MAJOR LAZER
Major Lazer is an American electronic music band composed of record producer Diplo, Jillionaire, and Walshy Fire. It was founded by Diplo and Switch, but Switch left in 2011. Its music spans numerous genres, mixing reggae with dancehall, reggaeton, house, and moombahton.
MEMBER
- Diplo (Thomas Wesley Pent )
Spoiler untuk Biography :
Diplo was born on November 10, 1978 in Tupelo, Mississippi, the son of Barbara Jean (née Cox) and Thomas Pentz. He is of German and English descent. The influence of home-grown rap played a key role in helping shape his production style. He spent the majority of his youth in Miami, where he got a taste for the characteristic Miami bass. He began attending the University of Central Florida in 1997, and then moved to Philadelphia to continue his studies at Temple University, where he first garnered attention as a DJ. After frequently running into fellow DJ Low Budget, the two began throwing parties under the Hooked on Hollertronix moniker in 2003 as a way of maintaining control of what they were able to play during DJ gigs in Philadelphia. The success of these parties allowed the two to release mixtapes, both separate and together, gathering acclaim across the country. One such mixtape, Never Scared, was named one of the New York Times top ten albums of 2003, and the Hollertronix name became synonymous with parties featuring guests like Maluca Mala, Bun B, Spank Rock, M.I.A., among others. Hollertronix's sound has been described as "disparate genres to be smashed together for maximum attention-grabbing impact" an aesthetic which takes from the "organic, cohesive, whole" aesthetic of acts such as Bun B, Lil Jon, Drama, M.I.A., Björk, Busta Rhymes, and others.
Diplo accentuated the club aesthetic of his Hollertronix music for a more reflective sound on his solo debut, Florida, which was released on the Ninja Tune imprint, Big Dada Records. The album Florida was pressed twice, first with a CD and the second with a CD and DVD. The DVD was created by System D-128, another artist who has collaborated with Diplo on some audio and video projects. Before Florida's DVD accompaniment, another DVD surfaced called Diplo: "Banned in Libya" which was released by Money Studies, the first label to release a solo project by Diplo under his original DJ name Diplodocus. It was a 45 rpm record called "Thingamajawn" for which there is also a music video System D-128 directed. Similar to the Florida DVD, "Banned in Libya" is an experimental audio and video mix of some of Diplo's original music blended with a number of other unidentified sources. His particular affinity for one genre of music called baile funk, or favela funk, would spawn a series of mixtapes (Favela on Blast, Favela Strikes Back), which served to bring the Brazilian dance music of the ghettos to the United States.
It was not long before his Hooked on Hollertronix parties would provide him the success necessary to move to the next logical step and build a studio where music would become his full-time focus. With this goal in mind, Diplo built "The Mausoleum," a video studio, recording studio, record label office, gallery, and event space in Philadelphia. Since its inception, The Mausoleum has become the home to recordings by artists like Christina Aguilera, Shakira, M.I.A., Santigold, Spank Rock, Plastic Little, Blaqstarr, Paper Route Gangstaz, and hosted concerts by Glass Candy, Skream, Boys Noize, Nicos Gun, and more.
- Jillionaire (Christopher Leacock)
Spoiler untuk Biography :Jillionaire was born on April 3, 1978 in Port of Spain, Trinidad. With over fifteen years of experience, Jillionaire has created a unique sound which mashes indie dance and big room house with the caribbean rhythms of soca and dancehall. In 2009 Jillionaire stole the show at London’s Notting Hill Carnival with his unique Tropical Bass sound. He went on to tour with Major Lazer across the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands.
In 2010 Jillionaire travelled to the four corners of the world, kicking off the year at New Zealand's WOMAD Festival, followed by gigs across the UK and Europe. He coordinated Chicken n Beer (now in its second successful year), the first ever Tropical Bass party at Winter Music Conference/ Miami Music Week, and his No Shirt, No Shoes tour capped off a hectic yet successful year. He has released a number of remixes and original tracks, honing his skills alongside production partners Richie Beretta (NYC) and Fellow (Amsterdam).
World Domination continued throughout 2012, with an Australia/ New Zealand Winter Tour including peformances at the Queenstown Winter Festival and a Canada Summer Tour including a memorable performance at Toronto’s CARIBANA. Additionally, Jillionaire curated the first ever Mad Decent Tropical Tent @ Camp Bisco X, featuring performances from moombahton masters Nadastrom and Dillon Francis. Other highlights included a successful UK/ Europe tour in partnership with Muck Agency, and riveting performances with Major Lazer in Seoul, South Korea and Sao Paulo, Brasil.
In 2012, “The Only Way Is Up” as he prepares to launch Feel Up Recordings, a new home for Tropical Bass and related dance music, delivering releases from a number of collaborators he has worked with over the last year and a half, stretching from Japan to the Netherlands and beyond. He’s a corespondent for a number of blogs including Mad Decent and Okayplayer's Large Up and has appeared on Making Tracks, a documentary by National Geographic Music.
- Walshy Fire (Leighton Walsh)
Spoiler untuk Biography :Walsh was born and raised in Carol City, Florida in a Chinese-Jamaican family. He attended North Miami Beach High School. Highly renowned and respected throughout the Caribbean music universe as a double-threat MC and selector for Miami’s Grammy winning Black Chiney Sound System, Walshy is the master of ceremonies for genre-bending dancehall carnival, Major Lazer, touring alongside Diplo &The Jillionaire. Originally from Jamaica, Walshy had the #1 show in Miami radio for ten years running. As an MC he toured for 8 years with the trailblazing Black Chiney sound system cited as a significant influence on the evolution of Major Lazer with its “mash ups” that blended hip hop or R&B rhythms with reggae artist vocal tracks. Mix tapes that Black Chiney sound developed were the training ground for Walshy to become a sought-after remix producer and advocate for some of music’s lesser known artists, giving them a platform to be introduced to a wider audience. He’s released dozens of innovative mix compilations, remixes of songs and single-artist mixes for artists like Chronixx whose Walshy Fire Presents: Start A Fire mix has surpassed 1 million plays. Since 2012 Walshy has toured with Major Lazer performing on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and contributing on the production of the most recent two Major Lazer albums: FREE THE UNIVERSE and PEACE IS THE MISSION. Maintaining a vigorous schedule as a solo DJ when not on tour or in production with Major Lazer, Walshy originated the concept “Future Dancehall” with its roots in Jamaica’s sound system culture and the touchstone for the Walshy Fire Presents record label.
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