Billie Ray Martin
Encyclopedia
Career
Billie Ray Martin has had danceDance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in various collaborations and as a solo artist. Initially a guest singer for S'Express
S'Express
S'Express were a British dance music act from the late 1980s, who had one of the earliest commercial successes in the acid house genre."Theme from S'Express", based on Rose Royce's "Is It Love You're After", was also one of the earliest recordings to capitalize on a resurgence of sampling culture...
(she appears in the video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
"Hey Music Lover"), she went on to work with the electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
/pop/house-music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
group Electribe 101
Electribe 101
Electribe 101 was a British-based electronic music group in the late 1980s and early 1990s, managed by Tom Watkins of Bros, Pet Shop Boys, and 2wo Third3 fame.-Career:...
. The group's only album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
was Electribal Memories
Electribal Memories
Electribal Memories is the only album by the house-music group Electribe 101. It was originally released in 1990, and it was re-released in 1998 with three remixes of "Talking With Myself," which had gained popularity that year. In 2002, it was reissued again under the title The Best of Electribe...
because it disbanded. Many songs recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
for a planned second album made it onto Martin's solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
album—these include “Hands up and Amen” and “Running around Town.”
Billie Ray Martin went on to forge her own solo career. Her first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for WEA
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
was the worldwide hit “Your Loving Arms
Your Loving Arms
"Your Loving Arms" is a song by German singer Billie Ray Martin. It was originally released in late 1994 but was huge in 1995, where it peaked at #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs and #6 on the UK Singles Chart...
.” Originally the song only managed to peak at #38 in November 1994, however on re-release the song peaked at #6 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in May 1995, the song struck the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
twice, peaking at #87 in 1995 and at #46 a year later. The song was also a success across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, reaching #1, and remained on European charts for many weeks. It also topped the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. Follow-up singles included "Running Around Town," "Deadline for My Memories," "Imitation of Life", "Space Oasis," and "You & I (Keep Holding On)." All six songs are featured on her album Deadline for My Memories
Deadline for My Memories
Deadline for My Memories is the solo debut album of the former lead singer of Electribe 101, Billie Ray Martin. The album was released in Germany on CD in October 1995 and over the same period a vinyl version was released in the United Kingdom. The CD version was released in Australia also late...
. The album was followed by the single "Honey." Originally released in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1999, it debuted stateside
Stateside
Stateside may refer to:* stateside, a slang term for the United States, usually used concerning an American currently outside the country, particularly in a military context* Stateside Records, the British record label...
courtesy of Nervous Records four years later. The song peaked at #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play despite sporadic radio
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
airplay. Her UK deal with React Records, the record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
that originally released "Honey," included plans for a follow-up, "Don't Believe A Word," but a deal fell through. More encouraging chart success was to be found in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
with her collaborations with Italian dance producers Datura: "Mystic Motion," "The Passion," and "Devotion."
Since then, Martin worked with Ann Peebles
Ann Peebles
Ann Peebles is an African American singer-songwriter who gained celebrity for her Memphis soul albums of the 1970s on the Hi Records label...
, Carla Thomas
Carla Thomas
Carla Thomas is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She is the daughter of Rufus Thomas.-Childhood:...
, and members of Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
's band on her album 18 Carat Garbage
18 Carat Garbage
18 Carat Garbage is a Billie Ray Martin album of 13 tracks including the first single, 'I've Never Been To Memphis'. The basis of the songs were recorded in Memphis, Tennessee with the hi-musicians.-Track listing:#"Captain Drag"#"Where Fools Rush In"...
, performed her "Repulsion" show (a live score to the Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
) at both the Electric Cinema
Electric Cinema
The Electric Cinema is a cinema and sound recording facility in Birmingham, England. It opened in Station Street in 1909, showing its first silent film on 27 December of that year, and is now the oldest working cinema in the country. It predates its namesake, the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill,...
on Portobello Road
Portobello Road
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, England. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London's...
and at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Institute of Contemporary Arts
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
, and she continues to release electronic music, such as her releases "No Brakes on My Rollerskates" and "Dead Again." In 2005–06 she released collaborations with DJ Hell and Slam.
In 2002, Sonnenstahl Records released the 12-track CD Recycled Garbage
Recycled Garbage
Billie Ray Martin's 2002 release consists of twelve remixes, some previously unreleased, of four tracks that appeared in their original form on her 2001 album 18 Carat Garbage...
, a compilation of remixes of selected tracks from 18 Carat Garbage. Most prominently, the album featured the Junior Vasquez remix of "Systems of Silence," a song that included a quintessential Martin line: "I just want to dance all the way right down to the core of the black and the white."
Another single, "Undisco Me," was released on Rebirth Records in April 2007, and reached #6 in the UK Dance Chart
UK Dance Chart
The UK Dance Chart is a chart compiled by The Official Charts Company from sales in record stores and digital downloads. Although the chart does not currently receive any airplay on the radio or television, the chart can be viewed on the BBC Radio 1 and The Official Charts Company website.Digital...
. She also began a second career as a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
. Her current nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
, Komputerliebe, in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
(and soon to be launched in Berlin, where she now lives) is flourishing.
In 2008, Martin formed a new project. Recording as the Opiates, she (and Robert Solheim on production) finished an album titled Hollywood under the Knife. The Opiates made its live debut at Rough Trade, Brick Lane, London, in March, to coincide with the group's first release, the "Anatomy of a Plastic Girl" EP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, which was releasaed on Kudos UK.
Albums and EPs
- Electribe 101 - Electribal Memories (1990)
- Persuasion EpPersuasion Ep"Persuasion" was released in 1993 on Guerilla Records as a collaboration between singer Billie Ray Martin and Spooky. It was re-issued in 2003 with the addition of a mix previously available only on a compilation. It is a cover of a song originally written and recorded in 1979 by Throbbing...
(with SpookySpookySpooky is a British house/techno duo consisting of Duncan Forbes and Charlie May. They debuted with Gargantuan in 1993 after signing to Guerilla Records. In 1995 and 1996 they released three EPs on their own Generic Records label, followed quickly in mid-1996 by their second album, Found Sound...
- 1993, reissued 2003) - Four Ambient TalesFour Ambient Tales-Track listing:#"Hearts" #"Planet of the Blue" #" Wishing You Well" #"House of Love" Originally released by Belgian Apollo/R&S Records in 1993 as a 12" double vinyl set containing both vocal and instrumental versions of the 4 tracks. The 1993 CD EP had the vocal tracks only...
EP (1993, 4 Ambient Tales, re-released 2000 as Four Ambient Tales) - Deadline for My MemoriesDeadline for My MemoriesDeadline for My Memories is the solo debut album of the former lead singer of Electribe 101, Billie Ray Martin. The album was released in Germany on CD in October 1995 and over the same period a vinyl version was released in the United Kingdom. The CD version was released in Australia also late...
(1996) - #47 UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... - 18 Carat Garbage18 Carat Garbage18 Carat Garbage is a Billie Ray Martin album of 13 tracks including the first single, 'I've Never Been To Memphis'. The basis of the songs were recorded in Memphis, Tennessee with the hi-musicians.-Track listing:#"Captain Drag"#"Where Fools Rush In"...
(2001) - 18 Carat Garbage Demos (2002)
- Recycled GarbageRecycled GarbageBillie Ray Martin's 2002 release consists of twelve remixes, some previously unreleased, of four tracks that appeared in their original form on her 2001 album 18 Carat Garbage...
(2002) - Brm New DemosBRM New Demos13 new Billie Ray Martin songs, recorded in NYC. While 9 of the songs are back to Billie's electronic roots and are mostly moody electronic story telling with the first demo of forthcoming single 'Twisted Lover' thrown in for good measure, track 10-13 are song demos from the Martin/Tiven...
(2003)
Singles
- "Persuasion" (Billie Ray Martin featuring Spooky) (1993)
- "Your Loving ArmsYour Loving Arms"Your Loving Arms" is a song by German singer Billie Ray Martin. It was originally released in late 1994 but was huge in 1995, where it peaked at #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs and #6 on the UK Singles Chart...
" (1995) - #6 UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
; #46 USBillboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... - "Running Around Town" (1996) - #29 UK
- "Imitation Of Life" (1996) - #29 UK
- "Space Oasis" (1996) - #66 UK
- "You And I Keep Holding On" (1997)
- "Pacemaker" (1998)
- "Honey" (1999) - #54 UK
- "I'm Not Keen" (Mikael Delta featuring Billie Ray Martin) (2002)
- "Systems Of Silence" (2001)
- "I've Never Been to Memphis" (2001)
- "Where Fools Rush In" (2001)
- "18 Carat Garbage" (2002)
- "Honey '03" (2003)
- "Disco Activisto - The First Two SinglesDisco Activisto - The First Two SinglesNo Brakes On My Rollerskates and Dead Again, The First Two Singles by Billie Ray Martin, released in 2004.-Track listing:#"No Brakes On My Rollerskates " – 6:39#"No Brakes On My Rollerskates " – 6:02...
" (2004) - "No Brakes On My Rollerskates" (Hot Skates 3000 featuring Billie Ray Martin) (2005)
- "Undisco Me" (2007) #20 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play
- "The Crackdown" (2010)
- "Sweet Suburban Disco" (2011)
Remixes
"Imitation Of Life" was remixRemix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed by Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winning remixer David Morales
David Morales
David Morales is an internationally acclaimed Grammy-winning house music DJ and producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is one of the most prolific remixers of all time, transforming many pop music songs into club-friendly dance tracks...
. Brian Transeau (aka BT) produced remixes for the singles "Space Oasis" and "Running Around Town". Almost all of Billie Ray Martin's singles have been remixed by Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
, including "Your Loving Arms", "Running Around Town", "Space Oasis", "Systems Of Silence", and "18 Carat Garbage". "Your Loving Arms" and "Imitation Of Life" were remixed by Brothers In Rhythm
Brothers in Rhythm
Brothers In Rhythm is a house music duo consisting of producers / remixers and DJs Steve Anderson and Dave Seaman. As a duo and individually, they have remixed and/or produced tracks by Lulu, M People, Secret Life, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Kylie Minogue, Garbage,...
. Roger Sanchez
Roger Sanchez
Roger Sanchez, also known as Roger S. and The S Man, is a Grammy award-winning American House music DJ who has scored many hits in the European and World Charts...
and Todd Terry
Todd Terry
Todd N. Terry is an American DJ, producer, and remixer.-Career:Terry's productions extensively used samples blending the sounds of classic disco, the Chicago sound, and elements of hip-hop....
both remixed "Your Loving Arms" edits - it was hoped the latter would replicate the stateside success enjoyed by Everything But The Girl
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
's #2 hit "Missing
Missing (Everything but the Girl song)
"Missing" is a song written and recorded by British pop music duo Everything but the Girl. The song was released as a single from the band's 1994 album Amplified Heart...
." "Honey" was remixed by Above & Beyond, Chicane, and Deep Dish
Deep Dish
Deep Dish is a duo of DJs and house-music producers consisting of Iranian-American members Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi. Based in Washington, D.C., Shirazinia and Tayebi are well known for providing house or dance remixes of tracks of famous stars such as Madonna, Cher and Gabrielle,...
. "Pacemaker" was remixed by E-Smoove.
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart