VOCAINE

Music:

Member Since: 1/10/2007
Band Members: Producer name "VOCAINE" A.K.A. "TG1" (The Gifted One), Oakland-born Chris Elsner is blessed with a remarkable variety of skills. In fact, his one-man combination of musical and artistic virtuosity is unlike anything in the industry today. The great-great-great grandson of Jozef Elsner - a famous composer who taught the legendary Frederic Chopin - Chris started playing the piano when he was five, reproducing the theme songs to his favorite TV shows by ear. Sensing his natural ability, his mother furthered his development with classical training from a teacher. From there Elsner grew into a genuine prodigy, learning saxophone, bass, and drums all by the age of 14. Equally interested in drawing, he had also become an exceptional artist as well. His love of cartoons and his curiosity about how they were made steered him into the world of animation, where Elsner discovered a link between his passion for both music and moving pictures. Soon he was winning art contests at school and gaining recognition at film festivals for his animated shorts. In later years, Elsner enrolled at Arizona State University and began to focus exclusively on his drumming. While pursuing a degree in Fine Arts, he joined the ASU drum line, in addition to playing in various bands on the local music scene. At this time, however, Elsner’s artwork caught the attention of 20th Century Fox, and he decided to leave college behind and accept their offer to become a feature animator.1998 brought a turning point in Elsner’s career. Growing restless with sitting behind a desk all day and itching to perform onstage again, he responded to an ad in the newspaper looking for a keyboard player for a new band. The end result was a rock/fusion funk group called "Bionic Jive." After a promising start, repeated attempts to shop their demo to record labels failed and the band decided to break up. Over the next two years, Elsner experimented with solo projects, writing full songs for the first time and using a vocoder - or talk box - for the vocals. By chance, Bionic Jive was brought back together when a fan offered to direct a music video of one of their songs for an art school project. Switching gears to more of a Rap-Metal sound, with Elsner now on drums, the makeover was a success. While performing at a showcase in L.A., the group was discovered by Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records, who signed them on the spot. In 2001, Bionic Jive released an album and toured the country with acts such as Ludacris, Eminem, and Nas. After public interest in the genre faded, the band was let go by the label in 2004 and parted ways for good.Although Elsner moved back to Arizona to continue his animation career, as always, his musical ambition was not far behind. In between working on films (Curious George) and commercials (MTV), he came up with the idea for a virtual band modeled after The Gorillaz. While similar in concept to the hit cartoon group out of England, this project was to have a darker, edgier feel. Once Elsner completed the character designs, he began laying down tracks for the album - again, using a talk box for vocals. Having been a Roger Troutman fan for years, he searched online for the late soul innovator’s exact equipment settings until he found the recipe for the sound. This explosion of creativity is responsible for the band’s hot self-titled debut, "American Kill Theory." Noteworthy for being rock’s first exclusively talk box-based project, the release - which Elsner wrote, produced, and played all the instruments on - also bends diverse influences, including pop, R&B and hip-hop. Even though electronic voice effects are being used by many artists these days, what separates American Kill Theory from the pack is that Elsner avoids gimmicky computer software and, therefore, the generic quality that often plagues the sound. In sticking with the original keyboard set up, he is able to transfer his personality into the effect, giving the CD a surprising depth. Simply put, "American Kill Theory" marks Chris Elsner’s arrival as a major, self-contained talent with an original vision that pushes the boundaries of modern music and entertainment.TG1 BEATS

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