About Me
Mr. Cisum, born Larry D. Fowler, Jr., chose his moniker for one reason, the ever-growing interest in the mystic power of music. Coming from a trumpet background, 'Cis', as he is called by colleagues, applies traditional music theories to the device with fast growing social acceptance as a legitimate musical instrument, the turntable. Crafting his sound out of the soulfulness of the blues, the intricacy of jazz, the rawness of funk, the attitude of hip-hop, and the drive of dance has created a style that is sought after by everyone from party promoters to theatre directors. Holding down a DJ residency at the now defunct Wilhelmina's Bar and Lounge in Philadelphia (1997-1999), working with acclaimed theatre director Ozzie Jones (1995-present), and touring with award winning dance troupe Rennie Harris Puremovement (2000-present) has given Cis the proper foundation in knowing how to move crowds of different ages and cultures. His aim is to engage listeners in a conversation where rhythm and melody are the words of choice.Aside from the DJ life, the hats of producer and sound engineer are also worn. Having a small studio set up in mommy's basement at age 15 with borrowed pieces of equipment from friends led to the pursuit of a career in music production and studio engineering. While attending the Art Institute of Philadelphia (1994-1996) Cis co-founded seminal hip-hop group 'Name' with friends Ozzie Jones and Jared Taylor. The group released a series of cassettes, compact discs, and vinyl on all of which Cis has production credits. Also to his credit Cisum has worked with the likes of world famous artists such as King Britt, DJ Miz, James Poyser, Vikter Duplaix, Poor Righteous Teachers, The Mountain Brothers, Common, The Roots, Jill Scott, Schoolly D., Nou, and Grand Agent. Most of this due in part to an internship that turned into a full time position as recording and mix engineer at Third Story Recording Studio in Philadelphia (1996-1999). This is where Cis learned to shape sound through old school techniques.The production work also extends into the theatre world where Cisum helped to score and/or sound design productions of "Fires in the Mirror" (Venture Theatre, Philadelphia, 1996), "Blacknativity" (Lincoln Theatre, Washington, D.C., 1999), "Rome & Jewels" (Rennie Harris Puremovement, USA and Europe, 2000-2004), “Needle to the Groove†(Community Education Center, Philadelphia, 2004), “Murder at the Mansion†(Curtain Call Creations, Philadelphia, 2004), "Habibi-The hip-hop and belly dance love battle" (Hanan Arts Cooperative, Miami, 2004), “ I Killed My Baby’s Daddy†(Walt Whitman Arts Center, Camden, NJ, 2004), “Zooman and the Sign†and “Out Da Box†(Walt Whitman Arts Center, Camden, NJ, 2005) “Jitney†(Temple University, Philadelphia, 2005), “ The Newcomers†(Curtain Call Creations, Philadelphia, 2006), and “Just Believe†(Curtain Call Creations, Philadelphia, 2007.)Being involved in so many areas of performance has triggered personal interest for future endeavors. One of these is the turntable/ traditional instrumental band, 'First Element'. It's here that Mr. Cisum amalgamates all of his experiences as DJ, producer, and sound mixer into a groove fueled unit of 3 DJ's, a keyboardist, African drummer, guitarist, and flutist to further elaborate on the ideas presented by pioneers and inspirations Grand Master Flash and Herbie Hancock. By fusing the electrics of the DJ with the natural elements of acoustic sound, it is the hope that a new musical movement will arise.
