NASHVILLE |NOVEMBER 6, 2006
FR: ALEXANDRA GREENBERG/MSO
JC CHAMBOREDON/MILAN RECORDS
U.K. AVANT-GARDE MUSIC PIONEERS 4HERO RETURN
AFTER SIX-YEAR HIATUS WITH
‘PLAY WITH THE CHANGES’ FEBRUARY 27 ON MILAN RECORDS
NEW ALBUM FEATURES COLLABORATIONS WITH JODY WATLEY, URSULA RUCKER, DARIEN BROCKINGTON & PHONTE OF LITTLE BROTHER, JACK DAVEY AND MORE
CARINA ANDERSSON RETURNS FOR FIRST SINGLE “MORNING CHILD”
As pioneers of jungle and drum n bass, 4HERO massively changed the face of modern music and made a huge contribution to dance culture. Forging ahead with fresh beats and techniques on their new album PLAY WITH THE CHANGES, due out February 27, 2007 on Milan Records, the London-based duo of Dennis “Dego” McFarlane and Mark “Marc Mac” Clair have crafted a genre-crossing stream of precious sonic moments entirely their own.
Play With The Changes marks 4hero’s first album in six years in a prolific career that has gained critical acclaim, a Mercury Prize nomination (1998’s Two Pages), MOBO award and widespread respect from the music industry. It is 4hero’s duality of approach, which makes them truly a cut above the rest. Influenced by underground techno as much as by Chicago soul, their music is a synthesis of past and future, artificial and organic, strange and familiar.
Their new work is a richly textured and musically complex album. It features a role call of superior vocalists of the quality one has come to expect from 4hero, including the return of previous collaborator Carina Andersson on the first single “Morning Child,” whose contribution to 'Les Fleur' from 2001’s Creating Patterns made it a straight-up masterpiece. FACE, who appeared on “Star Chasers” from 4hero’s Mercury Prize-winning Two Pages, returns for “Look Inside” and “Stoke Up The Fire.” Poetess extraordinaire Ursula Rucker lends her lyrical wisdom to “The Awakening.”
New alliances have also been formed on Play With The Changes. Grammy Award-winning soul icon Jody Watley makes a special appearance on “Bed of Roses.” Hotly-tipped Angeleno’s Jack Davey (J*DaVeY) appear on “Take My Time.” Darien Brockington and Phonte of Little Brother contribute to “Give In.” And Larry Mizell–who has written and produced for the Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye and countless others–join Talita Long amongst a host of new evolving talent for the album on the title track. Bembe Segue & Kaidi Taitham (“Something In The Way”), Terry Devos (“Superwoman [Where Were You When I Needed You?]”) and Lady Alma (“Sink Or Swim,” “Gonna Give It Up [Wanna Quit]”) also make appearances.
Suffused with a love of black music history (think Roy Ayers, Rotary Connection, Sun Ra, Minnie Riperton, Afrika Bambaataa) and technical innovation, 4hero’s unique brand of alchemy has given us genre-defining albums and breakthrough anthems which stand out as milestones in the history of dance music. After releasing the early rave classic “Mr Kirk’s Nightmare,” they established Reinforced Records and unleashed Goldie onto the world, as well as material by Doc Scott, Photek, Peshay and Grooverider.
Parallel Universe set a precedent for successive drum and bass long players and was labelled NME album of the year upon it’s release in 1995. Two Pages, their critically-acclaimed sophomore album for Talkin' Loud, followed in 1998. Their last album, 2001’s Creating Patterns, explored more acoustic sounds and featured Jill Scott, soul-folk legend Terry Callier and 60's psychedelic poet Mark Murphy. All the while, 4hero continued to work with some of the great voices of soul, setting new standards as remixers. Their stunning reinterpretation of “Black Gold of the Sun” caused Louie Vega to label it "…one of the best remixes ever…"
Using various pseudonyms–more recently Visioneers and DKD–and through their own labels, (Reinforced, Raw Canvas, 2000black, Omniverse and Twisted Funk), Marc Mac and Dego continue to venture into hitherto-unknown musical fields, create sounds that no one else has imagined and work with diverse and talented musicians, poets and singers. Their pedigree is beyond dispute and their music has always had a much deeper significance than simply moving the crowd.
TRACKLISTING
1. Morning Child – feat. Carina Andersson
2. Take My Time – feat. Jack Davey
3. Look Inside – feat. FACE
4. Sink Or Swim (No Choice For Me) – feat. Lady Alma
5. Give In – feat. Darien Brockington & Phonte of Little Brother
6. Play With The Changes – feat. Talita Long & Larry Mizell
7. Something In the Way – feat. Bembe Segue & Kaidi Taitham
8. Stoke Up The Fire – feat. FACE
9. The Awakening – feat. Ursula Rucker
10. Sophia
11. Superwoman(Where Were You When I Needed You?) – feat. Terry Devos
12. Why Don’t You Talk?
13. Bed Of Roses – feat. Jody Watley
14. Gonna Give It Up (Wanna Quit) – feat. Lady Alma
15. Dedication To The Horse
Play With The Changes, the new album from 4hero,
will be released in North America February 27, 2007 through Milan Records.
# # #
For more information on 4hero, contact:
Alexandra Greenberg/MSO
818-380-0400 x223, agreenberg@msopr.com
JC Chamboredon/Milan Records
818-953-7815, jc.chamboredon@milanrecords.com
http://
U.K. AVANT-GARDE MUSIC PIONEERS 4HERO RETURN AFTER SIX-YEAR HIATUS WITH ‘PLAY WITH THE CHANGES’ FEBRUARY 27 ON MILAN RECORDS. NEW ALBUM FEATURES COLLABORATIONS WITH JODY WATLEY, URSULA RUCKER, DARIEN BROCKINGTON & PHONTE OF LITTLE BROTHER, JACK DAVEY AND MORECARINA ANDERSSON RETURNS FOR FIRST SINGLE “MORNING CHILD”.
