The Herbaliser
Encyclopedia
The Herbaliser is a jazz rap
band formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba (Born Oliver Laurance Trattles) London
, England
during the early 1990s. Although currently signed to !K7 Records, they were one of the best-known acts from the Ninja Tune
independent record label
. They have released 8 LPs, including two DJ
mixes: one for Ninja Tune's Solid Steel
series and the other for Fabric's
Live Mix series. The Herbaliser's album Same As It Never Was
was their first release on !K7 Records. Their latest album, Herbal Tonic was released in June 2010.
Ollie Teeba has also recorded solo tracks as Kid Teeba and alongside Jonny Cuba of Dynamic Syncopation, under the band name The Process.
Jake Wherry has also recorded solo tracks as The Meateaters, released on the Parisian Big Cheese label, and has worked with The Propheteers.
, and through him became aware of the Ninja Tune
label. Ollie Teeba, (real name Ollie Trattles) began DJing at 15 and played his first live sets to London audiences a year later.
Wherry and Teeba met years later at Wherry's Traintrax studio, and began recording together, collaborating with DJ Malachi, Kaidi Tatham of Bugz in the Attic
and Ralph Lamb of Easy Access Orchestra. They developed a jazzy instrumental style of hip hop, due to an absence of available rappers. They passed their recordings on to Ninja Tune bosses Matt Black and Jonathan More of Coldcut
and were signed shortly thereafter.
Inspired by the funk bands of previous decades, rather than performing simply with turntables, Jake Wherry decided to take a seven piece band on tour, which included Tatham, Lamb, Andrew Ross, Micah Moody Jnr and percussionist Patrick Dawes.
As they progressed, they gained access to guest vocalists for appearances on their records, including What? What? (aka Jean Grae
), Roots Manuva
, MF Doom
, Seaming To, Rakaa Iriscience of Dilated Peoples
, Blade
, Phi Life Cypher
, Bahamadia
Dream Warriors
and Insight
.
The pair were subsequently employed to produce music for the likes of Motorola
, the soundtracks to Guy Ritchie
's Snatch
and the PlayStation 2
game Tony Hawk's Underground
. They were also commissioned to write the theme for ESPN
's primetime NFL show Sunday Night Football
.
The group have also provided production for artists including T Love, Princess Superstar
and remixes for artists including DJ Food
, Raw Stylus
, Push Button Objects
, Jaffa and label-mates Coldcut's "Atomic Moog", which reached number one on the UK singles chart.
The band has just released its second live band album, Session Two. This was recorded at The Easy Access Orchestra's studio and mixed at Jake's Train Trax Studio.
Jazz rap
Jazz rap is a sub-genre of hip hop which incorporates jazz influences, developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The lyrics are often based on political consciousness, Afrocentricity, and general positivism...
band formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba (Born Oliver Laurance Trattles) 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
during the early 1990s. Although currently signed to !K7 Records, they were one of the best-known acts from the Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...
independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
. They have released 8 LPs, including two 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...
mixes: one for Ninja Tune's Solid Steel
Solid Steel
Solid Steel is the name of a series of DJ mix albums issued on Ninja Tune independent record label in the UK.Solid Steel also has a radio station webcast and related live concerts which further showcase the DJing talents of such artists....
series and the other for Fabric's
Fabric (club)
Fabric is a nightclub in London, United Kingdom. It was voted number 1 in DJ Magazine's "Top 100 Clubs in the World" poll in 2007 and number 2 in 2008, 2009 and 2010...
Live Mix series. The Herbaliser's album Same As It Never Was
Same As It Never Was (album)
Same As It Never Was is the 7th studio album released by The Herbaliser, released in 2008.- Track listing :# "Same As It Never Was" – 3:39# "On Your Knees" – 4:12# "Just Won't Stop" Same As It Never Was is the 7th studio album released by The Herbaliser, released in 2008.- Track listing :# "Same...
was their first release on !K7 Records. Their latest album, Herbal Tonic was released in June 2010.
Ollie Teeba has also recorded solo tracks as Kid Teeba and alongside Jonny Cuba of Dynamic Syncopation, under the band name The Process.
Jake Wherry has also recorded solo tracks as The Meateaters, released on the Parisian Big Cheese label, and has worked with The Propheteers.
History
Jake Wherry grew up in South West London and played guitar and bass in a number of jazz, funk and rock bands in his teenage years. During this time, he met Patrick Carpenter aka PC, later one of the DJs behind DJ FoodDJ Food
Originally produced by Coldcut on the Ninja Tune independent record label, the DJ Food project started in 1990 on the premise of providing metaphorical "food for DJs". DJ Food released the Jazz Brakes series, with Jazz Brakes Volume 3 being the most successful...
, and through him became aware of the Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...
label. Ollie Teeba, (real name Ollie Trattles) began DJing at 15 and played his first live sets to London audiences a year later.
Wherry and Teeba met years later at Wherry's Traintrax studio, and began recording together, collaborating with DJ Malachi, Kaidi Tatham of Bugz in the Attic
Bugz in the Attic
Bugz in the Attic is a collective of DJs and producers based in West London, who are prominent in broken beat. The collective includes Orin Walters , Paul Dolby , Kaidi Tatham, Daz-I-Kue, Alex Phountzi , Cliff Scott, Mark Force, Matt Lord, and Mikey Stirton. The group also has a label, BitaSweet...
and Ralph Lamb of Easy Access Orchestra. They developed a jazzy instrumental style of hip hop, due to an absence of available rappers. They passed their recordings on to Ninja Tune bosses Matt Black and Jonathan More of Coldcut
Coldcut
Coldcut are an English dance music duo, comprising Matt Black and Jonathan More. Their signature style is electronic dance music, featuring cut up samples of hip hop, breaks, jazz, spoken word and various other types of music, as well as video and multimedia.-1980s:In 1986, computer programmer Matt...
and were signed shortly thereafter.
Inspired by the funk bands of previous decades, rather than performing simply with turntables, Jake Wherry decided to take a seven piece band on tour, which included Tatham, Lamb, Andrew Ross, Micah Moody Jnr and percussionist Patrick Dawes.
As they progressed, they gained access to guest vocalists for appearances on their records, including What? What? (aka Jean Grae
Jean Grae
Jean Grae , born November 26, 1976 is an American hip hop artist who hails from South Africa. She rose to prominence in the underground hip-hop scene in New York City, and has since built an international fanbase.- Early life :...
), Roots Manuva
Roots Manuva
Rodney Hylton Smith , better known by his stage name Roots Manuva, is a British rapper from Stockwell, South London. He is currently signed to Big Dada.-Biography:...
, MF Doom
MF Doom
Daniel Dumile is a hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career, most notably MF DOOM, where the "MF" stands for metal face, and for tracks he has produced, metal fingers...
, Seaming To, Rakaa Iriscience of Dilated Peoples
Dilated Peoples
Dilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. The group achieved notability in the underground hip hop community, although they have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song "This Way," a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West and Xzibit...
, Blade
Blade (rapper)
Blade is a British rapper, born in the Armenian quarter of Iran and came to London when he was 7. His first single, Lyrical Maniac recorded in 1989, soon brought Blade to prominence in the fledgling British hip hop scene....
, Phi Life Cypher
Phi Life Cypher
Phi Life Cypher is a British hip hop group based in Luton, comprising two MCs, Si Phili and Life MC, and DJ Nappa. The trio started making music together around 1996, and since have had much success on the UK underground circuit...
, Bahamadia
Bahamadia
Bahamadia is a Philadelphia-born hip hop artist born in 1970, and a DJ who later became an MC. As a member of Gang Starr Foundation, she released her critically acclaimed debut album entitled Kollage in 1996. The album featured production by Guru and DJ Premier of Gang Starr...
Dream Warriors
Dream Warriors
Dream Warriors were a Canadian hip hop duo from Toronto, Ontario, comprising King Lou and Capital Q. Described as "a pair of deft, intelligent rappers" by Allmusic, they were major contributors to the jazz rap movement of the early 1990s. Their 1991 debut album, And Now the Legacy Begins, is...
and Insight
Insight
Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect in a specific context. Insight can be used with several related meanings:*a piece of information...
.
The pair were subsequently employed to produce music for the likes of Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, the soundtracks to Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
's Snatch
Snatch (film)
Snatch is a 2000 crime film written and directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast. Set in the London criminal underworld, the film contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish ...
and the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
game Tony Hawk's Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground, abbreviated to THUG, is a skateboarding video game, available for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Xbox platforms released in 2003. A PC version was released exclusively in Australia as a budget release in 2005. This version was ported by Beenox. In 2004,...
. They were also commissioned to write the theme for ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's primetime NFL show Sunday Night Football
ESPN Sunday Night Football
ESPN Sunday Night Football is the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January 1, 2006....
.
The group have also provided production for artists including T Love, Princess Superstar
Princess Superstar
Princess Superstar is an American emcee and DJ.Her musical style, as she describes it, is flip-flop — a mixture of 'hip hop, electroclash and electronica'.-Background:...
and remixes for artists including DJ Food
DJ Food
Originally produced by Coldcut on the Ninja Tune independent record label, the DJ Food project started in 1990 on the premise of providing metaphorical "food for DJs". DJ Food released the Jazz Brakes series, with Jazz Brakes Volume 3 being the most successful...
, Raw Stylus
Raw Stylus
Raw Stylus was a London-based dance music outfit whose core members were Donna Gardier, Jules Brookes and Ron Aslan. In 1995 they released the single, "Believe In Me", which reached #1 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. It was a minor success in the United Kingdom reaching #66 on the UK...
, Push Button Objects
Push Button Objects
Push Button Objects is the alias of Edgar Farinas, a producer of IDM. His style of music uses hip-hop as an underlying foundation, but with the addition of DSP-processed sounds, unusual samples, elements of electro, Detroit techno, Miami bass, jungle, and other musical rudiments somewhat alien to...
, Jaffa and label-mates Coldcut's "Atomic Moog", which reached number one on the UK singles chart.
The band has just released its second live band album, Session Two. This was recorded at The Easy Access Orchestra's studio and mixed at Jake's Train Trax Studio.
Albums
- Remedies (1995)
- Blow Your HeadphonesBlow Your HeadphonesBlow Your Headphones is the second album by The Herbaliser. It was released on Ninja Tune in 1997. It marks a change in the overall production technique for this group, where the recording and manipulation of musicians partially replaces the use of samples of other recordings that had been the main...
(1997) - Very MercenaryVery MercenaryVery Mercenary is the third album by The Herbaliser. It was released on Ninja Tune in 1999.-Track listing:# "Intro" – 1:01# "Mission Improbable" – 3:09# "Who's the Realest?" – 4:44# "When I Shine" – 3:54...
(1999) - Session OneSession OneSession One is an album released by The Herbaliser on 26 May 2000. While the band had been together since the mid 1990s, contributing to and promoting Herbaliser's largely electronically produced albums, this was the first studio album recorded with a live band released under the group name The...
(2000) (live band instrumental album, under the name The Herbaliser Band) - Something Wicked this Way ComesSomething Wicked this Way Comes (The Herbaliser)Something Wicked this Way Comes is the 5th album by The Herbaliser. It was released on Ninja Tune in 2002.-Title:The album's title is taken from the William Shakespeare play Macbeth...
(2002) - Take LondonTake LondonTake London is the 7th album released by The Herbaliser, released in 2005 .A second version was also released which contained a second disc Take London is the 7th album released by The Herbaliser, released in 2005 (Cat. no: ZENCD098).A second version was also released which contained a second disc...
(2005) - Same As It Never WasSame As It Never Was (album)Same As It Never Was is the 7th studio album released by The Herbaliser, released in 2008.- Track listing :# "Same As It Never Was" – 3:39# "On Your Knees" – 4:12# "Just Won't Stop" Same As It Never Was is the 7th studio album released by The Herbaliser, released in 2008.- Track listing :# "Same...
(2008) (their first release on new record label !K7 Records) - Session 2 (2009) (live band instrumental album, under the name The Herbaliser Band)
Compilations
- Solid Steel Presents Herbal BlendHerbal BlendHerbal Blend is a DJ mix album, mixed by The Herbaliser, released on 22 September 2003 as part of the Solid Steel mix series.-Track listing:#"Herbal Blend Intro"...
(2003) - FabricLive.26 (2006)
- Herbal Tonic (2010)
EPs
- The Real Killer/Blow It EPExtended playAn 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...
(1995) - Repetitive Loop/Scratchy Noise EPExtended playAn 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...
(1995) - The Flawed Hip-Hop EPExtended playAn 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...
(1996) - New & Improved/Control Centre (1997)
- The Blend EPExtended playAn 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...
(1997) - Wall Crawling Giant Insect Breaks EPExtended playAn 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...
(1998) - Road Of Many Signs/Moon Sequence EPExtended playAn 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...
(1999) - Missing Suitcase EPExtended playAn 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...
(1999) - 8 Point Agenda/Who's Really The Reallest? EPExtended playAn 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...
(1999) - Good Girl Gone Bad EPExtended playAn 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...
(1999) - Time 2 Build EPExtended playAn 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...
(1999)
External links
- Same As It Never Was Microsite
- Official site
- The Herbaliser's page @ Ninja TuneNinja TuneNinja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...
- MySpace Page - Herbaliser