System D-128 also known as Duey FM, born name Brian Torres Korlofsky, is a music video and film director, editor, video artist,
new media artist and producer.
Early life
Brian Korlofsky was born in New York City to parents of Puerto Rican and Russian descent. He was later raised in
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix ( ; ; ; ; Danish language, Danish and ; ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands, district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an Unin ...
and Florida.
He first got into audio and video when
VCRs were first introduced. His father obtained one and his family began recording television programs on a regular basis, a habit he later continued. He archived material and used it for audio and video mixes and as source material for sample-based productions, installations, and visual backdrops for touring artists.
Career
System D-128 has done visuals for artists such as
A-Trak
Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known professionally as A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highl ...
,
Mr. Scruff
Andrew Carthy (born 10 February 1972), known professionally as Mr. Scruff, is an English record producer and DJ. He lives in Stretford, Greater Manchester and studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University. Before ...
,
RJD2
Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician and record producer based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as S ...
,
Atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
,
Murs,
Dead Prez
Dead Prez (stylized in lowercase) is an American hip hop duo composed of M-1 and stic.man, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, self-de ...
,
Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), known artistically as Immortal Technique, is an American rapper, activist and songwriter. His lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as politics, religion, institutional racism, and govern ...
,
Mr. Lif,
Jeru the Damaja
Kendrick Jeru Davis (born February 14, 1971), known as Jeru the Damaja (/'jeiru: ðə ˈdæmɪʤə ''JAY''-roo thuh ''DAM''- ''ih''-juh), is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his 1993 single " Come Clean" from his debut al ...
,
Bahamadia
Antonia D. Reed (born April 22, 1966), known professionally as Bahamadia, is an American Hip hop music, hip hop artist and singer. Bahamadia released her debut album, ''Kollage (album), Kollage'', in 1996, followed by the independently released ...
,
Rahzel
Rozell Manely Brown (born October 6, 1964) is an American beatboxer and rapper, formerly a member of the Roots.
Rahzel is known for an ability to sing or rap while simultaneously beatboxing, as evidenced in his performances of "Iron Man" and h ...
,
El-P
Jaime Stuart Meline (born March 2, 1975), better known by the stage name El-P (shortened from his previous stage name El Producto), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Starting his career as a member of Company Flow, he has ...
,
Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), known professionally as Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer known for his surreal, abstract, and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both ...
,
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,[Q-Tip< ...](_blank)
,
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...
,
Method Man
Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...
and
Redman,
The Diplomats
The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) were an American Hip hop music, hip hop collective formed in the summer of 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jim Jones (rapper), Jimmy Jones in Harlem, New York City. The group was originally composed of ...
,
Justice
In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
,
Mike Patton
Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock bands Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. He has also fronted and/or played with Tomahawk, The ...
,
M.I.A.,
Rye Rye
Ryeisha Rochelle Berrain (born November 25, 1990), known by her stage name Rye Rye, is an American rapper, singer, dancer and actress. Signed to N.E.E.T. Recordings, she released her first mixtape RYEot PowRR in 2011 and her anticipated debut albu ...
,
Blaqstarr,
Switch
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
,
TTC,
Lusine,
Eliot Lipp,
Glass Candy
Glass Candy was an American electronic music duo from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1996 by vocalist Ida No and producer and multi-instrumentalist Johnny Jewel. The band is part of the Italians Do It Better label. While the band's early work blends ...
,
Buraka Som Sistema,
CSS,
Boys Noize
Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter and DJ known for collaborations with artists including A$AP Rocky, Tommy Cash, and Frank Ocean (for ...
,
Bonde Do Role,
Amanda Blank,
Spank Rock
Naeem Juwan Hanks, better known by his stage name Spank Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore. He rose to fame with his 2006 album '' YoYoYoYoYo'', which was produced by former group member Alex Epton ( XXXChange). A harbinge ...
,
Girl Talk,
VHS or Beta, 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. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...
.
;Work with MF DOOM
System D-128 as a DJ and Producer made three tracks for
Viktor Vaughn VV:2, also known as
Venomous Villain The record label
Big Dada
Big Dada is a British Record label#Imprint, independent record label imprint distributed by Ninja Tune. It was started by reputed hip hop journalist Will Ashon in 1997. It is best known for marketing of prominent British hip hop artist Roots Man ...
(which has released singles and many full-length recordings on their roster, including
King Geedorah,
Bigg Jus,
Roots Manuva
Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succ ...
,
Spank Rock
Naeem Juwan Hanks, better known by his stage name Spank Rock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Baltimore. He rose to fame with his 2006 album '' YoYoYoYoYo'', which was produced by former group member Alex Epton ( XXXChange). A harbinge ...
and
Diplo
Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
) put together a 10-year retrospective DVD entitled ''Well Deep''. It contains original music videos that System D-128 has produced, directed and edited in their entirety. Including a music video for
MF DOOM / King Geedorah "The Final Hour" from the album ''
Take Me to Your Leader''. Another notable project includes making a music video for
Madvillain
Madvillain was an American hip hop supergroup formed in 2002, consisting of rapper MF Doom and producer Madlib. Their only album, '' Madvillainy'' (2004), earned critical acclaim and cult popularity, widely regarded as one of the greatest r ...
's "Shadows of Tomorrow" off of the album ''
Madvillainy
''Madvillainy'' is the only studio album by American hip-hop duo Madvillain, consisting of British-American rapper MF Doom and American record producer Madlib. It was released on March 23, 2004, by Stones Throw Records.
The album was recor ...
''. This track featured
Quasimoto and
Sun Ra
Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...
. The music video was included on the
Stones Throw 101 DVD and CD as an easter egg in the extra credit section. (To access the content, scroll to the bottom of the videos on the chalkboard; then scroll right to the blue eraser and push play.)
;Work with Bigg Jus
System D created a political "associated media" piece for
Bigg Jus, the former member of
Company Flow
Company Flow was an American hip hop trio from Brooklyn, New York City, consisting of Bigg Jus, El-P and Mr. Len.
The group was at one time associated with the independent record label Rawkus Records. Rapper/ producer El-P and DJ/producer ...
. It was entitled "Silver Back Mountain King" and released on September 11, 2004, on D-128's production company website.
;Work with Diplo
In 2004, he created a DVD to come with the first official
Diplo
Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
record "Florida" off
Big Dada
Big Dada is a British Record label#Imprint, independent record label imprint distributed by Ninja Tune. It was started by reputed hip hop journalist Will Ashon in 1997. It is best known for marketing of prominent British hip hop artist Roots Man ...
/
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by musicians Matt Black and Jonathan More, known collectively as Coldcut. The label was established as an outlet for Col ...
Records. The album was pressed twice, first with a CD and the second with a CD & DVD. Before the Diplo Florida DVD, there was another DVD that surfaced called Diplo ''Banned in Libya''. It was released by Money Studies, the first label to release a solo project by Diplo under his original DJ name Diplodocus. It was a
45 rpm record
In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standal ...
called "Thingamajawn". There is also a music video for the single, that System D-128 directed as well. It is similar to the Florida DVD ''Banned in Libya'', as it is an experimental audio and video mix of some of Diplo's music and other sources that are unknown. System D-128 also collaborated on a song with Diplo called "Blue Beards Dreams" which was later used by MF DOOM on the Viktor Vaughn release ''
Venomous Villain''. The newer version of the track was then titled "Back End". System D-128 also produced the intro and an interlude for that particular record.
System D-128 helped Diplo with the introduction of Mad Decent, the name and first conception of the company and logo was first seen on the Florida release, along with Hollertronix and
Pinniped
Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely range (biology), distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant taxon, extant families Odobenidae (whose onl ...
Science. D-128 also worked on initial aboriginal Heaps Decent promotional projects with
OBEY,
Ed Banger Records
Ed Banger Records (sometimes referred to as Ed Rec) is a French electronic music record label founded by Pedro Winter in 2003 as a division of Headbangers Entertainment. It focuses on house music, particularly French house, as well as alternati ...
,
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
,
Ableton Live
Ableton Live is a digital audio workstation for macOS and Windows developed by the German company Ableton.
In contrast to many other software sequencers, Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for compos ...
and
Scratch Live in New Zealand and Australia.
In 2008, System D-128 had a full-page article in the December ''
URB Magazine'' Issue #156. It covered numerous projects he was creatively involved in as, as well as upcoming video projects.
Discography and videography
;12-Inch 3-D Single
*(2007) ''Acid Girlzzz Bonus Beat ''
;Audio projects
* ''Deathstar 1 ''
* ''Brian Confusion ''
* ''Blue Beards Dreams feat. Diplodocus ''
* ''Back End feat. Diplo & Viktor Vaughn / MF DOOM ''
* ''Viktormizor ''
* ''Strange New Day ''
* ''Mad Decent Worldwide Radio #9 (Kill Yourself) ''
* ''Mad Decent Worldwide Radio #20 (Kill Yourself Again) ''
* ''Mad Decent Worldwide Radio #38 (Kill Yourself 3-D) ''
;
;AV projects
* ''Subterranean Videodrome DVD ''
* ''Diplo "Banned In Libya" DVD ''
* ''Diplo "Florida" DVD ''
* ''Safety 1st DVD H is for Hollertronix''
* ''White Label TV DVD ''
* ''Well Deep DVD "Video Megamix" ''
* ''On that Blue **** DVD''
* ''Mad Decent Video Podcast Series''
;
;Music videos
* ''Diplodocus - Thingamajawn''
* ''Diplo - Indian Thick Jawn''
* ''Bigg Jus - Silver Back Mountain King''
* ''Bigg Jus - Illustrations of Hieronymus Bosch''
* ''Percee P - Put It On The Line''
* ''Madvillain - Shadows of Tomorrow''
* ''King Geedorah - The Final Hour''
* ''Jon Kennedy - Demons''
* ''Ron Rico & The Letter People - Miss A''
* ''Adrian Michna - Triple Chrome Dipped''
References
External links
Official Vimeo PageSystem D-128 Press Kit
{{DEFAULTSORT:System D-128
Living people
American music video directors
VJ (video performance artists)
Year of birth missing (living people)