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A-Trak

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A-Trak

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  • Genres: Rap

Biography

DJ A-Trak has traveled all over the world, performing at DJ competitions, clubs, and music festivals in countries including Australia, Japan, South Africa, and Norway, all before the tender age of 18. He was the youngest DJ to ever win a DJ-battling world championship (at 15); the first to win all three major championships -- International Turntablist Federation (ITF), Disco Mix Club (DMC), and Vestax World Extravaganza; and the first to win five world championship competitions -- again, all before 18. The turntablist wunderkind has made himself a pioneer in this subculture of hip-hop just within a few years. As if the tide couldn't turn more in his favor, Kanye West picked him up to be his personal touring DJ. With featured interviews in hip-hop magazines and on MTV in the mid-2000s, A-Trak has begun giving this almost lost art form much-needed, mainstream exposure.

Born in Montreal, Canada, Alain Macklovitch first attempted to scratch vinyl when he was 13, on his father's old record player. Soon after, he bought more professional DJ equipment and began teaching himself how to scratch. In 1995, he helped form the Montreal rap group Obscure Disorder with his older brother David Macklovitch, aka Dave One (who also formed the synth pop revivalist duo Chromeo in 2003), and their after-school friends. Dave One and A-Trak established their own label, Audio Research, and they released Obscure Disorder's first single, "Lyrically Exposed," through Fat Beats Records in 1997. The record helped reveal Canadian hip-hop to the burgeoning U.S. independent scene. That same year A-Trak started his now legendary DJ battling career, beginning with his victory at the DMC World Championship in Italy and moving on to capturing the crowns at the ITF, Vestax World, and DMC Team World Championships in 1999 and 2000. Although DJ Q-Bert invited him to be an honorary member of the Invisbl Skratch Piklz after his first world competition, A-Trak found an affinity with DJ Craze, who beat him in the 1998 DMC World Championship. Thus, they together founded their own DJ collective, the Allies, in 1999.

In 2000, at the age of 18, A-Trak retired from the battling scene in order to pursue his own musical endeavors and focus more on the Audio Research label with his brother. He did a host of side projects here and there, including working with artists like underground crew Non Phixion and Stones Throw Records label head Peanut Butter Wolf, but he also put out Allies-related records like 2004's Monkeyboy Breaks, a vital and popular 12" LP for DJs to use for battling. The turning point in his career came in May 2004 when he was performing in a London record store where Kanye West happened to witness his crafty handiwork. An impressed West pulled him into DJing for his North American tour, which eventually extended into Europe and Asia. Aside from being West's touring DJ, A-Trak was enlisted to do turntablist cuts on some of West's G.O.O.D. Music projects, including the highly acclaimed LPs Be (Common) and Late Registration (West). Making big moves for himself, he gathered bits and pieces of video footage from his old battling days and up-and-coming career and composed the autobiographical DVD Sunglasses Is a Must. It was released in March 2006 in anticipation of delivering a solo album in the near future. ~ Cyril Cordor, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

A-Trak

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A-Trak
Background information
Birth name Alain Macklovitch
Born (1982-03-30) March 30, 1982 (age 30)
Origin Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres Electro house, hip hop
Years active 1997–present
Labels Fool's Gold
Thrive
Audio Research
Associated acts Kanye West, Boys Noize, Kid Cudi, Armand Van Helden, Jay-Z, DJ Craze, Kid Sister, Travis Barker, Duck Sauce
Website Official website

A-Trak (born Alain Macklovitch on March 30, 1982) is a Montreal-born DJ, turntablist, and owner of the record label Fool's Gold.

Contents

Career

Montreal-born, New York-based A-Trak was the first DJ to win all three major DJ competition titles (DMC, ITF and Vestax), as well as being the first DJ to win five World Championships.[1] He won the DMCs World DJ Championship in 1997 at the age of 15, making him the youngest and first Canadian winner of the competition.[2] He was an honorary member of the prestigious, now defunct DJ crew Invisibl Skratch Piklz,[3] and a member of The Allies alongside frequent collaborator DJ Craze.[4]

Macklovitch is the younger brother of David Macklovitch of the Montreal-based band Chromeo, with whom he ran the record label Audio Research from 1997-2007.[5] He, along with Nick Catchdubs then founded the Fool's Gold Records label in 2007.[6]

In the late 90's A-Trak developed a notation system for scratching.[7] He gave a lecture about it at the Skratchcon 2000 conference and published an article in Tablist Magazine.[8] He has also appeared on the cover of multiple magazines including URB (twice), BPM and Status.[9]

In 2004 Kanye West recruited him as his personal tour DJ,[10] and he has worked closely with him ever since, including performances alongside the US rapper at MTV specials, the Grammy Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and worldwide stadium shows. A-Trak also recorded scratches on Kanye West’s second and third studio albums Late Registration in 2005 and Graduation in 2007, and was an influence on the overall sound of the latter.[11]

Over the years he has endorsed several brands including Serato Scratch Live,[12] Rane DJ equipment,[3] as well as clothing companies; Zoo York,[13] Lifted Research Group and Circa. A-Trak also has a collaborative clothing line called “Sunglasses is a Must,”[14] and released his own toy "Grateful Bear" with Kid Robot in 2009.

He is known for merging the sounds of rap and electronic music through his remix work, his 2007 CD "Dirty South Dance,"[15] his production for Kid Sister and Lupe Fiasco, and his remixes for electronic artists including MSTRKRFT and Boys Noize.[16] The hit single by Kid Cudi, Day 'n' Night, was released on an EP by A-Trak's label Fool's Gold.

In 2009, A-Trak collaborated with Armand Van Helden to form a disco house production duo under the stage name Duck Sauce. They released "aNYway" in October on Ministry of Sound. Other Duck Sauce tracks include "Grand Steppin", "The Motion", "You're Nasty", "Big Bad Wolf" and "Barbra Streisand".

In February 2010, it was announced that A-Trak will perform live shows with Travis Barker who had previously worked with their mutual friend, the late DJ AM [17]

A-Trak has also become a streetwear culture icon, collaborating with Nike, New Era, Kidrobot, and Zoo York. The last couple of years have seen Trizzy headlining tours and festival stages the world over, as well scratching on Common’s classic Be, Kanye’s Late Registration and Graduation, and Kid Cudi’s Man On The Moon, as well as producing Kid Sister’s debut album Ultraviolet, songs with Lupe Fiasco, and original releases with Stones Throw and Kitsune.

In October 2010, he released a song entitled "Ray Ban Vision" with G.O.O.D. Music's CyHi Da Prynce.[18]. This song has been used in the 2012 movie Project X.

A-Trak performed at The Voodoo Experience 2011 at City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 28–30, 2011.

On December 16, 2011, A-Trak performed an hour long opening set at Madison Square Garden in New York City as the opening act for Swedish House Mafia.

In 2012, A-Trak was featured on the cover of Billboard Magazine alongside Diplo and Skrillex[19]. His songs were also featured in the film Project X, for his remix of 'Heads Will Roll' by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and his own song 'Ray Ban Vision'. The songs were played to show off the ultimate montage of partying.

In April of 2012, A-Trak, alongside Kimbra and Mark Foster, collaborated on a song, entitled Warrior, together for Converse's 3 Artists, 1 song

Awards

  • 1997 Technics / DMC World Champion (15 years old - youngest ever)[20]
  • 1998 Technics/ DMC World 2nd Runner Up[21]
  • 1999 ITF World Champion (Advancement category)[21]
  • 1999 ITF Western Hemisphere Scratching Champion[21]
  • 1999 Vestax World DJ Extravaganza Champion[21]
  • 2000 ITF World Champion (Advancement category)[21]
  • 2000 DMC Team Champion (with DJ Craze)[21]

Discography

  • Gangsta Breaks (12")
  • Buck Tooth Wizards (CD)
  • Enter Ralph Wiggum (7")
  • Monkey Boy Breaks (12")
  • Don't Fool With The Dips (12")
  • Oh No You Didn't! Live From Vancouver (CD)
  • Drive Slow Mixtape w/ GLC (CD)
  • Sunglasses Is A Must (DVD)
  • Dirty South Dance (CD), Obey's 4th mixtape, limited to 5000 copies.
  • Running Man: Nike+ Original Run (Exclusive to iTunes)
  • FabricLive.45 (April 2009) (CD)
  • Infinity+1 (2009) (CD)
  • Dirty South Dance 2 (2010)
  • "Toynbee Tile Breaks" (2011)
  • "Warrior" (2012)
  • "Money Makin'" w/ Dillon Francis (2012)

Remixes

  • Laidback Luke & Sander van Doorn - Who's Wearing The Cap (A-Trak Remix)
  • Kanye West - Stronger (A-Trak Remix)
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix, Radio Edit, and Dub)
  • Tiga - What U Need (A-Trak Remix)
  • Robyn - Indestructible (A-Trak Remix and Radio Edit)
  • MSTRKRFT - Bounce (A-Trak Remix)
  • Sebastien Tellier - Kilometer (A-Trak Remix)
  • Boys Noize - Oh! (A-Trak Remix)
  • Digitalism - Idealistic (A-Trak Remix)
  • The Count & Sinden - Beeper (A-Trak Remix)
  • Justice - D.A.N.C.E (A-Trak Remix) [For DJ Hero 2 Only]
  • Naughty By Nature "O.P.P" vs. Jackson 5 "ABC" (A-Trak Remix) [DJ Hero 2 Only]
  • The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love? (A-Trak Remix)
  • Martin Solveig feat. Thomas Mars- The Night Out (A-Trak Remix)
  • Kid Cudi - Pursuit Of Happiness (A-Trak Remix)

See also

References

  1. ^ "A-Trak Biography & Awards". Billboard. Nielsen Company. http://www.billboard.com/artist/a-trak/363516#/artist/a-trak/bio/363516. Retrieved 1 Oct 2009. [dead link]
  2. ^ "1997 World DJ Champion - A-Trak (Canada)". Disco Mix Club. http://www.dmcdjchamps.com/worldchamps.asp. Retrieved 1 Oct 2009. 
  3. ^ a b "A-Trak". Rane Corp.. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071015170919/http://rane.com/dj/atrak.html. Retrieved 1 Oct 2009. 
  4. ^ "4idols.com DJ A-Trak Bio, Photo Gallery, and Videos". 4idols.com. MadCool Network LLC. http://www.4idols.com/d/dj-a-trak.htm. Retrieved 1 Oct 2009. 
  5. ^ Audio Research Records[dead link]
  6. ^ "Fool'S Gold". Foolsgoldrecs.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. http://www.foolsgoldrecs.com/. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  7. ^ "Online Turntable Music Resource - A-trak". Spin Science. 2004-11-19. http://www.spinscience.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=50. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  8. ^ [1][dead link]
  9. ^ "A-Trak : Fat-free since 1982! » Blog Archive » Cover of Status magazine". Djatrak.com. 2009-05-12. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. http://djatrak.com/2009/05/12/cover-of-status-magazine/. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  10. ^ "Featured Artist Profile: A-Trak : Frequency New York". Newyork.joonbug.com. http://newyork.joonbug.com/frequency/featured-artist-profile-atrak-frequency-new-york/xcN90nPl4f5. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  11. ^ "A-Trak : : HARD New Year's Eve : December 31st, 2009". Hardfest.com. 2009-12-31. http://www.hardfest.com/atrak.php. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  12. ^ "Artists - A-Trak". Serato.com. http://www.serato.com/artists/atrak. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  13. ^ "A-TRAK INTERVIEW - Articles - Sneaker Freaker Magazine". Sneakerfreaker.com. 2008-11-23. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010. http://www.sneakerfreaker.com/articles/A-trak-Interview/. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  14. ^ "Invalid Friend ID". Myspace.com. http://www.myspace.com/sunglassesisamust. Retrieved 2010-05-12. [dead link]
  15. ^ "RA Reviews: A-Trak - Dirty South Dance (Album)". Residentadvisor.net. http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=4518. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  16. ^ "A-Trak Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. http://www.discogs.com/artist/A-Trak. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  17. ^ Montgomery, James (2010-02-17). "Travis Barker, A-Trak Talk About Their New Project, Tour - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1632005/20100216/barker__travis.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  18. ^ Music: A-Trak Feat. CyHi Da Prynce “Ray Ban Vision” | Highsnobiety.com
  19. ^ "Skrillex, Diplo & A-Trak: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/features/skrillex-diplo-a-trak-the-billboard-cover-1006087352.story#/features/skrillex-diplo-a-trak-the-billboard-cover-1006087352.story. Retrieved 2012-04-14. 
  20. ^ "DMC World DJ Champions". Dmcworld.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. http://www.dmcworld.com/championships/worldchampions/1997atrak.asp. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 
  21. ^ a b c d e f "A-Trak". GigLocator. http://www.giglocator.com/artists/a-trak/. Retrieved 2010-05-12. 

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