| Adamski | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Adam Paul Tinley |
| Also known as | Adam Sky |
| Born | 4 December 1967 New Forest, England |
| Genres | Acid house |
| Occupations | Record producer |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | MCA Records[1] |
| Associated acts | Diskord Datkord, Mark Tinley, Seal, Guru Josh |
Adamski (born Adam Paul Tinley, 4 December 1967, in the New Forest, England) is an English dance music producer, prominent at the time of acid house for his tracks "N-R-G" and "Killer" (a collaboration with Seal).
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Tinley performed with his brother Mark Tinley, and Johnny Slut of the band Specimen, as Diskord Datkord. The band was signed to SOHO records and released one single. The brothers Tinley continued to work together even after the demise of Diskord Datkord. In the late 1980s, Adam Tinley adopted his stage name after the UFO enthusiast, George Adamski.
Adamski was discovered by entrepreneur Phil Smith who ran the infamous 'Le Petit Prince' restaurant in London's NW5. He introduced Adamski's music to the 'rave scene' and got him a deal with MCA Records, producing the first rave record on MCA called Live And Direct. The artist enjoyed modest success with this first release, which was a collection of tracks recorded live at various venues in England and Ibiza. It contained a short, live version of his first single, "NRG", as well as "I Dream of You", which appeared on a free 4 track 7" vinyl single given away with the music paper, Record Mirror in 1989. The cover of the single "NRG" featured a mocked up Lucozade bottle with the 'Lucozade' word replaced with 'N-R-G.' Legend has it that clubbers started riots when the record was first played out at the Shoom night club in 1989.
Commenting on the comparisons between rave culture and the earlier punk rock scene, Adamski said in 1990, "I liked the energy and the visual side of punk, but it was all just saying 'no, no, no, no,' whereas now everybody's saying 'yes, yes, yes.' I much prefer the positivity thing we have now, plus it's a much easier environment to score in."[2]
Adamski toured many clubs with his portable keyboard set up, playing short sets, with an MC, Daddy Chester, and later with Seal. In front of his keyboard was a UK car number plate with the words 'ADAMSKI' on it. Early versions of future singles "Killer" and "Future Love Paradise" were played on some of the Seal dates. One date of particular note was at Cambridge Corn Exchange, in early 1990, when Seal leapt on to a smaller, lower catwalk stage, the coins in his pockets all spilled out, showering some of the front row with cash causing a fight.
With the entrepreneur Steven Machat overseeing his career, Adamski discovered Seal in Beethoven studios and together they made "Killer", the signature song of his career. The song featured a collaboration with his brother Mark as programmer and sound engineer. "Killer" crossed over into the mainstream music charts, becoming a massive worldwide hit. It is featured on the album Doctor Adamski's Musical Pharmacy which also contains the follow-up singles "The Space Jungle" (Adamski singing Elvis' "All Shook Up" to a dance backing) and "Flashback Jack". Pop music artist George Michael later successfully married the bass line of "Killer" to the melody of The Temptations' "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" on a live album featuring the surviving members of Queen.
Adamski's second album was Naughty. It featured a collaboration with Nina Hagen on "Get Your Body!" and plenty of club tunes, expanding from the artist's acid house roots into the pop and rock genres. The cover art featured Tinley with his head shaven bare, hugging an umbrella. Commercially, this album was not a big success.
Adamski's third album was issued in late 1998 on the ZTT Records label, famous for producing acts such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Art of Noise. Its title was Adamski's Thing and the style followed the trend started with Naughty, with lots of guitars, strings, raw vocals and introspective lyrics, but maintaining a rhythmic dance sensibility. The album spawned two singles, "Intravenous Venus" and "One Of the People".
In 2000, Tinley released his last single as Adamski Products Inc., "In the City." The song charted in Italy, but did little business elsewhere. In the early 2000s, Tinley decided to assume a new identity: For a while, he began to produce music as Adam Sky.[3] As Adam Sky, his songs included collaborations with the musician Danny Williams. In 2007, he released a remake of The Pop Group's 1979 single "We Are All Prostitutes" with Mark Stewart which appeared on a number of compilations.
He currently lives in Berlin, Germany with his daughter Bluebell Williams Tinley. Adamski has recently set up his own label (Prostitute Records). His single "ApeX" was released on Kitsuné Music in 2006. Recently, Adamski/Sky has been working closely with VJ Ladypat, and the London based rapper, Niyi. In 2009, Adamski began to release more material on Shir Khan's Exploited record label.[4] Simultaneously, the label 'Do It Yourself Italy' released singles by "Adamski Products Inc". Adamski is currently reworking his 1989 album, Liveanddirect as Vile Acid Rent.
Released new version of killer on Rob Roar's Phonetic label in 2011. Working on a project entitle Neo Waltz under the guise of Adam Sky.
As Adam Sky
