| Kissy Sell Out | |
|---|---|
Kissy live in Jersey |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thomas Bisdee[1] |
| Born | 18th June 1984 |
| Origin | UK |
| Genres | Electro Speed Garage |
| Occupations | DJ Producer Graphic Designer |
| Labels | San City High Cheap Thrills Records Lavolta Records Asylum Records |
| Website | myspace.com/kissysellout BBC Radio 1 minisite |
Kissy Sell Out, born Thomas Bisdee on 18 June 1984 in Colchester, Essex, England, is an English DJ, producer and graphic designer. Kissy Sell Out gained notability in 2006 for his eccentric electro productions and energetic DJ style.[2] In 2009 Mixmag described him as "one of the most exciting, charismatic and entertaining DJs of the decade".[3] He presents a BBC Radio 1 show from midnight until 2am on Thursday nights and runs the independent record label San City High in addition to his DJ work.[4]
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Although Kissy has been described by the press as being a staple of the east London electro scene,[5] he is in fact from Colchester in Essex. It was during his adolescent years growing up there that he became obsessed with records by Nirvana, Aphrodite, Swans, Felix Da Housecat and John Martyn,[6] while dividing the rest of his time between school, DJing at teenage house parties and meeting girls at the local roller-skating rink.[7] His particular interest is in melodically complex post-modern dance tracks around 128 BPM in tempo.[8]
Until 2009 the majority of his musical output as a producer was in remixes for other artists but since then he has released two albums "Youth" and the critically acclaimed follow-up "Wild Romance".[9][10][11][12]
When not working on his own music, much of his time as a music producer is spent mentoring fresh names in dance music through his label San City High and also by judging DJ competitions such as the Red Bull Thre3style UK tour.[13]
In July 2007 Kissy Sell Out was signed by BBC Radio 1 to present a monthly installment of a specialist dance music show called In New DJs We Trust.[14] In October 2008 he permanently took over Eddie Halliwell's Thursday night slot[15] to host his own weekly show called the "Kissy Klub".[16] His radio show covers a selection of musical styles and genres with the tracks often seamlessly mixed together. A feature of his radio shows are the Kissy Klub Versions which are unofficial remixes created for the show.
Inspired by early recordings of underground drum'n'bass events in the UK, Kissy used to use an air horn during his DJ sets and in June 2007 was pictured on the front cover of DJ Magazine blasting one into the air.
As Kissy grew more experienced, his live DJ shows began to focus on his ability to mix records of all genres together on four Pioneer CD decks.[17] A signature trick he developed on his radio show and live tours was to put electro beats over classical pieces of music. This is something which began to attract media attention when was invited to speak at a formal debate at the Oxford Union against Stephen Fry about the relevance of classical music to the youth of today in May 2011.[18]
During his final year studying Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins College Of Art And Design in London, Kissy worked full-time as a design assistant at a high-fashion magazine called POP Magazine.
Kissy Klub Versions are unofficial remixes of songs by artists which are played exclusively on Kissy Sell Out's BBC Radio 1 Show.[19] The idea to remix songs for a radio show is down to the BBC's rules on conflict of interest which restrict the amount of air time producers such as Kissy can fill with their own material. Since Kissy's own re-edits of tracks have been a widely talked about feature of his DJ sets since 2006,[20] Kissy felt it was important to continue this feature in his radio show and thus the Kissy Klub Version concept was started.
Very few of these remixes have been played by any other DJ and at the moment it seems there are no plans for any such remixes to be released commercially.
Kissy's debut album Youth took over a year to make and is inspired by his childhood memories of growing up in Essex, UK.[21] It contains 11 tracks, three of which are instrumental, as well as covering cheerfully remembered anecdotes of Kissy's "teenage relationships, drinking & social misbehaviour,"[22] the content of the songs on the album are said to also reflect the hard times Kissy and Danimal Kingdom experienced while writing the album. In a cover feature for iDJ magazine, Kissy talked about the post-adolescent alienation he felt during the recording process[23] and the relationship problems he and Danimal Kingdom encountered which resulted during the making of the album in a song called "Bethnal Green Café" being penned.[24]
May 2011 saw the release of Kissy's sophomore LP "Wild Romance" on his label San City High. The 12-track album is influenced by the theatrical showmanship of his live four-deck DJ performances and weekly show on BBC Radio 1.[25]
Whilst including the post-modern motifs of Kissy's high energy arrangements (many of which are played on classical instruments such as cellos, oboes and plucked violas), all the tracks revolve around the more familiar dance music conventions of breakdowns and bassline drops which reference genres such as UK speed garage, electro and drum'n'bass. Online press tipped the twelve-track album as "...retain[ing] the extroverted sound he has become synonymous with, but is overall more confident."[26]
In January 2008 Kissy released a four-track EP of bootleg tracks on limited edition CD and digital downloads so he could donate all proceeds to the British Association for Adoption and Fostering [3]. The EP contains a blog-house track called "Get Busy Tropicana" as well as "You're On Fire" which was championed by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 [4].
Kissy also began supporting the Changing Faces charity in 2010 after meeting a severely facially disfigured young girl in a British airport whilst on his way to DJ in Ibiza. In an interview with Thomas H. Green published in Mixmag he talked of how the brief but poignant moment reduced him to tears and made him realise how lucky he was to be a successful DJ.[33]
Since Kissy himself claims to owe a lot of his early success to the support he received from DJs such as Simian Mobile Disco, Headman, DJ Touché, The Loose Cannons, Eddy Temple Morris and Tommie Sunshine, Kissy has insisted on championing unsigned artists and new independent producers as much as he can on his radio shows, festival appearances and press interviews.
Some of the fresh faces in music Kissy has shown support for include Ronnie Flex, Foamo, Jo Kira, Metal On Metal, Proxy, 16 Bit, Jack Beats, Last Japan, Norrit, AutoErotique, Bear Cavalry, Kamikaze Cream Cake, Late Of The Pier, MC Cobra, Linda's Nephew, Chew Fu and the Palms Out Sounds blog, Haydn Haydn, Cap'nHarry, Figure, Frankmusik, Thoko, Mr. Vega, Matt Sayers, Dynasty, ETC!ETC!, Black Peter Group, Futuristic Retro Champions, and Andy George and Jaymo who were signed to BBC Radio 1 after Kissy picked them to support him on a BBC Introducing edition of Radio 1's Essential Mix.[34]
Kissy is curator of a music festival in the French Alps called Tignesfest.
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|title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://www.metro.co.uk/music/reviews/862671-wild-romances-exuberance-will-raise-a-grin-well-beyond-party-environments.|title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://newsflash.bigshotmag.com/reviews/music-reviews/15657/.|title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://www.reviewgraveyard.com/00_revs/r2011/music/11-05-07_kissysellout-romance.html.|title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://www.contactmusic.com/album-review/kissy-sell-out-wild-romance.|title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://www.redbull.co.uk/cs/Satellite/en_UK/Article/Kissy-Sell-Out-A-Trak-introduce-Red-Bull-Thre3style--021242909572581.
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