Sunday, September 17, 2006

URBAN ASSAULT 9-15-2006



Faust and Shortee's career has been a series of firsts. Each of their debut albums set musical benchmarks ”Faust's "Man or Myth" was the first solo turntablist album, and Shortee's "The Dreamer" was the first solo album by a female DJ/producer. Joining forces with the world-famous DJ Craze, they concocted the "Fathomless EP", releasing the first ever all-turntable/scratching drum & bass tracks. Even before they broke new ground with their releases, both were blazing trails in clubs spinning hardhouse, techno & hip-hop shows bringing their uncanny chemistry and raw musical talent to dance floors all over the world. In 1997 Shortee became the first & only female “Fever/ Buzz Battle Of The DJs” champion, winning the US's largest Techno, House, Drum & Bass DJ/mixing competition once held at Nation (Buzz) in Washington, DC.

In 2001, they became the first married turntablist tandem, making their two-into-one approach not just a musical philosophy, but also a true way of life. When they combine their efforts, they bring out the best in each other. Witness their latest albums, Digital Soul and Satisfaction Guaranteed, both produced by the pair working together. Hard, funky drums, soulful basslines, and meticulously composed instrumentation abound, helping these albums bridge the gap between mood music and pure dancefloor pyrotechnics. Together they have release singles, remixes, countless mix cds & appeared solo & jointly on numerous compilations ("Urban Revolutions", "Return of the DJ 3", "DJ Girl", "Revenge of the B-Boy", "XIII Soundtrack", "Scratch Movie Soundtrack", "Tino Breaks Vol 1 & 2", "Bomb Anniversary Collection 1991-2001", "CMJ Compilation", "Deep Concentration 3", "Contents Under Pressure",.

Their tracks have been used in breakdance videos such as Redbull's "Lords of the Floor 2001", Tribal Gear's "Break Boys II" & their music has aired worldwide on networks such as MTV, NBC, CNN & ESPN with features like the X-Games, Tony Hawk's Skate Park Tour, Hip-Hop Nation, Headline News & the esteemed World Cup 2002. Their song "Drumcircle" (Digital Soul) is the official theme song for "MTV SPORTS UNLIMITED AXXESS" & the duo's solo & joint albums have earned them critical acclaim in major publications like Muzik, Spin, URB, Remix, Rolling Stone, XLR8R, DJ Times & more.

Both were featured in the critically acclaimed documentary Scratch as notable innovators alongside Jazzy Jay, Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, Z-Trip, Grand Wizard Theodore, Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike etc. Scratch airs regularly on HBO, VH1, Cinimax, Encore, NBC, Sundance, Showtime etc. Shortee has appeared in "Spinsters" (Jane Walker & Jackie Pelle) & is a main focus in the upcoming female hip-hop Dj documentary "Mistress X" (Sowa Entertainment/The Manhattan Project) as well as various other upcoming female DJ documentaries including "Girl" (3 Day Dog Films) & "Vinyl is a Girl's Best Friend" (Irish Rose Films). Both Faust & Shortee have made media appearances on TV shows such as NBC's National TV Show "Hip Hop Nation", CNN's "Headline News" & CNN Inflight's "Showbiz This Month".

Shortee has been recognized as one of Urb's Next 100 Artists (2001) & is poised as the official tour DJ for the Playboy 50th Anniversary Tour, scratch diva for the high profile annual Playboy Superbowl parties (2003 & 2004), & The Playboy Mansion. She's also toured for other coorperate giants such as Coca-Cola/Sprite, Frito Lay/Doritos, & Simon Malls. Not to be outdone, Faust has been ranked as one of the top 5 turntablists in the world by Spin Magazine & opened stadiums for huge rock bands like The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Faust & Shortee have still managed to drop numerous mix CDs & mixtapes including the "Urban Assult" series (Drum & Bass) "Hip Hip Mega Mix" series (Hip Hop/Breaks/Funk/Soul) , "Methods of Motion" & "Dream Theory" series (Hard House & Techno) & their Final Scratch mix "The XIII Soundtrack" for for Ubi Soft's video game "XIII" which features original tracks by their very own Future Primitive Sound Collective. Shortee's solo mix CDs include "Teknical Knockout" (Drum n Bass), "Playboy 50th Anniversary Tour Mix" series (Vol. 01 - Hip Hop, Funk, Soul, breaks & House / Vol. 02 - Progressive House / Vol. 03 - Mainstream Hip Hop) which follow her earlier release "Casa de Playboy" (Latin House) from the Playboy Superbowl party 2003. Faust has collaborated with fellow Citizenz crewmember, DJ Enki, and togther they recently released "Cause & Effect" (Hip Hop, Funk, Soul & Rare Breaks).

Shortee has released a much-needed DJ instructional video/DVD series (& the 1st to be released by a female DJ) which include, "Shortee's DJ 101" (2000/02) and "Shortee's DJ 202" (2005) in which she walks begginner & intermediate level DJs through all the basics, from setting up the equipment to mixing, scratching & beatjuggling skills, lessons in new technology & turntable repair to what to expect as a travelling DJ. She features turntable & MC visionaries like Faust, Craze, Q-Bert, Babu, Disk, Flare, Danny The Wildchild, Phantom 45, MC Armanni and more! A majority of the soundtrack in both DVDs are comprised of Faust & Shortee's original music. In addition to the success of her DVD series & teaching skills, Faust & Shortee are professors at The Scratch DJ Academy founded by RUN DMC's Jam Master Jay. Both are currently teaching courses & private lessons which at the Los Angeles branch, New York's new west coast school.

Back in the studio, Faust and Shortee created neck-snapping remixes for the critically acclaimed breakbeat gurus Tino Corp. (Jack Dangers & Ben Stokes of Meat Beat Manifesto) and have been doing work with MC Supastition. Both are currently hard at work producing crushing stateside Drum & Bass for "Urban Assault" , the duo's DnB DJ/production team.

In addition to Urban Assault DnB, the duo joined forces with jungle phenomena Danny the Wildchild to create a whole new monster of rhythm: The Bomb Tour - three world-class DJs; six turntables; the best in hip-hop, breaks, and drum n’ bass; plenty of scratching; and a show that has left dance-happy b-kids nationwide begging for more. As far as crews go, Faust & Shortee are also a long-time members of the world-reknowned Future Primitive Sound Collective (along with Faust, Cut Chemist, Dj Shadow, Shortcut, Jack Dangers, Disk & Buckethead (Primus), Tino Corp, DJ Design, Zeph, Space Travelers, Z-Trip, Devious Doze & more). A co-founder of both the original turntablist crew Third World Citizens (Faust, Shortee, Craze, Shotgun, King James, & T-rock) now simply: The Citizenz (Faust, Shortee, Enki) as well as her electronic-oriented crew: Space Kadets Collective (Faust, Motomasa, Eve, Kri & Usul). Recently Shortee has also been performing shows with fellow female turntablist, DJ Annalyze, under the team name Twice as Nice featuring Drum n Bass, Breaks & turntablist showcases on 4 turntables.

In between the studio & headlining their own shows, the duo has been billed with such luminaries as KRS-One, Method Man, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Scott Henry, Dj Irene, X-ecutioners, Dieselboy, Crystal Method, Frankie Bones, High Contrast, Dilated Peoples, Prince Paul, Tino Corp., Cut Chemist, Q-bert, Babu, Disk, Sasha, BT, Paul Oakenfold, Roni Size and countless others.

Faust & Shortee are featured artists on CNET (Faust / Shortee) , regulars at the annual NAMM Show in Annaheim, CA & sponsored by respected entities such as Rane, Stanton, Shure, Tribal Gear, Cakewalk , Playboy, Femme Arsenel (Ecko) and more. Veteran globetrotters, Faust & Shortee rock Drum n Bass, Hip-Hop, Funk, Soul, House & Breaks worldwide, performing all over the U.S., Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France, London, Amsterdam, Italy, Korea, Singapore, Hong kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia & more!