Billie Ray Martin
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Billie Ray Martin | |
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Birth name | Birgit Dieckmann vocal trance |
Instrument(s) | Vocalist |
Years active | 1988–present |
Labels |
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Website | billieraymartin |
Birgit Dieckmann, known professionally as Billie Ray Martin, is a German singer and songwriter, known for her single "
Early life
Born in
Career
Career beginnings
In the early 1980s, Billie Ray Martin moved to
After these experiences, Billie Ray Martin moved to London, where she placed an ad in
Meanwhile, Billie Ray Martin had met DJ Mark Moore who invited her to the studio to work with his band S'Express. Martin contributed to three songs on their debut album Original Soundtrack: "Pimps, Pushers and Prostitutes", "L'Age du Gateau" and "Hey Music Lover" (retitled 'Music Lover' in the US).[6] The latter became the third S'Express single, and a top 10 UK hit (reaching #6), giving Martin her first Top of the Pops appearance. She traveled across Europe with the group for a number of TV appearances in support of the single.[citation needed]
Electribe 101's first single with Phonogram was "Tell Me When the Fever Ended" released in November 1989, reaching No. 32 on the UK charts,
Billie Ray Martin appeared on the cover of i-D Magazine, as well as weekly music/pop periodicals such as: NME, Melody Maker, Smash Hits, Record Mirror[13] and Number One.[14] NME described her style as looking like 'Cilla Black on Acid' when she made her first Top of the Pops appearance.[citation needed] A connection with Steve Nieve led to her being a guest vocalist with house band Steve Nieve and The Playboys, singing "Stay With Me" and "Chain of Fools", on the Channel X UK television series The Last Resort with Jonathan Ross.[citation needed]
Electribe 101's third single was entitled "You’re Walking" and reached No. 50 on the UK charts, prior to the release of their debut album
The band then set to work on their second album, with a provisional title of Electronic Soul. However, conflict with Watkins and Phonogram led to the album not being released. While seeking another label, the band broke up.[citation needed]
Solo: 1993–2002
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (March 2014) |
BRM's debut solo release was at the end of 1993 in collaboration with the British dance duo
With a new set of songs, she signed with
In February 1995, the Junior Vasquez mix of "True Moments Of My World" was being played in clubs, but was not released as her next single. Instead, "
Meanwhile, Martin continued to write songs for a projected second album, but left the Warner label and moved to New York, where she wrote with dance music producer, Fred Jorio. She signed with React Music Limited in the UK, and released the single, "Honey". The song hit No. 1 in the club charts but poor performance on the UK singles chart caused the cancellation of a planned second release. "Honey" debuted stateside courtesy of Nervous Records four years later. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. During this time, she also recorded an album of soul and blues songs with the Jon Tiven Group in New York, but this album remains unreleased. A single and an EP of her drum and bass recordings were released by NY label Finetune recordings. The single was "Pacemaker" while the EP was entitled "Crime & Punishment".
In 2000, Martin travelled to Memphis, Tennessee to record her next album at the House of Blues studio. Her band was led by Marvell Thomas, son of Rufus Thomas, and featured members of Aretha Franklin’s own band. Ann Peebles and Carla Thomas provided backing vocals, while Peebles did a duet with Martin on the album's title track "Eighteen Carat Garbage". The album 18 Carat Garbage was released on Martin's own Sonnenstahl Records label.[18] Four 12" singles on vinyl were initially released from the album: "Systems Of Silence" was released on 2 January 2001 followed by "18 Carat Garbage" on 16 January 2001 and then "I've Never Been To Memphis" in March 2001 and the Motown inspired "Where Fools Rush In" in September 2001. In 2002, Sonnenstahl Records released the 12-track CD Recycled Garbage, a compilation of remixes of selected tracks from 18 Carat Garbage.
Solo: 2003–current
This section of a poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Billie Ray Martin" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2014) |
In 2003, Martin released a series of singles on her new Disco Activisto label, including the electronic music club hits "No Brakes on My Rollerskates" and "Dead Again". In 2005–06 she released collaborations with
In 2008, Martin formed a new band, The Opiates, with Robert Solheim producing. The Opiates made their live debut at Rough Trade, Brick Lane, London, in March, to coincide with the group's first release, the Anatomy of a Plastic Girl EP. In 2010, she released The Crackdown Project featuring her takes on the Cabaret Voltaire classic album, The Crackdown. 2011 began with the solo single "Sweet Suburban Disco". She corroborated with Hard Ton on the Sold Life EP, featuring a new song "Sold Life" and a cover of the Pierre's Pfantasy Club classic, "Fantasy Girl".
A second EP from The Opiates, titled Rainy Days and Remixes, was released in September 2011 as a prelude to their album Hollywood Under The Knife. A short UK tour including a performance at HMV on Oxford Street, London launched the album, which was packaged in imagery by Turner Prize winner Wolfgang Tillmans. The album got a four star review in Metro.[20] In February 2012, a remix collection entitled Hollywood Cuts was released.
2012 saw the release of a series of collaborations including "Make Me Feel" on Terranova's Hotel Amour album, and "Hyper Lust" on the new album from Motor. In September, Martin released a limited edition DVD entitled Five Takes (A Song About Andy), featuring five movies inspired by Andy Warhol‘s Screen Tests. The song "On Borrowed Time" is presented in five unique takes, with music by electronic producer and soul singer, Waterson.
On February 3, 2023, it was announced via Mary Wilson's Facebook page that Soul Defender, written by Martin, would be released on March 3, 2023, which would have been Wilson's 79th birthday.
Discography
- Deadline for My Memories (1996)
- Recycled Garbage(2002)
- BRM New Demos(2003)
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
References
- ^ Music Review: Billie Ray Martin, The Soul Tapes NZ Herald
- ^ Martin Ray Martin | Music Biography, Credits and Discography. AllMusic.
- ^ :: Billie ray martin i-fansite :: Archived 29 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine. T0n1.altervista.org.
- ^ Electribe – 1.0.1.* – Talking With Myself (Vinyl) at Discogs. discogs.com (22 May 2011).
- ^ Tom Watkins – Pop Svengali Archived 27 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Popjustice.com.
- ^ S'Express – Original Soundtrack (CD, Album) at Discogs. discogs.
- ^ "Official Charts November 18, 1989". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Tell me when the fever ended". billboard.com. Billboard. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ "Official Archive March 10, 1990". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Talking to Myself". www.billboard.com. Billboard. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ "Marshall Jefferson" (PDF). Independentmovement.co.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ "Talking with Myself". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Record Mirror". www.guide2prince.org. Gudie 2 Prince Non-profit. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014.
- ^ "Number One cover Electribe 101". altervista.org. Number One. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014.
- ^ Electribe 101 – Electribal Memories at Discogs. discogs.
- ^ Erasure — Milton Keynes — The National Bowl — 1 September 1990. Songkick (1 September 1990).
- ^ Electribe 101 – Inside Out – Listen live music, download free mp3 and search all in iTunes and Amazon stores Archived 28 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine. X-musics.com.
- ^ "Sonnenstahl Records". Discogs.
- ^ RA: Martin Ray Martin. Residentadvisor.net.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
External links
- Official website
- Billie Ray Martin discography at Discogs