1 Giant Leap is a British electronic music duo consisting of the two principal artists, Jamie Catto (Faithless founding member) and Duncan Bridgeman.

1 Giant Leap
OriginLondon, England
GenresElectronic, trip hop, house, world
Years active2001–present
LabelsPalm Pictures
MembersJamie Catto
Duncan Bridgeman

Career

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Based in the UK, the two musicians set out to create a multimedia project that would encompass a CD, DVD and cinematic presentation that would offer a complete artistic statement. The project offers music, digital video footage shot over the course of six months by Catto and Bridgeman, images, rhythms and spoken word content.

The band was signed to the Palm record label and its eponymous CD was released on 9 April 2002. It features contributions from Dennis Hopper, Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Stipe, Robbie Williams, Eddi Reader, Tom Robbins, Brian Eno, Baaba Maal, Speech, Asha Bhosle, Neneh Cherry, Anita Roddick, Michael Franti, Zap Mama, and other artists and authors. The band's theme for the project is "Unity Through Diversity". A making-of was also shown on the Discovery Channel, which featured some of the effort involved in finding and working with the musicians and other people involved in the project.

1 Giant Leap's "My Culture" video for their first top ten single, featuring Robbie Williams and Maxi Jazz from Faithless, received extensive airplay.

In 2004, they moved on to a deal with Simon Fuller and 19 Entertainment to make a second film and album titled What About Me? The concept was the same as their initial CD and DVD—travelling the world interviewing artists and sampling music—though the second time around their journey was longer (four years) and doubling the number of contributing artists from their debut release.

Reception

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In a review for NPR's All Things Considered, Charles deLedesma said that the album and DVD had "an uphill marketing struggle ... because it isn't easily pigeonholed. But that's its real strength, too. This production presents a luscious, cohesive collection of images, ideas and extremely beautiful world music, which flows here with the voices of three continents."[1]

Discography

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Albums

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List of albums, with selected details and chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[2]
AUS
[3]
NZ
[3]
1 Giant Leap 51 18 41
What About Me?
  • Released: March 2009
  • Label: One World Music
  • Format: CD, digital

Video albums

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List of video albums, with selected details and certifications
Title Details Certifications
Unity Through Diversity / All Who Wander Are Not Lost
  • Released: 2002
  • Label:
  • Format: DVD
1 Giant Leap
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: Palm
  • Format: DVD
What About Me?
  • Released: 2008
  • Label: Channel 4
  • Format: DVD

Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[2]
AUS
[5]
BEL
(FL)

[5]
GER
[5]
ITA
[5]
NLD
[5][6]
NZ
[5]
SWI
[5]
"My Culture"
(featuring Maxi Jazz and Robbie Williams)
2002 9 30 50 69 16 42 26 51 1 Giant Leap
"Braided Hair"
(featuring Neneh Cherry and Speech)
78 96

References

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  1. ^ Neary, Lynn (11 November 2002). "Review: New multimedia project "1 Giant Leap"". NPR (subscription required). Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  2. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 406. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ^ a b "Discography 1 Giant Leap". australiancharts.com. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  4. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2009 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "1 Giant Leap feat. Maxi Jazz & Robbie Williams – My Culture". australiancharts.com. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  6. ^ "1 Giant Leap Feat. Neneh Cherry & Speech - Braided Hair". australiancharts.com. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
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