Bobbie Merveille (born 1983) better known by her
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
s DJ Heavygrinder and Marie Vaunt is an American
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
.
Biography
Merveille was born in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
to a French-American father and a
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
mother.
She was raised in Japan's
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
, where she lived until the age of 14. While in her teens, her parents decided that she would receive education in America.
She soon got involved in the art of DJing after returning to the US.
In regards to this period, DJ Heavygrinder stated:
The genres of music she plays are
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...
,
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...
,
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
, and
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
. Her musical mentors and strongest influences include
Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York in 1988, now based out of Tampa, Florida. The band has released fifteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little rad ...
,
Pantera
Pantera () is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-known lineup consist ...
,
Deicide
Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected.
Etymology
The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from ...
,
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
,
Gackt
, better known by his mononymous stage name Gackt (stylized as GACKT), is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor.
Born in Okinawa, Japan, to a Ryukyuan family, Gackt learned the piano at a young age and was raised ...
,
Larc En Ciel,
The Prodigy,
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 ...
,
Ryuichi Sakamoto
is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto i ...
, and
Daft Punk
Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...
.
[http://sensiblereason.com/djing-womans-world-interview-heavygrinder/]
Although she worked as an actress during her years in Japan, she has very little or no interest in acting. In several interviews, she has stated:
DJ Heavygrinder also performed at AnimeMatsuri in
Houston,TX
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
in March 2011, as well as March 2014.
Discography
Albums
* ''Eternity'' (2008)
EPs
* ''Setsuna'' (2016)
* ''Shadow Chaser'' (2013)
Singles
* ''Sway'' (2012)
* ''Lovesick Hypocrite'' (2013)
* ''Disguise'' (2013)
* ''Superstar'' (2013)
* ''The Riot'' (2013)
* ''Warning Destruction'' (2014)
* ''Black Is A Color'' (2014)
* ''Save You'' (2014)
* ''Break Free'' (2016)
Collaborations & remixes
Personal life
She currently resides in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
and is married to fellow producer and DJ, Katfyr.
References
External links
*
*
DJ Heavygrinderon
The Belmont Sessions
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...
DJ Heavygrinderat
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
DJ Heavy Grinder Interview at Crash.tv.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heavygrinder, DJ
1983 births
Female models from Washington (state)
Club DJs
Dubstep musicians
Electro house musicians
American electronic musicians
American musicians of Japanese descent
American women DJs
21st-century Japanese actresses
American models of Japanese descent
Musicians from Los Angeles
Musicians from Seattle
Living people
Electronic dance music DJs
Rock DJs
21st-century American women musicians