Luke Vibert

Luke Vibert is a British recording artist and producer known for his work in many subgenres of electronic music. Vibert began his musical career as a member of the Hate Brothers, only later branching out into his own compositions. Vibert has recorded under several different aliases, most notably Plug and Wagon Christ.

Early Years: 1990s

Vibert's first musical output was in a variety of bands, including a punk act called Five Minute Fashion and later a Beastie Boys-esque group called the Hate Brothers, but he quickly moved into the low-cost environment of solo electronic composition. Although Vibert originally had no intention of ever releasing any of the work, his reputation as a creative young voice in his field has created a demand for his work.

Vibert originally became involved in electronic music through his interest for hip-hop as well as the environment of bedroom experimentalism associated with the swelling late-'80s UK dance scene. Luke and a friend, Jeremy Simmonds, released an album through the Rephlex label under the name of Vibert/Simmonds which caught the ear of Caspar Pound's Rising High music label. As a result of the popularity of the style in the early 90's, the label commissioned an ambient music album from Vibert, who delivered the well-received Phat Lab Nightmare under the alias Wagon Christ in 1993.

He would go on further over the next few years to produce more music under the Wagon Christ alias, as well as introducing more aliases such as Plug (drum and bass/jungle), with the 1996 album 'Drum and Bass for Papa' which gained critical acclaim.

2000 and onwards

In late 1999 and 2000, Vibert began touring with BJ Cole to promote their fusion album Stop the Panic. In 2002, he would begin a series of live collaborations with Aphex Twin. Although Aphex Twin and Luke Vibert never released an album together, Aphex Twin used the song name "Analord", from Vibert's album Lover's Acid, for a series of EPs. Vibert's later releases varied in style as he released albums under various aliases, including Plug, Amen Andrews, Kerrier District and Spac Hand Luke. "Amen Andrews" is a word play on the name of Irish game show host Eamonn Andrews, referring to the fact that each Amen Andrews track uses the Amen break. In 2004, Vibert explored acid disco when he remixed a Black Devil song, which was released on Disco Club (Remix) and released his first album under the alias Kerrier District. In 2006, a collection of vintage Plug drum n bass songs were released on Here It Comes EP.

In 2006, Vibert's song "Shadows" was featured on the DJ mix album A Bugged Out Mix by Miss Kittin,^[2] which charted at number one-hundred seventy on the French Albums Chart.^[3] In 2009, he contributed a cover of LFO's song "LFO" to the Warp20 (Recreated) compilation.

Critical reception

"It was under the alias of Wagon Christ (along with other equally vital monikers like Plug, Vibert & Simmonds, and later more simply in his own name) that Vibert helped to redefine the rules of electronic music in the UK in the early to mid '90s - alongside a bunch of reprehensible mates that included Richard D. James (a.k.a. Aphex Twin), Tom Jenkinson (Squarepusher), Mike Paradinas (µ-Ziq), Chris Jeffs (Cylob), and the labels Rephlex and Warp," assessed journalist Andrez Bergen in an article that appeared in Japan's Daily Yomiuri newspaper in 2003.

"Together they assimilated such diverse elements as hip hop beats and drum & bass into the more eccentric take on electronica they tweaked, and kick-started a virtual insurrection in sound around the world." ^[4]

Discography

Full length albums

EPs

Compilations

Singles

Compilation appearances

Remixes

External links

• Vibert and Cole on Astralwerks
• Interview on BBC website (06/2004)
• Interview on themilkfactory website (08/2004)
• Brainwashed: Vibert
• Wagon Christ Biography at Allmusic
• Luke Vibert forum at WATMM
• Puffing Away Video at TV-Click

References