Biography
More old-school hip-hop, electro and ragga than
big-beat techno (though they're often
pigeon-holed that way), the Freestylers were
formed by the trio of Matt Cantor , Aston Harvey
and Andrew Galea . All three were British b-boys
back in the day, and were heavily involved in
Britain's dance scene by the late '80s, both as DJs
and producers -- Cantor recording as Cut'n'Paste , 2 Fat Buddhas
and Freska All Stars among others, Harvey as Blapps! Posse
(author of the 1990 breakbeat classic "Don't Hold Back"). Harvey
had also worked with Rebel MC and Definition of Sound , but after
meeting Galea , the pair began recording together as Sol
Brothers and soon brought Cantor into the fold as well.
Full Biography...
Recent Releases
B-Boy Stance [Maxi Single]
1999
Single
Here We Go [Single]
1999
Single
Here We Go [Maxi Single]
1999
Single
We Rock Hard
1999
Featured Reviews
We Rock Hard reviewed by X-Radio, 9-22-99
Trying to get that old school cred without wading through thousands of
classic
albums? Pick up the debut of U.K. crew the Freestylers and you’ll find
nearly 20
years of hip-hop flavor jammed into just over an hour’s worth of music.
Freestylers - Biography
More old-school hip-hop, electro and ragga than big-beat techno
(though they're often pigeon-holed that way), the Freestylers
were formed by the trio of Matt Cantor, Aston Harvey and
Andrew Galea. All three were British b-boys back in the day, and
were heavily involved in Britain's dance scene by the late '80s,
both as DJs and producers -- Cantor recording as Cut'n'Paste,
2 Fat Buddhas and Freska All Stars among others, Harvey as
Blapps! Posse (author of the 1990 breakbeat classic "Don't
Hold Back"). Harvey had also worked with Rebel MC and
Definition of Sound, but after meeting Galea, the pair began
recording together as Sol Brothers and soon brought Cantor
into the fold as well.
Taking the name Freestylers from their first sample (Freestyle's
"Don't Stop the Rock"), the trio released their first single, "Drop
the Boom (AK-48)" and formed their own Scratch City Records to
release it. The track was a prime slice of vocoderized electro, and
became an underground club classic as far afield as bass-driven
Miami. The Freestyle EP followed late in 1996, and Freestylers
also released singles on Freskanova (home of Cantor's many
solo projects). The group even managed a chart hit (and Top of
the Pops appearance) with 1998's "B-Boy Stance," a
collaboration with vocalist Tenor Fly. A spate of remixing
followed, for Audioweb, Afrika Bambaataa and the Jungle
Brothers (the latter a pair of the Freestylers' prime influences).
The trio also helmed the big-beat compilation FSUK 2 and
contributed a Radio One Essential Mix (where Beenie Man, Public
Enemy, the Fall and Whodini all rubbed elbows). Live
appearances at Glastonbury and around the European festival
circuit met with much praise, and the Freestylers finally released
their debut album We Rock Hard in 1999. -- John Bush, All
Music Guide
We Rock Hard
Freestylers
Format: Audio CD
Other Formats: Cassette,
Vinyl
Release Date: 05/11/1999
Label: Mammoth Records
User Rating: (5.0 out
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Tracks
Listen to Audio Samples: To hear a song, click the song title below.
RealPlayer is required.
1.
Freestyle Noize
2.
Dancehall Vibes - (featuring Tenor
Fly)
3.
Drop The Boom
4.
Don't Stop
5.
Here We Go Featuring Definition of
Sound
6.
B-Boy Stance - (featuring Tenor Fly)
7.
We Rock Hard - (featuring Soul
Sonic Force)
8.
Breaker Beats Part 1
9.
Spaced Invader
10.
Ruffneck featuring Navigator
11.
Feel The Panic
12.
Check The Skillz
13.
Warning - (featuring Navigator)
Listen to ALL samples
Other Formats & Full Tracks
Editorial Reviews
X-Radio, 9-22-99
Trying to get that old school cred without wading through thousands of
classic
albums? Pick up the debut of U.K. crew the Freestylers and you’ll find
nearly 20
years of hip-hop flavor jammed into just over an hour’s worth of music.
Full
Review
More Editorial Reviews
Quick Quotes
Rolling Stone (5/27/99, p.66) - 3 Stars (out of 5)
...Alternating groove-intensive instrumentals with rap-ragga vocal numbers,
this
sprawling collective aims to get you freakin' on the floor, and anything
less is a
failure..."
Muzik (9/98, p.64) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...unquestionably the finest 2-dimensional,
stoopid-dumb, hands-in-the-air frat-house insanity since the Beasties'
LICENSED
TO ILL....a daft party classic."
CMJ (5/10/99, p.3) - "...'Stylers masterminds Aston Harvey and Matt Cantor
steadfastly preserve the big-beat movement's early 80's electro-funk roots....,
[taking] rave culture on a joyride through the graffiti-stained 'hoods
and alleyways
of rap culture's origins.
Recent User Ratings
06/08/2000
Not bad at all
commonhieroglyphics
06/06/2000
Great
the_mood_of_tazz
03/19/2000
Break-Neck Break-Beats
djaydrop
More User Ratings
Rate this Album
Album Notes
Freestylers includes: Aston Harvey, Matt Cantor, DJ Jay-Rock, MC Tenor
Fly, MC
Navigator; Tony Ferrino (guitar); Jo Gummidge (bass); Clive "The Funk"
Jenner
(drums). Much of the UK's near-decade-long breakbeat scene has been born
of
twin loves: gritty hip-hop culture and rave-centric acid house throwdowns.
While
few would mistake tracks by Prodigy, Chemical Brothers or Propellerheads
for
what widely passes as hip-hop, the fact that more and more respected rappers
are collaborating with these breakbeat architects may preface an adventurous
musical mix in the making. The Freestylers, a loose collaboration between
two
studio geeks, a hot turntablist and a host of rappers and ragga MCs, are
a
sneak-peak at this oncoming wave of (for lack of better term)
electronica-influenced hip-hop. To its credit, WE ROCK HARD, The Freestylers
debut, is more interested in rocking bodies from dusk til dawn than high-fallutin'
musical experimentation. In this respect they succeed gloriously. The samples,
beats and quotes are beyond recognizable, but dropped among the rocked-up
fuzz of Aston Harvey and Matt Cantor's tracks, they're like familiar touchstones
guiding the night-long journey down the dancefloor. Let your booty take
that ride
and the rest of your senses will appreciate it.
General Info
Genre: n/a
Catalog Number: 980 200
Distributor: Universal Distribution
Spars Code: n/a
Mono/Stereo: Stereo
Studio/Live: Studio
Freestylers: We Rock Hard (Mammoth)
by: Vivian Host
Trying to get that old school cred without wading through thousands of
classic albums? Pick up the debut of U.K. crew the Freestylers and you’ll
find
nearly 20 years of hip-hop flavor jammed into just over an hour’s worth
of
music. Picking up where jungle left off, the Freestylers update hip-hop’s
beats, rhymes, and life for the techno era, while adding a distinctly English
twist to American hip hop conventions. They employ MCs, but the slick patois
of Navigator and Tenor Fly is generated directly from Jamaican reggae,
not
rap. They use classic electro breaks, but make them sound fuller with the
help
of today’s machines. And noticeably, the Freestylers feel no shame borrowing
whole loops from classic house, reggae, and hip-hop records -- a facet
of We
Rock Hard that may have some old schoolers scurrying back to their record
collections for comfort. Fortunately, the Freestylers’ sound bites are
combined in a way to pay homage to hip-hop pioneers
rather than just biting their style. Though We
Rock Hard may not be groundbreaking, it is funky.
(More funky, in fact, then CD’s by erstwhile peers
Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers.) “Dancehall
Vibes” combines the best of the old and the
new -- and old hardcore beat is the backdrop to
a ripping, half-speed jungle bassline and the
thoroughly modern toasting of Tenor Fly. “Drop
the Boom” and “Brekaer Beats Part 1,” like most of
the tracks, are excellent breakdance jams; and
the title track, which features vocals by the Soul
Sonic Force (famous for “Planet Rock”) will have
you doing the Robot around your apartment. For
more electronic music reviews, visit x-radio.com.