Bomfunk MC's
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| Bomfunk MC's | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Finland |
| Genre(s) | Electro |
| Years active | 1997-present |
The Bomfunk MC's are a robot hip hop act, formed in 1997 in Finland. The group's front man is B.O. Dubb (formerly known as B.O.W., born Raymond Ebanks) and the main producer is Jaakko "JS16" Salovaara.
The debut release was the 1999's album In Stereo (Sony Music) with the singles "Freestyler", "Uprocking Beats" and "B-Boys & Flygirls", all big hits in Finland. The success led to the release of "Freestyler" in Scandinavia and Germany.
By 2000, "Freestyler" had become a big hit in Europe and it was the year's biggest-selling single in Europe. The single reached number one in Australia, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany, and number two in the UK. Also in 2000, they won Best Nordic Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Nevertheless, the single did spark a little controversy. The line "Who the fuck is Alice, is she from Buckingham Palace?" was censored on the UK radio version, and the video featured a lot of product placement by Sony.
In 2002, the group released the album Burnin' Sneakers, spawning the singles "Super Electric", "Live Your Life" featuring Max'C, and "Something Goin' On" with Jessica Folcker. This album gained less attention internationally, though selling well in Finland. "Something Going On" reached the German top 20.
In September 2002, DJ Gismo decided to leave the band (shortly afterwards joining the band Stonedeep), being promptly replaced by Riku Pentti (DJ) and Okke Komulainen ("Hypnotic" featuring Elena Mady). Half of the album was produced by JS16, and the other half by The Skillsters Plus One.
"Reverse Psychology" and its singles did not garner much attention outside the Nordic countries. Both of the singles reached the German top 100, but did not chart elsewhere in Western Europe. Even fan reception was extremely mixed.
The band was extremely popular in several Eastern European and former Soviet states during 2001-2005. The eastern European market is/was rife with bootlegs of Bomfunk MC's records- with many regularly surfacing on eBay. In the early 2000's, this became somewhat of a standing joke among fans.
Despite being on a major label, Bomfunk MC's music has been extremely hard to find in most record stores across the globe since 2001. Also, the Bomfunk MC's website is notorious among fans of the band for its lack of updates. As of 2007, both the official Bomfunk MC's website and the band's largest fansite appear to be offline, with many smaller fansites also disappearing.
As of 2007, nothing is known of the current situation of the band, or if the band is indeed still active or not. Many of the band's collaborators have dedicated themselves to other (musical) projects or activities or faded into obscurity. The bands' main producer and mentor, JS16, is still musically active as a solo artist (2007 saw the release of his first solo track in over half a decade, "Rosegarden", which achieved significant club play) and as half of the successful dance act Dallas Superstars.
Contents |
[edit] Members
- Raymond Ebanks B.O.W aka B.O.Dubb (MC)
- Ari Toikka aka A.T (drums)
- Ville Mäkinen aka Mr Wily (bass/keyboards)
- Riku Pentti aka DJ Infekto (DJ, keyboards)
- Okke Komulainen (keyboards)
[edit] Former members
Ismo Lappalainen aka DJ Gismo (DJ, left in 2002)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- In Stereo (Sony Music/Epidrome) 1999
- In Stereo (Tour Edition) (Sony Music/Epidrome) 2000
- In Stereo (Special 2 Disc Edition) (Sony Music/Epidrome) 2000
- Burnin' Sneakers (Sony Music/Epidrome) 2002
- Burnin' Sneakers (2nd Edition) (Sony Music/Epidrome) 2002
- Burnin' Sneakers (Special 2 Disc Edition) (Sony Music/Epidrome) 2002
- Reverse Psychology (Universal Music/Polydor) 2004
[edit] Singles
- "Uprocking Beats (CD Single)" 1998
- "Uprocking Beats (CD Maxi)" 1998
- "Uprocking Beats (12" Vinyl)" 1998
- "B-Boys & Flygirls (CD Single)" 1999
- "B-Boys & Flygirls (CD Maxi)" 1999
- "B-Boys & Flygirls (12" Vinyl)" 1999
- "Sky's The Limit (Finland Promo)" 1999
- "Rocking Just To Make Ya Move (CD Maxi)" 1999
- "Freestyler" (Scandinavian Edition) 1999
- "Other Emcees" 1999
- "Freestyler" (European Re-Release) 2000
- "Freestyler" (United Kingdom Edition) 1999
- "Freestyler" (Australian Edition) 1999
- "Freestyler" (United States Edition) 1999
- "B-Boys & Flygirls (Y2K Mix)" 2000
- "B-Boys & Flygirls (Y2K Mix German Edition)" 2000
- "B-Boys & Flygirls (Y2K Mix Danish Edition)" 2000
- "Uprocking Beats (JS 16 Radio Mix)" 2000
- "Uprocking Beats (JS 16 Radio Mix UK Promo)" 2000
- "Uprocking Beats (JS 16 Radio Mix UK Edition CD1)" 2000
- "Uprocking Beats (JS 16 Radio Mix UK Edition CD2)" 2000
- "Uprocking Beats (JS 16 Radio Mix UK Master Promo)" 2000
- "Uprocking Beats (JS 16 Radio Mix US Edition 12" Vinyl)" 2000
- "Super Electric (CD Single/Maxi)" 2001
- "Super Electric (European Edition 12" Vinyl)" 2002
- "Live Your Life" (feat. Max'C CD Single/Maxi) 2002
- "Live Your Life" (European Edition 12" Vinyl) 2002
- "Live Your Life" (Germany Re-edition CD Maxi) 2002
- "Live Your Life" (Finland Promo) 2002
- "(Crack It!) Something Goin' On" (feat. Jessica Folcker CD Single/Maxi), partial cover of a track by Anni-Frid Lyngstad 2002
- "Back To Back" (feat. Z-MC CD Single) 2002
- "No Way In Hell (CD Maxi)" 2004
- "No Way In Hell (European Edition 12" Vinyl)" 2004
- "No Way In Hell (European Promo)" 2004
- "Hypnotic" (feat. Elena Mady CD Single) 2004
- "Hypnotic" (CD Maxi) 2005
- "Turn It Up" (feat. Anna Nordell Radio Promo) 2005
[edit] Video
- Uprocking Beats 1999
- B-Boys & Fly Girls 1999
- Freestyler 2000
- B-Boys & Fly Girls Y2K Mix 2000
- Uprocking Beats JS 16 Radio Mix 2000
- Super Electric 2001
- Live Your Life (song)|Live Your Life 2002
- (Crack It!) Something Goin' On 2002
- Back To Back 2002
- No Way In Hell]] 2004
- Hypnotic 2005
