Photek

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Photek (2015)

Photek is the best known stage name of Rupert Parkes (* 1972 in St Albans , England ), a British drum and bass musician and film composer . He has also published under pseudonyms such as Special Forces , Studio Pressure , Aquarius and Sentinel .

Life and career

Photek was early on in the British drum and bass scene, his first release being in 1992 with Rob Solomon. Since the mid-1990s, Parkes has also appeared as a composer for film and television productions as well as video games.

Photek's first releases were still characterized by the ambient style, but also with rhythm elements typical of drum and bass. Due to the use of “ fractal beats ”, his EP The Hidden Camera (1996) in particular was “received as a sensation in jazz circles” ( Wolf Kampmann ). His album Modus Operandi , which was released in 1997, then shaped the typical “Photek style”: atmospheric pieces with cool, highly complex beats, partly underlaid with minimalist synthesizer melodies, but which contrast with the sound of a plucked double bass . Through this and through a tendency to improvisation, a jazz influence becomes recognizable. At the same time, Photek worked with the musician Kirk Degiorgio . In 1996 the single T-Raenon was released on Degiorgio's label Op-ART .

Photek's album Solaris moved away from that sound, more towards dark house tracks and abstract ambient pieces. After the release of Solaris , Photek left his previous record company, the Virgin Records sub-label Science, and has since released his productions on his own label, Photek Productions .

In 1996 Photek produced the song The Third Sequence for the game WipEout 2097 .

He has been composing for the ABC series How to Get Away with Murder since 2014 .

Discography (selection)

Albums

  • 1997: Photek - Modus Operandi (Science, Virgin)
  • 1998: Photek - Form & Function (Science, Virgin)
  • 2000: Photek - Solaris (Science, Virgin)
  • 2007: Photek - Form & Function Vol 2 (Sanctuary Records)
  • 2012: Photek - DJ-Kicks ( K7 Records (Alive))
  • 2012: Photek - Ku: Palm (Photek)

Singles and EPs

  • 1994: Photek - Natural Born Killa EP ( Metalheadz )
  • 1995: Photek - UFO / Rings Around Saturn (Photek)
  • 1995: Photek - The Seven Samurai / Complex (Photek)
  • 1995: Goldie / Photek - Still Life / The Rain (Remixes) (Razors Edge)
  • 1996: Photek - T-Raenon (Op-ART)
  • 1996: Photek - The Hidden Camera (Science, Virgin)
  • 1996: Photek - The Third Sequence / Titan (Astralwerks)
  • 1997: Photek - Ni - Ten - Ichi - Ryu (Science)
  • 1997: Photek - Risc vs Reward (Astralwerks)
  • 1997: Photek - One Nation / Say It (Prototype Recordings)
  • 1998: Photek - Modus Operandi (Science)
  • 2000: Photek - Mine To Give (Astralwerks)
  • 2000: Photek - Terminus (Science, Virgin)
  • 2003: Photek presents Choc Ty feat. Chiara - We Got Heat (51st State)
  • 2004: Photek + Die / Krust + Die - Thunder / Collision Course (Full Cycle Records)
  • 2004: Fabio & Photek - No Joke / Baltimore (Photek Productions)
  • 2004: Photek - MDZ.04 Album Sampler (Metalheadz)
  • 2005: Photek / Teebee - Fake ID / Mercury (Photek Productions)
  • 2006: Photek vs. Special Forces - Ni Ten Ichi Ryu / Sidewinder (Remixes) (Photek Productions)
  • 2007: Photek - Love & War (Sanctuary Records)
  • 2011: Photek - Closer (Tectonic)
  • 2011: Photek - Avalanche (Photek Productions)
  • 2011: Photek - Aviator EP (Photek Productions)
  • 2011: Photek - 101 (Boddika Remix) / This City (Photek Productions)

Filmography (selection)

Lexigraphic entries

Web links

Commons : Photek  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Photek
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Parkes, Rupert (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British drum and bass musician and film composer
DATE OF BIRTH 1972
PLACE OF BIRTH St Albans , England , UK