Hybrid (Welsh band)

Hybrid
Background information
Origin	Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
Genres	Electronica, trip hop, breakbeat, progressive trance, big beat
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Distinct'ive Kinetic (former US label) Hope Recordings Kill City Recordings
Website	http://www.hybridsoundsystem.com/
Members	Mike Truman Chris Healings Charlotte James[1]
Past members	Lee Mullin Adam Taylor[2]

Hybrid are a British electronic music group based in Swansea, comprising Mike Truman and Chris Healings, with the addition of Charlotte James completing their 2010 lineup. They are primarily known as a progressive breaks act, although they overlap considerably with progressive house and trance. However, the band are now taking a more structured approach to song writing, with the addition of Charlotte James contributing to the writing process. The duo are considered pioneers of the electronic genre, and have produced four studio albums, all garnering critical acclaim. They are known for their cinematic approach to their production, specifically with the use of orchestral sounds, which is particularly notable on their debut album Wide Angle when they collaborated with the Russian Federal Orchestra. Also over their seventeen-year career, they have produced over 100 remixes for over 40 artists.

History

1999: Wide Angle

Hybrid released their first album, Wide Angle, in 1999 – a combination of progressive house and nu skool breaks with vocals and symphonic textures. They hired the Russian Federal Orchestra for the string sections. Julee Cruise supplied many of the vocals for Wide Angle. The album was produced and written by the duo along with the third original band member, Lee Mullin. The music's cinematic feel and scope have led to comparisons with Massive Attack and Underworld. Hybrid also supported Moby during a live tour in 2000.

2003: Morning Sci-Fi

Hybrid released their second album, Morning Sci-Fi, in 2003. They added semi-permanent vocalists and guitarists, Adam Taylor and Tim Hutton (both on the album and when performing live) with a guest appearance from New Order alumnus Peter Hook. This album had a generally darker feel to it than Wide Angle, though still retaining the cinematic undertones for which Hybrid are known. In addition to this, Morning Sci-Fi features a more diverse range of influences than its predecessor — Chris Healings stating in an interview that, "We've been listening to absolutely anything other than dance music. I suppose that is because dance music is so ingrained into what we do naturally. We've been listening to stuff like Doves, Radiohead, Soulwax, New Order and lots of jangly indie guitar bands and classical music, particularly the work of Arvo Pärt and Alexander Gretchaninov."^[3]

In 2004, Hybrid were invited by noted Hollywood film composer Harry Gregson-Williams, to work on the soundtrack for the film Man on Fire. The film marked not only Hybrid's first foray into film music, but also the duo's first collaboration with Harry Gregson-Williams, who continuously invited them to work on the soundtrack for movies like The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Total Recall. This also marked the first collaboration with the late film director Tony Scott. A collaboration which continued throughout the remainder of his career, until his death in 2012.

2006: I Choose Noise

On April 2006, Hybrid played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 29 April 2006. Later, the same year, Hybrid released their third studio album, I Choose Noise. The album featured the return of the epic symphonic sound and grand orchestral scope of Wide Angle. It featured Perry Farrell, John Graham (A fellow music producer, going by the name Quivver), Judie Tzuke and Kirsty Hawkshaw. Harry Gregson-Williams also appeared on the album, composing most of the album's string sections. Film composer Stephen Barton was also involved with the production of the album. The album didn't spawn any singles, however many of the tracks would later go on to be heavily played by DJ's, as well as heavily featured in advertisements. In addition, 2 of the album's tracks "Dogstar" and "Dreamstalker" would later be re-recorded with Perry Farrell for his Satellite Party project. The project also featured another re-recording of his song "Orbit," which was previously unreleased. These recordings were later released on the album Ultra Payloaded, released in 2007.

On 8 March 2007, Hybrid kicked off their US Spring 2007 Live Tour in support of their third album I Choose Noise. Hybrid was joined by John Graham, Peter DiStefano and, a new female vocalist, Charlotte James. Later that same year, Distinct'ive Records released a compilation album: Hybrid Remixed. It consisted of remixes of several compositions by Hybrid, with remixes by various artists, including Deadmau5, Jerome Sydenham, The Cinematic Orchestra and The Orb, as well as a rare b-side track, named "Sleepwalking", originally meant for I Choose Noise. Despite this however, Hybrid had nothing to do with the release, as it was meant to be their last release with Distinct'ive. However, despite being managed by Hope Recordings, Hybrid still released their next few releases with Distinctive.

In 2007, the duo composed their first original soundtrack, for the film Catacombs. However, nothing of Hybrid's contributions were ever released, despite heavy fan demand, as of 2012.

2008 saw the release of Soundsystem 01. The album is a double-disc mix collection with the first CD being based around actual film scores fused with ambient electronica, and the second containing more upfront, club-oriented music represented by remixes of music by the likes of Sasha, Quivver and Elite Force.^[4] Later that same year, Hybrid released a new single, entitled "The Formula of Fear", which featured Charlotte James on the vocals. Hybrid also contributed an original track "Komuru", to the Survival International charity album, Songs for Survival.

2010: Disappear Here

Besides collaborating with Harry Gregson-Williams, 2009 saw Hybrid focusing on the production of their fourth album. The album was originally finished in 2008, however the group described the album as indie rock and as a result, weren't sastified with the album, which led them to restart the production completely.^[5] After several months of silence, their fourth album Disappear Here was finally finished and released on 29 March 2010. The album was made with Andrew Skeet and the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at Smecky Music Studios. A video recording of the track from the forthcoming album, entitled "Break My Soul", was also released which was filmed and edited by the band.^[6] Unilke their previous album, Disappear Here spawned several singles, and also rose to #2 at the iTunes electronic charts. The album was re-released in the same year, entitled Disappear Here: Widescreen Edition, which contained special edits, remixes and orchestral versions.

2010 also saw more collaborations with Harry Gregson-Williams. the duo helped finish the score for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and yet another Tony Scott production: Unstoppable.^[7] This would prove to be the last collaboration with Tony Scott, with the director's death in 2012.

On 15 March 2011 Hybrid released the song "Blind Side" for free, as promotion for the single, which itself was officially released on 22 August 2011. The single was their first release for their new label Kill City Records.^[8] Beyond this, Hybrid spent most of 2011 focusing on film score work. The group submitted two original tracks for the film Fast Five. They also helped finish the score for Cowboys & Aliens^[9] and were working on the original soundtrack for the video game Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, which was released in May 2012.^[10]

2012: Classics and future projects

Besides the aforementioned video game soundtrack, August 2012 saw the release of Classics out on Distinctive Records. The album was a greatest hits compilation, compiling the biggest hits from Hybrid's career. The album was released in a standard one disc edition, as well as a deluxe edition, consisting of 4 discs. The deluxe edition featured many alternative mixes and orchestral versions, as well as unreleased material, including much of the music that was made for advertisement agencies.^[11]

In 2013, Hybrid finished working on a few soundtracks. One was for the video game Driveclub,^[12] where the band did all of the music, in addition to creating a new single for the game, entitled: "Be Here Now". They also finished work on a direct-to-video film: Dead in Tombstone. Their work (unlike for the previous film, Catacombs) was released by Back Lot Music on 15 October 2013. In 2014, the band finished a score for the science fiction film Vice, which was released on 30 May^[13] Meanwhile, the band states that they are still hard at work on a 5th album^[14] which, originally scheduled for release in December 2014,^[15] has been delayed with no firm release date.

Use of Hybrid's music

Hybrid's extensive music for TV, film and games can be found at their dedicated scoring website, www.hybridscores.com^[16]

Over the years, Hybrid's studio material from their first three albums and their singles, have been heavily used for television, film and video games. Hybrid composed the soundtrack for the 2007 film Catacombs, and have also helped Harry Gregson-Williams score Man on Fire, Déjà Vu,^[17] and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.^[18]

Other notable uses includes:

• "Know Your Enemy", "Out of the Dark", and "Visible Noise" were featured in the game In the Groove 2, released on 18 June 2005.^[19]
• In November 2006, "All I Want" was featured in an advertisement for the Channel 4 show Unanimous.
• The music of Hybrid has been featured several times in the motoring TV show Top Gear. "Finished Symphony" was used when Jeremy Clarkson, in a Bugatti Veyron, raced James May and Richard Hammond, in a light aircraft, across Europe (Season 7, Episode 5), whilst "Formula of Fear" was featured in season 14, in the Maserati/Porsche/Aston Martin segment. "Mr. Smith" (aka. "Ultimatum") was used in the fourth episode of season 5, in the first episode of season 7, when Clarkson reviews the Aston Martin V8 Vantage on the Isle of Man, and in the tenth episode of season 6, "Know Your Enemy" was played in the BMW 5 Series Diesel vs. Petrol review. "Sea Chase" was used in the first episode of season 20, in which Jeremy (in a Toyota Corolla) and James (on an America's Cup yacht) conduct a race in New Zealand. "Just For Today" was used in the Porsche Boxster S review in season 8, episode 4.
• "Finished Symphony'" was featured in the games SSX, SSX Tricky, and Juiced.^[20]
• "Higher Than a Skyscraper" is featured in the Xbox 360 game Crackdown.^[21]
• "I Know" was used as sample in the song Desnudame, from Achillea's second album Amadas Estrellas.
• "I Choose Noise" was featured in an advertisement for the BBC's Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood.
• "Choke" was used in a game trailer for Quantum Theory.
• "Cascade", from Scores was used as the bed for a Sky+ HD advertisement.
• "Dogstar" from I Choose Noise was used by the BBC as title music for their coverage of the 2009 World Athletics Championships and 2010 European Athletics Championships.
• Finished Symphony was used by the BBC for their Boxing coverage.
• "Kid 2000" was one of the tunes for the film Kevin and Perry Go Large.
• "We Are In Control" was used in Poland by Gellwe for their "Fitella" muesli advertisement, and has also been used in Top Gear a couple of times.
• "If I Survive" was used in the PlayStation 2 game Kinetica.^[22]
• Five songs by Hybrid were used in the film Man on Fire.
• Parts of "We Are In Control" were used as background music for Disorderly Conduct: Video on Patrol.
• "I Know" was used in Armin van Buuren's six-hour-long set, Armin Only.
• Hybrid produced a track called "Komoru" for BBC's Tribe LP. It's set for release in September.^[23]
• Elements of "Zulu" were used as samples in the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots soundtrack. The Soundtrack was partly composed by Harry Gregson-Williams.
• "Gravastar" and "Celebrity Science" were used in the soundtrack for F1 Challenge '99-'02
• The song "Choke" was used for the trailer for The Spirit;^[24] "Keep it in the Family" was used in a later trailer for the same film.^[25]
• "Formula of Fear (Hybrid's Matrix Dub)" was featured on the soundtrack for Need for Speed: Undercover.
• "We Are In Control" has been used on the Australian version of Big Brother.
• "We Are In Control" and "Know Your Enemy" can be eared in the show Alias on episode 4, "The Road Home".
• "I Know" and "If I Survive" have been used in the show CSI: NY.
• Ford and Lamborghini used the song "Ultimatum" as the soundtrack for their website exclusive video featuring the Ford Focus ST and Lamborghini Murcielago LP640
• Several songs from Hybrid's unreleased album of scores have been used in taped segments on the ABC show Dancing with the Stars.
• "Just for Today" was used as the backing music for the 'Best in Britain' video clip on Alfa Romeo's website for the Prodrive-tuned Brera S coupe, which featured the car driving around Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, UK.
• Early episodes of America's Next Top Model regularly used tracks from Morning Sci-Fi.
• A sample from "Last Man Standing" was used in the Crysis 2 multiplayer reveal trailer.
• "I Choose Noise" was used in advertisement for the 2006 Channel 4 police drama Low Winter Sun.
• Several tracks from I Choose Noise were included in the video game: Saints Row: The Third. The game also included several unreleased tracks, available only for advertising agencies.

Discography

Studio albums

• Wide Angle (1999) - UK number 45;^[26] re-released as Wider Angle (2000)
• Morning Sci-Fi (2003)
• I Choose Noise (2006)
• Disappear Here (2010)^[27]
• TBA (2016)

Remix compilation albums

• Remix and Additional Production by... (2001)
• Hybrid Remixed (2007)

Promo releases

• The Remix Collection (1996)
• Symphony (1996)
• Music from the Forthcoming Album Wide Angle (1998)
• Views from Wide Angle (1999)
• Scores (2005)

Singles

• "Fall Out of Love" (1996)
• "Finished Symphony" (1999) - UK number 58^[26]
• "If I Survive" (1999) - UK number 52^[26]
• "Kid 2000" (2002) - UK number 32^[26]
• "Visible Noise / Know Your Enemy" (2002)
• "Gravastar / Celebrity Science" (2002)
• "True to Form" (2003) - UK number 59^[26]
• "Higher Than a Skyscraper" (2004)
• "I'm Still Awake" (2004)
• "I Choose Noise EP" (2006)
• "Dogstar / I Choose Noise" (2006)
• "Falling Down / Last Man Standing" (2006)
• "Dreamstalker / Just For Today" (2006)
• "Last Man Standing / Until Tomorrow Remixes" (2007)
• "I Choose Noise / Sleepwalking Remixes" (2007)
• "Hybrid Remixed EP 1" (2007)
• "Finished Symphony (Remixed)" (2008)
• "The Formula of Fear" (2008)
• "Break My Soul" (2010)
• "Can You Hear Me" (2010)
• "Disappear Here" (2010)
• "Original Sin" (2011)
• "Blind Side" (2011)
• "Polaris" (2014)

Music videos

DJ-mix albums

• Hybrid Present: Y4K (2004)
• Soundsystem 01 (2008)

Compilation albums

• Classics (2012)

Various remixes

Hybrid has produced over 100 remixes of more than 40 artists, including Radiohead, Alanis Morissette, U2, Filter, BT, DJ Rap, The Orb, Jean Michel Jarre, Gouryella, The Future Sound of London, UNKLE, Moby and The Crystal Method.^[28]

Filmography

Throughout their career, Mike and Chris became friends with noted film composer Harry Gregson-Williams; a friendship that evntually led them to be invited to arrange and program the soundtrack for the Tony Scott movie, Man on Fire. This subsequently led the band to become invited to contribute to the soundtracks for several Tony Scott productions, until his death in 2012, although they have also contributed music, and other associated soundtrack roles, for various other directors. While Hybrid's contributions mostly extends to arranging and programming music and sounds, they have also contributed entire soundtracks to a few movies, as well as a few video games.

Theatre

Video games

References

External links

• Official Hybrid website
• Hybrid discography at Discogs
• Hybrid's Last.fm page
• Hybrid's BBC Wales profile and biography