Steve Cobby
Steve Cobby | |
---|---|
English Musician | |
Background information | |
Also known as |
The Solid Doctor J J Fuchs Testosterone |
Origin | Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England |
Genres | Electronic music |
Occupation(s) | Music Producer |
Instruments | Guitar; Keyboards; Drums; programming |
Years active | 1986–present |
Labels | Steel Tiger Records, Twentythree Records, Déclassé |
Associated acts |
|
Steve Cobby is a British producer musician, composer, and DJ, based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire. He is best known for being part of Fila Brazillia.
Career
After disbanding his first commercially released band Ashley & Jackson on Big Life records, he co-founded Fila Brazillia with David McSherry in 1990. Together they released 10 critically acclaimed[1] lp's and produced over 70 remixes for artists as diverse as Radiohead, Busta Rhymes, Black Uhuru, Simple Minds, James, A Certain Ratio and Moloko.[2]
He formed Pork Recordings with David Brennand in 1990 then 23 Records in '99 with Sim Lister and David McSherry and finally Steel Tiger Records in 2006 with Lister. More of an umbrella for his various projects than a label per se. His other writing and production collaborations include Heights of Abraham; J*S*T*A*R*S and The Cutler.
He's released two solo lp's as The Solid Doctor : How About Some Ether and Beats Means Highs. A third, entitled "Saudade" was released on his own imprint Déclassé in March 2014.
Numerous remixes, from Harold Budd and Theoretics to Jon Kennedy and Yesking have been undertaken in a solo capacity.
Fabric nightclub has played host to many Cobby DJ sets and this was rewarded with an appearance on Fabric 18 alongside fellow Hull alumni Bobby Beige and Bliss.[3]
He co-produced Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli's debut solo l.p. 'The Twilight Singers' in 2000 and co-wrote and produced 'Three White Roses and a Budd ep with Bill Nelson and avant garde American composer Harold Budd. He's worked with Darren Emerson on his solo lp, in an engineering and writing capacity.
His collaboration with Cabaret Voltaire’s Stephen Mallinder is under the guise of Hey Rube. Adam Regan from Different Drummer Records and Leftfoot promotions in Birmingham is also a regular collaborator. Their project, 'Chieftain'.
Cobby has DJ'd in many places around the world including Croatia,[4] Sydney, San Francisco, New York and Tokyo. He has performed live in Europe, Japan and the United States.
Work
Production
Production, co-production and remix projects include Radiohead; Afghan Whigs and The Twilight Singers.
Film and advertising
As Fila Brazillia (with David McSherry) his music has been used in films, including Riding Giants directed by Stacy Peralta - and adverts, including for Nokia. As J*S*T*A*R*S (with Sim Lister) his music has been used for adverts including for Fiat and The John Lewis Partnership.
In 2013 Steve Cobby provided the soundtrack for the Hull 'UK City of Culture 2017' bid film - 'This City Belongs to Everyone', produced by Nova Studios - on 20 November 2013 Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire was announced as the winning City, and so as UK City of Culture 2017.[5]
Solo
Cobby releases work under the pseudonyms, The Solid Doctor and J J Fuchs. In March 2014, Cobby released his first Solo album for 17 years entitled "Saudade" on his own imprint Déclassé - DCLS 001.
Collaborations
- with David Brennand a.k.a. Porky to form The Cutler; singles released during 2007 and 2008 include Stiletto, Pickaxe, and Cinquedea. Debut album Cutler was released July 2008 and the Black Flag EP in 2009. The second album release (September 2012) was The Best Things in Life Aren't Things with vocalists Andrew Taylor and Russell Morgan. The most recent release (10 June 2013) from The Cutler is their third album Everything Is Touching Everything Else with vocalists Isobel Helen, Andrew Taylor, Archie and Sheffield's alt-folk outfit Little Glitches - all on Steel Tiger Records.
- with Stephen Mallinder, a co-founder of Cabaret Voltaire, to form Hey, Rube!; first album release Can You Hear me Mutha? (October 2012, Steel Tiger Records)
- with DJ Adam Regan, of the Different Drummer Soundsystem and Leftfoot, to form Chieftain; debut release The War Bonnet EP (2012, Steel Tiger Records) )
- with Sim Lister to form J*S*T*A*R*S; released Put Me on a Planet on Steel Tiger Records in 2006.
- with Sim Lister and Jake Harries to form The Heights of Abraham; most recent release Two Thousand and Six on Twentythree Records in 2006.
- with classically trained guitarist Rich Arthurs of Orgatronics to form 'Peacecorps'; released Bushfarmer on Steel Tiger Records in 2007.
- with Richard H. Kirk to form Citrus.
- with Djinji Brown to form 'NorthEastSoundSystem'.
- with David McSherry to form Fila Brazillia; most recent releases the album Retrospective on Twentythree Records in 2006 and Neanderthal in 2007, also on Twentythree Records.
References
- ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/fila-brazillia-mn0000147481/biography
- ↑ "Fila Brazillia Remixes 94-04 by Fila Brazillia | Free Listening on SoundCloud". Soundcloud.com. 2016-10-25. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
- ↑ Fabric 18
- ↑ "The Garden Festival :: Live Feed". Thegardenfestival.eu. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
- ↑ "Hull's City of Culture bid film revealed to public". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
External links
- Steve Cobby Bandcamp profile
- Official Steel Tiger website
- Steve Cobby performs at Harold Budd's farewell concert at Brighton's Dome Theatre - 21 May 2005
- Mixmag article featuring Steve Cobby
- Cobby biography on Fabric (club) London website
- Steve Cobby discography
- Steve Cobby on IMDb