Cristiano Spiller (born 3 April 1975) is an Italian

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 ...

DJ and record producer. He is best known for his 2000 single "

Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" is a song by the Italian electronic music DJ and record producer Spiller with lead vocals performed by English singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Various versions of the single were later featured on the Germ ...

", featuring

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo and ...

. The song reached number-one in the UK, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. It sold over two million copies and was rumoured to be the first song to be played on an

iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...

Biography

Early life and first releases

When he was a teenager, he was already introducing himself to the world of Italian house and dance music. In 1997, he released his first single, "Laguna". Billed as Laguna, in 1997 Spiller teamed up with fellow Italian producer Tommy Vee, to release the single "Spiller From Rio (Do It Easy)", which reached number 40 in the UK Singles Chart. In 1998, he signed a music deal with the British record label,

Positiva Records Positiva Records is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and concentrates on releasing dance music in the UK. The record label was set up in 1993, by Nick Halkes, who previously ran XL Recordings. Its headquarters are at the Universal UK ...

, a subsidiary of

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

UK, releasing his first solo single in the UK entitled "Batucada". In 1999, he released "Mighty Miami EP", a maxi-single including the instrumental track "Groovejet".

Mainstream popularity and "Groovejet"

In 2000, the vocal version of "Groovejet" was released. "

" featuring the British singer

(formerly of

theaudience Theaudience (styled as theaudience) were an English rock band, formed in London in 1996. They released one album and saw three singles enter the UK Singles Chart. The band's lead vocalist Sophie Ellis-Bextor became a successful solo artist aft ...

) peaked at #1 in the UK, Australia and many other countries, becoming one of the most successful dance records of the year and winning multiple awards. It was also the first song to be played on an iPod according to technology journalist

Steven Levy Steven Levy (born 1951) is an American journalist and editor at large for '' Wired'' who has written extensively for publications on computers, technology, cryptography, the internet, cybersecurity, and privacy. He is the author of the 1984 boo ...

and the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''TOTP2 Goes Disco!''.

�
''TOTP2 Goes Disco!''
/ref> Groovejet sold over 2,000,000 copies worldwide.

Later releases

In 2002, he released "Cry Baby" in the UK. In 2003, Spiller decided to take control over his own productions and thus established his own independent label Nano Records, based in Venice, Italy. In 2004 a single titled "Sola" was released by Positiva. In the UK the single was supported by

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. In 2006, he released "Jumbo". His 2011 single "Pigeonman's Revenge" is an instrumental house track with a music video formed by Starlings directed by photographer

James Mollison James Mollison (20 March 1931 – 19 January 2020) was acting director of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) from 1971 to 1977 and director from 1977 to 1989. He was director of the National Gallery of Victoria from 1989 to 1995. Ea ...

. In 2013, Spiller released "Urastar" featuring

Nina Miranda Nina Miranda is a Brazilian singer and songwriter who was a member of English bands Smoke City, Shrift and Zeep. Life and career Miranda was born in Brasília, Distrito Federal. Her mother is the English Liz Thompson-Miranda; Her father ...

(former singer of Smoke City).

Discography

Extended plays

* ''Laguna Vol. 1 EP'' (1997) * ''Mighty Miami EP'' (1999)

Singles

References

External links

* *
Nano Records website
{{Authority control 1975 births Italian club DJs Living people Italian electronic dance music DJs Positiva Records artists