Blackbeard are South London producers Gordon Smith (previous work with Francois Ks Wave Imprint) and Toni Rossano, a former hand at the retrospective Strut label. Both have worked with several British independent Record companies over the past ten years.
Fed up with current soulless musical trends the boys set out to inject a fresh approach. They took their love for traditional and new Afro American centric soul from luminaries such as DAngelo, Tribe Called Quest, Donald Byrd and used it to reinvent existing tracks.
It was only a matter of time before record companies were itching for a shot of the Blackbeard injection! Max Sedgleys Euro 2004 football theme Happy received the Blackbeard rework touch opening the door for other labels to get in on the action.
Recent major-label remixes include Jill Scotts Golden and Down Here in Hell with you by Van Hunt.In 2005 with a bundle of remixes under their belts it was time to prove that Blackbeard were capable of more than enhancing anothers production. Their first original material was launched on Uptown Safari (a label set up by Blackbeard and Yam Who?)
The Holding On e.p took off where the reworks left off adding U.S rapper Bobby Boyds vocal exploits to the Blackbeard equation. Now with growing support from Groove Armadas Tom Findlay, Radio 1s Annie Mac and legendary French d.j/producer Laurent Garnier Blackbeard are ones to watch!Remixes & Productions *Mark Rae ‘Medicine’ Grand Central Recordings
Max Sedgley ‘Happy’ Sunday Best Recordings
Deeper, Wider, Higher ‘Darkside’ Counterpoint Recordings
Kevin Mark Trail ‘ Bread’ EMI
Jill Scott ‘Golden’ Epic/Hidden Beach
Exilados ‘Tabuada’ (Unsigned)
Van Hunt ‘Down Here In Hell With You’ EMI/Capitol
Verna Francis ‘Twilight’ Chilli Funk
Rob Scott ‘Fallin’ Sunshine Enterprises
Yukihiro Fukatomi ‘Equality’ Pantone
D.J First Rate Featuring Skinnyman ‘ Bar Fight’ Scenario Records
Jamiroquai ‘ Seven Days In June’ Sony
Goapele’ First Love’ SkyBlaze Enterprises
Holding On e.p Uptown Safari*
Funk Mode (Various) Scenario
Maxine Braham ‘If’ BKO Productions
Low Budget Soul ‘You Are The One Abstract Blue
Bittersweet ‘Overdue’ Quango
TY ‘Closer’ Bigdada/Ninjatune
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators No One's Gonna Love You - Above The CloudsCompilationsR’N’B 3 Sessions – Union Square Music 2006
East Coast Hip Hop –The Soulside Unisex Records 2006
This Is How We Lounge 2 – The Sunshine Remix Collection – Sunshine Ent
