R u ready, for the sounds of the Artful Dodger?
They're the men behind the melodies and the beats that get bodies grooving and heads nodding all over the UK. They are Pete Devereux and Mark Hill.
It's 1996. Twice As Nice had just been born in the heart of the London but further afield in Southampton a dynamic duo is just getting started too. . .
Unlike many underground artists, Pete and Mark had been part of many scenes before they found their home in the womb of UK Garage scene.
Both university educated in music (Mark at Southampton and Pete at Brunel) the pair had a classical canon of work to their name before the bassline boys and garage groovers knew whom they were. Mark, originally from Wales, played the guitar and piano with various jazz bands and had played percussion for the Welsh Philharmonic Orchestra. Pete meanwhile had played the violin for the Southampton Youth Orchestra but took to the clubbing scene earlier, DJing to the jump up junglists and hardcore headz at the now legendary AWOL, Rage and Milk Bar sessions.
Like many UK Garage pioneers their musical projects were initially steeped in a funky melange of R&B, soulful house and US Garage, until the “London Thing” filtered throughout the UK.
As the Artful Dodger their first three tracks were put out on the aptly named Fagin Label. Their bootleg “RIPgroove”-style version of Gabrielle's Dreams, Brownstone's If You Love Me and Olive's You're Not Alone went down a storm in the underground, but when the dubby, bass heavy scene known as “Speed Garage” began to emerge they decided to infuse the sound with a melodic, R&B flava.
It's 1998. A couple of UK Garage tracks have sporadically dented the charts. Twice As Nice is getting a little road blocked. Things aren't movin too fast until . . .
On their own record label Centric, the Artful Dodger begin a prolific run of club classics; The Messenger, Something and a track entitled What Ya Gonna Do featuring a hopeful teenager with a good voice and no platform to showcase his talent. And Romina Johnson's Movin' Too Fast, which would make a commercial splash two years later.
AD signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music in June '98 and the bombastic buzz built up as a plethora of punters start to get jiggy to the sounds of the Artful Dodger. It wasn't long before Public Demand, requested them to come hither and release What Ya Gonna Do for real and it blew up like a h-bomb. The south coasters continued to make clubs walls quake with their remix of Operator & Baffled Things Are Never (XL) and Lyn Eden's Outrageous.
It's spring 1999.
Cynics had cast UK Garage aside, while Spice Girls, Kelis, Wesley Snipes, Leonardo Di Caprio and Puff Daddy were all frequenting UK Garage clubs whenever they came to London. Something is about to happen.
Public Demand release Artful Dodger's Rewind featuring Craig David. An underground classic is born. Public Demand release is on Ministry of Sound's subsidiary label Relentless and in December it charts at No. 2. Two more top ten hits follow with Romina Johnson's Movin Too Fast and Woman Trouble featuring Robbie Craig and Craig David. Boooh! Craig David's a ½ a million-selling, Artful Dodger thanking superstar. Sisqo, Gabrielle, Barbara Tucker, Shola Ama, Brand New Heavies, Lynden David Hall are a few of the people, wanting the silky strings, the polished production, the mellifluous melodies that have become the AD hallmark.
But now its time for the Artful Dodger's own opus, the ironically entitled It's All about The Stragglers. The tunes that made them in the eyes of UK Garage faithful are here, What Ya Gonna Do, Outrageous and R U Ready? with the skills of the MC Alistair, the man that got the glowstick waving Gatecrasher guerners to groove to Garage!
The tunes that got music lovers' cash flowing and launched the solo careers of club connoisseurs' Robbie Craig and Craig David, Rewind, Woman, Trouble and Movin' Too Fast are here. There are some new tracks too. The dulcet tones of Michelle Oscoffery emotively infuse the piano-perfect opening track, Think About Me. A new R&B star is born in Lifford whose soulful sound is on the new single Please Don't Turn Me On and the stand out track, the ever-groove ridden Something. A&Rs will also be hot on the heels of Nadia, chocolate smooth on I Can't Give Up and We Should Get Together. In short it's a master class in UK Garage music, yes music, not just catchy hooky, quirky samples, but mouth-watering music to set the standard. Sonic stragglers beware.
Source: http://www.warnermusic.com.au/
