Gerald Rydel Simpson (born 16 February 1967), better known as A Guy Called Gerald, is a British record producer and musician. He was an early member of the

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

group 808 State, contributing to their debut LP '' Newbuild'' (1988) and hit single " Pacific State" (1989). He also achieved solo success with his 1988 hit single " Voodoo Ray", which became a touchstone of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

's acid house scene and reached No. 12 in the UK charts. He embraced breakbeat production in the 1990s, with his 1995 album '' Black Secret Technology'' becoming a "much-touted candidate for 'best

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

album ever.'" He also ran the London-based independent record label Juice Box Records from 1991 to 1998.

Early life and influences

Simpson was influenced by his Jamaican roots; his father's blue beat,

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

and Trojan reggae record collection, his mother's

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

church sessions and the Jamaican sound system parties in Manchester's

Moss Side Moss Side is an inner-city area of Manchester, England, south of the city centre, It had a population of 20,745 at the 2021 census. Moss Side is bounded by Hulme to the north, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Rusholme and Fallowfield to the east, W ...

area where he grew up. He absorbed jazz fusion and electro funk at clubs, youth clubs and shebeens such as Legends, St.Alfonso's, British Legion and the

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

in Manchester, where the dancefloor in the early 1980s inspired him to study contemporary dance. Manchester was a hotbed of dance music with black club nights open every night of the week and Simpson spent his time joining in the vibe. Simpson was principally influenced by dancers such as Foot Patrol and the Jazz Defektors, regulars in the North of England black club scene. Around 1983 with electro booming and early hip hop,

breakdancing Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...

and b-boy culture making its way from the US, he left dance college to immerse himself in electronic music production. At this time music from Detroit and Chicago – from producers such as

Juan Atkins Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962), also known as Model 500 and Infiniti, is an American record producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. '' Mixmag'' has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno." He has been a member of The Be ...

, Derrick May,

Kevin Saunderson Kevin Maurice Saunderson (born September 5, 1964) is an American electronic dance music Dj and record producer. He is famous for being a member of a trio, along with Juan Atkins and Derrick May, who came to be known as The Belleville Three, w ...

was being played by Stu Allan on

Piccadilly Radio Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...

and imported directly into Manchester's specialist record shops.

Career

808 State and "Voodoo Ray"

Inspired, Simpson began experimenting with tape editing and drum machines and the regular jams in the attic of his house led to forming the Scratchbeat Masters. Using cut up beats, samples and

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

they would challenge other bands and their sound systems. They released a 12" single called "Wax on the Melt", a collaboration between a number of crews and

Graham Massey Graham Vernon Massey (born 4 August 1960 in Manchester) is a British record producer, musician, and remixer. Early career He was a member of experimental jazz rock group Biting Tongues, once signed to Factory Records. After recording with the ...

and Martin Price together with whom he would later form 808 State. Their first album, '' Newbuild'', was released in 1988, but he soon left the group to concentrate on his solo work. The result of heading back into his bedroom studio was " Voodoo Ray", played first at the Hacienda in 1988, and then the underground clubs before entering the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

a year later. It was the first acid house track produced in the UK, and released on a small Merseyside independent label (Rham! Records) based in Wallasey. " Voodoo Ray" entered the UK chart in 1989 rising to number 12. At the same time a track Simpson started before leaving 808 State, " Pacific State", was released and hit the charts. However, according to Simpson, they had finished and released the track without his permission. Although Simpson was credited on its first release on the album '' Quadrastate'' both as a writer and co-producer, the dispute escalated as Simpson claimed to have written the entire track. Gerald subsequently signed with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

and released the albums ''Hot Lemonade'' (1989) and ''Automanikk'' (1990) to moderate commercial success. He was subsequently allowed to leave his Sony contract after the label refused to release his intended follow-up album ''High Life, Low Profile''. The album was reportedly rejected for being too song-oriented.The Classic Album: A Guy Called Gerald - 28 Gun Bad Boy
''Future Music'', FM230, September 2010, page 20

Juice Box Records and jungle

In 1991, he started his own

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

, Juice Box Records, releasing a string of 12" singles – the seeds of what became known as

and later drum and bass. The first singles were compiled and released on his third album '' 28 Gun Bad Boy'' (1992). In 1995, his next album, '' Black Secret Technology'' was released. A remastered version was re-issued in June 2008. Juice Box Records was an independent record label in the United Kingdom, based at

Riverside Studios Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production. Having closed for redevelopment i ...

in West London. It was established by Simpson in 1991, after he left

SME Records , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is oper ...

,Vision – A Guy Called Gerald
Visionmusic.co.uk. Retrieved on 5 August 2011. and closed in 1998. It took its name from the sound system that Simpson operated with MC Tunes.Label Profile – A Guy Called Gerald" from "Echoes", June 1994
. Homepages.force9.net. Retrieved on 5 August 2011. The label provided an outlet for seven years for Simpson's work, with thirty three titles released under various other pseudonyms such as The K.G.B. and Ricky Rouge, and collaborations between Simpson and artists including Lisa May, DJ Tamsin,

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in t ...

(as 'The 2 G's'), and Finley Quaye.Juice Box
Discogs.com. Retrieved on 5 August 2011. The label has been identified as being responsible for influential releases that provided the blueprint for what was to become

then drum and bass, with early singles on the label described as "genre-defining".new music radio from Tokyo, Japan & The World
. samurai.fm. Retrieved on 5 August 2011. The early singles on the label were compiled on the LP '' 28 Gun Bad Boy'', of which Simon Reynolds of '' Melody Maker'' stated in a review of the album, "If there was a blueprint for what would transform rave into jungle/techno, then this is it.". It is regarded as the first full-length jungle album ever released. Reynolds also stated in a ''Melody Maker'' article in October 1994, about Simpson's Juice Box-era music, "Gerald's tracks take the jungle mesh of

polyrhythm Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music ( cross-rhyt ...

s, cross-rhythms and counter-rhythms to new levels of insane detail." Gerald's '' Black Secret Technology'' LP was released in 1995 and reached the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

at number 64, including contributions from

and Finley Quaye, In 1998, the label closed, with Simpson relocating to New York.

1997–2013

In 1997, he moved to New York and, in 2000, released ''

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

'' on the independent label

!K7 Records !K7 Music is a music company based in Berlin, Germany that focuses mostly on electronic music. The name is an abbreviation of the company's original Berlin address, Kaiserdamm 7 (it has since relocated, first to Heidestrasse 52, and currently he ...

. ''Essence'' was Simpson's first song-based rather than dance/club album, featuring guests such as Lou Rhodes, David Simpson, Lady Miss Kier and Wendy Page. In January 2005, he released a more ambient album ''To All Things What They Need'', also on !K7 Records. In August 2006, ''Proto Acid / The Berlin Sessions'' was released on the German label, Laboratory Instinct. A continuous mix album, it was recorded live in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. The second album in The Berlin Sessions series was released in 2010: ''Tronic Jazz / The Berlin Sessions''. " How Long Is Now" EP was released on Bosconi Records in 2012. In 2013, the album ''Silent Spread Sound Spectrum'' was released on the Society of Sound – a subscription based music retail project by Bowers & Wilkins audio equipment company. Subscribers receive two albums per month curated by Peter Gabriel and the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...

. "The entire track was performed by Gerald live (in the Big Room at

Real World Studios Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World Records record label, Real ...

) from two laptops captured into a

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...

HD system. Audio resolution was high throughout this project with a 24 bit resolution and a 96kHz sampling rate maintained from creation through to capturing the performance. A few additional sounds made it onto this album that were taken from 1986 – sampled from a vinyl release and incorporated into this composition." "I am fascinated by the science of sound. Silent Sound Spread Spectrum (SSSS) or S-Quad or Squad is allegedly a technology used by the US Department of Defence that uses subliminal programming carried over ultra-high frequency broadcast waves. With this system, planting inaudible messages directly into the subconscious becomes very easy to do and everyone is susceptible. This composition is about 50 mins and it follows no specific style. It should leave the listener refreshed and relaxed." – A Guy Called Gerald

2013–present

Simpson has been touring steadily worldwide preferring to perform his own productions Live in Session. On 2015, Simpson is concentrating on a new album and developing a "Live in Session" experience – "a new way to present the music live based around the idea of being in the centre of the dancefloor and at eye level... I am looking to create a space which mimics the studio environment – not only that – because I would be in the centre of the dancefloor so I can monitor everything around me and be at the same level – eye-level with the presumed dancer. This way it makes it easy for me to create the atmosphere and the rhythm suitable for the individual dancefloor. Kind of like an open kitchen in a restaurant – it's an open kitchen in a club bringing the food to the people instantly – as soon as it's produced it's already on the dancefloor. What I'm looking for in 2015 is sound reproduction in the clubs being taken a lot more seriously than in the past."

Discography

*Albums credited to A Guy Called Gerald unless otherwise noted

Albums

*''Hot Lemonade'' (1989 – Rham! Records) *''Automanikk'' (1990 – Columbia/CBS) – UK #68 *''High Life, Low Profile'' (Columbia/CBS, 1990 – unreleased) *'' 28 Gun Bad Boy'' (1992 – Juice Box Records) *'' Black Secret Technology'' (1995 – Juice Box Records) – UK #64 *''Cryogenix'' (1999 – MP3.com) *''

'' (2000 – !K7 Records) *''To All Things What They Need'' (2005 – !K7 Records) *''Proto Acid – The Berlin Sessions'' (2006 – Laboratory Instinct) *''Tronic Jazz – The Berlin Sessions'' (2010 – Laboratory Instinct) *''Silent Sound Spread Spectrum'' (2013 – Bowers & Wilkins – 60, Real World Records – 60, Society of Sound Music – 60)

Live

*''The John Peel Sessions'' (Strange Fruit 1989) *''The John Peel Sessions – A Guy Called Gerald'' (Strange Fruit 1999)

Singles / 12"

*" Voodoo Ray" single (Rham! Records 1988) – UK #12 *'' Voodoo Ray'' EP (Rham! Records 1989) *"Voodoo Ray Remixes" (Warlock USA 1988) *"Voodoo Ray Remixes" (Rham! Records 1988) *"Hot Lemonade" (Rham! Records 1989) *"Hot Lemonade Youth Remixes" (Rham! Records 1989) *''The Peel Sessions'' EP (Strange Fruit 1989) *"Trip City" (1989) – 5 track cassette 'soundtrack' accompanying the novel '' Trip City'' *"FX" / "Eyes of Sorrow" (1989) – UK #52 *"FX Mayday Mix" (CBS / Sony 1989) *"FX Elevation Mix" (CBS / Sony 1989) *''The Peel Sessions'' EP (USA 1990) *"Automanikk (Just 4 U Gordon Mix" EP USA 1990) *"Automanikk (Bass Overload Mix" EP USA 1990) *"Automanikk (Bass Overload Mix" EP USA 1990) *"Emotions Electric" (Juice Box Records 1990) *"Disneyband / Anything" (Juice Box Records 1991) *"Nowhere to Run" – Inertia (Black Out Records 1991) *"Digital Bad Boy" (Juice Box Records 1992) *"Cops" (Juice Box Records 1992) *"Ses Makes You Wise" (Juice Box Records 1992) *"The Musical Magical Midi Machine" (Juice Box Records 1992) *"Changing" (Juice Box Records 1992) *"I Feel the Magic" (Juice Box Records 1993) *"Strange Love" – Ricky Rouge (Juice Box Records 1993) *"Strange Love Remixes" – Ricky Rouge (Juice Box Records 1993) *"When You Took My Love" – Ricky Rouge (Juice Box Records 1993) *"De Ja Vu" – Ricky Rouge (Juice Box Records 1993) *"Song for Every Man" – Ricky Rouge (Juice Box Records 1993) *"Satisfaction" – Inertia (Juice Box Records 1993) *"Fragments" – Inertia (Juice Box Records 1993) *"Too Fucked to Dance" – Inertia (Juice Box Records 1993) *"The Glok" (Juice Box Records 1993) *"Nazinji-zaka" (Juice Box Records 1993) *"Darker Than I Should Be" (Juice Box Records 1993) *"Finley's Rainbow" (Juice Box Records 1995) *"Finley's Rainbow Remixes" (Juice Box Records 1995) *"So Many Dreams" (Juice Box Records 1996) *"The Curse of Voodoo Ray" featuring Lisa May (Juice Box Records 1996) *"Radar Systems" (Juice Box Records 1998) *"Fever" (!K7 2000) *"Humanity" (!K7 2000) *"First Try" (!K7 2005) *"Flo-ride" (Sugoi 2005) *"Is Man in Danger" (Protechshon 2005) *"Sufistifunk" (Sugoi 2006) *"Time to Jak" (Sender 2006) *"Proto Acid / The Berlin Sessions 1" (Laboratory Instinct 2006) *"Proto Acid / The Berlin Sessions 2" (Laboratory Instinct 2006) *"In Ya Head" (Perlon Records PERL71 2008) *"Tronic Jazz / The Berlin Sessions 1" (Laboratory Instinct 2010) *"Tronic Jazz / The Berlin Sessions 2" (Laboratory Instinct 2010) *"Tronic Jazz / The Berlin Sessions 3" (Laboratory Instinct 2010) *"Tronic Jazz / The Berlin Sessions 4" (Laboratory Instinct 2010) *"How Long Is Now" (Bosconi Records 2012 BOSCO021)

With 808 State

*"Pacific State" (1989) *''Let Yourself Go'' EP (1988) *''Newbuild'' LP (Creed 1988) *''Prebuild'' LP (Rephlex 2005)

Other collaborations

*"Dream 17" – Annette (Deconstruction 1988) *"Massage-a-Rama" – Lounge Jays (1989) *"Born in the North" – US (Wooden 1989) *"Energy" – The Two G'$ (Juice Box 1995) *" Black Gravity" – with Herbie Hancock /

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, ...

(2001) *"Falling" – Tom Clark and Benno Blome featuring A Guy Called Gerald (Highgrade 2011) *"PositiveNoise" / "I Seem to Be a Verb" –

System 7 System 7, codenamed "Big Bang", and also known as Mac OS 7, is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers and is part of the classic Mac OS series of operating systems. It was introduced on May 13, 1991, by Apple C ...

and A Guy Called Gerald (A-Wave 2011)

References

Sources

*Bidder, Sean; Rough Guides (1999) ''The Rough Guide to House'' *Carlisle, Colin (1995
Fly , Global Music Culture
*Kabuubi, Maxine (2000
Knowledge Magazine
*Shapiro, Peter; Rough Guides (1999) ''The Rough Guide to Drum n Bass''

External links

* official site * *

interview at Textura, 2006
A Guy Called Gerald
interview with Graham Brown-Martin for Ammo City, 2004

Interview at Higher Frequency, 2003
A Guy Called Gerald
biography at MN2S Booking Agency *A Guy Called Gerald unofficial website at https://homepages.force9.net/king1/index.htm *A Guy Called Gerald interview with Mark Dale, 2015 at https://www.skiddle.com/news/all/A-Guy-Called-Gerald-Interview-Electronic-Voodoo/26247/ *A Guy Called Gerald digital releases at https://aguycalledgerald.bandcamp.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerald, A Guy Called 1967 births English people of Jamaican descent English dance musicians English drum and bass musicians English techno musicians English house musicians Acid house musicians English keyboardists Club DJs English DJs English record producers DJs from Manchester Remixers Columbia Records artists People from Moss Side Madchester musicians Black British DJs Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Electronic dance music DJs