Thes One
Encyclopedia
Thes One, born Christopher Cesar Portugal in Torrance, California
, on October 18, 1977, to an American mother and immigrant Peruvian father, is one half of hip hop
duo People Under the Stairs
, serving as a vocalist/MC, producer, engineer and business manager. He has produced and engineered 8 albums for People Under the Stairs
that have scanned in excess of 100,000 units in America alone since 2000, have appeared on the US and International Billboard charts
numerous times, as well as countless remixes and singles for other artists across the globe with numerous appearances as guest vocalist. As a business manager, he has coordinated and managed 21+ successful world tours for People Under The Stairs and co-founded the independent artist-run Tres Records label. He also designs and builds recording studios and custom gear. His musical aliases include Lord Radio.
. While attending high school in Los Angeles
, Thes One met Michael Turner (Double K), and the two began working together as what would soon become People Under The Stairs
.
Upon graduating from Loyola High School
in 1995, he applied to Berklee School of Music in Boston
for a BA in Audio Engineering but received a writing scholarship to USC
, where he was chosen for the prestigious honors English program. While there, he received the Seibert Fellowship for poetry, acceptance to the Golden Key Honors Society and walked in 1998 Magna Cum Laude with Dean’s Honors.
While studying at USC
, he began recording music with Michael Turner as People Under The Stairs
, and in 1997 they performed their first in-store appearance as a group at the now defunct Beat Non Stop record store on Melrose. That year they also took a trip to the Bay Area, and upon returning, wrote and recorded “San Francisco Knights”, one of the group’s most popular songs to date.
After famously selling out of the vinyl 12” in 7 minutes, the shopkeeper at the now gone Mr. Bongo’s record store in London
called Chris Smith, label owner of Om Records
and urged him to get in contact with the new group out of LA. Chris Smith contacted Thes One initially for one song for their compilation series Deep Concentration and Mushroom Jazz
, but upon hearing the tracks they were working on, offered P.U.T.S. a 4-album deal.
The deal was signed in 1999 and P.U.T.S. left for their first world tour in August 1999, initially as support for the Deep Concentration project but later that year in Europe as a Solo Act with local openers.
The second People Under The Stairs album, Question In The Form Of An Answer, was released in June 2000. The lead 12” single, Youth Explosion, sold the full run of 15,000 copies pressed in its first month, and was not repressed in order to promote the second and third singles The Cat and We’ll Be There – each of which went on to sell it’s 15K run. The album was critically acclaimed for its eclectic and diverse range of beats rooted in Jazz
and Psychedelic Rock
and P.U.T.S. continued with another set of world tours to support the record, this time adding Japan and Australia to their routing.
Following the release of the second album, Thes One began to coordinate strings of successful world tours for PUTS culminating in performances at the UK’s famous Glastonbury Festival
in 2001 alongside Kelis
and successful shows at the Reading
, Leeds
and infamous Essentials festival in London where the group was joined with Biz Markie
, Ice T
, Jeru
, Masta Ace
and De La Soul
on the final Sunday of the festival.
In between managing tours and performing, Thes One began producing and engineering the third People Under The Stairs
album, which would be released in June 2002 as O.S.T. (Original Soundtrack). Critically acclaimed for it’s broad musical influences and dead on hip hop
sound, songs such as Montego Slay and Acid Raindrops quickly became favorites and helped solidify their dedicated worldwide fan base. As well as producing People Under The Stairs
albums, Thes One completed remixes for many artists as well as library music for a few television pilots which were not picked up. 2002 also saw PUTS embark on their first national US tour as support for Deltron 3030.
The group continued to tour relentlessly through the 2004 release of their Or Stay Tuned album, their final release on San Francisco based Om Records
. The album was labeled an EP due to contractual issues but was considered by many, including the group, to be a full-length contribution. The group continued to tour the globe, spending, at times, 7–8 months of the year on the road.
) and was asked to co-found and help start a record label using his connections and knowledge of the record industry. He agreed, and to help get the label off of the ground, turned over a series of 12” projects and one album, Lifestyle Marketing, as well as the concept for the Bloquera project. The first twelve inch release on the newly formed Tres Records imprint was Thes One’s Noonen 12”, an ode to the music of the movie Caddyshack
, followed by Doin’ It with Raashan Amad. Thes One also brought artists Lightheaded (whom he signed when they opened for PUTS in Portland
) and DJ Alibi to the Tres Roster. In May 2004 he coordinated the Bloquera project, a trip to southern-most Baja California
to record an EP and shoot a video on Super 8
. Following this trip he began executive producing and mixing the Fly School Reunion
album for Tres Artists Giant Panda
.
as opening act with them.
Stepfather debuted on the Billboard charts
May 6, 2006 at #32 on the Heatseaker Chart and #35 on the Independent Albums chart.
Throughout 2006 and 2007 Thes One continued to tour as a member of People Under The Stairs
and tour/business manager, expanding the groups presence throughout the world through festival dates in Japan, Australia, Europe and the US.
& TV commercials, industrial films, and other projects. The first disc is Thes One's album; the second consists of some of the original tracks from Music That Works from which Thes One's album was made. The first single off the album is the 10" release 'Target' b/w 'Grain Belt Beer'.
with upstart label Gold Dust
media, a subdivision of K7
records worldwide. Following this, Thes One organized, planned and funded the video for “The Wiz”, a song to be released on Fun DMC and shot entirely on location in Sydney Australia with director Matt Bird
. Featuring innovative underwater filming and a massive helicopter shot, the video received critical and fan praise alike and helped pave the way for the successful release of Fun DMC, PUTS’ 6th full length release. After years of producing and engineering the complicated Fun DMC album for People Under The Stairs
partly in studio and partly on location in South Central Los Angeles in Blewfoot’s backyard, the album received worldwide acclaim and noted a marked turn in the groups sound back towards the modern funk of early 80’s Los Angeles. Following a nationwide tour in support of the album, People Under The Stairs celebrated their 10 year anniversary in December 2008 with a sold out show at Los Angeles’ historical El Rey
theatre.
On October 18, 2009 the Fun DMC debut on the Billboard charts
as #6 on the Heatseekers List
In February 2009, Thes One booked, managed and performed as a member of PUTS in their first tour of China, selling out shows in both Beijing
and Shanghai
(in excess of 800 people). PUTS, amongst other shows, was confirmed to play the Coachella Music Festival and Bonaroo Music Festival in 2009. Immediately following their performance at Bonaroo, Spin Magazine nominated People Under The Stairs
"The Best...Period"
, the home of their first 4 albums and a return to a simple theme. As explained by The Onion
in their AV club review "Carried Away proves that Thes One and Double K will be pumping out sunny, laid-back party anthems long after the Internet memes grow stale". The album, which debuted at #5 on the iTunes hip hop charts was featured by iTunes, who noted: "As usual with PUTS, Carried Away is a self-contained effort with no guest producers or MC cameos, just entertaining rhymes and straightforward beatwork dotted with well-placed samples meant to delight hip-hop purists everywhere." Carried Away debuted on the Billboard charts
at #23 on the Heatseeker Charts. Fans who had followed the group for years noted in many submitted reviews that the album was a return to classic PUTS material. Though demand to tour the US following the release of Carried Away was strong, PUTS were determined to break new parts of the world and proceeded to tour Brazil
and then the southern cape of Africa
following the release of the album.
deck and a Gemini
phrase sampler in a pdm-6008 in 1989. He credits the Gemini
sampler
for defining his loop based production style and still uses the pdm-6008 in his studio to monitor vinyl. Self taught as an audio engineer, He would meticulously read magazines such as Home Studio Recording and the Handbook for Audio Engineering. In 1992 he began looping music on a Tascam
4-track, and after working numerous jobs, he saved up money to buy a brand new Akai
MPC-3000 in 1994. Aside from an SP-1200 and a Roland
VP-9000, He still uses the MPC-3000 as the primary production tool on every song, and has worked with Bruce Forat to modify the analogue side of the machine. Oftentimes defined by the jazzy sound of his earlier work, Thes One's sound and influences can largely be attributed to his massive vinyl collection. Specializing in local Los Angeles
pressings of rare funk
, soul
and rock
, he has spent the latter half of his life searching for the lost and forgotten music of his hometown. With a collection of over 10,000 pieces, he has been quoted as saying that he is not defined by his collection, but the influence in his music is undeniable.
Often thickly layered with samples, one defining feature of Thes One's work is that it never sounds choppy, but rather like a reconstructed piece of music. A fan of filtering pieces of music, his work is often underlined by layers of resonant loops with sharp filter q's. His earlier work was often critically classified as derived from the golden era of New York
production, with jazzy loops and horn samples coming together to create the sonic landscape, but his later work showed more of an individual progression and closer ties to the modern soul
/funk
sound of Los Angeles
. He has stated in interviews that he prides himself in the fact that he has tried to use different drum sounds for every beat he has made, whether released or unreleased.
GS3000 alongside his MPC-3000. This appears to be taken shortly after OST was completed. In 2004, shortly before his first feature in Remix Magazine, he acquired a Neve 5316 (Baby-V). In 2008 he commissioned Steve Firlotte of Inward Connections to build a custom console based on the API 500 series format. Thes One's original idea was to have a stripped down 500 series line input mixer, the console soon blossomed to an 86 slot 24x4x4 mixer. With Steve's design, Ian Gardeners physical design and Thes One advising and testing, the console later became the commercially available Tree Audio 500, though Thes One still owns and uses the protoype/001 serial number unit.
, Rob and Big, Entourage
, Girlfriends
, a commercial for a Supermarket in Japan and various others.
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
, on October 18, 1977, to an American mother and immigrant Peruvian father, is one half of hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
duo People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs is a hip hop group from Los Angeles, California formed in 1997 by Thes One and Double K. The group has released eight critically acclaimed full-length albums and performed on every continent except Antarctica. It is estimated that the group has performed well over 1,000 sold...
, serving as a vocalist/MC, producer, engineer and business manager. He has produced and engineered 8 albums for People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs is a hip hop group from Los Angeles, California formed in 1997 by Thes One and Double K. The group has released eight critically acclaimed full-length albums and performed on every continent except Antarctica. It is estimated that the group has performed well over 1,000 sold...
that have scanned in excess of 100,000 units in America alone since 2000, have appeared on the US and International Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
numerous times, as well as countless remixes and singles for other artists across the globe with numerous appearances as guest vocalist. As a business manager, he has coordinated and managed 21+ successful world tours for People Under The Stairs and co-founded the independent artist-run Tres Records label. He also designs and builds recording studios and custom gear. His musical aliases include Lord Radio.
Early life
Born Christopher Cesar Portugal, Thes One grew up in San Pedro, Ca. He was first introduced to hip hop at Peck Park childcare, where older counselors would paint graffiti in the empty public pool and play the now defunct AM radio station 1580 KDAYKDAY
KDAY in Redondo Beach and KDEY in Ontario are a pair of synchrocasting radio stations based in South Los Angeles that airs an Classic hip-hop format aimed at African Americans in the 18-49 range. The station is owned by Magic Broadcasting, LLC and broadcasts at 93.5 MHz on the FM dial...
. While attending high school in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Thes One met Michael Turner (Double K), and the two began working together as what would soon become People Under The Stairs
People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs is a hip hop group from Los Angeles, California formed in 1997 by Thes One and Double K. The group has released eight critically acclaimed full-length albums and performed on every continent except Antarctica. It is estimated that the group has performed well over 1,000 sold...
.
Upon graduating from Loyola High School
Loyola High School (Los Angeles)
Loyola High School of Los Angeles is a Jesuit preparatory school for young men. It is the oldest high school in Southern California, and one of the oldest in California...
in 1995, he applied to Berklee School of Music in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
for a BA in Audio Engineering but received a writing scholarship to USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, where he was chosen for the prestigious honors English program. While there, he received the Seibert Fellowship for poetry, acceptance to the Golden Key Honors Society and walked in 1998 Magna Cum Laude with Dean’s Honors.
While studying at USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, he began recording music with Michael Turner as People Under The Stairs
People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs is a hip hop group from Los Angeles, California formed in 1997 by Thes One and Double K. The group has released eight critically acclaimed full-length albums and performed on every continent except Antarctica. It is estimated that the group has performed well over 1,000 sold...
, and in 1997 they performed their first in-store appearance as a group at the now defunct Beat Non Stop record store on Melrose. That year they also took a trip to the Bay Area, and upon returning, wrote and recorded “San Francisco Knights”, one of the group’s most popular songs to date.
Om years, first four albums
In the spring of 1998, months before graduating and using his student loan funding, Thes One released the first P.U.T.S. 12” entitled The Next Step pt. 2. 250 of the original vinyl run were made until the stamper was broken, at which time an additional 200 were made from a different master without the secret bonus track Live At The Fishbucket which appears on first run b-side. In the late summer of 1998 the group independently released their first album entitled The Next Step, which he produced and engineered in its entirety.After famously selling out of the vinyl 12” in 7 minutes, the shopkeeper at the now gone Mr. Bongo’s record store in 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...
called Chris Smith, label owner of Om Records
Om Records
Om Records is a US-based record label, established in 1995, which releases electronic music, dance music, and hip hop. The label was founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Chris Smith. Om Records releases both artist albums and various compilations. Some of the most notable compilations include Om...
and urged him to get in contact with the new group out of LA. Chris Smith contacted Thes One initially for one song for their compilation series Deep Concentration and Mushroom Jazz
Mushroom Jazz
Mushroom Jazz is a series of musical compilations by DJ Mark Farina. Originating in 1992 these were released on cassette tape, then since 1997 have been commercial CD and vinyl releases. Farina combines elements of downtempo, hip hop, jazz and R&B, French, Latin, beatmatching and mixing songs...
, but upon hearing the tracks they were working on, offered P.U.T.S. a 4-album deal.
The deal was signed in 1999 and P.U.T.S. left for their first world tour in August 1999, initially as support for the Deep Concentration project but later that year in Europe as a Solo Act with local openers.
The second People Under The Stairs album, Question In The Form Of An Answer, was released in June 2000. The lead 12” single, Youth Explosion, sold the full run of 15,000 copies pressed in its first month, and was not repressed in order to promote the second and third singles The Cat and We’ll Be There – each of which went on to sell it’s 15K run. The album was critically acclaimed for its eclectic and diverse range of beats rooted in Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and Psychedelic Rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
and P.U.T.S. continued with another set of world tours to support the record, this time adding Japan and Australia to their routing.
Following the release of the second album, Thes One began to coordinate strings of successful world tours for PUTS culminating in performances at the UK’s famous Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
in 2001 alongside Kelis
Kelis
Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1971 is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award, Q Award and NME Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has had nine top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart...
and successful shows at the Reading
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
and infamous Essentials festival in London where the group was joined with Biz Markie
Biz Markie
Marcel Theo Hall better known by his stage name, Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, comedian, singer, reality television personality, and commercial spokesperson. He is best known for his single "Just a Friend", an American Top 10 hit in 1989...
, Ice T
Ice T
Tracy Marrow , better known by his stage name Ice-T, is an American musician and actor.He was born in Newark, New Jersey and moved to the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles when he was in the 7th grade. After graduating from high school he served in the United States Army for four years...
, Jeru
Jeru
Jeru may refer to:American musicians:* Jeru , Gerry Mulligan* Jeru the Damaja Other:* Great Andamanese people* Aka-Jeru language, of Great Andamanese...
, Masta Ace
Masta Ace
Duval Clear , known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is a rapper from Brownsville, Brooklyn. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut "The Symphony"...
and De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
on the final Sunday of the festival.
In between managing tours and performing, Thes One began producing and engineering the third People Under The Stairs
People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs is a hip hop group from Los Angeles, California formed in 1997 by Thes One and Double K. The group has released eight critically acclaimed full-length albums and performed on every continent except Antarctica. It is estimated that the group has performed well over 1,000 sold...
album, which would be released in June 2002 as O.S.T. (Original Soundtrack). Critically acclaimed for it’s broad musical influences and dead on hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
sound, songs such as Montego Slay and Acid Raindrops quickly became favorites and helped solidify their dedicated worldwide fan base. As well as producing People Under The Stairs
People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs is a hip hop group from Los Angeles, California formed in 1997 by Thes One and Double K. The group has released eight critically acclaimed full-length albums and performed on every continent except Antarctica. It is estimated that the group has performed well over 1,000 sold...
albums, Thes One completed remixes for many artists as well as library music for a few television pilots which were not picked up. 2002 also saw PUTS embark on their first national US tour as support for Deltron 3030.
The group continued to tour relentlessly through the 2004 release of their Or Stay Tuned album, their final release on San Francisco based Om Records
Om Records
Om Records is a US-based record label, established in 1995, which releases electronic music, dance music, and hip hop. The label was founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Chris Smith. Om Records releases both artist albums and various compilations. Some of the most notable compilations include Om...
. The album was labeled an EP due to contractual issues but was considered by many, including the group, to be a full-length contribution. The group continued to tour the globe, spending, at times, 7–8 months of the year on the road.
Tres Records
In April of 2004, Thes One was approached by friend Chikara Kurahashi (of Giant PandaGiant Panda (group)
Giant Panda are an underground hip hop group from Los Angeles, California.Giant Panda - still a symbol of remembering traditions without forgetting progression - is composed of childhood friends Newman and Maanumental and Chikaramanga , with their foundation based out of Los Angeles, CA.The trio's...
) and was asked to co-found and help start a record label using his connections and knowledge of the record industry. He agreed, and to help get the label off of the ground, turned over a series of 12” projects and one album, Lifestyle Marketing, as well as the concept for the Bloquera project. The first twelve inch release on the newly formed Tres Records imprint was Thes One’s Noonen 12”, an ode to the music of the movie Caddyshack
Caddyshack
Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray...
, followed by Doin’ It with Raashan Amad. Thes One also brought artists Lightheaded (whom he signed when they opened for PUTS in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
) and DJ Alibi to the Tres Roster. In May 2004 he coordinated the Bloquera project, a trip to southern-most Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
to record an EP and shoot a video on Super 8
Super 8 mm film
Super 8 mm film is a motion picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement of the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format....
. Following this trip he began executive producing and mixing the Fly School Reunion
Fly School Reunion
Fly School Reunion is the first "official" album by Giant Panda. It was the released by Tres Records and was also the first full-length album the label released...
album for Tres Artists Giant Panda
Giant Panda (group)
Giant Panda are an underground hip hop group from Los Angeles, California.Giant Panda - still a symbol of remembering traditions without forgetting progression - is composed of childhood friends Newman and Maanumental and Chikaramanga , with their foundation based out of Los Angeles, CA.The trio's...
.
Stepfather LP
Thes One continued to tour with PUTS through 2005 and began production on the next PUTS album, Stepfather. He inked a deal for the group with local Los Angeles label Basement Records and coordinated the elaborate deluxe packaging with long time friend Joshua Dunn of design team Secret Pizza Party. Stepfather (2006), PUTS fifth full-length release, was met with critical acclaim and presented a more modern and personal direction for the group. Consisting of Thes One’s turn towards left of center rhythm’s and modern soul and disco, it was his most ambitious production yet, though songs like Tuxedo Rap seemed, at first listen, a simple return to hip-hop’s disco rap roots. The group toured the album in the US throughout that year, taking then unknown rock-rap group Gym Class HeroesGym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes is an American hip hop rock band from Geneva, New York. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold." Stump also produced the majority of their album The Quilt.The group formed...
as opening act with them.
Stepfather debuted on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
May 6, 2006 at #32 on the Heatseaker Chart and #35 on the Independent Albums chart.
Throughout 2006 and 2007 Thes One continued to tour as a member of People Under The Stairs
People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs is a hip hop group from Los Angeles, California formed in 1997 by Thes One and Double K. The group has released eight critically acclaimed full-length albums and performed on every continent except Antarctica. It is estimated that the group has performed well over 1,000 sold...
and tour/business manager, expanding the groups presence throughout the world through festival dates in Japan, Australia, Europe and the US.
Lifestyle Marketing LP
In March 2007, Thes One released his debut solo instrumental album Lifestyle Marketing. It is a 2-disc concept album of instrumentals made from Herb Pilhofer's Music That Works series; a demonstration album originally released in the early 1970s in limited numbers that showcased Pilhofer's musical compositions for radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
& TV commercials, industrial films, and other projects. The first disc is Thes One's album; the second consists of some of the original tracks from Music That Works from which Thes One's album was made. The first single off the album is the 10" release 'Target' b/w 'Grain Belt Beer'.
Street Dreams movie
In 2007 Thes One also spent the year writing, performing and recording the original 5.1 score for Street Dreams, a dramatic feature film starring Rob Dyrdek and Paul Rodriguez Jr, slated for release in 2009. His first full-length feature score, he enlisted the help of long time friend and musical collaborator Kat 010, drummer Alex Newman, DJ Mekalek and Violinist Paul Dateh. In An interview by Berkela Motion Pictures/UX entertainment Thes One explains the process of using hip hop to score: "Thes One speaks on scoring Street Dreams with Rob D" Street Dreams was released in Theatres June 12, 2009. It received the "Audience Favorite" award at the 2009 Newport Beach Film Festival and Thes One spoke at the screening alongside director Chris Zamoscianyk and the cast of the movie.Fun DMC LP
In 2008, Thes One secured a deal for People Under The StairsPeople Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs is a hip hop group from Los Angeles, California formed in 1997 by Thes One and Double K. The group has released eight critically acclaimed full-length albums and performed on every continent except Antarctica. It is estimated that the group has performed well over 1,000 sold...
with upstart label Gold Dust
Gold Dust
Gold dust refers to fine particles of gold produced by machining or occurring naturally.Gold dust may also refer to:*Goldust, the ring name of Dustin Rhodes, an American wrestler...
media, a subdivision of K7
K7
K7, K07 or K-7 may refer to:* K-7 , a state highway in Kansas* Bluebird K7, a high speed hydroplane raced by Donald Campbell* Daewoo Precision Industries K7, a submachine gun with an integrated suppressor...
records worldwide. Following this, Thes One organized, planned and funded the video for “The Wiz”, a song to be released on Fun DMC and shot entirely on location in Sydney Australia with director Matt Bird
Matt Bird
- Biography :Matt Bird wrote, directed and produced the indie feature 'Blue Neon' in 2000, during his final year of film studies at the University of Technology, Sydney...
. Featuring innovative underwater filming and a massive helicopter shot, the video received critical and fan praise alike and helped pave the way for the successful release of Fun DMC, PUTS’ 6th full length release. After years of producing and engineering the complicated Fun DMC album for People Under The Stairs
People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs is a hip hop group from Los Angeles, California formed in 1997 by Thes One and Double K. The group has released eight critically acclaimed full-length albums and performed on every continent except Antarctica. It is estimated that the group has performed well over 1,000 sold...
partly in studio and partly on location in South Central Los Angeles in Blewfoot’s backyard, the album received worldwide acclaim and noted a marked turn in the groups sound back towards the modern funk of early 80’s Los Angeles. Following a nationwide tour in support of the album, People Under The Stairs celebrated their 10 year anniversary in December 2008 with a sold out show at Los Angeles’ historical El Rey
El Rey
-People:*Juan Carlos I of Spain , current King of Spain*Don Omar, Puerto Rican reggaeton singer nicknamed El Rey-Locations:*El Ray, a legendary city in Mexico, a safe haven for criminals from the US*El Rey National Park in Argentina...
theatre.
On October 18, 2009 the Fun DMC debut on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
as #6 on the Heatseekers List
In February 2009, Thes One booked, managed and performed as a member of PUTS in their first tour of China, selling out shows in both Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
(in excess of 800 people). PUTS, amongst other shows, was confirmed to play the Coachella Music Festival and Bonaroo Music Festival in 2009. Immediately following their performance at Bonaroo, Spin Magazine nominated People Under The Stairs
People Under the Stairs
People Under the Stairs is a hip hop group from Los Angeles, California formed in 1997 by Thes One and Double K. The group has released eight critically acclaimed full-length albums and performed on every continent except Antarctica. It is estimated that the group has performed well over 1,000 sold...
"The Best...Period"
Carried Away LP
On October 13, 2009, People Under The Stairs released their 7th album. It marked a return to Om RecordsOm Records
Om Records is a US-based record label, established in 1995, which releases electronic music, dance music, and hip hop. The label was founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Chris Smith. Om Records releases both artist albums and various compilations. Some of the most notable compilations include Om...
, the home of their first 4 albums and a return to a simple theme. As explained by The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
in their AV club review "Carried Away proves that Thes One and Double K will be pumping out sunny, laid-back party anthems long after the Internet memes grow stale". The album, which debuted at #5 on the iTunes hip hop charts was featured by iTunes, who noted: "As usual with PUTS, Carried Away is a self-contained effort with no guest producers or MC cameos, just entertaining rhymes and straightforward beatwork dotted with well-placed samples meant to delight hip-hop purists everywhere." Carried Away debuted on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
at #23 on the Heatseeker Charts. Fans who had followed the group for years noted in many submitted reviews that the album was a return to classic PUTS material. Though demand to tour the US following the release of Carried Away was strong, PUTS were determined to break new parts of the world and proceeded to tour Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and then the southern cape of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
following the release of the album.
Sampling
Thes One began producing hip-hop beats with a modified cassetteCompact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
deck and a Gemini
Gemini Sound Products
Gemini Sound Products Corporation is a worldwide manufacturer of professional audio and mobile DJ equipment, including DJ CD players, DJ turntables, DJ mixers, professional amplifiers, loudspeakers, wireless microphones & DJ audio effects...
phrase sampler in a pdm-6008 in 1989. He credits the Gemini
Gemini Sound Products
Gemini Sound Products Corporation is a worldwide manufacturer of professional audio and mobile DJ equipment, including DJ CD players, DJ turntables, DJ mixers, professional amplifiers, loudspeakers, wireless microphones & DJ audio effects...
sampler
Sampler (musical instrument)
A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
for defining his loop based production style and still uses the pdm-6008 in his studio to monitor vinyl. Self taught as an audio engineer, He would meticulously read magazines such as Home Studio Recording and the Handbook for Audio Engineering. In 1992 he began looping music on a Tascam
TASCAM
TASCAM is the professional audio division of TEAC Corporation, headquartered in Montebello, California. Tascam is credited as the inventor of the Portastudio, the first cassette-based multi-track home studio recorders. Tascam also introduced the first low-cost mass produced multitrack recorders...
4-track, and after working numerous jobs, he saved up money to buy a brand new Akai
Akai
Akai is a consumer electronics brand, founded by Saburo Akai as , a Japanese manufacturer in 1929. It is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which also owns the formerly Japanese brands Nakamichi and Sansui. The Akai brand is now used...
MPC-3000 in 1994. Aside from an SP-1200 and a Roland
Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
VP-9000, He still uses the MPC-3000 as the primary production tool on every song, and has worked with Bruce Forat to modify the analogue side of the machine. Oftentimes defined by the jazzy sound of his earlier work, Thes One's sound and influences can largely be attributed to his massive vinyl collection. Specializing in local Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
pressings of rare funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, he has spent the latter half of his life searching for the lost and forgotten music of his hometown. With a collection of over 10,000 pieces, he has been quoted as saying that he is not defined by his collection, but the influence in his music is undeniable.
Often thickly layered with samples, one defining feature of Thes One's work is that it never sounds choppy, but rather like a reconstructed piece of music. A fan of filtering pieces of music, his work is often underlined by layers of resonant loops with sharp filter q's. His earlier work was often critically classified as derived from the golden era of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
production, with jazzy loops and horn samples coming together to create the sonic landscape, but his later work showed more of an individual progression and closer ties to the modern soul
Modern soul
Modern soul is a style of music with associated clothing and dance styles , that developed in Northern England in the early 1970s....
/funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
sound of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He has stated in interviews that he prides himself in the fact that he has tried to use different drum sounds for every beat he has made, whether released or unreleased.
Equipment
Starting off with cassette decks and pro-sumer equipment, his studio evolved over the years. At the point that it is featured in the book Behind The Beat, the photo shows an Adat-XT and an Allen & HeathAllen & Heath
Allen & Heath is a company based in Penryn, Cornwall, England, specialising in the manufacture of audio mixing consoles...
GS3000 alongside his MPC-3000. This appears to be taken shortly after OST was completed. In 2004, shortly before his first feature in Remix Magazine, he acquired a Neve 5316 (Baby-V). In 2008 he commissioned Steve Firlotte of Inward Connections to build a custom console based on the API 500 series format. Thes One's original idea was to have a stripped down 500 series line input mixer, the console soon blossomed to an 86 slot 24x4x4 mixer. With Steve's design, Ian Gardeners physical design and Thes One advising and testing, the console later became the commercially available Tree Audio 500, though Thes One still owns and uses the protoype/001 serial number unit.
Television
Thes One's beats can be heard on various shows including Run's HouseRun's House
Run's House was an MTV reality series. It showed the family life of rapper and hip-hop music pioneer Joseph Simmons, also known as Rev Run....
, Rob and Big, Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
, Girlfriends
Girlfriends
Girlfriends is an American comedy-drama sitcom that premiered on September 11, 2000, on UPN and aired on UPN's successor network, The CW, before being cancelled in 2008...
, a commercial for a Supermarket in Japan and various others.
Trivia
- Thes One competed on The Price Is RightThe Price Is RightThe Price Is Right is a television game show franchise originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, and created by Bob Stewart, and is currently produced and owned by FremantleMedia. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also includes merchandise such as video games, printed...
under his birth name. He was chosen for Contestants' Row and won on his first bid, playing the Shell Game. Interestingly he won, among other things, a record playerPhonographThe phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
. Video of the appearance is included on the bonus DVD included with StepfatherStepfather (album)-Fake leak:A false leak of the album was released on the internet on February 21, 2006. The leak was orchestrated by Thes One himself by recruiting members on the PUTS Online messageboard to spread the bad copy. The leak is in fact a recital of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner with an introduction...
as an Easter egg. Footage of which exists on YouTube: "Thes One on Price Is Right"
- Thes One has gone on record buying missions to IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
throughout the US and various other countries to augment his collection.
- He Battled Will.I.AmWill.i.amWilliam James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
at the Rootdown Soundclash beat battle on April 25, 2002. A rare CD of the performance plus bonus materials was released in Japan only.
Solo albums
- Thes One Presents Sound Clash at the Root Down (P-Vine Japan, 2004)
- Mithai, Wedding Gift CD (2004)
- Lifestyle Marketing (Tres Records, 2007)
Solo singles
- Back On The Block Remix, Pete Rock & CL Smooth (Boot Leg Recordings, 2001)
- Noonen (Tres Records, 2004)
- The Next Stets: Stetsasonic (Kajmere Sound Distribution, 2004)
- Doin' It (feat. Raashan Ahmad of Crown City RockersCrown City RockersCrown City Rockers are a five-member hip hop band from Oakland, California, by way of Boston, Massachusetts and Pasadena. Formerly known as Mission:, they play old school inflected hip hop music with live instrumentation , citing influences such as: A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, KRS-One and De...
) (Tres Records, 2005) - Target (Tres Records, 2007)
People Under The Stairs albums
- The Next Step (PUTS Records/Om Records, 1998)
- Question In The Form of An Answer (Om Records, 2000)
- O.S.T. (Om Records, 2002)
- Or Stay Tuned (Om Records, 2004)
- Stepfather (Basement Records/Sony Red, 2006)
- Fun DMC (Gold Dust/K7, 2008)
- Carried Away (Om Records, 2009)
People Under The Stairs singles
- The Next Step (PUTS Records, 1998)
- Youth Explosion (Om Records, 2000)
- The Cat (Om Records, 2000)
- We'll Be There (Om Records, 2000)
- Jappy Jap (Om Records, 2002)
- O.S.T. (Om Records, 2002)
- Acid Raindrops (Om Records, 2002)
- Yield (Om Records, 2004)
- Tuxedo Rap (Tres Records, 2006)
- Pass The 40 (Tres Records, 2006)
US Chart History
- http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/people-under-the-stairs/chart-history/334198?f=324&g=Albums "Billboard Chart History"