| Mark Stewart | |
|---|---|
| Labels | Mute Records |
| Associated acts | The Pop Group Mark Stewart & the Maffia |
Mark Stewart is a British musician and founding member of The Pop Group.[1] A pioneer of industrial hip-hop, he has recorded for On-U Sound Records and Mute Records.
Contents |
Stewart was educated at Bristol Grammar School, one of Bristol's leading private schools, and was in the same year as fellow musician Nick Sheppard. Stewart started out in Bristol in 1978 in music with The Pop Group, a band whose songtitles (such as "For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder?"), political conviction, disrespect for copyright and willingness to collaborate laid the foundations for his later work.[2]
The Pop Group split in 1981, with Stewart and two other members heading off to London to hook up with the emerging On-U Sound "conspiracy of outsiders" as part of the New Age Steppers. On-U became a focal point of a diverse set of networks - punks, reggae players from both the UK and Jamaica and free-jazzers. His first post-Pop Group release was as 'Mouth 2', the 1982 single "Who's Hot".[1] Two releases followed with On-U associates under the name 'Mark Stewart & The Maffia' - the Jerusalem EP in 1983, and the 1983 album Learning to Cope with Cowardice.[1]
Stewart has since made several albums under his own name as well as collaborating with artists such as Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame, Tricky, Massive Attack, Chicks on Speed, ADULT. and Primal Scream. In 2005, he released a collection of his best work on Soul Jazz Records entitled Kiss the Future. In 2006, he wrote the theme music used for the first series of the BBC One drama, Waterloo Road. His latest album Edit was released on the Crippled Dick Hot Wax! record label in 2008.
He is currently living in Berlin, Vienna and Portland, Dorset.
Stewart is well known in several European countries and Japan. He recently was involved in a documentary filmed by Tøni Schifer, "On/Off - Mark Stewart - from The Pop Group to the Maffia", which including interviews with Nick Cave, Daniel Miller, former Pop Group members, Adrian Sherwood, Skip McDonald, Doug Wimbish, Keith LeBlanc, Fritz Hart (23 Skidoo) and others. The premiere took place at the East End Film Festival in April 2009.[3]
This matchless track record of anarchic pioneering prompted Nick Cave to declare, “Mark Stewart changed everything”. Reflecting on his far-reaching influence, Mark says, “I thought I was making funk music, but a track on Veneer Of Democracy supposedly inspired all the American industrialists, like Front Line Assembly and Skinny Puppy, while another track supposedly inspired the Bristol kids. It happens all the time. I’ve got this nonchalance that nothing is sacred so I’ll crash a Slayer guitar line with Rotterdam gabba beats. For me, it’s like colours. I grew up doing montages; like I did this collage of Ronald Reagan’s head on this gay porno cowboy. In fact, I’ve never really grown up at all. I’m still trying to put round things into square holes.”
Stewart releases his next single through Future Noise Music on Black Friday November 25th, 2011. The double A side Children Of The Revolution / Nothing Is Sacred features The Bug, Crass's Eve Libertine, Berlin's Slope and Pop Group bassist Dan Catsis. This paves the way for Stewart’s new album in 2012. Also released on Future Noise Music, it features a stellar cast including Kenneth Anger, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Richard Hell, The Raincoats' Gina Birch, Primal Scream and Clash/PiL guitarist Keith Levene.[4]
Chart placings shown are from the UK Indie Chart.[5]