Rob Dougan
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| Rob Dougan | |
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 The cover to Rob Dougan's 2003 début album Furious Angels
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| Background information | |
| Born | in 1965 (42) Sydney, Australia |
Rob Dougan, also known as Rob D (born 1965 Sydney, Australia) is a genre-blending music composer. Mixing elements of orchestral music, trip hop, and bluesy vocals, his work is only tangentially relatable to electronic music. He was known primarily for his breakthrough 1995 single "Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino variation)", popularized by 1999's The Matrix soundtrack. "Clubbed to Death" was released on his debut album Furious Angels in 2002, seven years after its initial release.
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[edit] History
Ca. 1990, his friend Rollo brought Rob Dougan from Australia to London. From 1991 to 1995, "Rob D" was a DJ and remix artist. In 1994 his remixes started charting in the UK. He also released his first own single, "Hard Times".
In 1995, his hit single "Clubbed to Death" gave him a recognized name in the UK dance club scene. He produced almost a dozen remixes of it, including the fan-favourite "Kurayamino Variation". His label Mo'Wax Records was so pleased they commissioned him the follow-up "Clubbed to Death 2" (later the bonus track on the album).
"Furious Angels" was not released on Mowax but Dougan eventually released it as a single in 1998 with his new label Cheeky Records. Dougan toiled six more years, doing remixes and licensing his tracks, in order to self-produce the album exactly like he intended it: backed by a full orchestra and a full choir.
In 1999, his exposure increased dramatically when his "Clubbed To Death (Kurayamino Variation)" was featured on the soundtrack of The Matrix, but this hit remained the only public face of then "Rob D". He has also provided remixes of songs by U2, Moby and Kylie Minogue, and contributed two more tracks to the soundtrack of 2003's Matrix sequel The Matrix Reloaded, Château and Kung Fu (A shortened version of "Furious Angels" made for "The Matrix Reloaded"). Also on The Matrix Reloaded DVD the background movie has the I'm Not Driving Anymore Instrumental soundtrack.
In 2002 in the UK, and 2003 in the rest of the world, he eventually released his debut album Furious Angels to critical acclaim[1] and some surprise from the new tone of his work, as well as from his own Leonard Cohen-esque gravel-voiced vocals. Later in 2003, a two-disc re-release of Furious Angels featured all-instrumental versions on the second disc.
Dougan is currently writing "a couple of songs" for Sugababes, and working on two albums of his own — one original, one classical.[2]
Rob Dougan "Will You Follow Me" (2002)
Rob Dougan "Clubbed To Death (Kurayamino Mix)" (1996)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- (2002) Furious Angels
- 1-CD (14 tracks) on the basic edition.
- 1-CD (15 tracks) on the UK edition (bonus "Clubbed to Death 2")
- 2-CD (15+10 tracks) on the 2003 re-release (the second disc provides the instrumental versions of the first disc, for those who disliked Dougan'sik gravelly voice or want to hear the pieces in the fashion they were used on movies like Driven and the Matrix trilogy).
[edit] Singles, EPs
- (1995) "Hard Times" - Single, various remixes.
- (1995) "Clubbed to Death" - Single, many variant EPs ranging from 2 to 8 remixes.
- (1998) "Furious Angels" - Single, many variant EPs ranging from 2 to 7 remixes.
- (1999) The Matrix (OST) has "Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino mix)" credited to his then DJ alias "Rob D".
- (2003) The Matrix Reloaded (OST) has "Furious Angels [instrumental]" and "Château" (an original track).
[edit] Selected songs showcasing style
- "Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino variation)"
- The classic featuring big beats and orchestral themes. Used in The Matrix "Woman In The Red Dress" Morpheus-Neo training sequence: "The Matrix is a system Neo, that system is our enemy... Were you listening to me Neo? Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?". The strings at the beginning of the "Kurayamino Variation" mix are sampled from Enigma Variations, a popular piece by British composer Edward Elgar.
This was also used in Round 2: Rodney Mullen versus Daewon Song.
- "I'm Not Driving Anymore"
- Instrumental and vocal versions. From Furious Angels album, appeared in Driven, a movie about racing. Instrumental version was used in the trailer for The Matrix Reloaded. Instrumental version was also used as the theme for Law & Order in the UK. Also used in the opening video montage of the New York Knicks for the 2006-2007 NBA season. The drum beat in the both the vocal and instrumental versions of the song is the opening drumbeat sampled from When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin
- "Furious Angels"
- Features big beats, strings and other orchestral overtones. From The Matrix Reloaded initial fight scene between Neo against several agents, to buy time for the other Zion captains and crew (such as Morpheus and Niobe) to escape. Quite similar in theme with "Château" below. The instrumental version of 'Furious Angels' also appears in the opening FMV sequence of Grand Prix 3.
- "Château"
- Features beats, strings and brass. From The Matrix Reloaded fight scene of Neo against the Merovingian's henchmen. Fast pace, atmospheric, modern instrumental.
- "Born Yesterday"
- Also from Furious Angels. Vocal version offers plaintive, powerful lyrics.
- "Left Me for Dead"
- Again, from Furious Angels. Vocal version poses some angry lyrics alongside strings and deep bass beats.
- "Clubbed to Death 2"
- Furious Angels exclusive track. A more driving version than the 1 counterpart. It uses samples from Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in E Minor.
- "Will You Follow Me" and Instrumental
- From Furious Angels. Virtually all orchestral elements creating some romantic modern orchestra music. Used in the new Motorola Z8 advert
- "There's Only Me"
- Instrumental and vocal versions. From "Furious Angels". Used as the theme for Law & Order: Criminal Intent in the UK.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] General links
- Sick of dance music, The Guardian, August 29, 2003 — Good overview, many useful quotes.
- IGN's 2003 interview - All about his involvement with the Matrix series' soundtracks.
- Rob Dougan at the Internet Movie Database
- Rob Dougan's Original Site at waybackmachine.org
[edit] Fansites
- Rob Dougan Forum - Fansite forum
- Rob Dougan in films, TV, etc. - Illustrated list of the uses of Dougan's music (English section of a larger Japanese site)
- RDCD.com - Rob Dougan Compact Disc - discography site
