Rockwell
There are, at least, six artists known as Rockwell.
1) A pseudonym of Kenneth Gordy, from Detroit, Michigan: The son of Motown Records' founder, Berry Gordy, he changed his name so as to avoid charges of nepotism, wanting to make it in the music business on just his talent. He signed to Motown as a solo artist without his father's knowledge, taking his name from his high school band. His first single, the Michael Jackson-esque "Somebody's Watching Me". which featured backing vocals from both Michael and Jermaine Jackson, shot into the Top Ten, hit number one on the R&B charts, and also was RIAA certified as Gold.
Only then did he reveal his true identity. This, however, was his peak of success; his follow-up single fizzled, as did his next album. He continued to base his songs on themes of paranoia and spying, singing tracks such as "Obscene Phone Caller" and "Peeping Tom". Though receiving some airplay, Rockwell mostly faded from the public view and concentrated on working with his father.
A cover of "Somebody's Watching Me" by the dance act Beatfreakz was released in the U.K. in March 2006, peaking at number three on the U.K. Singles Chart. Yet another cover version of the song came out, by the heavy metal band Warmen, in 2005. The Swiss 90is artist DJ Bobo's first Hit was also a cover version of "Somebody's Watching Me". He turned it to "Somebody Dance With Me".
2) Thomas Green– aka ROCKWELL– has without question been one of the most exhilarating talents to come out of the drum and bass scene in recent times. His distinctive sound has seen him release on the likes of Digital Soundboy, Renegade Hardware, Critical and Darkestral, before signing exclusively to Friction’s Shogun Audio imprint.
Tracks such as ‘Underpass’, ‘Reverse Engineering’ and ‘4U’ have highlighted ROCKWELL as one of the most original and talented producers in bass music today. His productions are painstakingly constructed, beautifully arranged and thoughtfully mastered. Each track offers unique textures seldom heard in electronic music- let alone drum and bass- and his unmistakable signature sound is one of the few that works just as well in the living room as in the club.
2012 has seen ROCKWELL start the build-up to his debut album, due in early 2013. Tune of the year so far ‘Tripwire’ and ‘Constantcomplexrhythmicsound’ are bona fide dancefloor destroyers, whilst forthcoming remixes of Jubei and Netsky hint at a future away from the constraints of 170bpm.
As a DJ, ROCKWELL is starting to build a reputation for his eclectic sets, exemplified by his MoS and Rinse shows, and by his increasing tendency to drop Rustie tracks in his sets. Behind the decks as in the studio, you’re always kept guessing as to what he’s going to pull out of the bag next.
3) A German rock band:
4) An early power electronics group that had releases on Broken Flag.
http://www.rockwell-dezibel.de/band.htm
5) Early works of a Dutch (Amsterdam) collective of electronic/ hip-hop musicians (including designer Piet Parra) are recorded under the name Rockwell. Limited availability.
6) A Hungarian rock band formed in 1979, featuring many members of later well-known Hungarian rock and heavy metal bands such as bass guitarist Imre Molnár (Irigy Hónaljmirigy), drummer László Tarca (Pokolgép), vocalist György Pazdera (Pokolgép as bass guitarist), or bass guitarist/vocalist Endre Paksi (earlier: Pokolgép; later: Ossian as vocalist only). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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