Martin Bisi

Martin Bisi
Background information
Born	1961 (age 62–63)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock Punk rock Psychedelic Electro funk
Years active	1981–present
Labels	New Alliance / SST Celluloid Black Freighter Bronson Recordings
Website	Official website

Martin Bisi (born 1961) is an American producer and songwriter. He is known for recording important records by Sonic Youth, Swans, John Zorn, Material, Bill Laswell, Helmet, Unsane, The Dresden Dolls, Cop Shoot Cop, White Zombie, Boredoms, Angels of Light, J.G. Thirlwell, and Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning song "Rockit".

Early life

Martin Bisi was born in 1961 to Argentinian parents and grew up in Manhattan. His mother was a concert pianist who specialized in Liszt and Chopin and toured extensively, and his father played tango-style piano as a hobby. As a child in the 1960s his parents sent him to a French school, gave him music lessons, and took him to performances by the New York Philharmonic and the opera, all of which he rebelled against.

Beginnings of his career

In 1979, he started B.C. Studio (initially named OAO, Operation All Out, Studio) with Bill Laswell and Brian Eno in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn, where he recorded much of the No Wave, avant garde, and hip-hop of the early 1980s including Lydia Lunch, Live Skull, Fred Frith and Afrika Bambaataa. In 1982 he recorded the instruments for the first song Whitney Houston recorded as a lead singer, "Memories" off of Material's One Down LP.
Soon after recording Herbie Hancock's "Rockit", Bisi split from Bill Laswell but continued working from BC Studio till present time, with a specialty in loud, dense sound, such as Foetus and Serena Maneesh.

Solo career

Bisi also recorded his own material
-Creole Mass (LP -1988 New Alliance/SST) with Lee Ranaldo and Fred Frith
-All Will Be Won (LP -1992 New Alliance/SST)
-See Ya in Tiajuana (EP -1994 New Alliance/SST)
-Dear Papi I'm in Jail (EP -1996 New Alliance/SST)
-Milkyway of Love (LP -1999 Stripmine)
-Sirens of the Apocalypse (LP -2008 Labelship, Black Freighter)
-Son of a Gun (EP -2010 Contraphonic, Black Freighter) with Bill Laswell, Brian Viglione of The Dresden Dolls and Bob D'Amico of Sebadoh
-Ex Nihilo (LP -2014 Labelship, Black Freighter)
-Solstice (LP -2019 Bronson Recordings)
2009 saw Bisi's first extensive touring, both in the US and Europe.
In 2014 he toured in support of a feature-length documentary about BC Studio, Sound & Chaos: "The Story Of BC Studio", directed by Sara Leavitt and Ryan Douglass.
In January 2016, Bisi celebrated the 35 year anniversary of his BC Studio with a weekend of performances by close to 50 musicians who'd worked there over the decades. These were recorded and then worked into an album called BC35, released on April 20, 2018 on Bronson Recordings.
More material from the 35 year anniversary sessions was released as BC35 Volume Two in April 2019
Bisi continues to tour in support of BC35 with his band, called Martin Bisi band, which involves a revolving cast of musicians

External links

• Martin Bisi's official website
• BC35 official website
• official website of Sound & Chaos: The Story Of BC Studio documentary
• Martin Bisi on YouTube
• Martin Bisi on Facebook
• Martin Bisi on Twitter