as his own singles such as "Rockin' for Myself", his highest-profile work was composing and producing the Gina G song "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", the United Kingdom's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 and a subsequent UK and international dance hit.[2]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Motiv 8

Rodway started his musical career as a drummer before settling as a keyboardist instead, at one point playing for Billy Ocean. He turned to self-publishing music, founding independent record label FX Music in 1990. The company's Sevenoaks headquarters includes the recording studio FX Studios, which Rodway moved into in 1985.

An early release, "Mission", was licensed by Go! Beat Records. In response, Rodway started a second label, 'Nuff Respect Records, in preparation for distributing another single, "Rockin' for Myself". While the success of these early singles was limited to club play, Rodway's subsequent contract with Warner Bros. Records and a re-release of "Rockin' for Myself" took the single to #18 (week of May 7, 1994)[3] on the UK Singles Chart.

Afterwards, Rodway began his remix career, with an early remix of "Listen to the Music" by The Doobie Brothers (peaking at #37 UK, only a week after "Rockin' for Myself" peaked)[4] opening up further opportunities.

Among subsequent crossover remixes produced include "Common People" and "Disco 2000" by Pulp. Jarvis Cocker of the band personally met with Rodway, requesting a complete overhaul of "Common People" in the Eurodance style; the resulting remix went on to replace the original version on BBC Radio 1's playlist.

More involved was a 1995 production for Saint Etienne called "He's on the Phone", created by Rodway through a considerable rework of the song "Accident" from the Saint Etienne and Étienne Daho collaboration EP Reserection and used as the new single included on the Too Young to Die singles compilation. Time stretching and pitch shifting of a vocal sample from the song were used to create additional backing vocals on the final product.

In 1997, Rodway took on remixing "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer, the best known song he had worked on to date. For this remix he insisted on using multitracks from the original version rather than a recent re-recorded version.

Motiv 8 was also responsible for additional production work on the single mix of "A Red Letter Day" by Pet Shop Boys.

[edit] Gina G

One of Rodway's objectives with FX Records was to discover and sign new recording artists. In December 1995, he offered a recording contract to Australian singer Gina G, who had come across Rodway through an early demo called "Just a Little Bit" produced by Rodway and Simon Tauber. Rodway then signed a licensing deal with Warner Bros. Records, and proceeded to oversee many aspects of her music, including songwriting, production, and mixing; the demo was eventually developed into the song "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which went on to be selected as the United Kingdom's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996.

In conjunction with the May contest, "Ooh Aah..." was released as a single in March, hitting #1 in the UK by April and receiving BPI Platinum certification;[5] #12 on the Billboard Hot 100; and selling 2 million copies worldwide.[6] It was performed six times on Top of the Pops from March to May, and yet again on the year-end episode.[7]

After the next two singles "I Belong to You" and "Fresh!" (both with co-writing credits to G) reached UK #6, the debut album Fresh! was released, going on to be certified Silver by the BPI, along with a series of additional singles.

According to G, she had yet to sign the contract when the deal with Warner was made, and Rodway then threatened to withdraw from Eurovision unless it was signed. She also claims that he withheld all royalties for her releases, and failed to credit her for co-writing "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit".[8]

The collaboration ended in a major fallout after, according to G, Rodway refused to produce her second album without total control over songwriting and production, thus locking her in the two-album exclusive contract with Warner Bros; the record label opposed Rodway's terms, attempting to buy out the contract, but this fell through when he demanded more money. G would not record anything else for the next three years, for the duration of the contract and protracted lawsuits against Rodway.[8] Both G and Tauber sued FX Music in 1999 over unpaid royalties from sales of "Ooh Aah..."; in June, Tauber won his case, even as FX entered voluntary liquidation.[9][10]

[edit] Music

Motiv 8 remixes have a reputation for being focused on songwriting and composition, generally keeping the full vocal track — an approach that Rodway attributes to coming from a background of songwriting, as opposed to DJing. Often all the backing tracks are discarded in favor of an entirely new set built from the vocals alone; one exception was "Addicted to Love", in which maintaining the "essence" of the song was a concern due to the iconic nature of the song. Musical characteristics of Motiv 8 remixes include arpeggios playing during verses, and loops overlaid on programmed drum samples.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

  • 1992 "Mission"
  • 1993 "Rockin' for Myself" (featuring Angie Brown)
  • 1995 "Break the Chain"
  • 1995 "Searching for the Golden Eye" (featuring Kym Mazelle)
  • 2005 "Riding on the Wings"

[edit] Selected remixes

[edit] Compilations

  • 1999 Motiv8tion: The Official Motiv 8 Remix Collection, Volume 1

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Just a little bit. Eurovision Song Contest 1996. Esctoday.com. Retrieved on May 15, 2006.
  2. ^ Studer, Wayne. The Pet Shop Boys' Remixers. Pet Shop Boys Commentary. Geowayne.com. Retrieved on May 15, 2006.
  3. ^ Zywietz, Tobias (March 22, 2005). Chart Log UK: Mood II Swing - My Vitriol. Chart Log UK. The Official Zobbel Website. Retrieved on May 17, 2006.
  4. ^ Zywietz, Tobias (March 22, 2005). Chart Log UK: Dio - Dyverse. Chart Log UK. The Official Zobbel Website. Retrieved on May 17, 2006.
  5. ^ Zywietz, Tobias (March 22, 2005). Chart Log UK: Gina G - Paul Giovanni. Chart Log UK. The Official Zobbel Website. Retrieved on May 17, 2006.
  6. ^ Biography (SWF). GinaG.com. Retrieved on May 17, 2006.
  7. ^ BBC - Top of the Pops - Performance Database. BBC. Retrieved on May 12, 2006.
  8. ^ a b Alan, Kage. Gina G Interview. Spring issue, 2006. Moda Magazine. Retrieved on May 15, 2006.
  9. ^ Gina G's Eurovision Loss. BBC News (June 19, 1999). Retrieved on May 17, 2006.
  10. ^ Sprawson, Rupert; Michelle Brown; Owen Thomas; John Enser. The Music Industry in 1998-9. Davenport Lyons. Retrieved on May 17, 2006.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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