Steve Cobby is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

producer,

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, and DJ based in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. He is best known for being part of Fila Brazillia.

Career

After disbanding his first band, Ashley & Jackson, on Big Life Records, he co-founded Fila Brazillia with David McSherry in 1990. Together, they released 10 critically acclaimed LPs and produced over 70 remixes for artists as diverse as

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

, Black Uhuru,

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

, James, A Certain Ratio, and

Moloko Moloko () were an English-Irish electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and music producer, producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their ...

. He formed Pork Recordings with David Brennand in 1990, 23 Records in 1999 with Sim Lister and David McSherry, and Steel Tiger Records in 2006 with Lister. Steel Tiger Records being of an umbrella for his various projects than a label per se. His other writing and production collaborations include Heights of Abraham, J*S*T*A*R*S, and The Cutler. He has released three solo albums, The Solid Doctor: ''How About Some Ether'' and ''Beats Means Highs''. A third, entitled ''Saudade'' was released on his own imprint, Déclassé in March 2014. Numerous remixes, from

Harold Budd Harold Montgomory Budd (May 24, 1936December 8, 2020) was an American music composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles and raised in the Mojave Desert, he became a respected composer in the minimal music and avant-garde scene of Southern California ...

and Theoretics to Jon Kennedy and Yesking, have been undertaken in a solo capacity. Fabric Nightclub has played host to many Cobby DJ sets. This was rewarded with an appearance on Fabric 18 alongside fellow Hull alumni Bobby Beige and Bliss. He co-produced Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli's debut solo album, '' The Twilight Singers,'' in 2000 and co-wrote and produced ''Three White Roses and a Budd'' EP with

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...

and avant-garde American composer

. Cobby has worked with

Darren Emerson Darren Paul Emerson (born 30 April 1971) is an English musician, DJ and producer best known as a former member of the British electronic music group Underworld. Career Early life Emerson began mixing hip hop records at the age of 14, and by ...

on his solo album in an engineering and writing capacity. His collaboration with Cabaret Voltaire's

Stephen Mallinder Stephen William Mallinder (born 1 January 1955) is an English artist and musician who was a founding member of Cabaret Voltaire, and went on to work as Sassi & Loco, the Ku-Ling Bros., Hey, Rube!, Wrangler, and Creep Show. Biography Mallinder ...

is under the guise of Hey Rube. Adam Regan from Different Drummer Records and Leftfoot Promotions in Birmingham is also a regular collaborator. Cobby has DJ'd in many places around the world including

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. He has performed live in Europe, Japan, and the United States.

Work

Production

Production, co-production and

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

projects include

; Afghan Whigs and The Twilight Singers.

Film and advertising

As Fila Brazillia (with David McSherry) his music has been used in films, including '' Riding Giants'' directed by Stacy Peralta – and adverts, including for

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

. As J*S*T*A*R*S (with Sim Lister) his music has been used for adverts including for

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

and the

John Lewis Partnership John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company that operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, financial services and a build to rent operation. The public limited company is owned by a trust on behalf o ...

. In 2013, Cobby provided the soundtrack for the Hull '

UK City of Culture UK City of Culture is a designation given to a local area (specifically a city before 2025) in the United Kingdom for a period of one calendar year, during which the successful bidder hosts cultural festivities through culture-led regeneratio ...

2017' bid film – ''This City Belongs to Everyone'', produced by Nova Studios. On 20 November that year,

, was announced as the winning.

Solo

Cobby releases mainly work under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s The Solid Doctor and J J Fuchs. In March 2014, Cobby released his first solo album in 17 years entitled ''Saudade'' on his own imprint Déclassé. He went on to release ''Revolutions soundtrack'' (2015), ''Everliving'' (2015), ''Hemidemisemiquaver'' (2017), and ''Sweet Jesus'' (2019) under his name. Sweet Jesus was released digitally on May the 17th, without any marketing or promotion whatsoever, as a

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

exclusive.

Collaborations

* with David Brennand a.k.a. Porky to form The Cutler; singles released during 2007 and 2008 included "Stiletto", "Pickaxe", and "Cinquedea". Debut album ''Cutler'' was released in July 2008 and the ''Black Flag'' EP in 2009. The second album release (September 2012) was ''The Best Things in Life Aren't Things'' with vocalists Andrew Taylor and Russell Morgan. The most recent release (10 June 2013) from The Cutler is their third album ''Everything Is Touching Everything Else'', with vocalists Isobel Helen, Andrew Taylor, Archie and Sheffield's alt-folk outfit Little Glitches; all on Steel Tiger Records. * with

, a co-founder of Cabaret Voltaire, to form Hey, Rube!; first album release ''Can You Hear me Mutha?'' (October 2012, Steel Tiger Records) * with DJ Adam Regan, of the Different Drummer Soundsystem and Leftfoot, to form Chieftain; debut release ''The War Bonnet EP'' (2012, Steel Tiger Records) * with Sim Lister to form J*S*T*A*R*S; released ''Put Me on a Planet'' on Steel Tiger Records in 2006. * with Sim Lister and Jake Harries to form The Heights of Abraham; most recent release ''Two Thousand and Six'' on Twentythree Records in 2006. * with classically trained guitarist Rich Arthurs of Orgatronics to form 'Peacecorps'; released ''Bushfarmer'' on Steel Tiger Records in 2007. * with Richard H. Kirk to form Citrus. * with Djinji Brown to form NorthEastSoundSystem. * with David McSherry to form Fila Brazillia; most recent releases the album ''Retrospective'' on Twentythree Records in 2006 and ''Neanderthal'' in 2007, also on Twentythree Records.

References

External links

Steel Tiger
– official site * *
Steve Cobby
at

Steve Cobby
performance at Harold Budd's farewell concert,

Brighton Dome The Brighton Dome is an arts venue in Brighton, England, that contains the Concert Hall, the Corn exchange, Corn Exchange and the Studio Theatre (Brighton), Studio Theatre (formerly the Pavilion Theatre). All three venues are linked to the rest o ...

, 21 May 2005
Steve Cobby
article at

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...

Steve Cobby
biography on

Fabric (club) Fabric (stylized as fabric) is a nightclub in Farringdon, London, England. Founded in 1999 on Charterhouse Street opposite Smithfield, London, Smithfield Market, the club was voted World Number 1 Club in ''DJ Magazine''s "Top 100 Clubs Poll" in ...

, London {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobby, Steve Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English pop guitarists English male guitarists English electronic musicians English record producers English DJs Musicians from Kingston upon Hull British electronic dance music DJs