Event details ///

1997-2003

Brothers Simon and Robin Lee The Brothers That Made Disco Fashionable again. Blending disco with African, Latin, jazz, classical and good old fashioned funk they create new music that\'s both deeply reverential to the past and reaches grandly for a sophisticated future. Their second album for record label Nuphonic, \'Moving Cities\' is far more than just a follow up to their groundbreaking 1997 debut \'Plans & Designs\', it\'s a musical manifesto that sums up everything that made music the 20th century\'s most inspiring art form. 

 

Growing up in suburban Amersham, music was always the bond between Simon and Robin. “We talk about everything,” concedes Robin, “but music\'s always been the main thing. We talk about music least 80% of the time.  That\'s where me and Simon have always got on, through each others taste in music.” When Robin bought his first bass aged 15 in 1987, he taught himself to play bass by playing along to Simon\'s latest purchases.

“James Brown, acid jazz, the Brand New Heavies, Johnny Hammond - it was like a challenge to see if I could play along to whatever he\'d just bought.  I was into the jazz, Simon was more into his acid house at the time.”  By the time Robin was 18 he was studying music at Goldsmiths College, specialising in Asian folk, classical and composition. 
 

Simon, on the other hand had been collecting records since he was 14, moving from funk and rare groove in the late 80s through New York disco classics and out the other side into all manner of strange and wonderful records.  A series of dead end jobs in West End record shops led to Simon translating his obsession with early eighties New York disco from other people\'s vinyl to dreams of releasing his own. 
 

With Robin holding down an English teaching job in Osaka (“I was the worst teacher in Japan-they must be mad!”) the first Faze Action records were a triumph of talent and telecommunications over geography, with Simon sending his raw backing tracks over to classical musician Robin for orchestrating.
 

1995\'s debut  \'Original Disco Motion\' EP was signed to the then infant Nuphonic label and found favour in  DJ name-dropping conversation\'s from Hoxton to Hulme. The 1996 follow up single, \'In The Trees\' tempered a sinuous disco groove with unforgettably soaring orchestral strings. Richly organic, but still muscular enough to move any dancefloor, it was an instant modern classic. The following year\'s critically acclaimed debut album \'Plans & Designs\' turned dance music orthodoxy on it’s head, invoking the early eighties New York underground spirits of both Talking Heads\' art school funk and the electronic disco of producer Francois Kevorkian and bands such as D-Train and Dinosaur L.

If Basement Jaxx can claim punk garage as their own, this surely was its sophisticated elder cousin - new wave disco.
 

Fast forward to 1999. With Robin moved back home to become a full time Faze Actioneer, \'Moving Cities\' is the brothers\' first fully fledged collaboration. “It\'s harder this way,” groans Robin, “There\'s a lot of miscommunication between DJs and musicians.  DJs say one thing but actually mean something else. But we always know what we mean in the end.”
 

Inspired by the magpie spirit of vinyl adventure that encouraged Simon to search out obscure dub mixes of such unlikely disco heroes as Modern Romance, The Clash or Eddy Grant and turn them into dancefloor favourites, the current album takes its inspiration less from a far wider global blueprint.  Robin\'s much-anticipated, ever-glorious string arrangements are still to the fore, but complemented by a whole atlas of influences.  From African artists like Osibisa and Manu Dibango to the Latin jazz of Flora Purim and the classic soul arrangements of Ashford and Simpson, this is club music that takes in New York and London, but still has time for all points in between. 
 

Faze Action\'s new vocals came courtesy of former Orange Juice and Style Council drummer Zeke Manyika. “To be honest I didn\'t even know what he\'d done before, until after our first session,” confesses walking musical encylopedia Simon shamefacedly. “If I\'d known I\'d have been a bit more shy. But we could have looked for years and never found a front person as good as Zeke.”  Zeke, in turn, was rejuvenated by his new role: “There\'s a magical feeling,” he enthuses “the same vibe I got working with Edwyn Collins, Paul Weller or Matt Johnson.  In the old days dance music was very straight. Now it\'s the most radical form of music.”

Zeke brought African chanted vocals that made the high-octane Afro-disco explosion of  \'Kariba\' one of  2001 club classics. The Afrobeat vibes followed through to the next single \'Got To Find A Way\' and dancefloor-friendly album tracks like \'Mas\' and \'To Love Is To Grow\'\'.
 

The other difference now, of course, is the addition of a band.  After successful DJ/jam sessions at Hoxton\'s Gumbo club and appearances at mega festi-raves Creamfields 1998 and  Homelands 1999, The Faze Action Live Experience grew to a full seven piece band, which toured extensively in 2000/1 including a 12 date tour of the US, Glastonbury 2000, The Big Chill, Spain, Scandinavia, Italy, Australia, the Czech Republic, Tunisia and Kuala Lumpa.

Faze have also spent their recent years DJ’ing around the world and remixing many acts including Alex Gopher, David Holmes, Bebel Gilberto, Pat Lundy, Serge Gainsbourg, Ian Pooley, Rae & Christain, The Strike Boys, Tosca, Femi Kuti, Maria Alvim & Rick Udler, Victor Davis, Mr. Bongo and Francoise K. As well as being regulars on the European DJ circuit, Simon Lee has provided several radio mixes including The Breezeblock on Radio 1, Into Somethin’ Radio in Munich and Unfold in Brighton.
 

Balancing both brotherhood and a band Faze Action consistently match grand ambitions with a sparkling ability to get away with the most audacious fusions. “Simon\'s a musical visionary. Robin has the classical ability,” enthuses Zeke. “It\'s a really good combination.” The roots might still be in New York\'s dancefloor heritage, the tradition of labels like Salsoul, Prelude, and producers like Francois Kevorkian, Walter Gibbons and Larry Levan, but these brothers have worked it out, and the answer is 100% original, 100% Faze Action. As Robin puts it: “Faze Action is here to stay. It\'s family.”

2004-2006

Faze Action are released their third album Broad Souls, re-released of their classic Latin workout ‘Kariba’ with their own 2005 remix being coupled with a new mix by Copyright. Released in the UK by Copyright Recordings it was picked up by Defected Records and included in their prestigious ‘Most Wanted Miami 2005’ compilation and re-released ‘Kariba’ with ‘Waiting Is Over’ featuring Vanessa Freeman under their new moniker ‘Orto’ for Papa Records.

2007-2008

saw the release of ‘Keep It Coming’ and ‘Stratus Energy’ on Faze Action Records and the 10th anniversary re-release of ‘In The Trees’ [with mixes by Carl Craig and Sydenham & Tiger Stripes] on Juno Records and the debut single ‘Disco Sun’ on their own label Faze Action Records

2009

Back from the future, Faze Action are here to continue their quest in spreading disco fever to one and all, having put together one of the most exciting albums of the year. We say that because not only is ‘Stratus Energy’ a truly great listen from start to finish but in 2009 there is no getting away from disco, now recognised as a key part of contemporary dance music’s fabric, referenced across the pop charts and officially ‘cool’ again, now is the time for Faze Action to return and show these young pups a thing or two.
 

Playing to their strengths, the album fuses disco, balearica and a smattering of psychedelica, managing to find that special balance of sounding both classic and contemporary. After the initial outbreak of disco culture in the early 70’s that evolved from funk and soul, the latter part of the decade and early 80’s brought a whole plethora of amazing hard-to-find records that got filed under both ‘Space Disco’ and ‘Cosmic Disco’. Things were turning digital and the obsession with futuristic equipment and the new sounds that were possible gave the music an almost ‘outta space’ feel. It’s this vibe and sound that Faze Action have always been so attached to and indeed have focused on for ‘Stratus Energy’, managing to combine theremins, moogs and ‘cello’s into their songs to create an interplanetary journey for the listener. 
 

From the opening intro you get a feeling that the 11-track album is going somewhere positive. From the up-tempo first single ‘Good Lovin’, the pure psychedelica of ‘Venus and Mars’, the kitsch disco of ‘Starship’ via the down tempo Balearic ‘Danae’s Journey’ to the infectious, string laden ‘I Wanna Dancer’ there’s no let up in the quality and flow despite the variations in style.

It’s also key to note that Faze Action have grown from the original partnership of brothers Simon and Robin Lee, who first started recording in the mid 90’s. Sure the pair are still very much the heartbeat in the project, but no longer is it just a studio production duo, but a fully live 6-piece band with vocals from Mary Moore, Tasita D’mour and Robin Lee. 

It’s time to get cosmic.