John Creamer & Stephane K
Encyclopedia
John Creamer & Stephane K are international DJs, and as a duo, a New York City-based electronic music
and house music
production team. They are perhaps best known for creating original dance singles as well as dance remixes for artists such as iiO
, Moby
, New Order
, Rosko
and Sinéad O'Connor
.
man for Eightball Records
, and later for Satellite Records, and was producing acid house
before he met up with his future production partner. Stephane K came to New York by way of Tokyo
and Paris
, and was making music with Satoshi Tomiie
under the name "Bipath" when he met Creamer.
Both artists were formerly musicians, with Creamer playing trombone in a ska
band in Philly, and K playing bass guitar in an alternative rock band in Tokyo, and both artists have claimed in interviews that they were converted to house music at the legendary New York nightclub, Sound Factory
. They paired up as a production team in 1998, and also perform live around the world as DJs, both separately and together as a duo.
. Their careers reached new heights that year when they were chosen by John Digweed
to mix the 4th volume of his acclaimed "Bedrock" mixed compilation series. Their work has been featured on many DJ mix
es from labels including Boxed
, Bedrock
, Universal Records
, Global Underground
, Ultra Records
, Sony
, BMG
, London Records
, Warner Brothers, and Ministry of Sound
. The duo's production style often falls into the category of progressive house, and they have been recognized for having a distinctive, identifiable sound which usually incorporates steamy percussion and dark, tribal effects. The dance remixes in their portfolio include Kosheen
's "Hide U," Satoshi Tomiie
's "Love In Traffic," New Order
's "Crystal," Nat Monday's "Waiting," Hybrid
's "True To Form," Moony
's "Doves," Puretone's "Addicted To Bass," The Crystal Method
's "You Know It's Hard," Sinéad O'Connor
's "Troy" and iiO
's anthem, "Rapture." Most notable are the remixes of Kosheen's "Hide U" which won them remix of the year at the 2001 Muzik Awards, entered the UK Top 10 at number 6 and topped Billboard
s Hot Dance Club Play
chart; Sinead O' Connor's "Troy" which topped Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart; and iiO's "Rapture" which hit number 2 on both the UK singles chart and on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Creamer & K's original productions during this period include the lyrically sexual and provocative single "I Love You," featuring Oliver Twisted (a.k.a. Craig Mitchell) on vocals, the obscenity-laced "Fuck Sonnett," and the frequently licensed "Wish You Were Here."
. They began releasing dance singles through the label with a particular focus on developing singer/songwriters they were producing at the time. Among the most notable was Rosko
, whose "Love Is A Drug" was another Billboard number one dance hit in America in 2005. They began collaborating more extensively with Rosko, and promoting their artists through a series of "NY Love Presents" parties, featuring live performances at the New York Super-Club Crobar, as well is in Miami at the Winter Music Conference
.
Their 2006 single "Something To Lose," was signed to Ultra Records
and is a duet between Nadia Ali
of iiO
and Rosko
, who were introduced to each other by John Creamer. Championed on the UK's BBC Radio 1
by influential DJ and tastemaker Pete Tong
, this new record was quickly licensed to Roger Sanchez
's "Release Yourself vol. 5," as well as to the Global Underground
solo debut of DJ/producer Sharam of the Grammy Award
-winning duo Deep Dish
, titled "Dubai."
Most recently, their label NY Love has been releasing new dance singles by the duo in 2007 including a dub remix of The Doors
' "Forget The World" featuring Jim Morrison
on vocals, "Hi Hats Are Your Friends," "The Healing" which is co-produced with Lance Jordan
and features vocals by Susana, "Thirsty" which is co-produced with Joeski and again features Rosko
on vocals, and the tribal "Mustachios" which is a collaboration between Creamer and Jordan.
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...
and 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...
production team. They are perhaps best known for creating original dance singles as well as dance remixes for artists such as iiO
IiO
iiO was a New York City-based house music act composed of singer-songwriter Nadia Ali and producer Markus Moser. The group gained prominence for its 2001 single "Rapture", which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Following the success of "Rapture",...
, Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, Rosko
Rosko
Paul Eric Bosko, also known as Rosko, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is perhaps best known as a recording artist for his 2005 single "Love Is A Drug" which reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Chart, and was produced by John Creamer & Stephane K...
and Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
.
Early life and careers
John Creamer grew up in Philadelphia and began his career in New York in the mid-90s as an A&RA&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
man for Eightball Records
Eightball Records
Eightball Records is an independent record label established 2003 in Sydney, Australia by Paul Fahy.-Releases:Releases Include:*Blue.Skies.At.War - You Pour The Gasoline, I'll Light The Match *Dead Letter Dept...
, and later for Satellite Records, and was producing acid house
Acid house
Acid house is a sub-genre of house music that emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines rather than sung lyrics. Acid house's core electronic squelch sounds were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experimented with...
before he met up with his future production partner. Stephane K came to New York by way of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and was making music with Satoshi Tomiie
Satoshi Tomiie
Satoshi Tomiie is a Japanese house-music producer and DJ. He has written music for numerous soundtracks, including for the Animatrix soundtrack and remixed many artists including the Future Sound of London.-History:...
under the name "Bipath" when he met Creamer.
Both artists were formerly musicians, with Creamer playing trombone in a ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band in Philly, and K playing bass guitar in an alternative rock band in Tokyo, and both artists have claimed in interviews that they were converted to house music at the legendary New York nightclub, Sound Factory
Sound Factory
Sound Factory is a dance music duo from Sweden consisting of producers Kenyan born St.James as well as Emil Hellman and produced by Stonebridge. They had three entries on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the mid-nineties: "Understand This Groove" in '92, "2 the Rhythm" in '93 and "Good Time"...
. They paired up as a production team in 1998, and also perform live around the world as DJs, both separately and together as a duo.
Early 2000s - breakthrough years
In 2002, they were named "Remixers of the Year" by Remix MagazineRemix Magazine
Remix was a monthly magazine for disc jockeys, audio engineers, record producers, and performers of electronic music. The magazine focused on recording and live-performance hardware, electronic musical instruments, and music-production hardware and computer software.The final issue of Remix was...
. Their careers reached new heights that year when they were chosen by John Digweed
John Digweed
John Digweed is an English DJ, record producer and acclaimed actor.-Biography:John Digweed began DJing around age 4...
to mix the 4th volume of his acclaimed "Bedrock" mixed compilation series. Their work has been featured on many DJ mix
DJ mix
A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. When a DJ mix or DJ mixset is recorded onto some medium, it is often referred to as a mix tape...
es from labels including Boxed
Boxed
Boxed was a record label which has released around forty mix albums from DJs such as John Digweed, Nick Warren, and Danny Howells. They are most known for their Global Underground series. After stopping releases due to financial difficulties in 2003, Global Underground Ltd...
, Bedrock
Bedrock Records
thumb|200px|Bedrock RecordsBedrock Records is an English record label for trance, house and techno started by Nick Muir and John Digweed.Its name comes from a nightclub in London that is also called Bedrock. Bedrock Records has released many singles from artists such as Astro & Glyde, Brancaccio &...
, Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
, Global Underground
Global Underground
Global Underground is a music label founded in 1996 by Andy Horsfield and James Todd. The label symbolizes the international explosion of dance music during the 1990s and first manifesto for high-end DJs such as Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed, Danny Tenaglia, Nick Warren, Dave Seaman, Darren...
, Ultra Records
Ultra Records
Ultra Records is an American independent electronic dance music record label. Ultra was formed in New York City in 1995 by former Polygram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey, who is still currently the owner...
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
, London Records
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....
, Warner Brothers, and Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and...
. The duo's production style often falls into the category of progressive house, and they have been recognized for having a distinctive, identifiable sound which usually incorporates steamy percussion and dark, tribal effects. The dance remixes in their portfolio include Kosheen
Kosheen
Kosheen are a British trip hop, breakbeat and rock group based in Bristol, England. The trio consists of producers Markee Substance and Darren Decoder , with singer and song writer Sian Evans...
's "Hide U," Satoshi Tomiie
Satoshi Tomiie
Satoshi Tomiie is a Japanese house-music producer and DJ. He has written music for numerous soundtracks, including for the Animatrix soundtrack and remixed many artists including the Future Sound of London.-History:...
's "Love In Traffic," New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
's "Crystal," Nat Monday's "Waiting," Hybrid
Hybrid (producers)
Hybrid are a British electronic music group based in Swansea, comprising Mike Truman and Chris Healings, with the addition of Charlotte James completing their 2010 lineup. They are primarily known as a progressive breaks act, although they overlap considerably with progressive house and trance...
's "True To Form," Moony
Moony
Moony is a musician from Italy, best known for being the vocalist on DB Boulevard's hit single "Point Of View", as well as her own single "Dove "....
's "Doves," Puretone's "Addicted To Bass," The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music duo that was created in Los Angeles, California by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. The Crystal Method's music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. The most prominent is the US television...
's "You Know It's Hard," Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
's "Troy" and iiO
IiO
iiO was a New York City-based house music act composed of singer-songwriter Nadia Ali and producer Markus Moser. The group gained prominence for its 2001 single "Rapture", which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Following the success of "Rapture",...
's anthem, "Rapture." Most notable are the remixes of Kosheen's "Hide U" which won them remix of the year at the 2001 Muzik Awards, entered the UK Top 10 at number 6 and topped Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart; Sinead O' Connor's "Troy" which topped Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart; and iiO's "Rapture" which hit number 2 on both the UK singles chart and on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Creamer & K's original productions during this period include the lyrically sexual and provocative single "I Love You," featuring Oliver Twisted (a.k.a. Craig Mitchell) on vocals, the obscenity-laced "Fuck Sonnett," and the frequently licensed "Wish You Were Here."
NY Love Records and recent work
In 2004, the duo created their own independent label for their voluminous output of original material, NY Love Records. The label was started in collaboration with another New York-based DJ/producer who they discovered and helped rise up the ranks, Lance JordanLance Jordan
Lance Jordan is an American DJ/Producer/Musician/Songwriter. He is best known for his original productions, remixes and collaborations with the likes of such artists as Rosko, Tom Geiger, Nadia Ali, Marta C., and John Creamer & Stephane K...
. They began releasing dance singles through the label with a particular focus on developing singer/songwriters they were producing at the time. Among the most notable was Rosko
Rosko
Paul Eric Bosko, also known as Rosko, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is perhaps best known as a recording artist for his 2005 single "Love Is A Drug" which reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Chart, and was produced by John Creamer & Stephane K...
, whose "Love Is A Drug" was another Billboard number one dance hit in America in 2005. They began collaborating more extensively with Rosko, and promoting their artists through a series of "NY Love Presents" parties, featuring live performances at the New York Super-Club Crobar, as well is in Miami at the Winter Music Conference
Winter Music Conference
The Winter Music Conference is a weeklong electronic music conference, held every March since the mid-1980s in Miami, Florida, United States. Venues are hosted primarily in Downtown Miami and Miami's South Beach...
.
Their 2006 single "Something To Lose," was signed to Ultra Records
Ultra Records
Ultra Records is an American independent electronic dance music record label. Ultra was formed in New York City in 1995 by former Polygram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey, who is still currently the owner...
and is a duet between Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali is a Pakistani-American singer-songwriter, born in Libya and raised in Queens, New York. She gained attention as the frontwoman and songwriter of the band iiO, after their 2001 hit "Rapture" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted across several countries in Europe...
of iiO
IiO
iiO was a New York City-based house music act composed of singer-songwriter Nadia Ali and producer Markus Moser. The group gained prominence for its 2001 single "Rapture", which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Following the success of "Rapture",...
and Rosko
Rosko
Paul Eric Bosko, also known as Rosko, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is perhaps best known as a recording artist for his 2005 single "Love Is A Drug" which reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Chart, and was produced by John Creamer & Stephane K...
, who were introduced to each other by John Creamer. Championed on the UK's BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
by influential DJ and tastemaker Pete Tong
Pete Tong
Peter "Pete" Tong is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is known worldwide by fans of electronic music for hosting programmes such as Essential Mix and Essential Selection on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for his record label FFRR Records, and for...
, this new record was quickly licensed to 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...
's "Release Yourself vol. 5," as well as to the Global Underground
Global Underground
Global Underground is a music label founded in 1996 by Andy Horsfield and James Todd. The label symbolizes the international explosion of dance music during the 1990s and first manifesto for high-end DJs such as Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed, Danny Tenaglia, Nick Warren, Dave Seaman, Darren...
solo debut of DJ/producer Sharam of the 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 duo 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,...
, titled "Dubai."
Most recently, their label NY Love has been releasing new dance singles by the duo in 2007 including a dub remix of The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
' "Forget The World" featuring Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
on vocals, "Hi Hats Are Your Friends," "The Healing" which is co-produced with Lance Jordan
Lance Jordan
Lance Jordan is an American DJ/Producer/Musician/Songwriter. He is best known for his original productions, remixes and collaborations with the likes of such artists as Rosko, Tom Geiger, Nadia Ali, Marta C., and John Creamer & Stephane K...
and features vocals by Susana, "Thirsty" which is co-produced with Joeski and again features Rosko
Rosko
Paul Eric Bosko, also known as Rosko, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is perhaps best known as a recording artist for his 2005 single "Love Is A Drug" which reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Chart, and was produced by John Creamer & Stephane K...
on vocals, and the tribal "Mustachios" which is a collaboration between Creamer and Jordan.