Vato Gonzalez

Vato Gonzalez
Background information
Origin Spijkenisse, Netherlands
Genres Electro House, Dutch House
Labels Levels Recordings / Crowd Control / Ministry of Sound / Spinnin' Records
Associated acts Foreign Beggars, Diplo, Lethal Bizzle, Donae'o
Website www.vatogonzalez.com

Vato Gonzalez (born 6 June 1983 as Björn Franken) is a Dutch record producer, songwriter, artist, DJ, who is signed to Levels Recordings[1] / Ministry of Sound[2] / Crowd Control / Spinnin' Records. Best known for his single Badman Riddim (Jump) (featuring Foreign Beggars), which reached #7 on the UK Singles Chart after a release on 19 June 2011.[3][4]

Biography

Early life

Franken was born in Spijkenisse, Netherlands. As a teenager he developed an interest in graphic design before he started to focus on making music.

2007-2009: Dirty House

Between 2007 and 2009 Franken released 5 mixtapes in the 'Dirty House' series,[5] the second of which contained the song Badman Riddim.[6] It was around the time of this release he and this song started to gain mainstream attention.

2010-present: Badman Riddim

Badman Riddim, in addition to a vocal version which featured UK hip-hop/grime/dubstep group Foreign Beggars and was given the new title Badman Riddim (Jump), began to start gaining airplay from some BBC Radio 1 DJs in the UK in late 2010. As attention for the single started to grow Franken was signed to Ministry of Sound and a music video was made for the song. The single was released in the UK on 19 June 2011 and entered the UK Singles Chart at #7,[3][7] the first hit in the country for both acts involved.

On January 7, 2013, Not a Saint was released. It features Lethal Bizzle and Donae'o. It is a remix of the same song by Bizzle and Donae'o. The remix featured positive feedback and was released as a collaborative single. It peaked at number 20 in the UK Singles Chart.

Since late 2013, Franken signed to DOORN Records. He released his first song under the label, "Triplets Riddim" on 30 December 2013. There is a scheduled upcoming single "Bio Riddim" of which the release date will soon be announced.

Discography

Singles

Single Year Peak chart positions Album
NL
[8]		 UK
[9]		 SCO
[10]
"Take This Higher" 2010 — — — TBA
"Badman Riddim (Jump)"
(featuring Foreign Beggars)		 2011 74 7 9
"Not a Saint"
(Vato Gonzalez vs. Lethal Bizzle & Donae'o)		 2013 — 20 22
"Sushi Riddim" 2013 —
"Bio Riddim" 2014 —
"Triplets Riddim" 2013 —
"Volfied Riddim" 2014 —
"—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released.

Remixes

Year Artist Title Label
2011 Sway "Still Speedin'" 3 Beat Records
DJ Zinc ft. Ms. Dynamite "Wile Out" Zinc Music
RD "Burning" Polydor
2012 Skepta "Hold On" 3 Beat Records
Taio Cruz "Troublemaker" Island Records
The 2 Bears "Take a Look Around" Southern Fried Records
Rizzle Kicks "Mama Do the hump" Island Records
Major Lazer "Jah No Partial (ft. Flux Pavilion)" Mad Decent

References

  1. ↑ "Levels Entertainment". Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "Page Not Found". Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "2011-07-02 Top 40 Official Singles Chart UK Archive - Official Charts". Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  4. ↑ Bill Lamb. "UK Pop Music Charts June 26, 2011". About. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  5. ↑ ":: VATO GONZALEZ - DIRTY HOUSE :: - Dirty House Mixtapes". Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  6. ↑ ":: VATO GONZALEZ - DIRTY HOUSE :: - Dirty House Mixtape 2". Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  7. ↑ "Bon Iver". Billboard. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Vato Gonzalez - Dutch Charts". dutchcharts.nl/ Hung Medien.
  9. ↑ "Vato Gonzalez - UK Charts". Official Charts Company.
  10. ↑ Peak positions for singles in Scotland:

External links