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Martin Bisi

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Martin Bisi
Background information
Born1961 (age 62–63)
OriginBrooklyn, New York, USA
GenresAlternative rock
Punk rock
psychedelic
Electro funk
Years active1981–present
LabelsNew Alliance / SST
Celluloid
Black Freighter [1]
Bronson Recordings [2]
WebsiteOfficial 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.[1]

Beginnings of his career

In 1979, he started B.C. Studio (initially named OAO, Operation All Out) Studio [3]) with Bill Laswell and Brian Eno in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn,[4] 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 Bambaata. 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

Starting with a solo record in 1988 - Creole Mass (New Alliance/SST) - Bisi also recorded his own material. Other solo works were All Will Be Won (LP -1992), See Ya in Tiajuana (EP -1994), Dear Papi I'm in Jail (EP -1996), Milkyway of Love (LP -1999), and more recently, Sirens of the Apocalypse (full-length -2008), Son of a Gun (EP -2010) with Bill Laswell, Brian Viglione of The Dresden Dolls and Bob D'Amico of Sebadoh, and Ex Nihilo (LP -2014).
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, which was released on April 20, 2018 on Bronson Recordings.
Bisi continues to tour in support of BC35 with his band, called Martin Bisi band, which involves a revolving cast of musicians

References

  1. ^ Discogs - Black Freighter discography
  2. ^ https://bronsonrecordings.bandcamp.com
  3. ^ Discogs - BC Studio profile (and discography)
  4. ^ Discogs - Martin Bisi profile (and discography)
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