Eskimo (artist)
Encyclopedia
Eskimo is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 Psychedelic Trance
Psychedelic trance
Psychedelic trance, psytrance or just psy is a form of electronic music characterized by hypnotic arrangements of synthetic rhythms and complex layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. It appeared in the mainstream in 1995 as with reporting of the trend of Goa trance. The genre offers variety...

 DJ and producer, son of John Ford (also known as John Phantasm and owner of Phantasm Records
Phantasm Records
Phantasm Records was one of the first Goa trance record labels established in London in 1993.The label was started by veteran DJ John Phantasm who is the father of psychadelic trance DJ and producer known as Eskimo, his "prodigal son". Phantasm is one of the biggest record companies in its music...

).

Early career

Inspired by his father John Phantasm (and consequently the music he heard playing at home when he was young), Eskimo started producing his own music in the studio from the age of 9 but did not begin DJing worldwide until he was 13. Wrapped up in the life of DJing, Eskimo did not return to the studio until he was 15, which was when he 'wanted to get back into the producing part of it since the music was getting more technical'. Not until then did he start producing under the name of Eskimo. The name was chosen because it bears no connection 'to the product'. At aged 17 he released his first debut album “Can You Pick Me Up".

Eskimo’s tunes begin to show up in the sets of psy trance DJs across the globe. By the time he performed his first live set, his repertoire had trebled. His many remixes from this time - some still unreleased due to copyright wrangles - included Infected Mushroom and Skazi, but it was his unofficial remix of The Prodigy "Voodoo People" that was most popular.

In summer 2004, Eskimo released his second artist album "Take A Look Out There" which included the well known "Party Pooper" a track sampling the police shutting down a free party. November 2005 saw the release of Balloonatic Part One. Balloonatic Part Two followed in September 2006.

Influences

Alongside his father, Eskimo has been inspired by a number of well-known artists:
  • Infected Mushroom
    Infected Mushroom
    Infected Mushroom is an Israeli psychedelic trance DJ act and electronic group originally formed in late 1997 as a duo by producers Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani in Haifa...

  • The Prodigy
    The Prodigy
    The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...

  • Aphex Twin
    Aphex Twin
    Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...

  • GMS

The Megaband

Eskimo is currently working on a project called 'The Megaband' which involves a collaboration with Israeli psy-trance duo Void (Oren Emanuel & Tamir Regev). After realising that they viewed music in the same light, John, Oren and Tamir worked together in the studio under a new name and co-produced their first track 'MTV' (Hello Moto), which was subsequently released in Void's Music With More Muscle compilation album. MTV received a very positive reception and was regularly played on some of the world's most renowned dancefloors throughout 2008. Thanks to its popularity in both clubs and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

, The Megaband firmly placed their name on the map.

Drawing influences from the likes of The Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...

, Justice
Justice (French band)
Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay . The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter...

, The Sex Pistols and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

, The Megaband's style combines a multitude of genres, ranging from electronic rock and electro to punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

. Some fans have been critical of The Megaband's new style; it is understood that these fans expected to hear sounds similar to the psy-trance that Eskimo and Void are well known for, whereas The Megaband never intended to sound like this.

The Megaband's debut album, Propaganda, is yet to be released and has been long-promised. However, an official release date has now been set for April 2010. The 'music' page on their website includes short playable demos and gives an indication of the tracks that could be seen on the album.

Balloonatic Part 3

Eskimo is also working in the studio to complete Balloonatic Part 3, the final part of his Balloonatic series. He has informed fans that 'Part 3 will be Eskimo vs. all the best acts that Israel has to offer' and it will bear 'absolutely no connection to the 1st or second part'. The release date of this is currently unknown.

Studio albums

  • 2003: Can you pick me up? (Phantasm Records)
  • 2004: Take a look out there (Phantasm Records, Arcadia Music)
  • 2005: Balloonatic Part One (Phantasm Records)
  • 2006: Balloonatic Part Two (Phantasm Records)

Collaborations

  • 2005: Dynamo - Acid Daze (Eskimo vs Dynamic, Phantasm Records)
  • 2007: Void - Music With More Muscle (Chemical Crew)

Upcoming

  • 2010: Balloonatic Part Three
  • 2010: Cheap Thrills
  • 2010: The Megaband - Propaganda (April 2010)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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