Eric Anthony Appapoulay (born 21 December 1971) is a British singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, programmer, multi-instrumentalist and guitarist. Appapoulay has been the guitar player for
Neneh Cherry
Neneh Mariann Karlsson (; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a numb ...
, the musical director for
Daniel Bedingfield, the bassist for both
Plan B and
Nitin Sawhney, and the performing artist on the debut album ''Faith is Trust''. Appapoulay is also currently the guitarist with
Yusuf Islam.
He is the co-owner of
The Sanctuary Recording Studio in London, and member of SMV known for their work on the 2010 award-winning
Plan B album, ''
The Defamation of Strickland Banks''.
History
Appapoulay was born in East London to Mauritian parents. He has two siblings named Maryse Appapoulay and Caroline Appapoulay. He began playing (sega) traditional music from Mauritius at age eight alongside reggae, calypso, soca and high life. He studied classical guitar privately, inspired by
John Williams
John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...
. He listened to flamenco guitar,
Paco de Lucia, also blues, rock and country, and artists such as
B.B. King
Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...
,
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
,
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
,
Carlos Santana
Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...
,
Kelly Joe Phelps and
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...
. Much later jazz/fusion influences from
George Benson
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...
,
Earl Klugh,
Larry Carlton,
Robin Ford,
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...
,
Bireli Lagrene and
Scott Henderson.
Career
Production
He was a composer with Lounge Productions in the UK.
In 2006, he set up
The Sanctuary Recording Studio with partner
David McEwan.
With a career in the music industry for over 25 years he has worked with many artists that include:
Yusuf
Yusuf ( ') is a male name meaning " God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning " YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name Yosef and the English na ...
,
Neneh Cherry
Neneh Mariann Karlsson (; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a numb ...
,
Daniel &
Natasha Bedingfield,
Craig David
Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...
,
Keri Hilson,
Jason Derulo,
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...
,
Don Blackman,
Beverley Knight
Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English singer, songwriter, actress and radio personality. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke ...
,
Lucie Silvas,
Nitin Sawhney,
MPHO,
Patrice Bart-Williams,
Terri Walker,
Nate James
Nathaniel James Speas, known as Nate James, (born 15 September 1979 in Lakenheath, Suffolk, England) is an English singer-songwriter. James released his debut soul album '' Set the Tone'' in 2005 which won him two MOBO Nominations for Best Newc ...
,
Tackhead,
Anette Peacock,
Ola,
New Sector Movements,
Liquid Biskit,
Zen Badism,
Jhelisa Anderson,
Glen Scott,
Wisechildren,
Colin Emmanuel,
Jimmy Dawkins
James Henry “Jimmy” Dawkins (October 24, 1936 – April 10, 2013) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer. He is generally considered to have been a practitioner of the "West Side sound" of Chicago blues.
Career ...
,
DJ Pogo,
Mc Ty,
Jonzi D,
Manifest,
Wunmi,
Kojo Antwi
Kojo Antwi, also known as "Mr. Music Man", is a Ghanaian Afro pop music, Afro pop, highlife, reggae musical artist and a former Ghana Music Rights Organization, Ghamro chairman. Born with the name Julius Kojo Antwi into a family of 13 siblings, h ...
,
Vikter Duplait,
Eska Mtungwasi,
Marcina Arnold,
Natalie Williams,
Julie Dexter.
Appapoulay was the touring Guitarist for Neneh Cherry in 1992, Musical director for New Sector Movements in 1997, Bass player for
Nitin Sawhney between 1998–2000, Musical director for Daniel Bedingfield's band between 2000–2006, Co-writer of the song "
Do Ya" with
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...
for his 2004 album '
Just For You', touring Guitarist for Natasha Bedingfield in 2007 and
Craig David
Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...
between 2007–2008. He toured with
Patrice between 2008–2010 and
Yusuf
Yusuf ( ') is a male name meaning " God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning " YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name Yosef and the English na ...
since 2008 and undertook a tour of Europe in May 2011 with
Yusuf
Yusuf ( ') is a male name meaning " God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning " YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name Yosef and the English na ...
(aka
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...
) as a guitarist and lead vocalist.
He also produced tracks for British MC/Singer
Plan B for his number 1 award-winning album ''
The Defamation of Strickland Banks'', including the top 10 single "
She Said". He was the bass player for 90% of the Plan B's album alongside
Jodi Milner, and also did backing vocals, piano and additional guitars.
The bulk of the material on The Defamation of Strickland Banks was recorded by Eric Appapoulay and co-owner
David McEwan at their own studio in South London,
The Sanctuary Recording Studio. Partly because they were simultaneously working on its hip-hop counterpart.
Making of the album
Prominent in both
The Sanctuary Recording Studio and on ''
The Defamation of Strickland Banks'' is Appapoulay's upright piano.
Ben Drew explained that "Because of how old it is, and some things are slightly out of tune, it reminded me of those old hip-hop records where the sampled piano does sound a little but gritty," "That's why I loved it. It looks great and it's got a proper resonance."
In a SOS interview, Appapoulay described their process during recording sessions: "It was just Ben and myself and Richard and Tom. We would be in the room together, Ben’d be on his acoustic guitar in that little doorway bit with his mic, setting down the guides. I had guitar in the Fender Twin, drums just clean, and then the bass I put through the LA2A, because I love the way it warms it up. Then we were using the bass amp as well, because we had the whole band in one room — the control room was in the drum room that you see now — so we were jamming like in a rehearsal. It had a band feeling, like Motown, where they just used to sit in one room and record together. That was the idea with this place, I wanted the whole band to feel like it was a gig scenario, playing as a band."
After the album's completion it shot to the top of the European charts, won several awards in 2010, and is nominated for February 2011's
Brit Award for two awards including the MasterCard British Album of the Year.
Discography
Vocals
*2000 Various – ''
Adventures in Clubland 1990-99: The Stress Decade'' (
Stress Records)
*2006
Marcina Arnold – ''
Introducing
Introducing or Introducing... may refer to:
Albums
* ''Introducing... The Beatles'', 1964
* ''Introducing... Mari Hamada'', 1993
* ''Introducing...Rubén González'', 1997
* ''Introducing ... Talk Talk'', 2003
* ''Introducing...the Best Of'', by M ...
'' (
Counterpoint Records)
Instruments and performance
*1994
Interference
Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to:
Communications
* Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message
* Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extra ...
– ''
Global Game'' (
Blanc Records,
Trinity Worldwide Records)
*1996 Various – ''
Audium Capsule 1'' (
Blanc Records)
*1997
Gary Barlow – ''
So Help Me Girl'' (
BMG UK & Ireland)
*2000
New Sector Movements – ''
No Tricks EP'' (
Virgin
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
)
*2000
Murky Waters – ''
Check Yourself'' (
Main Squeeze)
*2000 Various – ''
Family Planning Vol 1'' (
Main Squeeze)
*2000
Friends From Rio – ''Cravo E Canela (Remixes By IG Culture)'' (
Far Out Recordings)
*2000
Likwid Biskit – ''
Substance'' (
People Records)
*2001
New Sector Movements – ''
Download This'' (
Virgin
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
)
*2002
Quite Sane – ''
Child of Troubled Times'' (
CoolHunter Music)
*2003
Ty – ''
Upwards'' (
Big Dada Recordings)
*2003
Ma Futura Feat.
Hylton Smith* – ''
Penny Dun Drop'' (
Main Squeeze)
*2003 Various – ''
Family Planning Vol. 2 Sampler'' (
Main Squeeze)
*2004
Daniel Bedingfield – ''
Wrap My Words Around You'' (
Polydor
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
)
*2004
NSM – ''
Turn It Up'' (
Virgin
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
)
*2004
Daniel Bedingfield – ''
Nothing Hurts Like Love'' (
Polydor
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
)
*2004
Daniel Bedingfield – ''Second First Impression'' (
Polydor
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
)
*2005
Gilles Peterson – ''Gilles Peterson Presents –
The BBC Sessions'' (
Ether Records)
*2005
Mpho Skeef – ''
Don't Like You'' (
Documented)
*2005
Colin Emmanuel – ''
Dámelo'' (
Little League Productions)
*2005
Colin Emmanuel – ''
D'Illusions of Grandeur'' (
Little League Productions)
*2005
Daniel Bedingfield – ''
The Way / Ain't Nobody'' (
Polydor
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
)
*2006
Marcina Arnold – ''
Introducing
Introducing or Introducing... may refer to:
Albums
* ''Introducing... The Beatles'', 1964
* ''Introducing... Mari Hamada'', 1993
* ''Introducing...Rubén González'', 1997
* ''Introducing ... Talk Talk'', 2003
* ''Introducing...the Best Of'', by M ...
'' (
Counterpoint Records)
*2010
Plan B – ''
The Defamation of Strickland Banks'' (
679/Atlantic)
*2010
Plan B – ''She Said'' (
679 Recordings)
*2010
Selah Sue – ''
Raggamuffin'' (
Because Music)
Writing and arrangement
*1996 Various – ''
Eclectro'' (
Anti Static Recordings)
*1996 Various – ''
Audium Capsule 1'' (
Blanc Records)
*2003 Various – ''
Family Planning
Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marit ...
Vol. 2 Sampler'' (
Main Squeeze)
Featuring and presenting
*2000 Various – ''
Co-Operation Volume 1'' (
Co-Operation Recordings)
*2001
Ty – ''
The Nonsense'' (
Big Dada Recordings)
*2001 Ty – ''
Awkward'' (
Big Dada Recordings)
Production
*2000
Julie Dexter – ''Peace of Mind'' (
Blackbyrd)
References
External links
The Sanctuary Studios website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appapoulay, Eric
British record producers
English record producers
Living people
1971 births