Eric Prydz
BIOGRAPHY
http://ericprydz.tv/They say that fortune favors the brave. For Eric Prydz, a bold musical agenda and an unrivalled ability to combine commercial success (3 x Top 2 UK hit singles) with underground notoriety (fastest selling release ever on cult download store Beatport), has allowed him to achieve worldwide recognition with his integrity intact. The soft spoken Swede hasn’t given an interview in many years, he never appears in his music videos, and avoids ‘artist tweets his breakfast’ self-promotion. His refusal to play the media circus stems from the fallout ignited by “that” video. His first UK No.1, “Call On Me”, was accompanied by a music promo that he didn’t clear, much less approve of. He shied away from the publicity and ensuing success (the Steve Winwood-sampling track he’d made “just for his friends” clocked up over 4 million sales), and retreated into his studio to continue making the dark, brooding electronica he was becoming known for. But, every so often, and always at the time of his choosing, he’s emerged with a hit record – 3 of them and counting. Following his debut for Ministry Of Sound’s label, Data, he was the only artist ever to be given the go ahead to sample Pink Floyd, Prydz released the Grammy nominated “Proper Education”, the reworking of Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall” that reached No.2 in the UK charts. This time Eric took charge of the music video; the resulting promo and its accompanying environmental theme was hailed by Greenpeace, used as part of the NGO’s own marketing campaign, and is still requested by schools across the world. He followed this in 2008 with “Pjanoo”. After becoming Beatport’s fastest selling release, the instrumental track was championed by Zane Lowe and Pete Tong, given 4 separate UK Radio 1 “Record of the Week” accolades and was playlisted by the station seven weeks upfront of its release; it hit No.2 that summer. His next move was typical of his personality. While most artists would have been frogmarched into producing an album and encouraged to run the promotional gauntlet, Eric simply played a handful of gigs, and then went back to his studio in London to tend to his two record labels, Pryda and Mouseville. It’s Pryda and Mouseville that have allowed Prydz to remain something of an enigma while being a household name. Both labels are held in the highest regard by an adoring underground scene, though their releases are made available with scarcely any promotion. Musically, they’ve become genre-defining stables in their own right, and are two of the most successful and influential dance labels in the world (acknowledged by Beatport as being among their biggest grossing imprints). On Pryda, and under the same alias, Prydz explores his house influences with a plethora of tracks that have become huge club tunes around the globe. Songs like “Aftermath”, “Armed”, “Muranyi” and “Melo”, layer harmonies, melodies and hooks over his unmistakable basslines. His Mouseville imprint has seen Prydz produce under the alias Cirez D, releasing harder and more upfront techno tracks to great acclaim. “On Off”, the biggest selling EP from the label epitomises the Mouseville ethos with its succinct nod to the Swedish underground. Eric also created Pryda Friends as an outlet for tracks created by his friends. This has created a number of collaborations, including the inimitable “1983″ with Paulo Mojo and “123″ with fellow Swedish producer, Axwell. Since his arrival, Eric Prydz has inadvertently broken into uncharted territory for dance music. Festivals, events and venues across the planet have rocked to his performances, safe in the knowledge that they’re witnessing something special. In 2011 Eric launched his innovative new show concept , “EPIC”, at London’s O2 Academy Brixton to a sell out audience. This special show features exclusive cutting edge production, 3D holographic video projection and lighting systems. Coupled with Eric’s rousing music it is a ground breaking audio and visual feast. Eric Prydz’s releases and forward thinking live shows have allowed him to achieve worldwide recognition with his integrity intact. Now signed to EMI/Astralwerks, Eric Prydz has started working on his much anticipated debut artist album (due for release late 2012). However before this, Astralwerks will be releasing a compilation album of his key productions under the Pryda guise, Eric Prydz presents Pryda, on May 22nd. Eric Prydz presents Pryda will be released in two formats: a single disc of of new unreleased Pryda productions which some fans may have heard as works in progress (including Shadows, Agag, Mighty Love and Allein) and as a deluxe 3 x disc. Disc 1 will be made up of the aforementioned rare, unreleased tracks. Discs 2 and 3 bring together many of the classic tracks from the Pryda catalogue, sequenced and mixed by Eric himself, and including some of his special re-edits. Pryda has become a genre-defining stable and is one of the most successful and influential dance labels in the world. This compilation album rounds up an incredible chapter in Eric’s career so far, laying the foundations for the next exciting phase.
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