Starsmith

Starsmith
Birth name Finlay Dow-Smith
Born 8 July 1988
Bromley, England
Genres Pop, electronica, house, synthpop
Occupation(s) Record producer, composer, musician
Instruments Drums, synthesizer, saxophone, piano, guitar, bass, vocals
Years active 2009–present
Associated acts Ellie Goulding, Kylie Minogue, Cheryl Cole, Lady Gaga

Starsmith (born Finlay Dow-Smith, 8 July 1988, Bromley, England) is a multi-platinum selling British songwriter, producer, remixer and DJ. He is best known for his writing and production work with artists such as Ellie Goulding, Jess Glynne, Kylie Minogue, Clean Bandit as well as his own solo work. He studied a classical music degree at the University of Surrey[1] majoring in performance on saxophone. He has also received widespread acclaim for the remixes he created for Lady Gaga, Robyn, Timbaland, Katy Perry, Passion Pit, and Marina and the Diamonds amongst many others.[2] His remix of "Bad Romance" was chosen as the lead remix of the track on Lady Gaga's hugely successful 2010 remix album, "The Remix".[3] He was nominated for the Music Producers Guild Breakthrough Producer of the Year award in 2011[4] and then again for the Remixer of the Year in 2012.[5]

Early career

He is good friends with singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding and in addition to producing the majority of her debut album Lights also co-wrote five tracks on the album, which following its release on 1 March 2010, went straight to No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart. The album has gone on to sell nearly 2,000,000 copies worldwide. He also teamed up again with Ellie Goulding on her second number one album "Halcyon", producing and co-writing three songs on the album,[6] which debuted in the top 10 in both the UK and the US in October 2012.[7] He produced tracks for Diana Vickers' debut album, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree which also went straight to No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart in May 2010 and he had subsequent UK Number 1 album cuts in 2010 with both Cheryl Cole and Kylie Minogue.[8] He co-wrote and produced the track 'Burn' for Clare Maguire's debut album in 2011.

Starsmith toured with Goulding in 2009 and 2010, and also played with her on Later... with Jools Holland in 2009, playing bass guitar. He is a noted instrumentalist, additionally playing piano and guitar, but his main instrument is the saxophone: (tenor or alto) the Saxophone solo on his 2013 rework of the Hall and Oates track 'I Can't Go for That' is performed by himself. He spent the majority of 2010 working on his own solo album, but in a post on his blog in early 2011[9] he revealed that he had decided to postpone releasing the album until a later date and was instead focusing on songwriting and production. However, one song from the album sessions titled 'Lesson One' that he co-wrote and produced with Alan Braxe was released later that year on Braxe's Vulture label.[10]

In December 2011, he was the subject of an episode of the Red Bull and Vice documentary series, 'The Producers'.[11]

Latest Work

In March 2014, the track 'Dead In The Water' that he co-wrote and produced with Ellie Goulding was included in the promotion and soundtrack for the film Divergent,[12] which opened at No.1 at the Worldwide Box Office.[13]

Charli XCX revealed that she had worked alongside him writing songs for Britney Spears latest album, however the track did not make it onto the final album.[14][15]

In June 2014 he revealed he had signed with Ministry of Sound to release his new solo music.[16]

He is reportedly working with Jess Glynne,[17] Clean Bandit, Joel Compass,[18] Ella Eyre, and Betty Who[19] on their debut albums.

Songwriting and production discography

from the album Halcyon (2012)
from the album Lights (2010)
from the album Bright Lights (2010)
from the Under The Sheets EP (2009)
from the single Hold My Hand (2015)
from the single "Turnaround" featured on the Kitsuné New Faces II Compilation (2015)
from the single Real Love (2014)
from the album Take Me When You Go (2014)
from his upcoming album (2014)
from the single Swimming Slow (2014)
from the album The Art of Doing Nothing (2013)
from the album Aphrodite (2010)
from the album The Family Jewels (2010)
from the album Messy Little Raindrops (2010)
from the album Light After Dark (2011)
  • "Somebody"
  • "Glow"

from the album Rituals (2013)

from the album Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree (2010)
from the single One Shot (2010)
from the single Hurtful (2010)

As a Solo Artist

from the single Now I Feel Good (2014)
from the single Be My Love (2014)
from the single Clockwork (2013)
from the single Zeros (2012)
from the Lesson One EP (2011)
from the Give Me A Break/Knuckleduster EP (2010)

Remixography

Year Artist Song Title Time
2009 Private "My Secret Lover" 4:01
2009 Elviin "In Colour" 4:44
2009 Bombay Bicycle Club "Always Like This" 4:06
2009 Frankmusik "3 Little Words" (Starsmith Remix) 3:29
2009 Marina and the Diamonds "I Am Not a Robot" (Starsmith 24 Carat Remix) 5:18
2009 Little Boots "New in Town" (Starsmith Remix) 5:30
2009 The Twang "Barney Rubble" (Starsmith Remix) 5:24
2009 Girls Can't Catch "Keep Your Head Up" (Starsmith Club Mix) 5:18
2009 The Mission District "So Over You" (Starsmith Remix) 3:29
2009 Team WaterPolo "Letting Go" (Starsmith Remix) 4:29
2009 Frankmusik "Better Off as Two" (Starsmith Holiday in the Heath Remix) 4:29
2009 Passion Pit "Sleepyhead" (Starsmith Remix feat. Ellie Goulding) 3:19
2009 Animal Kingdom "Signs and Wonders" (Starsmith Remix) 4:17
2009 Paloma Faith "New York" (Starsmith Remix) 3:36
2009 Lisa Mitchell "Coin Laundry" (Starsmith Remix) 4:49
2009 Lady Gaga "Bad Romance" (Starsmith Remix) 4:56
2010 Mika "Blame It on the Girls" (Not on the Starsmith Remix) 6:17
2010 Timbaland featuring Katy Perry "If We Ever Meet Again" (Starsmith Remix) 5:21
2010 N.E.R.D. "Hot-n-Fun" (Starsmith Club Remix) 5:35
2010 Beyoncé "Why Don't You Love Me" (Starsmith Remix – Radio Edit) 3:34
2010 Robyn "Hang with Me" (Starsmith Remix) 6:04
2011 Gypsy & the Cat "Jona Vark" (Starsmith Remix) 4:58
2011 Lady Gaga "Born This Way" (Starsmith Remix) 6:45
2011 Marina and the Diamonds "Radioactive" (Starsmith Rework) 4:37
2012 St. Lucia "We Got It Wrong" (Starsmith Remix) 6:03
2013 Ed Drewett "Drunk Dial" (Starsmith Remix) 5:37
2013 Matthew Koma "Parachute" (Starsmith Remix) 5:18
2013 Hall & Oates "I Can't Go For That" (Starsmith Rework) 4:48
2013 Betty Who "Somebody Loves You" (Starsmith Remix) 6:24
2014 Joywave "Tongues" (Starsmith Remix) 4:39

References

  1. ↑ http://www.surrey.ac.uk/msr/news/stories/2012/93586_updates_on_achievements_in_music_and_sound_recording.htm
  2. ↑ New band of the day – No 618: Starsmith Guardian.co.uk
  3. ↑ The Remix
  4. ↑ http://www.mpg.org.uk/mpg-awards/2011-short-lists/
  5. ↑ http://www.mpg.org.uk/mpg-awards/2012-short-lists/
  6. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/halcyon-mw0002411263
  7. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/474608/macklemore-ryan-lewis-score-top-billboard-200-debut-mumford-still-no-1
  8. ↑ "Starsmith Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  9. ↑ "Starsmith Starblog". Starsmith.tumblr.com. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  10. ↑ "Starsmith – Lesson One (Original) by Starsmith on SoundCloud – Create, record and share your sounds for free". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  11. ↑ http://www.vice.com/en_uk/the-producers/episode-5-starsmith
  12. ↑ http://www.divergentsoundtrack.com/news/divergent-track-listing-revealed
  13. ↑ http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/movies/2014/03/24/Divergent-based-on-young-adult-book-series-is-No-1/stories/201403240028
  14. ↑ http://www.popjustice.com/interviewsandfeatures/an-amazing-charli-xcx-interview-slash-chat/128483/
  15. ↑ http://www.nme.com/news/charlie-xcx/72285
  16. ↑ https://twitter.com/starsmith/status/462224042326757376
  17. ↑ http://hamadamania.com/2014/07/10/jess-glynne-enlists-starsmith-talay-riley-for-debut-album/
  18. ↑ http://hamadamania.com/2014/03/04/joel-compass-teams-up-with-starsmith-for-debut-album/
  19. ↑ http://www.idolator.com/7509865/sxsw-2014-betty-who-interview-claude-kelly

External links