Shaft (British Electronic Duo)
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Shaft are an English
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
production duo, known for their covers and
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
es of " (Mucho Mambo) Sway" and " Mambo Italiano". The former entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart in August 1999, then reached number one on New Zealand's
Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
chart in December. They followed this with the release of "Mambo Italiano" (vocal by Donna Canale), which peaked at number twelve on the UK Singles Chart but ultimately did not replicate the success of the previous single. They went on to tour the world and win a gold disc for best performing group. Since then, they have recorded more songs such as "Kiri Riri Boom" and "Shake Seniora".


History

Rizzo and Ireland operated, as did many
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
s, under various guises. Before Shaft was Skeewiff. Their formative period in the
music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...
came with a spell working at the Power Studios in Acton. They undertook remixes for
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
and produced tracks for Alison Limerick and Schooly D, then began work on the first Skeewiff album, released on their own label, Jalapeño Records (teaming up with
Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...
's FSUK label). As Skeewiff, their mix of " Man of Constant Sorrow" was ranked 96 in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2003, released on Volume 11, disc 1 track 20. After changing their name to Shaft, they signed to Wonderboy Records in 1999. The year after, they joined Head On Management, where Phil Nicholas, together with Head On directors Guy Trezise and Steve Baker, currently represent them. Having acquired a home-based
recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...
, the duo compiled a database of samples and sound clips. Their biggest hit originated there with a sample of the Perez Prado song " Sway", which became "(Mucho Mambo) Sway". The original version featured a vocal sample of Rosemary Clooney, but Rizzo and Ireland were unable to clear the sample, therefore, the vocals on the final track were sung by session singer Donna Canale. "(Mucho Mambo) Sway" reached number 2 in the UK in August, kept off the number-one spot by
Lou Bega David Lubega Balemezi (born 13 April 1975), better known by his stage name Lou Bega, is a German singer. His 1999 song "Mambo No. 5#Lou Bega version, Mambo No. 5", a remake of Pérez Prado's 1949 instrumental piece, reached no. 1 in many Europe ...
's version of " Mambo No. 5", also based on a Prado song. Outside the UK, the song was also a top 10 hit in Ireland, Sweden and Norway, as well as reaching number 15 in Finland and number 28 in Australia. Its most successful performance on the music charts, however, occurred in New Zealand, where the song reached the top spot on 12 December 1999, becoming one of the last number-one singles of the 1990s and the 20th century. Despite its charting at the end of the year, it still managed to become New Zealand's 29th best-selling single of 1999. Shaft's next single, " Mambo Italiano", was less successful, charting at number 12 in the United Kingdom, number 17 in Australia (becoming Shaft's most successful single there), and number 22 in Sweden. It did not chart in New Zealand. They had one more chart hit in the UK, "Kiri Riri Boom", which peaked at number 62 in July 2001. "Wassuup!", a collage of the
Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...
advertisement catchphrase and the
Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his tee ...
track " Super Freak", used by
MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit", and "Pumps and a Bump", flashy dance movements, e ...
on " U Can't Touch This", was then released under the Da Muttz moniker.


Discography


Albums

* ''Da Album'' (2001) – as Da Muttz * ''Pick Up on This'' (2001)


Singles


References


External links


Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaft (British band) English electronic music duos English dance music groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups from Brighton and Hove Record production duos British record production teams British electronic dance music duos Universal Music Group artists