Joey Beltram
Encyclopedia
Joey Beltram is an American
DJ and record producer
, best-known for the pioneering recordings "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm".
Mentasm, co-produced with Mundo Muzique, became iconic within rave culture, as it was the track that gave birth to the "mentasm riff" (also known as the "Hoover sound
"): a churning, dirgelike synth pattern that wormed into techno's communal genome
and has since been mutated and reused in literally thousands of records. Beltram and the "mentasm riff" are strongly associated with drum and bass
, the Belgian techno
scene, and the R&S
record label, as well as hardcore/hard house in their various permutations since 1994. Beltram was referenced as a pioneer in the late 1990s house music
scene by Daft Punk
, in their song "Teachers" off their 1997 debut album
, Homework and author, Simon Reynolds, credited Beltram with having "revolutionized techno twice before the age of 21," when describing both "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm" in his book Generation Ecstasy.
Throughout the years, Beltram has continually toured at major festivals around the globe. He has also continued releasing techno, with his 1993 and 1994 tracks "Aonox" on Visible and "the Beltram re-releases" on Trax, the "Caliber" EP on Warp, and his 1995 LP Places and 1996 single, "Ball Park" on Tresor counting among his work in the 1990s. He was also invited to release another album, Close Grind, on Daniel Miller's Novamute imprint under the JB³ alias.
In 1999, he launched his own label STX with Arena, while he continued to release under Code 6 and JB³, as well as headlining events such as Awakenings, Coachella, Nature One, Mayday and Dance Valley. Returning to Tresor in 2004, he released the album Rising Sun. And he has kept up a busy release schedule ever since, with tracks on Womb, Harthouse, Drumcode, MB Electroniks, and Bush. Perhaps his best-selling single of recent times is his remix of Oliver Huntemann's "Shanghai Spinner," which hit the Beatport Top 10 in 2009. It was also included in Simian Mobile Disco's Essential Mix at the beginning of 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
DJ and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, best-known for the pioneering recordings "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm".
Mentasm, co-produced with Mundo Muzique, became iconic within rave culture, as it was the track that gave birth to the "mentasm riff" (also known as the "Hoover sound
Hoover sound
Hoover sound refers to a particular synthesizer sound in electronic music, commonly used in Hard House music and other styles. Originally called the "Mentasm" or "Dominator", the name that stuck was the one likening the sound to that of a vacuum cleaner.-The sound:The Hoover is a complex waveform...
"): a churning, dirgelike synth pattern that wormed into techno's communal genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
and has since been mutated and reused in literally thousands of records. Beltram and the "mentasm riff" are strongly associated with drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
, the Belgian techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
scene, and the R&S
R&S Records
R&S Records is an independent record label. Founded in 1984 in Ghent, Belgium, it is now based in London and managed by Andy Whittaker and Dan Foat.R&S represents the initials of Renaat Vandepapeliere and Sabine Maes, the couple that created the label...
record label, as well as hardcore/hard house in their various permutations since 1994. Beltram was referenced as a pioneer in the late 1990s 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...
scene by Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
, in their song "Teachers" off their 1997 debut 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...
, Homework and author, Simon Reynolds, credited Beltram with having "revolutionized techno twice before the age of 21," when describing both "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm" in his book Generation Ecstasy.
Throughout the years, Beltram has continually toured at major festivals around the globe. He has also continued releasing techno, with his 1993 and 1994 tracks "Aonox" on Visible and "the Beltram re-releases" on Trax, the "Caliber" EP on Warp, and his 1995 LP Places and 1996 single, "Ball Park" on Tresor counting among his work in the 1990s. He was also invited to release another album, Close Grind, on Daniel Miller's Novamute imprint under the JB³ alias.
In 1999, he launched his own label STX with Arena, while he continued to release under Code 6 and JB³, as well as headlining events such as Awakenings, Coachella, Nature One, Mayday and Dance Valley. Returning to Tresor in 2004, he released the album Rising Sun. And he has kept up a busy release schedule ever since, with tracks on Womb, Harthouse, Drumcode, MB Electroniks, and Bush. Perhaps his best-selling single of recent times is his remix of Oliver Huntemann's "Shanghai Spinner," which hit the Beatport Top 10 in 2009. It was also included in Simian Mobile Disco's Essential Mix at the beginning of 2010.
External links
- Joey Beltram discography at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
..