4 Hero
Encyclopedia
4hero are an electronic music
band
from Dollis Hill
, northwest London
, comprising producers Mark "Marc Mac" Clair & Dennis "Dego" McFarlane. While the band is often cited as "4 Hero" or "4-Hero", the name is presented as "4hero" on their own album
s and website
s.
4hero are known as early pioneers of breakbeat hardcore
and drum and bass
music, and the group obtained a Mercury Music Prize nomination for their 1998 album Two Pages
. More recently, on their 2007 album, Play with the Changes, 4hero has experimented with downtempo
and Nu jazz
. Marc Mac and Dego continue to produce music as 4hero as well as a variety of other aliases they've developed over the years.
house
and techno
, and has progressed to breakbeat hardcore
, oldschool jungle
, and drum 'n' bass. Comparisons have been drawn between them and East London band Shut Up And Dance
, with both bands evolving in the early 1990s as a rapprochement between the breakbeat-driven African-diasporic musical structures of hip-hop and reggae, and the dark, European reconstruction of the techno sound popularised by the likes of Joey Beltram
, CJ Bolland and Mundo Muzique. 4hero both embraced the dynamics of populist rave culture, and maintained an avant-garde status as innovative and experimental producers. They trailblazed genre-crossing studio techniques such as timestretching
and pitch-shifting.
station. Marc Mac and Gus "Reinforced Gus" Lawrence set up Reinforced Records in 1989 to release their own productions as 4hero, with the group being completed by Dego and Ian "Da Rebel" Bardouille. Their first release was the 1990 single "All B 3 / Rising Son".
The follow-up EP
, Combat Dancin, underpinned the sub-bass pressure of the bleep 'n' bass artists associated with Sheffield's Warp Records
, such as LFO and Nightmares on Wax
, with mid-tempo hip-hop-style breakbeat
s. It also brought the group to the attention of the rave
community due to the track "Mr Kirk's Nightmare", which pivoted around the "Get Into Something" break (taken from the Isley Brothers) and a morbid vocal
sample
("Mr Kirk? Your son is dead. He died of an overdose.") taken from the Bobby Susser
, anti-drug hit "Once You Understand" by Think
. 4hero were among the first proponents of what would become known as "drum and bass
", which began to grow in profile via a series of releases on Reinforced.
Another drum and bass figurehead, Goldie
, met 4hero at a performance in London's Astoria. Marc and Dego went on to collaborate with Goldie and bring the sounds he envisioned to life, forming the Rufige Cru and MetalHeadz monikers.
The band's debut album, In Rough Territory was released in 1991 on Reinforced Records. This would be the only one of the group's albums to feature Reinforced Gus and Da Rebel as full members, with future releases being created by Marc Mac and Dego either together or in parallel.
voted 4hero's second album Parallel Universe the album of the year in its dance category. In 1997 one of their tracks, a remix
of Nuyorican Soul
's "Black Gold of the Sun", was released to critical acclaim with Louie Vega himself describing it as "...one of the best remixes ever...".
The next year, 4hero rose again to mainstream visibility with their third studio album as 4hero, Two Pages
(1998). Released on Gilles Peterson
's Talkin' Loud
record label, the double
CD
blended jazzy double bass, flowing breakbeats and a brew of mysticism
, spiritualism
, astrology
, U.F.O.s, and environmentalism
. Luke Parkhouse provided the drums while Ursula Rucker
, Carol Crosby and Face V. Walsh provided vocals alongside veteran singer Terry Callier and a few other special guests. The album gained critical acclaim and a place on the shortlist for 1998's Mercury Music Prize as well as picking up a MOBO award in the same year.
(2001) featured another Ursula Rucker
collaboration, an appearance from Jill Scott
, and a cover of Minnie Riperton
's classic 1970s song Les Fleur with Carina Andersson
as the lead vocalist. The latter was featured in a Baileys
commercial in 2004, Top Gear
Series 4 episode 6 (also in 2004), and in a 2005 Stycast.
In 2004 the group released a compilation album
consisting of two discs. The first disc contained 4hero Remixes, while the tracks on disc 2 are remixes of 4hero tracks by other artists. This was released on their new label Raw Canvas. In 2006, 4hero was featured on the track, "Bed of Roses" by Jody Watley, on her album, The Makeover
.
Six years after the release of Creating Patterns, Play with the Changes
was released in February 2007 to great critical acclaim. Mixmag
described it as "their finest album to date" and awarded it the title of Album of the Month in its January 2007 issue.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
from Dollis Hill
Dollis Hill
Dollis Hill is an area of north-west London. It lies close to Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent. As a result, Dollis Hill is sometimes referred as being part of Willesden, especially by the national press...
, northwest London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, comprising producers Mark "Marc Mac" Clair & Dennis "Dego" McFarlane. While the band is often cited as "4 Hero" or "4-Hero", the name is presented as "4hero" on their own album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s and website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s.
4hero are known as early pioneers of breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore is a derivative of the acid house and techno, of the late 1980s and early 1990s, that combines four-to-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats, and is associated with the UK rave scene.-The rave scene:...
and drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
music, and the group obtained a Mercury Music Prize nomination for their 1998 album Two Pages
Two Pages
Two Pages is an album by the English band 4hero, which was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 1998 . Many cite it as very influential on the broken beat sound emerging around this time....
. More recently, on their 2007 album, Play with the Changes, 4hero has experimented with downtempo
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
and Nu jazz
Nu jazz
Nu jazz is an umbrella term coined in the late 1990s to refer to music that blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, soul, electronic dance music, and free improvisation...
. Marc Mac and Dego continue to produce music as 4hero as well as a variety of other aliases they've developed over the years.
Style
4hero's style was initially uptempo breakbeatBreakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, and has progressed to breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore is a derivative of the acid house and techno, of the late 1980s and early 1990s, that combines four-to-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats, and is associated with the UK rave scene.-The rave scene:...
, oldschool jungle
Oldschool jungle
Jungle is a genre of electronic music that incorporates influences from genres including breakbeat hardcore, and reggae/dub/dancehall. There is debate as to whether jungle is a separate genre from drum and bass as many use the terms interchangeably...
, and drum 'n' bass. Comparisons have been drawn between them and East London band Shut Up And Dance
Shut Up And Dance
Shut Up and Dance are an English music duo that fused hip hop, house and hardcore, and are best known for their single "Raving I'm Raving", which reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1992.-Career:...
, with both bands evolving in the early 1990s as a rapprochement between the breakbeat-driven African-diasporic musical structures of hip-hop and reggae, and the dark, European reconstruction of the techno sound popularised by the likes of Joey Beltram
Joey Beltram
Joey Beltram is an American DJ and record producer, best-known for the pioneering recordings "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm"....
, CJ Bolland and Mundo Muzique. 4hero both embraced the dynamics of populist rave culture, and maintained an avant-garde status as innovative and experimental producers. They trailblazed genre-crossing studio techniques such as timestretching
Audio timescale-pitch modification
Time stretching is the process of changing the speed or duration of an audio signal without affecting its pitch.Pitch scaling or pitch shifting is the opposite: the process of changing the pitch without affecting the speed...
and pitch-shifting.
Early output
The main players in 4hero first met and came to prominence in the late 1980s when they were involved in the Strong Island FM pirate radioPirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
station. Marc Mac and Gus "Reinforced Gus" Lawrence set up Reinforced Records in 1989 to release their own productions as 4hero, with the group being completed by Dego and Ian "Da Rebel" Bardouille. Their first release was the 1990 single "All B 3 / Rising Son".
The follow-up EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Combat Dancin, underpinned the sub-bass pressure of the bleep 'n' bass artists associated with Sheffield's Warp Records
Warp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....
, such as LFO and Nightmares on Wax
Nightmares on Wax
George Evelyn, better known as Nightmares on Wax and also known as DJ EASE , is a DJ from Leeds, UK. His music is released on Warp Records and was one of the first releases on the label. Evelyn got his start in the music industry through an interest in hip hop and on joining a local breakdancing crew...
, with mid-tempo hip-hop-style breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
s. It also brought the group to the attention of the rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
community due to the track "Mr Kirk's Nightmare", which pivoted around the "Get Into Something" break (taken from the Isley Brothers) and a morbid vocal
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
("Mr Kirk? Your son is dead. He died of an overdose.") taken from the Bobby Susser
Bobby Susser
Bobby Susser , and also known as Bob Susser, is a multi-award winning, American songwriter, record producer, and performer, best known for his young children's music...
, anti-drug hit "Once You Understand" by Think
Think (band)
Think was a studio group put together by producers and songwriters Lou Stallman and Bobby Susser in 1971. The group released a single, "Once You Understand", on Laurie Records which included a spoken dialogue between male and female teenagers and their parents regarding a youth overdose. The single...
. 4hero were among the first proponents of what would become known as "drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
", which began to grow in profile via a series of releases on Reinforced.
Another drum and bass figurehead, Goldie
Goldie
Clifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie is an English electronic music artist, disc jockey, visual artist and actor. He is well known for his innovations in the jungle and drum and bass music genres, having previously gained exposure for his work as a graffiti artist...
, met 4hero at a performance in London's Astoria. Marc and Dego went on to collaborate with Goldie and bring the sounds he envisioned to life, forming the Rufige Cru and MetalHeadz monikers.
The band's debut album, In Rough Territory was released in 1991 on Reinforced Records. This would be the only one of the group's albums to feature Reinforced Gus and Da Rebel as full members, with future releases being created by Marc Mac and Dego either together or in parallel.
1995-1999 releases
In 1995 NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
voted 4hero's second album Parallel Universe the album of the year in its dance category. In 1997 one of their tracks, a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of Nuyorican Soul
Masters At Work
Masters at Work is the house/garage production and remix team of "Little" Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. They first worked together using the name, which had been given to them by mutual friend Todd Terry , in 1990...
's "Black Gold of the Sun", was released to critical acclaim with Louie Vega himself describing it as "...one of the best remixes ever...".
The next year, 4hero rose again to mainstream visibility with their third studio album as 4hero, Two Pages
Two Pages
Two Pages is an album by the English band 4hero, which was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 1998 . Many cite it as very influential on the broken beat sound emerging around this time....
(1998). Released on Gilles Peterson
Gilles Peterson
Gilles Peterson , is a DJ, record collector and record label owner from London, UK. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated with the careers of well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu, Roni Size and Jamiroquai...
's Talkin' Loud
Talkin' Loud
Talkin' Loud is a record label started by Gilles Peterson at Phonogram in 1990 after he left Acid Jazz Records. The label name is based on Peterson's club night "Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Something", itself a reference to James Brown and Bobby Byrd's "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing".The first...
record label, the double
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
blended jazzy double bass, flowing breakbeats and a brew of mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, spiritualism
Spiritualism
Spiritualism is a belief system or religion, postulating the belief that spirits of the dead residing in the spirit world have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living...
, astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, U.F.O.s, and environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
. Luke Parkhouse provided the drums while Ursula Rucker
Ursula Rucker
Ursula Rucker is an American spoken word recording artist. Rucker is known for a diverse repertoire, and for utilizing techniques that catch her listeners' attention.-Biography:...
, Carol Crosby and Face V. Walsh provided vocals alongside veteran singer Terry Callier and a few other special guests. The album gained critical acclaim and a place on the shortlist for 1998's Mercury Music Prize as well as picking up a MOBO award in the same year.
2000-present releases
4hero's fourth album Creating PatternsCreating Patterns
Creating Patterns is the fourth studio album by the British group 4hero. The album demonstrated a change in direction for the band, with more of a focus on nu-jazz and broken beat styles and less use of the drum and bass style found in the earlier work....
(2001) featured another Ursula Rucker
Ursula Rucker
Ursula Rucker is an American spoken word recording artist. Rucker is known for a diverse repertoire, and for utilizing techniques that catch her listeners' attention.-Biography:...
collaboration, an appearance from Jill Scott
Jill Scott
Jill Scott is an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter, poet, and actress. In 2007, Scott made her cinematic debut in the films Hounddog and in Tyler Perry's feature film, Why Did I Get Married? That year, her third studio album, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3, was released on...
, and a cover of Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...
's classic 1970s song Les Fleur with Carina Andersson
Carina Andersson
Carina Andersson is a female soprano. She was the lead vocalist on 4hero's remake of Minnie Riperton's hit Les Fleur as well as their single, Morning Child.- References :...
as the lead vocalist. The latter was featured in a Baileys
Baileys Irish Cream
Baileys Irish Cream is an Irish whiskey and cream based liqueur, made by Gilbeys of Ireland. The trademark is currently owned by Diageo. It has a declared alcohol content of 17% alcohol by volume...
commercial in 2004, Top Gear
Top Gear (series 4)
The fourth series of Top Gear began on May 9, 2004, and concluded on August 1, 2004. The series contained 10 episodes. The series was subsequently followed by one "Best Of Top Gear" special, charting the best moments from the series, and "Stars In Fast Cars", a Sport Relief charity special, which...
Series 4 episode 6 (also in 2004), and in a 2005 Stycast.
In 2004 the group released a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
consisting of two discs. The first disc contained 4hero Remixes, while the tracks on disc 2 are remixes of 4hero tracks by other artists. This was released on their new label Raw Canvas. In 2006, 4hero was featured on the track, "Bed of Roses" by Jody Watley, on her album, The Makeover
The Makeover
The Makeover is singer Jody Watley's ninth studio album. Watley recruited a diverse group of contemporary dance and electronica producers for the project, among them King Britt, 4hero and DJ Spinna. The album's vintage aesthetic, which saw her take the old and remake it as new, was likely foretold...
.
Six years after the release of Creating Patterns, Play with the Changes
Play with the Changes
Play with the Changes is the fifth studio album by the British drum and bass group 4hero.-Track listing:# "Morning Child" – 4:36# "Take My Time" – 4:07# "Look Inside" – 4:06# "Sink or Swim " – 3:50# "Give In" – 4:52...
was released in February 2007 to great critical acclaim. Mixmag
Mixmag
Mixmag is a British dance music and clubbing magazine. It styles itself as "the world's biggest selling dance music magazine", with an Audit Bureau of Circulations audited circulation of approximately 21,250...
described it as "their finest album to date" and awarded it the title of Album of the Month in its January 2007 issue.
Radio
4hero had a show on Sunday nights on Kiss 100 FM 1am to 3am called R Solutions, which ran from 1998 to 2001.Albums
- In Rough Territory (Reinforced Records, 1991)
- Parallel Universe (Reinforced Records, 1995)
- Two PagesTwo PagesTwo Pages is an album by the English band 4hero, which was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 1998 . Many cite it as very influential on the broken beat sound emerging around this time....
(Talkin' Loud, 1998) - Two Pages RemixedTwo Pages RemixedTwo Pages Remixed is a remix album by 4hero, released only in Japan in 1998. The album contains tracks from their previous album Two Pages remixed by other artists...
(Mercury Records, 1998) - Two Pages ReinterpretationsTwo Pages ReinterpretationsTwo Pages Reinterpretations is a remix album by 4hero, released in 1999. The album contains tracks from their previous album Two Pages, remixed by other artists, however was preceded by the Japanese-only release Two Pages Remixed featuring many of the same tracks.- Track listing :# "Planetaria" –...
(Talkin' Loud, 1999) - Creating PatternsCreating PatternsCreating Patterns is the fourth studio album by the British group 4hero. The album demonstrated a change in direction for the band, with more of a focus on nu-jazz and broken beat styles and less use of the drum and bass style found in the earlier work....
(Talkin' Loud, 2001) - The Remix Album (Raw Canvas Records, 2004)
- Brazilika (2006)
- Play with the ChangesPlay with the ChangesPlay with the Changes is the fifth studio album by the British drum and bass group 4hero.-Track listing:# "Morning Child" – 4:36# "Take My Time" – 4:07# "Look Inside" – 4:06# "Sink or Swim " – 3:50# "Give In" – 4:52...
(Raw Canvas Records, 2007) - Extensions (Raw Canvas Records, 2009)
Singles & EPs (selected)
- "All B 3/Rising Son" (Reinforced Records, 1990)
- "Combat Dancin'" (Reinforced Records, 1990)
- "The Scorcher/Kirk's Back" (Reinforced Records, 1990)
- "No Sleep Raver/Marimba" (Reinforced Records, 1991)
- "The Head Hunter" (Reinforced Records, 1991)
- "Cookin Up Ya Brain/Where's the Boy?" (Reinforced Records, 1992)
- "Better Place (U.S. Hause Remixes)" (Reinforced Records, 1993)
- "Journey from the Light" (Reinforced Records, 1993)
- "Golden Age" (Reinforced Records, 1993)
- "Universal Love EP" (Selector, 1995)
- "Earth Pioneers" (Talkin' Loud/Mercury Records, 1997)
- "Loveless" (Talkin' Loud, 1997)
- "Star Chasers" (Talkin' Loud, 1998)
- "We Who Are Not as Others" (Talkin' Loud, 1998)
- "Escape That" (Talkin' Loud/Mercury, 1999)
- "Les Fleur" (Talkin' Loud, 2001)
- "Morning Child" (Raw Canvas Records, 2007)
- "Look Inside" (featuring Face) (Raw Canvas Records, 2008)