Kurtis Mantronik encyclopedia topics

Early years & Mantronix era (1984–1991)

Mantronik was born in Jamaica to a Syrian Jamaican father and a Jamaican mother. He emigrated to Canada with his family at age 7, before eventually settling in New York City in 1980 at age 15.

While working as the in-store DJ for Downtown Records in Manhattan, Mantronik met Haitian-born, Brooklyn-based emcee MC Tee (Touré Embden) in 1984. The duo soon made a demo, and eventually signed with William Socolov's Sleeping Bag Records.

Mantronix: The Album

Mantronix's debut single, "Fresh Is The Word," was a club hit in 1985, reaching #16 on Billboard Magazine's Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, and was featured on The Album which was released the same year.

Mantronik's efforts on The Album and his impact on early hip-hop and electronic music is perhaps best summed up by music critic Omar Willey's observation in 2000:

Featuring 'Fresh is the Word' and the new tracks 'Bassline' and 'Mega-Mix,' Mantronix defined the new sound of electro-funk. Mantronik used a polyrhythmic style, similar to West African log drumming, but instead of acoustic drums, the rhythm would be carried by the combination of electronic drums, synthesizer, vocoder and/or synthesized voice over a bass line completely played on the synth. No samples of James Brown here. This was truly electronic music: spare, funky and immensely danceable, an homage and simultaneous extension of old-school hip hop's electronic template that had started with "Planet Rock" in 1982. The feeling of Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Kraftwerk, and Neu! all combined in Mantronik's music. It was a neat tie between old-school and new jack, and Mantronix had the field to themselves.

Music Madness

Mantronix's second album, Music Madness, was released in 1986. While MC Tee's rhyming style on the album continued in the traditional b-boy fashion of the times, Mantronik's club-oriented production and mixing in Music Madness tended to attract more electronic dance music and electro funk aficionados than hardcore hip hop fans.

A&R career with Sleeping Bag Records

During the period Mantronix was signed to Sleeping Bag Records (1985-1987), Mantronik was employed by the label in its A&R Department, where he signed hip-hop group EPMD to its first recording contract with sister label Fresh Records. In addition to being an artist and A&R representative for the label, Mantronik also produced recordings for other Sleeping Bag- and Fresh Records-associated artists and groups, including emcees KRS-One, Just-Ice, and T La Rock; freestyle vocalist Nocera; and R&B singer-songwriter Joyce Sims.

In Full Effect

Mantronix signed with Capitol/EMI Records in 1987, and released In Full Effect in 1988, which continued in and expanded on the hip-hop/electro funk/dance music vein of its predecessor, eventually reaching #18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, Mantronix's highest showing for an album. In Full Effect marked the last Mantronix album with emcee MC Tee, who left the group to enlist in the United States Air Force.

This Should Move Ya

Following the departure of MC Tee, emcee Bryce "Luvah" Wilson and Mantronik's cousin D.J. D joined Mantronix for 1990's This Should Move Ya. Mantronik met Wilson, a fellow Sleeping Bag Records label mate, while doing production for Wilson's aborted solo project.

The album spawned two top-10 hits on the British singles chart, "Got to Have Your Love" at #4, and "Take Your Time (featuring vocalist Wondress)" at #10. In the United States, the album reached #61 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

In a 1991 interview, Mantronik commented on the commercial success of "Got to Have Your Love":

When I did "Got to Have Your Love," I did it for a reason: I did it because I wanted to get a song on the radio.

The Incredible Sound Machine

Mantronix's final release, with vocalist Jade Trini replacing D.J. D, was The Incredible Sound Machine in 1991. The Incredible Sound Machine, which favored R&B, new jack swing, and dance music over hip hop, was considered both a critical and commercial disappointment.

Shortly after a European tour and promotion related to the release of The Incredible Sound Machine, the group disbanded, and Mantronik left the music industry altogether for seven years.

Solo career (1998–Present)

Mantronik dropped out of the music industry after the breakup of Mantronix in 1991. According to a July, 2002 interview with Hip Hop Connection magazine:

I dropped out of the scene from 1991 to about '98. I stopped making music because I was burnt out. I had to deal with some legal issues and it all took its toll on me. I started doing all this stuff when I was 17—I was working for the label (Sleeping Bag Records) day-in-day-out and I had no time for myself. Sometimes I'd stay in the studio for two or three days and sleep on the studio floor because I didn't want to lose the settings on the console...By the time we'd come out of that place we were green! I began to resent it and eventually started backing off from a lot of stuff. Then new jack started coming in and house started to take over.

I Sing The Body Electro

Mantronik moved from New York and resurfaced in Britain in the late 1990s, producing his first solo album, the well-received I Sing the Body Electro (which featured female MC Traylude), in 1998.

Allmusic critic John Bush noted:

I Sing the Body Electro is that rare exception to the rule that influential artists should never attempt a ten-years-later comeback trying the same style their current inheritors have made commercial. Mantronik's production methods are completely up to date (and then some), resulting in an album that perfectly balances old-school sampladelic hip-hop with the breakbeat-energized dance music of the late '90s.

Remixing and production career

Since 1998, Mantronik has produced and remixed tracks for pop, house and techno music artists and groups, such as Kylie Minogue, Junior Senior, Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, Victoria Beckham, Michael Gray, Liberty X (who, in 2002, covered Mantronix's "Got to Have Your Love" from Mantronix's 1990 This Should Move Ya album), and Mim (the featured vocalist on Mantronik's 2003 EP release How Did You Know).

In addition to record production, Mantronik has produced music for the Dance Dance Revolution and TrickStyle video game series.

Mantronik is currently signed to the London-based record label and artist management company Eye Industries and remains an active force in pop-oriented electronic dance music to this day.

His influence is still felt in hip-hop music, particularly in the work of producers Mannie Fresh and Timbaland.

Discography

Solo Albums

Album information
I Sing the Body Electro Released: September 1, 1998 Chart positions: RIAA certification: Singles: "Push Yer Hands Up," "Mad," "King of the Beat (v3.0)," "Bass Machine Re-tuned"

Solo EPs/Singles

Album information
TrickStyle EP Released: March 14, 2000 Chart positions: RIAA certification:
How Did You Know Released: June 16, 2003 Chart positions: #16 British Hit Singles RIAA certification:

Mantronix albums (1985-1991)

Album information
Mantronix: The Album Released: 1985 Chart positions: #47 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums RIAA certification: Singles: "Fresh is the Word," "Bassline," "Needle to the Groove," "Ladies"
Music Madness Released: 1986 Chart positions: #27 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums RIAA certification: Singles: "Who Is It?" "Scream," "We Control the Dice"
In Full Effect Released: 1988 Chart positions: #18 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums RIAA certification: Singles: "Simple Simon," "Join Me, Please...," "Do You Like...Mantronik?"
This Should Move Ya Released: 1990 Chart positions: #61 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums RIAA certification: Gold Singles: "Got to Have Your Love," "Take Your Time (featuring Wondress)", "King of the Beats"
The Incredible Sound Machine Released: 1991 Chart positions: RIAA certification: Singles: "Step to Me," "If You Could Read My Mind"