BIOGRAPHY
 A former British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) producer and on-air personality Rhythmsaints producer Stephen Nixon brought his talents, from Stoke-on-Trent, England to Los Angeles based N*Soul Records in November 1993 to produce and present Scott Blackwell's nationally syndicated Clubhouse radio show. His first excursion into music production was a house mix of "Fall Down (Spirit of Love)" featuring an original vocal sample of Tramaine Hawkins' 1985 classic. (This version was due to appear on Rhythmsaints debut album but use of the sample couldn't be cleared so the song had to be re-recorded with a Los Angeles based singer.) Nixon followed this with "Man In The 5th Dimension" and it was on the strength of these tracks that he was signed to N*SOUL Records as Rhythmsaints. |
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Originally Rhythmsaints was to be a collaboration between Nixon and Scott Blackwell but the Northridge earthquake of January 1994 and an ever increasing production schedule excluded Scott from the production loop. Seeing that he would have to carry the project Nixon started to write material for the album that would be released as Deep Sustained Booming Sounds. Deep Sustained Booming Sounds was recorded in only 19 days, with 9 days at Perfect Music, Manchester and 10 days at N*Soul Studios in Los Angeles! The main vocals, recorded by Sani, later to join The World Wide Message Tribe and sign with Perfecto Records, were laid down in 6 hours one Friday evening, with the help of several cups of tea and Fish and Chips! Instrumentation on the album was by Zarc Porter and Corey Pryor. Deep Sustained Booming Sounds also incorporated the vocal talent of Rebecca Avalos, Lee-Jame Bennion-Nixon and SST (Sister Saint) with a special guest appearance by The World Wide Message Tribe's Heavyfoot. |
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The inspirations for DSBS range from olde English writings, "Day By Day (Prayer of St. Richard)" to the motion picture "L.A. Story," starring Steve Martin. It is these influences and the vast array of musical styles that Rhythmsaints incorporate that characterize Rhythmsaints their music apart from other U.K. dance acts. (Golden), the second album from L.A. based Rhythmsaints was released by N*Soul Records new club label Velocity on October 20th, 1995. Following on from the sound introduced on their 1994 debut Deep Sustained Booming Sounds, Rhythmsaints continue their journey to the foundations of club music, pulling influences from their homeground of the U.K. and the resurging New York club scene. |
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Produced by Stephen Nixon, (Golden) will introduce you to some essential club tunes and major new vocal talent including; Shade, J. Phillip Gillespie, and Mike Heath, with a welcome return to Rhythmsaint Lee-Jane Bennion-Nixon on the hip hop influenced "World". (Golden) also features the programming and production skills of Matt Wanstall. Recorded in Manchester, England, the heart of the U.K. dance scene, at the same studio as the World Wide Message Tribe, Mozaic and Preacha, (Golden) further established Rhythmsaints as a creative force in club music. "(Golden)," says Rhythmsaints producer Stephen Nixon, "is a journey into the foundations of house music". With U.K. and European influences and elements of the latest from the New York house scene (Golden) is the progression of ideas established in Deep Sustained and then further explored with the remix work on Scott Blackwell's "Day By Day". It's a more mature club sound that remains accessible due to it's musical intricacies and influences." |
(Golden) was engineered for the discerning club music listener, with musical and lyrical influences including Shakespeare and Michael Crichton, "I have been reading Crichton's biography Travels, Nixon says "and found it to be an honest and quite inspiring speech for spiritual meaning", to Pet Shop Boys, Bjork, and Star Trek. Vocalists lending their talent to "Man in the 5th Dimension" and Rhythmsaints "L.A. Story"; Shade (pronounced SHAR-DAY) who has sung with thugely successful British pop group take that and is a menber of the choir at London's Kensington Temple (the largest church in England); J. Phillip Gillespie from Scotland, also a member of Kensington Temple; and Mile Heath from Manchester. At 69 minutes (Golden) is an album of large proportions, golden possibilities and golden actualities. |
