Biography
32K and everything after
The first track Scambler laid down was programmed in Basic on a 32K BBC B. He was nine at the time and would probably like to tell everyone that it was something seriously funky. It was however the Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G major reproduced as a series of electronic beeps. It was an early start in digital music composition.
During the eighties when Scambler was in his early teens he never really got into mainstream popular music, but was influenced by Big Country, the Police and Nik Kershaw (with ABBA, the Beatles, Boney M, Status Quo and Glen Campbell regularly played by his parents). As a result of watching too many Pink Panther cartoons and seventies TV cop shows, the seed for a later interest in jazzy lounge music and up beat funky disco was planted.
After the release of Bon Jovi’s “Living on a prayer”, Europe’s “The final countdown” and Def Leppard’s “Pour some sugar on me” Scambler’s taste in music broadened and went down two quite distinct routes. In time one direction led to the powerful rock sounds of Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Faith No More, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, Senser, Metallica and the more industrial Nine Inch Nails. Over the years the second route led to lighter guitar-based music, such as Runrig, Del Amitri, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Counting Crows, Eagle Eye Cherry, The Four of Us, José González and Bon Ivor.
By the age of fourteen Scambler had acquired an Amiga and started using OctaMED sequencing software to write music. The first version of OctaMED only allowed for four channels worth of music samples, which could total no more than 512K (and that included the operating system and the sequencing software). Friends said the music sounded like "builders working" or “music being dragged through wire” but Scambler could only hear the potential.
After going to university Scambler became involved in the club scene and mid-nineties dance and rap got under his skin. At the age of nineteen Scambler decided to invested in some more serious music hardware, starting off with a couple of Korg keyboards, a Yamaha drum machine and a new version of OctaMED that allowed for a whopping 32 channels of sound. During this period Scambler started to DJ and began mixing vinyl; something which totally altered his perspective on music composition and remixing. Particular influences during this time included the Beastie Boys, Snoop Doggy Dog, Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk, BT, Leftfield, Moby, Winx, the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers (hearing them live on Pete Tong’s Radio 1 show was a seminal moment).
A period of living, snowboarding and DJing in the French Alps came to a rather abrupt end after a nasty snowboarding accident, at which time Scambler moved back to the UK. Later settling in London he embarked on a serious attempt to write and produce an album, this time combining his array of musical hardware with PCs and more sophisticated mixing and sequencing software.
The debut album, entitled “Event”, consisted of a varied range of music (not surprising considering Scambler’s wide spectrum of influences). Despite many positive reviews in music magazines and several number one spots in well regarded download websites, Scambler wasn't happy with some of the technical limitations that had restricted the production of "Event".
After fine tuning hardware, software and the whole production process, Scambler returned to writing with a new creative freedom and far fewer technical limitations. Fifteen tracks later, in 2009, he finished his second album, entitled "Super freakin'". From funky, break beat house to jazzy lounge, and upbeat chill out to rock and metal, "Super freakin'" contains a massively diverse assortment of genres and styles.
Initially "Super freakin'" was set to be available to purchase via an MP3 download store, but due to overwhelming levels of internet piracy, file sharing and illegal copying, Scambler instead chose to release the album under commercial license. The album was submitted to the New York A&R department of Getty's Pump Audio and was accepted into their music catalogue. The fifteen tracks from "Super freakin'" are now available for use by advertising agencies, the games industry and production companies, in particular film, television and radio. You can listen to all the tracks using the music player above, and instantly license them for any use via Pump Audio.
Scambler is already working on a third album for release under commercial license. For a sneak preview listen to the new releases marked "awaiting clearance" in the music player.
