Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ,

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 ...

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 ...

er in the genre of

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

. His productions helped define the New York house scene in the 1990s and used extensive samples that blend the sounds of classic

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

, the Chicago house sound, and elements of

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

.Bush, Joh
Todd Terry Biography

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, retrieved July 2, 2011 He has remixed a wide variety of artists.

Musical career

Todd Terry was influential in moving house music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crossed the sounds of house with

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

breaks to create a more energized and popular sound that was able to reach commercial success outside the underground house scene. His productions extensively used samples that blend the sounds of classic

, the Chicago house sound, and elements of hip-hop.Bush, Joh
Todd Terry Biography

, retrieved July 2, 2011 Terry began his career in the 1980s, DJing at parties in New York. At first, he played Italo disco and hip-hop. Later he concentrated on house music upon its mid-'80s emergence.Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music'', Virgin Books; , p. 337 He debuted as Masters at Work with the 12-inch "Alright Alright" (1987, Fourth Floor)Discogs:Masters at Work (Todd Terry):Alright Alright
,

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

; retrieved July 30, 2013 and an edit from this was then included on the Chicago house vanguard compilation ''Jackmaster 1'' (1987, D.J. International/Westside UK).Discogs:V/A:Jackmaster
,

; retrieved July 30, 2013. Much of Terry's early work in the late 1980s is considered a milestone in the development of house and rave music. He was responsible for releasing two of the house era's most respected crossover remixes: " I'll House You" by the Jungle Brothers (summer 1988) and " Missing" by Everything but the Girl as a re-release in October 1995. His music was a driving force within 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 ...

" scene in the UK with many tracks such as "Back to the Beat", "Can You Party", "A Day in the Life", " Weekend", "Party People", "Yeah, Buddy" and "Dreams of Santa-Anna", released under multiple aliases including the Todd Terry Project, Royal House, Black Riot, Swan Lake and Orange Lemon. In the summer of 1988 at the peak of the UK acid house movement, "Can You Party" under his Royal House moniker reached No. 14 in the UK. Terry's notable releases during the 1990s include " Something Goin' On" and " Keep on Jumpin'", which were UK top-ten hits,Tod Terry
, Chart Stats; retrieved 2011-0702Todd Terry Featuring Martha Wash And Jocelyn Brown
, Chart Stats; retrieved July 2, 2011. with the

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

on both provided by Jocelyn Brown and Martha Wash. Freestyle artist Shannon was the featured vocalist on the UK top 20 hit " It's Over Love" in 1997, which topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Dance/Club Play Songs chart in the US, as did " Just Wanna Dance / Weekend"." Todd Terry Chart History: Singles, Billboard.com; retrieved July 2, 2011.Todd Terry Presents Shannon
, Chart Stats; retrieved July 2, 2011. An album, '' Ready for a New Day'', was also released in 1997, featuring "Something Goin' On", "Keep on Jumpin'" and "It's Over Love". It reached No. 84 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. In 1996, he remixed " Stranger in Moscow" for

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. In 1999, inspired by the drum & bass genre, Terry released ''Resolutions'' on Astralwerks Records. He also worked on the albums '' One Half of a Whole Decade'' and '' Live & Remastered''. Throughout his career, Terry has used several aliases including Hard House, Swan Lake, Orange Lemon, Royal House, and Black Riot.Kogan, Frank (1989)
The Todd Terry Project ''To The Batmobile Let's Go''
, '' SPIN'', April 1989, p. 110; retrieved July 2, 2011 As Black Riot, "Warlock/A Day in the Life" was released as a single on the Champion label and entered the UK Singles Chart on December 3, 1988, reaching a peak position of number 68. He also recorded under the monikers CLS, Masters at Work (with Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez and "Little" Louie Vega), Dredd Stock, House of Gypsies, Limelife, Tyme Forse, and the Gypsymen (scoring a number-one ''Billboard'' Hot Dance/Club play hit in 1992 with " Hear the Music"). Terry co-produced the song "Shake" on P.M. Dawn's debut album '' Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience''. The song ended with the repeated lyric "Everyone thank Todd Terry". He also produced "The House of Isis" from

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

' 1990 album ''Rebel Soul''. In October 2004, "Weekend" by the Todd Terry Project appeared in the

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

'' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', playing on house music radio station SF-UR. In 2007, Terry formed the Todd Terry All Stars, bringing Kenny Dope, DJ Sneak and Terry Hunter together to release the single "Get Down" featuring and co-written by Tara McDonald. The follow-up, "Play On", also featured McDonald and was released in 2007 on Strictly Rhythm/

Defected Records Defected Records, or simply Defected, is a British independent record label specialising in house music recordings, compilation albums, events, publishing, artist bookings and management. Defected is one of the longest running independent lab ...

and then re-released in 2009 with a remix by Eddie Thoneick.

Record labels

InHouse Records was launched by Terry in 1999. It has been the vehicle through which Todd is able to release tracks to his fans without a filter. Currently, Inhouse has over 500 commercially available tracks in the catalog including releases by House of Gypsies, Roland Clark, Shawnee Taylor, Kelly Sajda, Gypsymen, Black Riot, Leon Cormack, Lewis Beck, DJ E-Clyps and Todd Terry All Stars. In 2000, Terry launched SoundDesign Records, the home to some of the harder tracks and artists he is working with, including releases from Danny Genius, Space Kadets, and Friscia and Lamboy. In 2013, Terry released the album ''Todd Terry vs. That Trap Shitt'' on Tommy Boy Entertainment.

Discography

;Selected discography * ''Can You Party'' (Royal House) (1988) * '' To the Batmobile Let's Go'' (The Todd Terry Project) (1988) * ''Come Over Here, Baby'' (Royal House) (1990) * ''This Will Be Mine'' (Todd Terry Presents Sax) (1991) * ''Todd Terry Project'' (The Todd Terry Project) (1992) * ''Todd Terry Presents Sound Design Part II'' (Sound Design) (1992) * Jumpin' (1994) * ''A Day in the Life of Todd Terry'' (1995) * '' One Half of a Whole Decade'' (DJ mix) (1996) * '' Ready for a New Day'' (1997) * '' Sessions Eight'' (DJ mix) (1997) * ''Resolutions'' (1999) * ''Culturistic'' (Gypsymen, 2003) * '' Live & Remastered'' (DJ mix) (2011)

'' DJ Magazine'' Top 100 DJs

References

External links