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Raised in a quiet suburban town in Southern New
Jersey, the soft-spoken Myerson has had big musical dreams for
as long as he can remember, and he hasn't been afraid to chase
after them. Through persistence, a diligent work ethic and a
determination to take electronic music to a new plateau, it's
all led to his diverse discography of groundbreaking new
music.
To understand the evolution, we'd have to go
back to Jamie's initial musical obsession with the drums
during his early teens. He played in several bands throughout
high school, but found himself gravitating to electronics as a
form of experimentation with his live playing.
Drawing influence from pioneering synth groups
like Depeche Mode and New Order while vowing to find his own
musical voice, Myerson immersed himself in trying to get new
sounds out of his keyboards as he assembled his modest bedroom
studio. While working solo, he fine-tuned his beats and taught
himself how to slice and dice samples on his computer. Relying
heavily on his knowledge of drumming, he perfected programming
grooves and corralled breakbeats that some of the most skilled
programming cowboys would fear to lasso.
Feeling confident of his work, Jamie decided
one afternoon in September 1993 that it was time to make a
bold move. The then aspiring 18 year old producer went down to
611 Records in Philly and met Dego, who is one half of renown
UK drum and bass pioneers 4 Hero. That was the beginning of a
relationship with Reinforced Records that would yield several
12" releases such as “Find Yourself” and “Missing From the
Picture.”
While attending the University of Hartford as a
music business major, Jamie led a double life. As his
professors taught theory about the music industry, Jamie was
actually living it. During the day, he was a mild mannered
student; at night, he was an underground recording artisan
cutting wicked drum and bass tracks. Thanks to his ability to
steer clear of trends, a desire to always bring something new
to the table each time out, and his fresh technical sense
coupled with his consistently gut-wrenching pastiche of
strings, breakbeats and keyboards, this American won fans
among the fickly, highly clique-ish UK drum and bass
tastemakers. No wonder Melody Maker and Mix Mag praised Jamie
as a drum and bass ambassador.
After recording for Belgium's Crammed Discs and
NYC's Sm:)e, Jamie signed with the Philly based Ovum
Recordings camp and channeled his energies into The Listen
Project, an ambitious 12-song collection which bridges the
gap between all ends of the electronic music spectrum and
shows Jamie's broad musical palate - one that can skillfully
paint bold strokes beyond the drum and bass genre.
After The Listen Project Jamie continued
working and expanding the musical horizon by producing and
remixing for the likes of Duncan Sheik, Phillipe Saisse, David
Poe, Karen Lehner and many others. Not to mention co writing
and producing Jan Johnston's Perfecto/Mushroom LP Emerging.
And he still managed to find time to create another project
that continues the tradition of evocative electronic
production. That project is
Sky
City.
Sky City
was inspired by a cross-country trip that Jamie embarked on,
and resulted in yet another record with musical boundaries
undefined. Smooth, atmospheric drum and bass for people that
want to drive with the top down. But there is another side to
Sky
City.
And on Jamie's second cross-country journey, Sky City
reveals a darker, moodier path to "the other side". Take a
ride with Jamie and
Sky
City.
See the country in a way you never thought possible. Your ears
and your imagination will take you where you need to go.
# # #
Sky City
will be released on February 18, 2003 on Sound Gizmo
distributed by Rykodisc.
For more information, please contact Susan Mainzer at Green
Galactic,323-466-5141 or
susan@greengalactic.com or see
www.jamiemyerson.com. |
