Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell at Moers Festival 2006, Germany
Background information
Born	February 12, 1955 (1955-02-12) (age 53) Salem, Illinois, U.S.
Genre(s)	Avant-garde Art-rock Ambient Dub Electronic Experimental Punk jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician Producer Arranger
Instrument(s)	Bass
Associated acts	The Golden Palominos Praxis Massacre Material Buckethead Painkiller Divination Sacred System Ashes

Bill Laswell (born February 12, 1955 in Salem, Illinois and raised in Albion, Michigan) is an American bassist, producer and record label owner. He is married to Ethiopian singer Gigi. Image File history File links Bill-laswell. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the city named Salem in Illinois. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... Art rock is a term used to describe a subgenre of rock music with experimental or avant-garde influences that emphasizes novel sonic texture. ... Ambient music is a musical genre in which sound is more important than notes. ... For other uses, see Dub. ... For other uses, see Electronic music (disambiguation). ... For experimental rock music, see experimental rock. ... For the popular-music magazine, see Musician (magazine). ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... In music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Praxis is the name of an ever-changing Bill Laswell musical project. ... Massacre was a United States improvising rock band from New York City formed in 1980 by guitarist Fred Frith with bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Fred Maher. ... Material is a musical group formed in 1979 and led by bass guitarist Bill Laswell. ... This article is about the avant-garde metal composer and musician. ... Painkiller (also officially known as Pain Killer) is a band originally formed in 1991. ... For other uses, see Divination (disambiguation). ... is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the city named Salem in Illinois. ... Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Deon Rexroat of Anberlin. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Ejigayehu Shibabaw, or Gigi as she is popularly known, is one of the most successful contemporary Ethiopian singers worldwide. ...

Laswell ranks among the most prolific of musicians, being involved in hundreds of recordings with many musicians from all over the world. Laswell's music draws upon many different genres, most notably funk, various world music, jazz, dub and ambient styles. He has also played or produced music from the noisier, more aggressive end of the rock spectrum, like hardcore punk and metal. According to music critic Chris Brazier, "Laswell’s pet concept is 'collision music' which involves bringing together musicians from wildly divergent but complementary spheres and seeing what comes out."[1] Musical genres are categories which contain music which share a certain style or which have certain elements in common. ... For other uses, including related musical genres, see Funk (disambiguation). ... World music is, most generally, all the music in the world. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Dub. ... Ambient music is a musical genre in which sound is more important than notes. ... Hardcore punk, now commonly known as hardcore, is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s. ... Heavy metal redirects here. ...

Biography

Laswell got his earliest professional experience as a bassist with funk groups in and around Detroit, Michigan. Laswell's first recording appearance was in 1978, playing bass for Michael Blaise and Cheater on a track titled "Scoring Power". For other uses, including related musical genres, see Funk (disambiguation). ... Detroit redirects here. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ...

Moving to New York City in 1978, and soon founding a recording studio with producer/engineer Martin Bisi (of later indie rock renown), Laswell quickly became part of the thriving New York music scene. Among his earliest efforts was the avant-funk group Material, and the punk-experimentation of Massacre. As a collaborator or session player, Laswell played along with John Zorn, Fred Frith, Elliott Sharp, the Golden Palominos, and notably on Brian Eno and David Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. His solo debut, Baselines, was issued in 1982. New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Martin Bisi is an American producer and songwriter. ... Material is a musical group formed in 1979 and led by bass guitarist Bill Laswell. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Massacre was a United States improvising rock band from New York City formed in 1980 by guitarist Fred Frith with bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Fred Maher. ... John Zorn (born September 2, 1953 in Queens, New York) is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. ... Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor. ... Elliott Sharp (born 1951) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and performer who has personified the avant-garde experimental music scene in New York City for over thirty years. ... The Golden Palominos was an American musical group headed by drummer and composer Anton Fier that was first formed in 1981. ... Brian Eno (pronounced IPA: ) born on 15 May 1948 in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England) is an English electronic musician, music theorist and record producer. ... David Byrne (born May 14, 1952 in Dumbarton, Scotland) is a Grammy Award, Academy Award and Golden Globe winning musician best known as a founding member and the principal songwriter of the New Wave band Talking Heads. ... David Byrne chronology Remain in Light (1980) My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981) The Catherine Wheel (1981) Slip cover of 2006 reissue My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is a 1981 album by Brian Eno and David Byrne, titled after Amos Tutuolas 1954 novel of the... See also: 1982 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1982 Record labels established in 1982 list of years in music // January 15 - K.C. and the Sunshine Bands Harry Wayne Casey is seriously injured in an automobile accident in Miami, Florida. ...

His artistic and commercial breakthrough came via Herbie Hancock's Future Shock album (1983); Laswell produced the album, played bass on all the songs, and co-wrote most of the material. Its track "Rockit" has frequently been regarded as a pivotal starting point of hip hop and turntablism (via Grand Mixer D.ST). Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an Academy Award and multiple Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and composer from Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Hancock is one of jazz musics most important and influential pianists and composers. ... Future Shock is the thirty-fifth album (and the first with the Rockit Band) by Herbie Hancock. ... See also: 1983 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1983 Record labels established in 1983 // Michael Jacksons Thriller, the most successful album not only of 1983, but of all time, was released in 1982 and began its epic domination of the music charts the following year, 1983. ... Rockit was a single from Herbie Hancocks 1983 album Future Shock. ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... DJ Mixer. ... DJ Grand Mixer DXT (formerly Grand Mixer D.St as in Delancey Street, born Derek Howells) is credited with inventing turntablism, the rhythmic scratching of a record on a turntable, then using different velocities to alter the pitch of the note or sound on the recording, making the turntable a...

Coaxing Ginger Baker out of semi-retirement, Laswell gave the drummer's career a new boost. He likewise brought Sonny Sharrock out of semi-retirement and produced some of the guitarists most acclaimed recordings. Laswell and Sharrock went on to co-found the metal and hardcore punk-flavored free jazz supergroup Last Exit along with drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and saxophone player Peter Brötzmann. Peter Edward Ginger Baker (born August 19, 1939, Lewisham, South London) is an English drummer who gained fame as a member of the Graham Bond Organization (GBO) and Cream from 1966 until 1968. ... Warren Harding Sharrock (August 27, 1940 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. ... Heavy metal redirects here. ... Hardcore punk, now commonly known as hardcore, is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... Last Exit was a free jazz supergroup composed of bass guitarist Bill Laswell, electric guitarist Sonny Sharrock, drummer/occasional vocalist Ronald Shannon Jackson, and saxophonist Peter Brotzmann. ... Ronald Shannon Jackson (born January 12, 1940) is an American jazz drummer. ... Peter Brötzmann (born March 6, 1941) is a German free jazz saxophonist. ...

Even though many Laswell-produced albums have featured dozens of musicians, he tends to work with a small group of collaborators who appear on most of his recordings. Such musicians include bassists Jah Wobble and Bootsy Collins, guitarists Buckethead and Nicky Skopelitis, and keyboardist Bernie Worrell. Laswell has also frequently worked with musicians from the sprawling P-funk camp. Jah Wobble (born John Wardle, Stepney 1958) is an English bass guitarist, singer, poet and composer. ... William Bootsy Collins (born October 26, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a pioneering funk bassist, singer, and songwriter. ... This article is about the avant-garde metal composer and musician. ... Nicky Skopelitis is a guitarist and composer. ... Bernie Worrell Bernie Worrell (born April 19, 1944) is originally from Long Beach, New Jersey but grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey. ... P-Funk is an abbreviated, compound name for two bands, Parliament and Funkadelic. ...

1992 saw the recording debut of another Laswell group, Praxis, featuring enigmatic guitarist Buckethead. Laswell continues to hybridize music styles of disparate world cultures. Tabla Beat Science is one such fusion, joining classical Indian instrumentation with modern electronic production. See also: 1992 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1992 Record labels established in 1992 // 1992 was a pivotal year in the development of music. ... Praxis is the name of an ever-changing Bill Laswell musical project. ... This article is about the avant-garde metal composer and musician. ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... Tabla Beat Science was founded in 1999 by Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell. ... The origins of Indian classical music can be found from the oldest of scriptures, part of the Hindu tradition, the Vedas. ...

Laswell has remixed the works of Bob Marley (album Dreams of Freedom), Miles Davis (album Panthalassa, 1998 [2]), and Carlos Santana. He has also produced such artist as Jah Wobble, Matisyahu, Ramones, Motörhead, Swans, Public Image Limited and Angelique Kidjo. He also contributed to French producer Hector Zazou's album Chansons des mers froides. He produced Yoko Ono's Starpeace album, including the hit single 'Hell in Paradise', and also collaborated with ex-Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles member Nona Hendryx. A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. ... This article is about the reggae musician. ... Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926 – September 28, 1991) was an American jazz musician, widely considered to be one of the most influential of the 20th century. ... Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947), is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-born American Latin rock musician and guitarist. ... Matisyahu redirects here. ... This article is about the band. ... This article is about the band. ... Swans were an influential American rock, experimental, folk and post-industrial band active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. ... Public Image Ltd (PiL) is a band formed in 1978 by John Lydon, formerly and later Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. ... Ang lique Kidjo (Born July 14, 1960) is a Grammy nominated Beninese-French singer songwriter, noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. ... Discography Albums External links Hector Zazou reviewed by All Music Guide Hector Zazou reviewed by MBHs Sunday Features ... Chansons des mers froides (French: songs from the cold seas) is a 1994 album by French musician Hector Zazou. ... For the song by Die Ärzte, see Yoko Ono (song). ... LaBelle was an American disco group, melding dance music with funk and glam rock, resulting in such memorable songs as Lady Marmalade. The group was led by Patti LaBelle, who later had a successful solo career. ... Nona Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is a vocalist known for her work as a solo artist as well as one-third of the trio LaBelle. ...

In the mid-1990s, Laswell released several albums in the style of Ambient dub, using the umbrella name Divination. In keeping with Laswell's common work method, each album was the result of a collaboration with a revolving group of musicians, some of whom, such as Tetsu Inoue, were more permanent members. The music of Divination is strongly influenced by ambient and thus occasionally reminiscent of some of Brian Eno's work, but Laswell's and his co-workers' compositions were more rhythmically orientated by injecting heavy bass lines and percussion into the pieces. Laswell released some of the music recorded in those sessions under the name Sample Material as a sample library for other musicians to use as raw material in their own recordings. Other Ambient Dub projects Laswell recorded in the 1990s, included Sacred System, and Axiom Dub, a collaborative project featuring the Orb, Jah Wobble, Jaki Liebezeit and DJ Spooky. Ambient music is a musical genre in which sound is more important than notes. ... Tetsu Inoue is a producer of electronic music. ... Ambient music is a musical genre in which sound is more important than notes. ... Brian Eno (pronounced IPA: ) born on 15 May 1948 in Woodbridge, Suffolk, England) is an English electronic musician, music theorist and record producer. ... In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording. ... The Orb are an English electronic music group known for popularising chill out music in the 1990s and spawning the genre of ambient house. ... Jah Wobble (born John Wardle, Stepney 1958) is an English bass guitarist, singer, poet and composer. ... Jaki Liebezeit is a drummer probably best known as a founding member of Can. ... DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid (born Paul D. Miller, 1970), is a Washington DC-born electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called illbient or trip hop. He is a turntablist and producer. ...

Laswell's new project Method of Defiance is a blend of live instrumentation and electronic production drawing on Avant-garde drum 'n' bass, jazz, and funk. A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... Drum and bass (drum n bass, drumnbass, DnB, dnb) is an electronic music style. ...

Laswell has also participated on a collaboration with Sony Media Software on a new box set Loop Library: The Bill Laswell Collection. A link of all Bill's work with Sony Media software is available here.

Laswell appears on the Nine Inch Nails album Y34RZ3R0R3MIX3D, remixing the Year Zero song 'vessel'. Nine Inch Nails (abbreviated as NIN) is an American industrial rock band, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. ... Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D (also known as Halo 25) is a remix album that will feature tracks from Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails remixed by various artists,[1] and will be released on November 20, 2007. ... Year Zero (also known as Halo 24) is the sixth Nine Inch Nails studio album, released on April 16, 2007 in Europe, April 17 in the United States, and April 25, 2007 in Japan. ...

See also

Axiom Axiom was a record label founded by musician Bill Laswell in 1989, with the support of Chris Blackwell. ...

External links

• Last.FM: Bill Laswell pages
• discography at turning-groove.de
• discography at silent-watcher.net
• Sacred Dub fan site/community site, includes podcasts
• Innerhythmic.com (current record label)
• Innerviews interview
• Bill Laswell Interview by The Wire Magazine. December, 1994
• Part 1 of Interview with Directors of Destroy All Rational Thought DVD - which celebrates the work of Brion Gysin and William Burroughs. Contains music/text by Bill Laswell
• Part 2 of Interview with Directors of Destroy All Rational Thought DVD - which celebrates the work of Brion Gysin and William Burroughs. Contains music/text by Bill Laswell