Sebastian (French musician)

Sebastian

Sebastian in 2007 in Madrid
Background information
Birth name Sebastian Akchoté-Bozovic[1]
Also known as SebastiAn
Born (1981-02-03) February 3, 1981
Origin Boulogne-Billancourt, France[2]
Genres
Occupation(s)
Years active 2005–present
Labels Ed Banger
Associated acts
Website

Sebastian Akchoté, better known as just Sebastian (sometimes stylized as SebastiAn), is a French musician and DJ affiliated with Ed Banger Records. He has worked as a solo electronic musician and as a remixer for bands and singers such as Charlotte Gainsbourg, Daft Punk, Beastie Boys, Bloc Party, and Nero. He has also produced songs for Frank Ocean, Katerine, Kavinsky, Noël Akchoté, Uffie, and Woodkid, and he has composed music for the films Notre Jour Viendra and Steak (in which he also acted). Many of his tracks have been used on television and in video games.

Early life

Akchoté is of Serbian-French heritage, he was born in Paris and raised in Paris and Belgrade by a single mother.[3] He is the younger brother of popular independent guitarist Noël Akchoté. His early musical history included both jazz and experimental influences from his older brother as well as hip hop influences from artists like DJ Premier.[4] He first started producing music around the age of fifteen.[4]

Career

While working with a hip-hop band in 2005, Sebastian was given the phone number for Ed Banger Records by one of the band's members, who had found it in a newspaper. After a cold call to label owner Pedro Winter, Sebastian was signed, and they released the EPs H.A.L. and Smoking Kills (?) later that year.[4] 2005 also saw his remixes for Annie, Benjamin Theves, and Daft Punk, whose "Human After All" remix by Sebastian is said to be the duo's all-time favourite remix of their own work.[3]

In the summer of 2006, Ed Banger Records released the EP "Ross Ross Ross". That year also saw more remixes by Sebastian than any other.

In 2007, Sebastian composed the soundtrack for label-mate Mr. Oizo's feature film "Steak" alongside Sebastien Tellier and Mr. Oizo himself. Also that year, as well producing numerous remixes and releasing his Walkman 2 EP, Sebastian joined Kavinsky to open with DJ sets for Daft Punk on their Alive 2007 tour. An original song called "Greel" was also released in 2007 on Ed Rec Vol. 2.

There were two Sebastian releases in 2008: Motor, an EP with three original tracks, and Remixes, a 17-track compilation featuring various remixes produced by Sebastian. His track "Dog" was also included on that year's Ed Rec Vol. 3.

In 2009, Sebastian played his first live set as an exclusive performance at the Sónar Festival in Barcelona.

Sebastian produced the single Difficult for label-mate Uffie in 2010 on her debut album Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans and provided a remix, titled "Difficult (2006 Parties Remix)". He also had his experimental track "Threnody" released that year on an Ed Banger Records Christmas compilation.

In early 2011, Sebastian provided the track "Enio" for the Ed Banger compilation album Let the Children Techno. Later, his debut album Total was announced, followed by the release of a video for the title track featuring a series of violent and sexual images.[5] A video for Sebastian's new song "Embody" was also released, along with the song's release as a single. The album Total itself was subsequently released on May 30 in Europe and June 7 in North America. It was followed by releases of singles "C.T.F.O." and "Love In Motion" from the album. 2011 was also the year of Sebastian's "Primary Tour", a tour visually themed as a political campaign and spanning Europe, Australasia, and North America from August to December.[6] Three remixes done by him were also released that year, including his remix for the Beastie Boys.

2012 saw Sebastian's remixes for bands Nero, The Shoes, Van She, and Woodkid. That year also saw the release of The EP Collection, a box set of vinyl Total singles along with tracks "Organia" and previously unreleased "Holloback". A Sebastian remix of Justice's "New Lands" was released on June 25, 2012.[7]

Sebastian produced the 2014 album Magnum by Katerine. That year, he also remixed the Charlotte Gainsbourg song "Hey Joe".

In 2015, Ed Banger owner Pedro Winter announced that Sebastian had finished producing a few songs for Frank Ocean, allowing him to work on his next album.[8] SebastiAn appears on the track 'Facebook Story' from Frank Ocean's 2016 Blonde album.

Sebastian has confirmed plans for a future album. He has also worked with Charlotte Gainsbourg on her upcoming album.[9]

Sebastian's remix of Kavinsky's "Testarossa Autodrive" is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.[10] This song is also included in the game Gran Turismo 5 Prologue along with his original track "Dolami" from the Smoking Kills (?) EP. The video game Midnight Club: Los Angeles also featured a Sebastian track: "Momy", from the Motor EP.

On television, the song "Walkman" has appeared in promotional spots for the Cartoon Network programming block 'You Are Here'. In November 2011, a previously unreleased track titled "Holloback" was used in an advertisement for the HTC Sensation XL mobile phone.

In Pro Wrestling NOAH, "Enio" is used as wrestler KENTA's entrance theme.

The song "Dolami" makes an appearance in Letters of Transit, the 19th episode of the 4th season of the show Fringe.

Sebastian's track "H.A.L." was used in the song "Incredible" by rapper Mickey Factz in 2008.

Sebastian's track "Total" was used in an advertisement for the game Assassin's Creed: Revelations in 2011.

Sebastian's track "Tetra" from the album Total was used on a Citroen car advertisement in 2012.

Sebastian's track "Love in Motion" appeared in a Victoria's Secret commercial.

Sebastian's track "Embody" appeared in a Lacoste Live commercial in 2014.

Sebastian's remix of The Shoes's "Time To Dance" appeared in the "Social Trailer" of the game The Crew in 2014.

Sebastian's track "Ross Ross Ross" was featured in the advertisement for Converse's All Star shoes "Made by you" in 2015.

Sebastian's track "H.A.L." was used in Yves Saint Laurent SS17 campaign soundtrack in 2016.

Discography

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tsugi Magazine (Special Issue 5): Page 31. February–March 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ Diver, Mike. "Sebastian Total Review". BBC. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  3. 1 2 Green, Thomas H (July 2011). "Encore Une Fois" Mixmag
  4. 1 2 3 Bark, Theo (7 July 2011). "Sebastian Stands Apart From Daft Punk and 'French Touch' With Hip-Hop Roots" Spinner
  5. ↑ "Sebastian Total (X rated)". Dailymotion. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110830214421/http://www.edbangerrecords.com/primary-tour/. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "New Lands - EP". iTunes (in French). Apple. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "Pedro Winter fête les 12 ans d’Ed Banger". les inRocKs Style. 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  9. ↑ Hamard, Jonathan (2015-05-25). "Charlotte Gainsbourg à New York avec SebastiAn pour son nouvel album". chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  10. ↑ "Music". GTA4.net. GTA Network. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
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