MILES, ROBERT / ART OF TRANCE / BERRY, SIMON / POB - [V6-12] PLATIPUS 30 YEARS 06/12

Roberto Concina (3 November 1969 – 9 May 2017), better known by his stage name Robert Miles, was an Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ. Robert Miles was born to Italian immigrants Antonietta Lauro and Albino Concina in Fleurier, Switzerland. Miles became proficient at playing the piano during his youth in Friuli, Italy, in the small town of Fagagna, where his family moved when he was still a young boy, and has been in the music scene since 1984. He worked as a DJ in some Italian clubs and private radio networks and in 1990, he used his savings to establish his own recording studio and a pirate radio station. In 1994, Miles wrote a trance/chill-out piece based on acoustic guitar chords and soft synthesizer effects, "Children", which was later developed into a dream trance song featuring a piano theme on top. The single picked up sales slowly, but within two weeks of its official release in 1995, it had sold more than 350,000 copies all over Europe and topped the charts in many countries. The single received an unprecedented "Essential Tune of The Week", three weeks in a row on Pete Tong's show causing a furious bidding war. It was then signed to Deconstruction Records in the UK by Giles Goodman of Dynamic Music (who represented Platipus Records the initial license). After occupying the Euro Top 100 chart number 1 spot for thirteen consecutive weeks, by 1997, "Children" had sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. It earned Miles platinum records in many countries, a Brit Award (Robert Miles is, to date, the only Italian artist who has received the award) as Best International Male Newcomer 1997, a World Music Award as World's Best Selling Male Newcomer and various other awards. To this date "Children" is regarded as a Trance classic and is thought of by many as the track that kickstarted the Trance genre into the Global music genre it is today. Miles' next single was "Fable". Part of this song was used in the theatrical trailer for the U.S. movie Ever After starring Drew Barrymore and Dougray Scott. His debut album Dreamland was released on 7 June 1996 in Europe, and released in the United States about a month later, with covering "One and One"of Polish pop diva Edyta Górniak. This cover became very popular (it reached number 1 in the Euro Top 100 Singles Chart during the Christmas period and remained in the top spot for six consecutive weeks) and was later released as a single in Europe and the U.S. In November 1997, Miles released another track, "Freedom", which was one of the key tracks on his second album 23am featuring vocals provided by Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge. Containing a different feel from the previously more club-oriented Dreamland, 23am incorporated more lyrics-driven songs than its predecessor while maintaining Miles' trademark piano sound from the first album. After splitting from /deConstruction/BMG and his former management in London, he set up his own independent record label S:alt Records (with S:alt being short for suitably:alternative) in 2001 and released his third album, Organik,[8] featuring the new single "Paths" with vocals provided by Nina Miranda of Smoke City. Guests on the album included Trilok Gurtu, Bill Laswell and Nitin Sawhney. Music from Organik was used on various movie soundtracks such as The Bourne Identity, Derrida, and City of Ghosts. It was licensed to Narada Productions' Shakti Records label in the USA. In 2002, an album containing mainly remixes of songs found on Organik was released. The album, appropriately entitled Organik Remixes,[9] contained remixes by the winners of the remixing contest held on Robert Miles's Web site, as well as remixes from well-known artists such as Future Sound of London, Riton, and Alexkid among others. The album also had one new track, "Bhairav", which featured the vocals of Amelia Cuni. In 2004, Miles released Miles_Gurtu, his fourth album, which was a collaboration with percussionist Trilok Gurtu and included jazz and electronica elements. Also guesting on the album were Nitin Sawhney, Jon Thorne, Mike Patto and Paul Falloon. His fifth album entitled Th1rt3en was released worldwide on Salt Records in February 2011, and featured guests such as Robert Fripp, Dave Okumu, Jon Thorne, Mike Patto and Davide Giovannini. For this album, Miles produced a blend of alternative and progressive rock with ambient and electronic soundscapes. Miles had finished to work on the soundtrack for the movie documentary The Turn of This Century, directed by Peter Beyak and featuring the photography of Life Magazine. In 2012 he founded a new FM and online alternative radio station named OpenLab and broadcasting from Ibiza. A cutting-edge project bringing together culture, arts, media, technology and innovation. Miles was diagnosed with cancer in 2016 and died in Ibiza, Spain, at the age of 47. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Fans of the mighty Platipus Records will be only too aware of the extensive musical output of top act Art Of Trance (AOT). Since 1993, they’ve been unearthing gems of unparalleled purity. However, delve a little deeper and be astonished and amazed by just how linked to the label the act really is. For the AOT is none other than Platipus owner and Tai Pan – Simon Berry From humble beginnings in the English countryside, Simon’s attention was turned from agriculture and rolling around in haystacks by the progressive sounds coming from Detroit in the late 80s. His peers’ love of Rock and Indie meant the countryside could offer little in the way of musical stimulation so it was logical for him to get the next tractor out of town. He was London bound… At the age of 19, Simon hit the big smoke with the sole intention of listening to 24 hour pirate radio stations like Energy & Friends FM. Blagging himself into a job selling advertising space for “Rave” Magazine, Simon discovered that the nine to five lifestyle was not really conducive to clubbing and music making, so he quit…. after 2 days!
At night, he discovered the legendary clubs, “Troll” and “Chemistry” where he heard music that ignited his soul. Hardfloor’s seminal classic “Acperience” blew this country boy’s mind and gave rise to Simon’s first and foremost recording project. The “Deeper Than Deep EP” was the first record by Art of Trance and was released on the newly assembled Platipus Records label, set up as a vehicle for his and like-minded others’ music. The second release on the label was Poltergeist’s “Vicious Circles”- a secret Simon project. While at the Drum Club one night Simon met Darren Emerson, Charlie Hall and Carl Cox. All asked for new copies of the record having worn out their acetates. Simon was flabbergasted that these DJs he respected were all after his record. Carl Cox loved it so much that he offered to remix the track and it was re-released in early 1995 making number 34 in the UK National charts. During his earlier “Hardcore” period he met a young, like-minded musician, Claudio Guisanni, who was recording as one half of Urban Shakedown. Claudio had heard Simon’s first track and felt that it was in the same vein as the music he was making at the time. So the two decided to work together and the project name was Union Jack. The first track released under this name was “Two Full Moons and a Trout” and it was a true amalgamation of the sounds they both had in their hearts. Art Of Trance debut album ‘Wildlife on One’ went on to sell over 30,000 copies worldwide. It typifies the real sound of AOT – earthy and organic with various sounds of nature intrinsically woven into the music. Emotion and humour are two of the ideals that Simon tries to infuse into his music and it’s this that sets his sound apart from the rest of the crowd. Art Of Trance is one of the most highly regarded dance acts around and over the years his music has been remixed by such luminaries as Adam Dived, Cygnus X, Capricorn, Circulation, Ferry Corsten, Silvio Ecomo and Man With No Name. 1999 was a very big year for the label, as well as for Art Of Trance. “Madagascar” was re-released with new remixes by Transa and scene golden boy, Ferry Corsten. It was one of the biggest club records of the year and paved the way nicely for the timely release of the album “Voice Of Earth”. A beautifully crafted album that conveys character, identity, freshness and stayed true to the vision that Simon founded the label on. With so many changes in the music business, Platipus has kept up to speed with the ever-evolving dance environment. 2001 opened the doors to a new state of the art studio for Art Of Trance. Adjacent to the Platipus offices, it forged the return to form for AOT with “Killamanjaro.” Projects with psychedelic trance don Simon Posford (Hallucinogen) led to the release of “Love Washes Over.” 2003 kicked off with Art Of Trance reworking several Platipus tracks, including a driving take on John Occlusion’s ‘Psycho Drums’ and his darkly melodic reworking of Jan Johnston’s ‘Calling Your Name’. Unearthing new talent is a must for any label mogul. Neo & Farina (favourite of Radio 1s Dave Pearce) and Tony Rapacioli (under numerous aliases Kansai, Praha, Ratio, Rouge and Space Brothers) were nurtured by the AOT svengali. Rapacioli had been duly crowned with two consecutive DJ Mag Sure Player awards – Kansai’s ‘Rococo’ was hailed as: ‘a melodic trance record you can drop anywhere, anytime’.
2004 had produced what most people are referring to as Art Of Trance’s defining moment, in the form of Mongoose. In May 2005, due to public demand Platipus were asked to re-issue the Cygnus X remix of Madagascar & Monsoon – both of which were out of press for some time. Art Of Trance spent the earlier part of the year compiling & mixing a new series called Tales Of The Unexpected, a whole new chapter in the 12 years young of PLATIPUS RECORDS. As the title states – this is not what one has come to expect from PLATIPUS. This went on to be a top seller for the label. The Art Of Chill 2 was compiled by Simon Berry & mixed by soundtrack extraordinaire Jon Hopkins… 2006 saw remixes of the classic Union Jack track ‘Two Full Moons & A Trout’ as well as collaboration with Transglobal Underground vocalist Natasha Atlas, entitled ‘Persia’.
Simon mixed and compiled ‘Tales of The Unexpected Chapter 2′ and started a new series entitled ‘The Big Freeze’ which was released in February 2007 to critical acclaim. The classic albums by Art Of Trance and Union Jack are repackaged and re-released with a host of new mixes including live versions for 2009. ART OF TRANCE has in the mean re-released the classic Madagascar in March 2009 with new remixes by RICHARD DURAND and PHIL CRAWF followed by a new single SWARM which includes an outstanding remix by TELEFON TEL AVIV. In 2011, 'The Horn' was the first new release on Simon's new label Porcupine Records. This will be followed by a cover of Vangelis' masterpiece 'Chung Kuo' which will feature remixes by Orkidea, Kaukuta, Dingle, Meanda, Geedel and Catalyst. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Trance/techno-producer from the UK. Also known as Art of Trance. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Pob is a name of at least two artists: [1] A pseudonym of electronic music producer Paul Brogden, who has performed remixes for artists such as Sasha and Slacker as well as releasing many singles of his own on Platipus Records including the singles "Waah!" and "The Essence", both of which were featured on his album Essence. Brogden has two obsessions: music and sound. At age 6 he surprised his parents when he sat down at an old piano and started picking out tunes he'd heard on the radio having never played before (they immediately sent him to piano lessons). In his early teens he became fascinated with sound recording and was frequently seen dismembering old reel to reel tape recorders to work out their inner mysteries. Brogden decided the BBC would be the ideal place to combine his love of music and sound. He joined as a maintenance engineer and scaled his way to a position where he was recording bands live (including 5 years at Glastonbury Main Stage). Heaven surely... ... Well, not quite. Brogden's desire to write his own music was growing stronger. His passion turned towards the dance scene. As far back as 1978, he was listening to Kraftwerk - 'The Man Machine'. It seemed to him that in this genre there were very few restricting rules and Brogden started his own label 'Seismic' in 1993 as a means to release his music. The label has no set rules but explores the more melodic and funky side of trance. "As far as I'm concerned, if a track gives me goose bumps or has a floor moving groove then it's passed the Seismic test. Originality is also very important, what's the point in copying a successful tune just to try and make money - I don't think any truly great records are made that way and it certainly doesn't advance the scene. There's way too much snobbery now on the dance scene where each style is strictly defined - good music is good music and should be judged on it's merits alone", says Paul. Musically, Brogden has built himself a strong following with his solo work as Pob, with such classics as "The Essence", "Strata" and "Boiler / Beast". He collaborated with DJ Taylor from L.A. on a track called "Baba" (on Distinctive Records and included on the Renaissance compilation mixed by Anthony Pappa) More recently, he worked with DJ Patrick Reid on the single 'Bluebottle / Fly'. This found favour with both Sasha and John Digweed - Sasha using the track 'Fly' on his Global Underground in Ibiza compilation and John Digweed choosing 'Bluebottle' to play in the dance culture movie 'Groove'. His most recent work 'Waah!' was snapped up by Sasha and Digweed for their 'Communicate' album before the single was even pressed! Brogden is no stranger to remixing. Highlights include the Raze anthem "Break For Love", Sasha's "Magic", Slacker's "Scared" and Bedrock's 'Heaven Scent'. He also works with Claudio Giussani as 'Granny' (check out the Granny remix of Anomaly’s classic "Calling Your Name") and with Simon Berry as Clanger (the team responsible for the quirky "Seadog"). Brogden released his début solo album as Pob in 2001. ‘Essence’ is a work which serves to highlight his distinctive touch of genius, alongside slick collaborations with Patrick Reid, Art Of Trance and Taylor. First single from the album was the euphoric ‘Luna’, a collaboration with DJ Boyd Westerman, and a track which served to highlight Paul’s open-minded approach to new sounds. While the typically slick production was Pob through and through, ‘Luna’ also opened the door to some new, exciting elements, not least Boyd’s gorgeous, ethereal vocal. Almost predictably, Sasha and Digweed loved it, with Diggers in particular making it a staple tune at Bedrock. [2] A Götaland, Sweden, sieg heil hardcore punk band. Sites: BandCamp. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.