Bass is Base was a Canadian R&B group based in

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a p ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

History

In 1993,

Chin Injeti Pranam "Chin" Injeti (born April 9, 1973 in India) is a Canadian singer, musician, and music producer. He got his start as a founding member of Juno Award-winning group Bass is Base. He frequently collaborates with producer DJ Khalil; together t ...

and

Ivana Santilli Ivana Daniela Santilli is a Canadian R&B singer and multi-instrumentalist, who has recorded as a solo artist and as a member of the 1990s R&B/pop trio Bass is Base. Early life and career Santilli was born to an Italian father and a French-Can ...

were in the music group Syndicate 305. At the 1993 Music West conference in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, Injeti and Santilli met MC Mystic (

Roger Mooking Roger Mooking is a Trinidadian-Canadian chef, musician, and television host. Mooking is the host of the television series '' Man Fire Food'' (2012 to present). He is also the host and co-creator of ''Everyday Exotic''. Both programs aired on the ...

), who at the time was in a group called

The Maximum Definitive The Maximum Definitive was a Canadian hip hop trio, active in the early 1990s. They are noted for their single "Jungle Man", which was a Juno Award nominee for Best Rap Recording in 1993. Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, the group was formed i ...

. A few months later, Mystic invited the pair to back him for his group's performance at the

Canadian Music Video Awards Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

. The trio then formed the group Bass is Base that year with Injeti on

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

, Santilli on keyboards, and Mystic on

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

. All three members contributed vocals, Injeti and Santilli as singers and Mystic as a

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. The group's first gig was opening for

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in t ...

. The group also opened for

The Pharcyde The Pharcyde (currently known as The Far Side) is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown ...

. In the spring of 1994, the group released their debut album, ''First Impressions for the Bottom Jigglers''. The album was released through their self-created label, SoulShack. They also released an eponymous single from the album, "Funkmobile", which was played on

Much Music Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31, ...

. The album went on to sell more than 20,000 copies in Canada. In October 1994, the group signed a co-venture deal with

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

and Loose Cannon Records in the U.S. The group won a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

in the Best R&B/Soul Recording category in 1995. In 1994 and 1995, the group toured through Canada with

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold i ...

and the

Crash Test Dummies Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The band is most identifiable through Brad Roberts (vocals, guitar) and his distinctive bass-baritone voice. The band members have fluctuated over the years, but its best k ...

. On September 27, 1995, the group released their ''Memories of the Soul Shack Survivors'' album in Canada. The album peaked at #38 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimension ...

Canadian albums chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Monday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen SoundScan, and published every Tuesday by ''Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding ...

. The album was released in the US on April 16, 1996. They released one

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

hit, "I Cry". In May 1997, Bass is Base broke up and all members pursued solo endeavours.

Aftermath

After Bass is Base disbanded, Santilli went on to a release four solo albums. Injeti works as a producer and bass player; in 2005 he produced "hick-hop" artist

Ridley Bent Ridley Bent is the stage name of Brian Fowler, a Canadian country singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Bent was raised throughout Canada in a military family. He formally launched his musical career in 2000 in British Columbia, inclu ...

's debut release, ''Blam''. Mooking left the music business, working as a chef in Toronto and as an entrepreneur in the food industry;"Being a chef 'was in my soul'"
''Globe & Mail''. Aug. 09, 2010 Olivia Stren he returned to release two albums of soul music in 2008 and 2013."Mooking serves up wide-ranging emotions on album 'Feedback'"
by Victoria Ahearn, ''The Canadian Press'', via News 1130 Radio. Jul 8, 2013 1

Discography

Singles

*1994 "Funkmobile" (Soul Shack) *1995 "Straw Stix & Brix" (Soul Shack) *1995 "Westside Funk" (Soul Shack) *1995 "Diamond Dreams" (Loose Cannon/

) *1995 "Floating" (Loose Cannon/A&M) *1996 "I Cry" (Loose Cannon/A&M) *1996 "Why" (Loose Cannon/A&M)

Albums

*1994 ''First Impressions for the Bottom Jigglers'' *1995 ''Memories of the Soul Shack Survivors''

References

External links

Bass is Base at Discogs
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Musical groups from Toronto North York Canadian contemporary R&B musical groups Canadian soul music groups 1993 establishments in Ontario 1997 disestablishments in Ontario Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year winners