Man With No Name (musician)
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Martin Freeland is a British
psytrance Psychedelic trance, psytrance, or psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...
artist, record producer and DJ, who has performed under the pseudonym of Man With No Name since 1990. He is best known for the singles "Teleport" and "Floor-Essence", both of which appeared in the UK Singles Chart.


Music career


Early work: 1985–1993

Freeland's career began in the mid 1980s, working as a producer and remixer for various dance artists such as
Belouis Some Belouis Some (born Neville Keighley; 12 December 1959) is a British singer, songwriter and musician. He had UK and worldwide hits in the 1980s with " Some People", "Imagination" and " Round, Round", the latter being featured on the soundtrack fo ...
and
Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...
. In the late 1980s he began producing original material under the names of Positiv Noize, Perfectly Ordinary People and Pisces, with the latter experimenting with the sound of
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
with the single "Take Me Higher". In 1990 Freeland released the single "Way Out West" under the name of Man With No Name. The track
sampled Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...
lines from the
western film The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...
, ''
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' (, literally "''The good, the ugly, the bad''") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cleef as "the Bad", and Eli Wallach a ...
'', and was backed with the
acid house Acid house (also simply known as just " acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synt ...
track "From Within The Mind of My 909", which was later featured on Richard Sen's 2012 compilation ''This Ain't Chicago: The Underground Sound Of UK House & Acid 1987–1991'' on Strut Records. Further singles in the early nineties, such as "Geddit?/120 Something" and the EP "From Within", echoed the sound of
Detroit techno Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mi ...
and British rave. It was during this time that Freeland attended one of the first UK trance parties Concept in Dance, where
Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (; born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Ma ...
introduced producer Ian St Paul to Freeland and his music. Following this, Freeland produced several tracks under the MWNN title for two Concept in Dance compilations, ''Tribal Science'' and ''Digital Alchemy''. One of these tracks was "Sugar Rush", which would later be released in remixed form as a single.


Goa years: 1994–1998

Having refined his sound to a harder, more melodic style of
Goa trance Goa trance is an electronic dance music style that originated in the early 1990s in the Indian state of Goa. Goa trance often has drone-like basslines, similar to the techno minimalism of 21st century psychedelic trance (psytrance). Psychede ...
, Freeland worked closely with Ian St Paul, Graham Wood and Raja Ram under the name of The Infinity Project, as well as contributing the single "Teleport" to the first TIP Records compilation. ''Teleport'' was simultaneously released on Dragonfly Records, where he again contributed tracks to a number of their compilations. Back on the Concept in Dance label, Freeland released his first full-length album ''Moment of Truth''. The singles "Floor-Essence" and "Sugar Rush" were taken from the album, though released on Perfecto. Freeland's connection with Perfecto led to him touring with labelmates such as
Mozaic Mozaic were a British group, active in the mid-1990s. Discography Singles References Black British musical groups British contemporary R&B musical groups British R&B girl groups English girl groups English vocal groups {{UK-ban ...
and Quivver, while the label's promotional plugging led to his singles reaching the UK Singles Chart. Freeland also contributed to
Positiva Positiva Records is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and concentrates on releasing dance music in the United Kingdom, UK. The record label was set up in 1993 in music, 1993, by Nick Halkes, who previously ran XL Recordings. Its headquar ...
's rainforest charity project 'Earth Trance' in 1996 with the track "Osmosis". The compilation project featured tracks by trance artists across the scene and raised money for charity in the process. The success of Man With No Name was recognised by the end of 1995, with
Muzik ''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003. ''Muzik'' was created by two former ''Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until he ...
voting "Floor-Essence" as the twelfth best single of the year, and Moment of Truth being ranked as 26th Best Album of the year. Freeland was also a highly sought-after remixer, although he 'politely refused' to remix JX's 'There's Nothing I Won't Do' when asked by
Hooj Choons Hooj Choons is a house record label co-founded in 1990 by Alex Simons and Red Jerry (real name Jeremy Dickens). The first release was "Carnival da Casa" by Rio Rhythm Band, however, it was not until the 1992 release of Felix (dance music), Fel ...
. Freeland continued to release material on Perfecto for the rest of the 1990s, with a second album ''Earth Moving The Sun'' in 1998.


Progressive years: 1999–2003

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Progressive psytrance gained popularity, and Freeland's sound altered accordingly. Signing briefly onto Brighton trance label Atomic Records, a few further Man With No Name singles were released, while back on Dragonfly Freeland remixed "Teleport" into a more progressive 'Stripped' mix. A third album, again on Dragonfly, was then released in 2003.


Recent work

The last decade has seen little new material from Freeland, though he continues to tour the globe as Man With No Name. A few new tracks were released on TIP Records' compilation ''Future Sound Masters'' in 2005, which sparked rumours of a fourth album. In 2011, Perfecto Fluoro released three new remixes of the tracks "Floor-Essence", "Sugar Rush" and "Teleport", with contributions from Astrix and Nick Sentience. This was followed by Freeland remixing "Remember Love" by DJ's United, a collaboration between
Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (; born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Ma ...
,
Paul Van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. Van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly added category of Best Dance/Electron ...
and Armin Van Buuren.


Remix work

As Man With No Name, Freeland was a popular choice for remixes. Initially remixing tracks for Perfecto labelmates
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and BT, he went on to remix four singles for
Hooj Choons Hooj Choons is a house record label co-founded in 1990 by Alex Simons and Red Jerry (real name Jeremy Dickens). The first release was "Carnival da Casa" by Rio Rhythm Band, however, it was not until the 1992 release of Felix (dance music), Fel ...
, two for
Juno Reactor Juno Reactor is a multi-national musical and performing group, primarily based in Brighton, UK. Known for their cinematic fusion of electronic, global influences, and orchestral symphonic approach, collaborating with composer Don Davis (composer) ...
and even remixed a track for the
Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...
.


Collaborations and acknowledgments

As well as being a contributor to The Infinity Project, Freeland also produced tracks for Goa artists such as Dino Psaras, Cydonia, Psychaos and Ayahuasca. He also released a track under the name of Yogi & Grey One entitled "Big Trouble in Outer Space", which was later re-released under the Man With No Name title. French Goa trance group
Transwave Transwave is a French Trance music, Trance act composed of Christof Drouillet (known as Absolum) and Frédéric Holyszewski (known as Deedrah). Christof was raised in a classical musician family, though he never had training in music or electroni ...
paid tribute to Freeland, dedicating their track "Land of Freedom" to 'M.W.N.N.'. The track is featured on their album ''Phototropic'' (1996). In 2017
psytrance Psychedelic trance, psytrance, or psy is a subgenre of trance music characterized by arrangements of rhythms and layered melodies created by high tempo riffs. The genre offers variety in terms of mood, tempo, and style. Some examples include full ...
producer Talamasca dedicated a track on his album ''A Brief History of Goa Trance'' to Man With No Name, using melodies from several of his tracks.


Discography


Albums

* '' Moment of Truth'' (1996) * ''Earth Moving the Sun'' (1998) * ''Teleportation'' (2000) * ''Interstate Highway'' (2003)


Chart singles

* "Way Out West (1990) – UK No. 96 * "Geddit?/120 Something" (1991) * "From Within EP" (1992) * "Teleport/Sly-Ed" (1994) * "Floor-Essence" (1995) – UK No. 68 * "Lunar Cycle" (1995) * "Paint A Picture" (1996) – UK No. 42 – featuring Hannah * "Teleport" / "Sugar Rush" (1996) – UK No. 55 * "Vavoom!" (1998) – UK No. 43 * "The First Day (Horizon)" (1998) – UK No. 72 * "Reincarnation/Revenge" (2000) * "Teleport (Remixes)" (2000) * "Axis Flip/Lights Out" (2003) * "Remixes EP" (2011) * "Vice Versa" (2014) Singles * Candyfloss Corona (2021)


References


External links


Freeland's homepage

Man With No Name
at
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeland, Martin Living people Goa trance musicians British record producers Year of birth missing (living people) British trance musicians Place of birth missing (living people) British electronic dance music DJs