Rosko
Encyclopedia
Paul Eric Bosko, also known as Rosko, is an American singer, songwriter
, musician
and producer
. He is perhaps best known as a recording artist for his 2005 single "Love Is A Drug
" which reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Chart, and was produced by John Creamer & Stephane K
. He is also known for his collaborations with Grammy Award
-Nominated Electronic/Dance artist Nadia Ali
, which include their 2006 duet "Something To Lose" for Ultra Records
, and the song "Promises" on Ali's 2009 solo album "Embers
."
projects in 2003 with New York-based DJ
/producers John Creamer & Stephane K
, and when Creamer and his club scene counterparts nicknamed him "Rosko," it eventually stuck and became his moniker as a recording and performing artist in the electronic and dance music industry.
He should not be confused with DJ
Emperor Rosko
.
Paul Bosko's musical work, ranging from folk-pop
to alternative dance
, sometimes featured DJ
/producer
Lance Jordan
in a co-producing role, and occasionally as co-writer and lead guitarist as well. Bosko and Jordan met in 2001 at a Music and Internet Expo sponsored by mp3.com
at Madison Square Garden
.
In 2003 the duo were shopping an album they made together, "Paul Bosko/Dressed To Play," when they began searching for remixers, and caught the attention of Creamer & K, who had just been named 2002 Remixers of the Year by Remix
Magazine. C & K joined the project as producers, and in 2004 the label NY Love Records was created as a vehicle for releasing their original material.
The 2005 anthem Love Is A Drug
would become his first big hit on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, going all the way to #1. The fusion of Rosko's bluesy, classic guitar-rock style, combined with the pioneering house music
grooves of the production team, is self-described as "Rock/House" (as in "rock the house," or "to infuse house music with rock and roll elements"). Rosko has cited artists like New Order
and Depeche Mode
, as well as the 70s music of Neil Young
and Fleetwood Mac
, as major influences.
"Love Is A Drug" went on to appear on several dance compilations, including Grammy Award
-winning Peter Rauhofer
's 2006 album "I Love New York." The single was followed by another Creamer and K collaboration, this time a duet with Nadia Ali
of iio
, titled "Something To Lose." The duet was signed by Ultra Records
, and championed on the UK's BBC Radio 1
by influential DJ and tastemaker Pete Tong
. Subsequently, Ultra quickly licensed the record to Roger Sanchez
's "Release Yourself vol. 5," as well as to the Global Underground
solo debut of DJ/Producer Sharam (of the Grammy Award
-winning duo Deep Dish
), titled "Dubai." Another Rosko single, "Milkbone," was released in September 2006 by Lance Jordan's own independent label, Dusk Recordings.
Rosko performed as Singer and Keyboardist in Nadia Ali
's 2006-2007 World Tour which stretched from North Africa
to Eastern Europe
and ended in Central America
. Along the way, the two shared the stage with Tiësto
, Armand Van Helden
, and John Creamer & Stephane K
, among others.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He is perhaps best known as a recording artist for his 2005 single "Love Is A Drug
Love Is a Drug
"Love Is a Drug" is the first single released by American recording artist Rosko. It was produced by John Creamer & Stephane K and Lance Jordan...
" which reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Dance Chart, and was produced by John Creamer & Stephane K
John Creamer & Stephane K
John Creamer & Stephane K are international DJs, and as a duo, a New York City-based electronic music and house music production team. They are perhaps best known for creating original dance singles as well as dance remixes for artists such as iiO, Moby, New Order, Rosko and Sinéad O'Connor.-...
. He is also known for his collaborations with Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-Nominated Electronic/Dance artist Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali is a Pakistani-American singer-songwriter, born in Libya and raised in Queens, New York. She gained attention as the frontwoman and songwriter of the band iiO, after their 2001 hit "Rapture" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted across several countries in Europe...
, which include their 2006 duet "Something To Lose" for Ultra Records
Ultra Records
Ultra Records is an American independent electronic dance music record label. Ultra was formed in New York City in 1995 by former Polygram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey, who is still currently the owner...
, and the song "Promises" on Ali's 2009 solo album "Embers
Embers (album)
Embers is the debut album of Pakistani American singer-songwriter and former iiO front-woman Nadia Ali, released on September 15, 2009 by Smile in Bed Records. The album features Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs number one single "Love Story", top 4 single "Fine Print" and top 6 single "Crash and Burn"...
."
History
Paul Bosko began collaborating on house musicHouse 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...
projects in 2003 with New York-based DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
/producers John Creamer & Stephane K
John Creamer & Stephane K
John Creamer & Stephane K are international DJs, and as a duo, a New York City-based electronic music and house music production team. They are perhaps best known for creating original dance singles as well as dance remixes for artists such as iiO, Moby, New Order, Rosko and Sinéad O'Connor.-...
, and when Creamer and his club scene counterparts nicknamed him "Rosko," it eventually stuck and became his moniker as a recording and performing artist in the electronic and dance music industry.
He should not be confused with DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Emperor Rosko
Emperor Rosko
Mike Pasternak, better known by his stage name of Emperor Rosko is a well known pop radio presenter.Born Michael Joseph Pasternak, he is the son of Hollywood film producer Joe Pasternak. He was influenced in his career choice by KYA Radio Los Angeles DJs Lord Tim Hudson and Wolfman Jack...
.
Paul Bosko's musical work, ranging from folk-pop
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
to alternative dance
Alternative dance
Alternative dance or indie dance is a musical genre that mixes rock subgenres with electronic dance music...
, sometimes featured DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
/producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Lance Jordan
Lance Jordan
Lance Jordan is an American DJ/Producer/Musician/Songwriter. He is best known for his original productions, remixes and collaborations with the likes of such artists as Rosko, Tom Geiger, Nadia Ali, Marta C., and John Creamer & Stephane K...
in a co-producing role, and occasionally as co-writer and lead guitarist as well. Bosko and Jordan met in 2001 at a Music and Internet Expo sponsored by mp3.com
MP3.com
MP3.com is a web site operated by CNET Networks providing information about digital music and artists, songs, services, community, and technologies. It is probably better known for its original incarnation, as a legal, free music-sharing service, popular with independent musicians for promoting...
at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
.
In 2003 the duo were shopping an album they made together, "Paul Bosko/Dressed To Play," when they began searching for remixers, and caught the attention of Creamer & K, who had just been named 2002 Remixers of the Year by 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 ....
Magazine. C & K joined the project as producers, and in 2004 the label NY Love Records was created as a vehicle for releasing their original material.
The 2005 anthem Love Is A Drug
Love Is a Drug
"Love Is a Drug" is the first single released by American recording artist Rosko. It was produced by John Creamer & Stephane K and Lance Jordan...
would become his first big hit on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, going all the way to #1. The fusion of Rosko's bluesy, classic guitar-rock style, combined with the pioneering house music
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...
grooves of the production team, is self-described as "Rock/House" (as in "rock the house," or "to infuse house music with rock and roll elements"). Rosko has cited artists like New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
and Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, as well as the 70s music of Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
and Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
, as major influences.
"Love Is A Drug" went on to appear on several dance compilations, including Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning Peter Rauhofer
Peter Rauhofer
Peter Rauhofer is a DJ, remixer and producer who formerly went under the moniker Club 69 as well as Size Queen. A native of Vienna, Austria, he is famous for his remixes of a number of Madonna's songs including "Nothing Really Matters", "American Life", "Nothing Fails, "Nobody Knows Me", "Get...
's 2006 album "I Love New York." The single was followed by another Creamer and K collaboration, this time a duet with Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali is a Pakistani-American singer-songwriter, born in Libya and raised in Queens, New York. She gained attention as the frontwoman and songwriter of the band iiO, after their 2001 hit "Rapture" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted across several countries in Europe...
of iio
IiO
iiO was a New York City-based house music act composed of singer-songwriter Nadia Ali and producer Markus Moser. The group gained prominence for its 2001 single "Rapture", which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Following the success of "Rapture",...
, titled "Something To Lose." The duet was signed by Ultra Records
Ultra Records
Ultra Records is an American independent electronic dance music record label. Ultra was formed in New York City in 1995 by former Polygram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey, who is still currently the owner...
, and championed on the UK's BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
by influential DJ and tastemaker Pete Tong
Pete Tong
Peter "Pete" Tong is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is known worldwide by fans of electronic music for hosting programmes such as Essential Mix and Essential Selection on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for his record label FFRR Records, and for...
. Subsequently, Ultra quickly licensed the record to Roger Sanchez
Roger Sanchez
Roger Sanchez, also known as Roger S. and The S Man, is a Grammy award-winning American House music DJ who has scored many hits in the European and World Charts...
's "Release Yourself vol. 5," as well as to the Global Underground
Global Underground
Global Underground is a music label founded in 1996 by Andy Horsfield and James Todd. The label symbolizes the international explosion of dance music during the 1990s and first manifesto for high-end DJs such as Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed, Danny Tenaglia, Nick Warren, Dave Seaman, Darren...
solo debut of DJ/Producer Sharam (of the Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning duo Deep Dish
Deep Dish
Deep Dish is a duo of DJs and house-music producers consisting of Iranian-American members Ali "Dubfire" Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi. Based in Washington, D.C., Shirazinia and Tayebi are well known for providing house or dance remixes of tracks of famous stars such as Madonna, Cher and Gabrielle,...
), titled "Dubai." Another Rosko single, "Milkbone," was released in September 2006 by Lance Jordan's own independent label, Dusk Recordings.
Rosko performed as Singer and Keyboardist in Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali is a Pakistani-American singer-songwriter, born in Libya and raised in Queens, New York. She gained attention as the frontwoman and songwriter of the band iiO, after their 2001 hit "Rapture" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also charted across several countries in Europe...
's 2006-2007 World Tour which stretched from North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
to Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and ended in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. Along the way, the two shared the stage with Tiësto
Tiësto
Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
, Armand Van Helden
Armand Van Helden
Armand Van Helden is a record producer, DJ and remixer whose biggest commercial successes came from his remixes of the 1996 Tori Amos song "Professional Widow" , which reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart in January 1997, and his own track "U Don't Know Me ", which went to number 1...
, and John Creamer & Stephane K
John Creamer & Stephane K
John Creamer & Stephane K are international DJs, and as a duo, a New York City-based electronic music and house music production team. They are perhaps best known for creating original dance singles as well as dance remixes for artists such as iiO, Moby, New Order, Rosko and Sinéad O'Connor.-...
, among others.
Selected discography
- "Dressed To Play" (Paul Bosko Album) (2001 Blue Nova Music)
- "Y4K - Past Lessons, Future Theories" (Various Artists) (2004 Distinct'ive RecordsDistinct'ive RecordsDistinct'ive Records is a record label which has hundreds of releases from artists such as Way Out West. It is also the parent label to Distinct'ive Breaks Records. Distinct'ive Records is a sublabel of Avex Trax...
) - "Love Is A Drug" (Rosko EP) (2005 NY Love Records)
- "Peter Rauhofer's I Love New York" (Various Artists) (2006 Star 69 Records)
- "Something To Lose" (Creamer & K feat. Nadia Ali and Rosko) (2006 Ultra RecordsUltra RecordsUltra Records is an American independent electronic dance music record label. Ultra was formed in New York City in 1995 by former Polygram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey, who is still currently the owner...
) - "Sharam Dubai GU 029" (Various Artists) (2006 Global UndergroundGlobal UndergroundGlobal Underground is a music label founded in 1996 by Andy Horsfield and James Todd. The label symbolizes the international explosion of dance music during the 1990s and first manifesto for high-end DJs such as Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed, Danny Tenaglia, Nick Warren, Dave Seaman, Darren...
) - "Roger SanchezRoger SanchezRoger Sanchez, also known as Roger S. and The S Man, is a Grammy award-winning American House music DJ who has scored many hits in the European and World Charts...
- Release Yourself vol. 5" (Various Artists) (2006 Stealth Records) - "Milkbone" (Rosko EP) (2006 Dusk Recordings)
- "Thirsty" (Creamer & K and Joeski feat. Rosko) (2007 NY Love Records]
- "Ultra.Summer 01" (Mixed by David Waxman) (2007 Ultra Records)
- "Out.Anthems 2" (Hosted by Jonny McGovern) (2007 Ultra Records)
- "Sink The Hook" (Jay P and D Lav feat. Rosko) (2007 Slanted House Records)
- "Get A Room" (Rosko EP feat. Creamer & K) (2009 Mynt Music Records)
- "Embers"Embers (album)Embers is the debut album of Pakistani American singer-songwriter and former iiO front-woman Nadia Ali, released on September 15, 2009 by Smile in Bed Records. The album features Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs number one single "Love Story", top 4 single "Fine Print" and top 6 single "Crash and Burn"...
(Nadia Ali Album) (2009 Smile In Bed Records) - "Queen Of Clubs/Onyx Edition"Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Onyx EditionQueens of Clubs Trilogy: Onyx Edition is the second installment in the Queen of Clubs Trilogy: The Best of Nadia Ali Remixed, a compilation of remixes of tracks by singer-songwriter Nadia Ali...
(Nadia Ali Remix Album) (2010 Smile In Bed Records)
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart