It's Fatboy Slim!!! The name just conjures up
images of a street-wise, funktified, groovy, hip-hop bloke hidden away in some dark
studio, smokin' the hootie and churnin' out fresh new tracks! Well that couldn't
be farther from the truth - except for the fresh tracks and the funktified, groovy, hiphop
bloke part. Brighton-based Fatboy Slim, a.k.a Norman Cook, has broken into mainstream success worldwide,
setting new trends in electronic "big-beat" and "dance" music for the second time with his latest
album "Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars", the follow-up to the commercially successful
"You've Come A Long Way Baby". Whether you know it or not, you have heard
the new sounds and styles of FatBoy Slim on the radio, television, in commercials, countless mix cd's
and more! To set the record straight, he's not fat, nor is he slim. Norman Cook is just another DJ with
a bedroom-sized home studio, lots of gear (old and new), and an Atari computer.
 Sunset (Bird Of Prey) - From: Halfway Between the Gutter And The Stars (© 2000 Skint Records.)
Gangster Tripping - From: You've Come A Long Way Baby (© 1998 Skint Records.)
Although seeming to approach his success and music as amusing tinkering, Cook is a sampling
genius! Combining highly polished sampling techniques with many great grooves and beats from his
massive record collection (over 8,000) along with vintage analog and digital synths, Cook has created a style
that is all his own! His music is labeled as "Big-Beat", but his music really encompasses many styles
of dance music with a raw and humanistic "live" edge and feel. The "Better Living Through Chemistry" album is a great
example of this! Though such classics like "Santa Cruz", amazing B-side tracks like "Next To Nothing"
and his latest hits like "Praise You" may have been made "for a laugh", they certainly
are fresh and innovative pieces of electronic music. To budding musicians Cook says,
"To do a good tune, I have to do nine crap ones... experiment, that's the only way to
make interesting music... just simple gear and knowing what you can do with it."
Everybody Needs A 303 - From: Better Living Through Chemistry (© 1996 Skint Records.)
"The Majority of the stuff I do is still samples. There's not much actual playing on a Fatboy Slim track at all..."
Cook does indeed have a rather extensive collection of analog and digital gear.
Classic synths, effects and processors are spread throughout his workspace. However, his
most important tools are his trusty old S950 sampler and the Atari 1040ST computer. Really
a DJ at heart, Cook's music is composed of well-chosen, mutated, chopped up
samples from his collection of vinyl records. When it comes to writing music, Cook
says, "The starting point for me has always
been the source material. Y'know... samples." In finding samples, Cook actually buys "crap"
records from second hand shops and listens to them to find something that
might be useable... bass lines, vocal hooks, and beats. Chopping up samples, whether
they are loops or vocal hooks
is the next step. Although Recycle! can automate this, Cook prefers to manually
chop up, time-stretch and tweak his mono-samples within his S950.
"I'm trying to chop it up so much that whoever played it originally isn't going to regonize it."
Then it's on to the sequencing
of samples with additional synths, etc. using his old Atari and Creator sequencing software.
When it comes to synth tweaking, Cook adds, "I know you can control [synths] via MIDI, but I always
prefer to get a bit of humanity in there and just record all passes on the ADAT."
Next To Nothing - From: Better Living Through Chemistry (© 1996 Skint Records.)
Cook has been a part of many groups over the years which have all contributed to the
formation and stylization of the big beat, underground acid house and dub sounds! He has been, or been
in: Beats International, Freakpower, Pizzaman, Mighty Dub Kats and now, Fatboy Slim.
Untainted by success, Cook remains true to his music, his audience, his production techniques, and to his philosophies.
No wonder he's a pioneer of electronic music!
Original images and quotes from Future Music Magazine, issue 106.
DISCLAIMER: The music and texts presented on this page are the copyrighted property of their respective owners (the record labels or writers noted). Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, public performance or derivative works are prohibited by law (domestic and international). These files are short, edited excerpts at reduced sound qualities and are intended for demonstrative purposes only, presented for Fair Use.
Originally printed May, 1999. Updated March, 2001. |
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