name	Liquid Stranger
landscape	yes
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Martin Stääf
alias	Bloatsucher, Hectopascal, Necton, Rhoca, Plantman, Slugger
birth date	November 13, 1978
origin	Varberg, Sweden
instrument	Piano, electronics, computer, softsynth, drum machine, synthesizer, percussion
genre	Dubstep, Drum and Bass, Rave, Moombahton, Ambient, House, Techno, Dub
occupation	Disc jockey, musician, songwriter, producer, remixer, studio engineer
years active	1984-present
label	Interchill Records, Kahvi Collective, Spirit Zone Recordings, Candy Mind records, Subnatura, Monotonik, Adversion Recordings, Six Degrees, Bleep Street, Escapi, Flexible, Sonic Walker, System Recordings, Amenorea, Rottun Recordings
website	}}

Martin Stääf (born 13 November 1978), aka Liquid Stranger, is a Swedish-born electronic musician, described by Generation Bass as ”the epitome of Transnational Dubstep covering everything from Latin, Asian, Eastern European and Jamaican Dancehall dubs.” Martin Stääf is known for his experimental approach to composition where he merges genres to create a unique style of music. Martin Woods of Chillbase describes Liquid Stranger's music as a “unique blend of Ambience, Big Band Jazz, Dubstep and Psychedelica drizzled over electronic Dub Reggae grooves.” Stääf lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

History

Early Years

Martin Stääf was born 13 November 1978 in Varberg on the Swedish West Coast. He started playing the piano and did classical piano concerts between the ages of 6-8. Stääf started experimenting with synthesizers in the mid 80s and abandoned the classical music world to spend the next 10 years producing his own material. Stääf states: ”I never thought about releasing any of my music until I was 17. Then, all of a sudden, it was time to get a job and I realized that there was nothing else I wanted to do at that time than making music.”

Early career: late 1990s

Martin Stääf worked in the commercial studio Bohus Sound Recordings 1997-1999 and engineered/produced various jazz and rock bands. During this time he also made a song for the Euro-Vision contest.

In 1997 Martin Stääf formed the outfit Necton together with Patrik Olsén, mainly focusing on progressive and psychedelic trance. Necton released two full length albums, 6 vinyl EPs, and were featured on numerous CD compilations. They were signed to Spirit Zone Recordings, Digital Structures and Spiral Trax. Necton toured extensively around the world between 1997-2003.

During this time, Martin Stääf released Nu Skool Breaks on labels Ministry Of Sound, Sound Of Habib, Muti Music, Random Recordings, Hope Recordings, and Muve Recordings under the alias Rhoca. Stääf also released funky Techno on Iboga Records, Plusquam Records, and Nanobeat Records.

The Liquid Stranger Project: 2003–2009

Martin Stääf launched the Liquid Stranger project in 2003. His intention was to have one alias that would encompass all his musical output. Consequently, he has produced a wide variety of music under the name Liquid Stranger. At first, Stääf's plan was to keep his identity a secret. He never did interviews or showed his face on stage. Stääf states: ”After a while it became quite tricky. in fact, Interchill finally ruined this idea by writing my name on the record sleeves.” Liquid Stranger's creative output ranges from suggestive Ambient soundscapes to movie scores, pop, dub, infernalia, drill n bass, and electronica.

The first release under the name Liquid Stranger was the song Environmental Meltdown, featured on the compilation Global Psychedelic Chill Out - Compilation Vol. 4 by Spirit Zone Recordings.

When asked in an interview why he moved away from the trance scene, Stääf replied: ”I never really switched per se, I have always made tons of different types of music. During the time I toured with Necton, I produced various stuff like Ambient, Electro and Drill n bass. What excites me is the fusing of genres. I have no fixed style that I stay with too long, I do not like boundaries.”

Subnatura collective

In 2003, Martin Stääf founded the musical collective Subnatura together with Marckus Andersson. Subnatura released 12 digital Ep's and were featured on net label Monotonik and the video DVD Collectanea: First Course, released by Escapi Music.

Candy Mind Records

In 2004, Martin Stääf founded the record label Candy Mind Records together with his brother Jens Stääf. Candy Mind Records released 33 digital Ep's, and one full-length CD release from Dorothy's Magic Bag. During the Candy Mind era, Martin Stääf and his brother started the duo Hectopascal. They released the full-length album Anywhere And Me on Kahvi records. The Ep's Pixels and Pixies, and Alive In Veddige were released on Candy Mind Records.

Interchill Records

In 2005, Stääf got signed to Canadian label Interchill Records. The song Political Finga was featured on Earth Octave Lounge Vol. 2, and received high praise from the dub community. The song Liquid Stranger On The Run appeared on the compilation Dissolving Clouds and got frequent plays on underground radio. Rick Anderson of Allmusic wrote about Liquid Stranger “As someone who has previously worked in progressive rock, punk, techno, breakbeat, and IDM genres, Staaf brings a certain sophistication to his Interchill-style dubtronica, and there is lots to hear for those who take the trouble to listen closely: the brass and orchestral samples bubbling beneath the surface of the gently churning dub of Liquid Stranger on the Run.”

The song We Meet At Last appeared on the compilation Bliminal, and was licensed by Velcrow Ripper for the film Fierce Light – Where Spirit Meets Action, released in 2008.

The Invisible Conquest

The first full-length Liquid Stranger album, The Invisible Conquest, was released by Interchill Records in 2007. A bass-heavy album with melodic bass lines, percussive grooves, tribal accents and minimal psychedelic overlays. The Invisible Conquest received high ratings and praise from critics. Properly Chilled wrote of the album ”Liquid Stranger's sound has the grandeur of its peers without building an humongous ego. . .we give this record two thumbs way up and a standing ovation”, and Raves.com described it as ”A taste of the experimental, a chunk of tribal, all wrapped around a root of dub excellence. . .dub vibes that shoot right through to the middle of your gut.” Morpeus Music describes the music of Liquid Stranger as ”Bass driven atmospheric chillout. Liquid Stranger creates mostly instrumental montages with strong rhythmic content.”

The Intergalactic Slapstick

The second full-length Liquid Stranger album was released by Interchill Records in 2009. This album saw Liquid Stranger moving significantly into heavier Dubstep and reggae influenced grooves. Vocalists Brother Culture, Danman, Deeyah and Warrior Queen are featured on the album. Seb Taylor from Kaya Project plays Steel Guitar on the songs His Fully Automatic Wheelbarrow, and Dew Point. Dub-connection wrote of the album ”the production varies and waves between a electro-dub chill-out and powerful tracks in the limit of drum and bass with a bit of stepper to spice the sound.” Morpheus Music wrote of the album ”The diverse roots of Liquid Stranger's sound sprawl across electro, ambient, grime, global, breaks and garage.” Sun Is Shining wrote ”Some albums float your boat with one or two tracks becoming ingrained in your mind for days, weeks and even months. Once in a blue moon an album levitates that boat out of the water and into the clouds. LS’s long awaited second album is certainly filed in the latter category.”

The Private Riot

The third full-length Liquid Stranger album was released on Rottun Recordings in 2010. This album features 10 dark and energetic Dubstep songs, described by Music and Happy Life as "totally devastating dance-floor monsters." The album received high praise in the electronic music scene, with the song "Ripple" hitting number 1 on Beatport's top download charts for an extended period of time.

Background information

Influences

Martin Stääf mentioned in an interview on BBC radio that his main influence comes from music from vintage computer games. In an interview with Chillbase, Stääf says that he does not listen to music all that much, except when he is on a concert. In the same interview Stääf explains that he gets inspiration from movie soundtracks, dreams, and everyday life.

Discography

Albums

Anywhere And Me (2005)

The Invisible Conquest (2007)

The Intergalactic Slapstick (2009)

The Private Riot (2010)

Mechanoid Meltdown (2010)

The Arcane Terrain (2011)

Cryogenic Encounters (2012)

The Renegade Crusade (2012) | Not Released

Singles

It Came From The Dessert (2003)

Subsonic Soil (2004)

Pixies And Pixels (2004)

Dead Or Alive (2005)

Spores (2005)

Alive In Veddige (2005)

Banana(Electro)Split (2006)

Monster (2009)

Steel Trap (2009)

Tracks appear on

Collectanea First Course - "Impossible Mission" (2003)

Global Psychedelic Chill Out Vol. 4 - "Environmental Meltdown" (2003)

Subnatural Soundscapes Vol I - "From The Sky" (2003)

Purple Pollen - "Bismarch" (2004)

Some Candy Before Christmas - "Ginger Bread Juice" (2004)

Sound Of Subnatura - "Onda Ögat" (2004)

Burning Chocolate - " Den Infekterade Terminalen" (2005)

Dissolving Clouds - "Liquid Stranger On The Run" (2005)

Earth Octave Lounge Vol. 2 - "Political Finga" (2005)

Promotion CD 2005 - "Velour, Bleck" (2005)

Electromeister 1.0 - "Smeartest" (2006)

Masters Of The Green Insects - "Jakten På Guldpokalerna" (2006)

New World Dub 01 - "Political Finga" (2006)

A Beginning Of An End - "I And I" (2007)

Bliminal - "We Meet At Last" (2007)

Amenorea Dubs (Volume 01) - "Zenmaniax" (2008)

One Dub - "Welcome To My Culvert" (2009)

dimmSummer presents: Nu Asian SoundZ - "Hexed and Perplexed featuring Deeyah" (2010)

dimmSummer presents: SUBcontinentalBASS - "Fist of Fury" (2011)

Remixes

"Slem - Denri (Liquid Stranger Remix)" 2004)

"Dorothy's Magic Bag - Ghostmachine (Liquid Stranger Laxative Remix)" (2004)

"Hectopascal - Svälj Din Saliv (Liquid Stranger Remix)" (2004)

"Goto80 - Wombatman (Liquid Stranger's Duplomix)(2005)"

"Bruno Ferrari - Jean Gabin (Liquid Stranger's Duplomix)" (2005)

"Dorothy's Magic Bag - Monster (Liquid Stranger Remix)" (2006)

"Bombay Dub Orchestra - Journey (Liquid Stranger's Sliptrip Edit)" (2009)

"Goto80 - Breakfast (Liquid Stranger's Gourmet Mixture)" (2009)

"Specialist & Tru Skool - Dhaaru Pee Ke (Liquid Stranger Remix)" (2010)

"Love Avalanche - Less Corruption (Liquid Stranger Remix)" (2010)

"Psilodump - The Somnambulist (Liquid Stranger's Dirtnap Remix)" (2010)

"El Diablo - Devil in the Machine (Liquid Stranger Remix)" (2011)

Releases on

Adversion Recordings

Amenorea

Bleep Street

Candy Mind Records

Escapi

Flexible

High Chai Recordings

Interchill Records

Kahvi Collective

Monotonik

Rottun Recordings

Six Degrees

Sonic Walker

Spirit Zone Recordings

Subnatura

System Recordings

References

External links

Official Facebook page.

Liquid Stranger discography at Discogs.

Liquid Stranger artist page at Myspace.

Category:1978 births Category:Ambient musicians Category:Electronic musicians Category:Swedish electronic musicians Category:Swedish musicians Category:Techno musicians Category:Dub musicians Category:Dubstep musicians Category:Living people Category:People from Varberg Category:Remixers Category:Interchill Records artists

name	Ohio Players
background	group_or_band
alias	The Ohio Untouchables
origin	Dayton, Ohio, United States
genre	FunkR&BSoul
years active	1959–1997
label	Westbound, Mercury, Boardwalk
website	http://theofficialohioplayers.com/
past members	Cornelius JohnsonWalter "Junie" MorrisonLeroy BonnerMarshall "Rock" JonesRobert "Rumba" JonesBilly BeckWes BoatmanMervin PierceRalph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks (deceased)Jimmy SampsonVincent ThomasJames "Diamond" WilliamsClarence WillisGreg WebsterBruce NapierAndrew NolandClarence "Satch" Satchell (deceased)Bobby Lee FearsDutch RobinsonRobert Ward (Deceased) }}

The Ohio Players were an American funk and R&B band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their double #1 hit songs "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster".

Biography

The band formed in Dayton, Ohio in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables, and initially included members Robert Ward (vocals/guitar), Marshall "Rock" Jones (bass), Clarence "Satch" Satchell (saxophone/guitar), Cornelius Johnson (drums), and Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks (trumpet/trombone). They were best known at the time as a backing group for Detroit's The Falcons. The Ohio Untouchables broke up in 1963 with Ward leaving for a solo career, but the core members of the group returned to Dayton and the following year added Gregory Webster (drums) along with Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner (guitar), who would become the group's front man. The group added two more singers, Bobby Lee Fears and Dutch Robinson, and became the house band for the New York based Compass Records in 1967.

The group disbanded again in 1970. After again reforming with a line-up including Bonner, Satchell, Middlebrooks, Jones, Webster, trumpeter Bruce Napier, vocalist Charles Dale Allen, trombonist Marvin Pierce and keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison, the Players had a minor hit on the Detroit-based Westbound label in 1971 with "Pain," which reached the Top 40 of the ''Billboard'' R&B Chart. Dale Allen shared co-lead vocals on some of the early Westbound material, although he was not credited on their albums ''Pain'' and ''Pleasure''.

The band's first big hit single was "Funky Worm", which reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and made the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1973. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in May of that year. The band signed with Mercury Records in 1974. By this time, their line-up had changed again, with keyboardist Billy Beck instead of Morrison and Jimmy "Diamond" Williams on drums instead of Webster. On later album releases, they added second guitarist/vocalist Clarence 'Chet' Willis and conga player Robert "Rumba" Jones.

The band had seven Top 40 hits between 1973 and 1976. These included "Fire" (#1 on both the R&B and pop chart for two weeks and one week respectively in February 1975 and another million seller) and "Love Rollercoaster" (#1 on both the R&B and pop charts for one week in January 1976; another gold disc recipient). The group's last big hit was "Who'd She Coo?" a #1 R&B hit in August 1976. It was their only success in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at #43 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1976.

Clarence Satchell (born April 15, 1940) died December 30, 1995 after suffering a brain aneurysm, Ralph Middlebrooks (born August 20, 1939) died in November 1997, and Robert Ward (born October 15, 1938) died at home December 25, 2008. Marshall Jones resides in Jamestown, Ohio.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album	Peak chart positions			[[Music recording sales certification	Record label
		! width="40"	! width="40"	! width="40"
		—	—	—	—	rowspan="1"
	align="left"	177	21	—		* US: Gold	rowspan="3"
align="left"	63	4	—	—
	align="left"	70	19	—	—
		11	1	15		* US: Platinum	rowspan="7"
align="left"	1	1	17		* US: Platinum
	align="left"	2	1	36		* US: Platinum
	align="left"	12	1	26		* US: Gold
	align="left"	41	9	58	—
align="left"	68	11	65	—
		69	15	—	—
		80	19	—	—	rowspan="1"
		165	49	—	—	rowspan="2"
	201	—	—	—
		—	—	—	—
		—	55	—	—

Live albums

Year	Album	Peak chart positions			Record label
		! width="40"	! width="40"	! width="40"
		—	—	—	rowspan="1"
		—	—	—	rowspan="1"

Compilation albums

Year	Album	Peak chart positions			[[Music recording sales certification	Record label
		! width="40"	! width="40"	! width="40"
		—	—	—	—
		—	32	—	—	rowspan="1"
align="left"	102	24	—	—	rowspan="3"
		92	22	—	—
	61	8	—	—
	align="left"	31	10	28		* US: Gold	rowspan="1"
		—	58	—	—
		—	—	—	—
		—	—	—	—
		—	—	—	—
		—	—	—	—	rowspan="1"

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		! width="40"	! width="40"	! width="40"
		—	—	—
		—	50	—
	—	—	—
		—	—	—
	—	—	—
		64	35	91
		—	45	—
	—	—	—
		15	1	50
	31	12	—
	—	—	—
		47	6	71
	13	2	19
align="left"	1	1	5
		44	6	51
	33	1	60
	1	1	2
		30	9	43
	90	69	—
	18	1	63
	—	26	—
		61	31	—
	—	19	—
	45	9	88
	—	77	—
	101	51	—
		—	93	—
	105	27	—
	—	53	—
		—	33	—
		—	40	—
	—	46	—
	—	—	—
		—	83	—
		—	50	—
	—	33	—

; Notes "Fire" also peaked at #10 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. "Who'd She Coo?" also peaked at #43 on the UK Singles Chart.

Million sellers

Gold discs, due to records selling at least one million copies, were awarded to the singles "Funky Worm," "Skin Tight," "Fire," and "Love Rollercoaster;" plus to their albums ''Skin Tight,'' ''Fire,'' and ''Honey.''

See also

List of number-one hits (United States)

List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)

References

External links

Ohio Players Official website

Ohio Players at Wenig-LaMonica Associates

Category:Musical groups established in 1959 Category:American dance music groups Category:American funk musical groups Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musical groups from Dayton, Ohio

de:Ohio Players es:Ohio Players fr:The Ohio Players it:Ohio Players ja:オハイオ・プレイヤーズ no:Ohio Players pl:Ohio Players pt:Ohio Players fi:Ohio Players sv:Ohio Players