starstuff
Thursday, Sep 9th 2004, 10:17 AM
New York - On October 5, acclaimed producer / remixer /DJ TEH SCUMFROG (aka Jesse Houk) will unveil his highly anticipated debut artist album, Simmer, through Effin Records. Several years in the making, it brings together the worlds of electronic, dance, rock and pop; resulting in a sound that, although deeply entrenched in the underground, remains accessible to a wide range of listeners.
Simmer was entirely written, produced and performed by The Scumfrog in his NYC studio, and like most of Jesse’s music, the tracks on Simmer are all prime time - filled with glorious synths, guitars, and fat beats, blended with his own unique vocal style. Although the music on Simmer has roots in dance, it is important to note that there is an overwhelming rock n' roll feel to the album. Jesse was determined to have Simmer be an expression of his musical influences, but rather than relying on an assortment of featured performers, he created something far more artist driven, that is eclectic while remaining true to the core Scumfrog sound. Not an easy task, but we think you'll be pleased with the result.
With Simmer, The Scumfrog aims to invade the territory previously marked by only electronic music's biggest and best - Underworld, Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Fatboy Slim and The Chemical Brothers. These legendary groups were all founded on a love for dance music, but always took it one step further by embracing the live elements of other musical idioms. Here, soaring pop rock tracks like "Set It Off" (featuring live drums and guitars), "Come On" (with vocals that sound like a young Mick Jagger) and "Simmer" (the first single) are paired with great club tracks like "Domino," "F Karma" and “8 Days, 7 Hours” (the b-side to Jesse's remix of David Bowie's "Loving The Alien.") "Bacon" one of the few tracks to include a vocalist other than Jesse, enlists the considerable talent of Lucy Woodward who joins him on the mic for an old fashioned call and response duet that is largely improvisational and a ton of fun. "Beauty" is the album’s dark, dirty and poetic closing track, featuring the original words of Miami based poet Miss Mae Barkley. Jesse is currently working on the live version of Simmer and preparing to tour in support of the album later this year.
Born and raised in Amsterdam, Jesse was trained in both classical and jazz, on guitar, bass, and piano. Soon though, he found himself gravitating to a much wider range of sounds and recording artists including Duran Duran, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and Frank Zappa.
For over ten years, he DJ'd in and around Amsterdam and Europe until he moved to New York in 1997, where he recorded the first Scumfrog single, "The Watersong." Three years later, his soulful "Learning To Fly" was signed to Roger Sanchez's R*Senal records, and, in 2001, The Scumfrog and Sanchez toured together extensively. That same year, "We Love You" (a cover of the Rolling Stones 60's classic) became the first Scumfrog number one Club hit in the UK, and ever since, he’s been a familiar face behind turntables around the globe. Since 2002, he has scored six number one club hits in the US and UK, and his extraordinary performances continue to draw bigger crowds each month.
His remixes and collaborations with artists like Annie Lennox, Britney Spears, David Bowie, Missy Elliot, Enrique Iglesias, George Michael and Kylie Minogue are consistently at the top the club charts and the world’s most influential playlists.
In 2003 The Scumfrog released Extended Engagement, an acclaimed two-disc compilation featuring select remixes, and original productions. He was nominated as “Best Remixer” and “Best Breakthrough DJ” at the 2004 DanceStar Awards in Miami Beach, and his live performances continue to light up chat rooms and message boards throughout the civilized world. An advocate of file sharing, The Scumfrog is also one of today’s most fan-friendly artists, and he regularly offers free downloads of his new, and sometimes unreleased, productions on www.thescumfrog.com. It seems likely that Simmer will present a perfect opportunity to further explore his endless fascination with the digital universe.
Yes, things have certainly gone well for The Scumfrog thus far, but will 2004 be his best year? With a hit record on the horizon, awesome DJ sets and a live show coming your way later this year, we think this is an easy question to answer.
www.thescumfrog.com
Simmer was entirely written, produced and performed by The Scumfrog in his NYC studio, and like most of Jesse’s music, the tracks on Simmer are all prime time - filled with glorious synths, guitars, and fat beats, blended with his own unique vocal style. Although the music on Simmer has roots in dance, it is important to note that there is an overwhelming rock n' roll feel to the album. Jesse was determined to have Simmer be an expression of his musical influences, but rather than relying on an assortment of featured performers, he created something far more artist driven, that is eclectic while remaining true to the core Scumfrog sound. Not an easy task, but we think you'll be pleased with the result.
With Simmer, The Scumfrog aims to invade the territory previously marked by only electronic music's biggest and best - Underworld, Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Fatboy Slim and The Chemical Brothers. These legendary groups were all founded on a love for dance music, but always took it one step further by embracing the live elements of other musical idioms. Here, soaring pop rock tracks like "Set It Off" (featuring live drums and guitars), "Come On" (with vocals that sound like a young Mick Jagger) and "Simmer" (the first single) are paired with great club tracks like "Domino," "F Karma" and “8 Days, 7 Hours” (the b-side to Jesse's remix of David Bowie's "Loving The Alien.") "Bacon" one of the few tracks to include a vocalist other than Jesse, enlists the considerable talent of Lucy Woodward who joins him on the mic for an old fashioned call and response duet that is largely improvisational and a ton of fun. "Beauty" is the album’s dark, dirty and poetic closing track, featuring the original words of Miami based poet Miss Mae Barkley. Jesse is currently working on the live version of Simmer and preparing to tour in support of the album later this year.
Born and raised in Amsterdam, Jesse was trained in both classical and jazz, on guitar, bass, and piano. Soon though, he found himself gravitating to a much wider range of sounds and recording artists including Duran Duran, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and Frank Zappa.
For over ten years, he DJ'd in and around Amsterdam and Europe until he moved to New York in 1997, where he recorded the first Scumfrog single, "The Watersong." Three years later, his soulful "Learning To Fly" was signed to Roger Sanchez's R*Senal records, and, in 2001, The Scumfrog and Sanchez toured together extensively. That same year, "We Love You" (a cover of the Rolling Stones 60's classic) became the first Scumfrog number one Club hit in the UK, and ever since, he’s been a familiar face behind turntables around the globe. Since 2002, he has scored six number one club hits in the US and UK, and his extraordinary performances continue to draw bigger crowds each month.
His remixes and collaborations with artists like Annie Lennox, Britney Spears, David Bowie, Missy Elliot, Enrique Iglesias, George Michael and Kylie Minogue are consistently at the top the club charts and the world’s most influential playlists.
In 2003 The Scumfrog released Extended Engagement, an acclaimed two-disc compilation featuring select remixes, and original productions. He was nominated as “Best Remixer” and “Best Breakthrough DJ” at the 2004 DanceStar Awards in Miami Beach, and his live performances continue to light up chat rooms and message boards throughout the civilized world. An advocate of file sharing, The Scumfrog is also one of today’s most fan-friendly artists, and he regularly offers free downloads of his new, and sometimes unreleased, productions on www.thescumfrog.com. It seems likely that Simmer will present a perfect opportunity to further explore his endless fascination with the digital universe.
Yes, things have certainly gone well for The Scumfrog thus far, but will 2004 be his best year? With a hit record on the horizon, awesome DJ sets and a live show coming your way later this year, we think this is an easy question to answer.
www.thescumfrog.com