Funkstar De Luxe (born Martin Aulkjær Ottesen in 1973) is a Danish house producer and remixer. He is best known for his million-selling reworking of Bob Marley's "Sun Is Shining".

Funkstar De Luxe
Birth nameMartin Aulkjær Ottesen
Born1973 (age 50–51)
OriginOdense, Denmark[1]
GenresElectronic dance music, house
Occupation(s)Producer, remixer
Years active1999–present
Websitefunkstardeluxe.com

Work

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Funkstar was first exposed to Marley's music as a teenage keyboardist in an amateur reggae band. "Sun Is Shining" was a worldwide hit reaching the top 20 in nine countries including No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also awarded best-selling international reggae single of the year at the World Music Awards.

Longtime Marley manager Chris Blackwell hurried to release his own remixes, but Funkstar had already moved on and had another hit with a remix of Marley's "Rainbow Country." He has since recorded other remixes for artists including Tom Jones, Mary J. Blige, Grace Jones, and Barry White, the most notable of which appeared on "Keep on Movin: It's Too Funky in Here". In 2003, Funkstar released an album of his own material, "Funkturistic". His track "When I Think Of You" got a remix by SASH! In 2004.

Dubbed "The Danish King of the Remix" by AllMusic,[2] after two sabbaticals away from the music industry during the 2000s, Funkstar returned to the scene in 2013 charting with a remix of Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hanging On". In 2014, his long-time label Lifted House released a rework of his Marley hit "Sun Is Shining - 15th Anniversary" which reached No. 1 on the UK Dance Chart.

His 2015 single "Million Miles" featured Michael Jackson collaborator Geoffrey Williams. The single reached No. 8 on the British Dance Chart and spent ten weeks in the UK Dance Top 20.

Discography

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Albums

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[citation needed]

  • Keep On Moving (1999)
  • Keep On Moving (It's Too Funky in Here) (2000)
  • I'm a Rainbow too (2000)
  • Funkturistic (2002)

Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
DEN
[3]
BEL CAN FRA GER
[4]
IRE
[5]
NLD NOR NZL SWE SWI
[6]
UK
[7]
US
Dance
"Sun Is Shining"
(vs. Bob Marley)
1999 7 3 12 19 7 11 8 11 17 7 3 1 UK: Silver Keep On Moving (It's Too Funky in Here)
"Rainbow Country"
(vs. Bob Marley)
1999 58 12 78 47 28 78 27 40 54 11
"Let the Music Play"
(vs. Barry White)
2000 24 39 91 92 Single only
"Sunshine Reggae"
(vs. Laid Back)
2000 68 35 64 Single only
"Walkin' in the Name"
(vs. Terry Maxx)
2000 42 Keep On Moving (It's Too Funky in Here)
"Pull Up to the Bumper"
(vs. Grace Jones)
2000 60 4
"Blinded by the Light"
(with Manfred Mann's Earth Band)
2002 2 Funkturistic
"Saturday" 2003
"Easy" 2003
"When I Think of You" 2004 13 Singles only
"She's a Lady"
(vs. Tom Jones feat. DJ the Wave)
2004 96
"Itch It Up" 2004
"So Invincible"
(feat. Kristine Blond)
2008
"You Keep Me Hangin' On"
(feat. Kim Wilde)
2013
"Sun Is Shining (15th Anniversary)" 2014
"Million Miles"
(feat. Geoffrey Williams)
2015
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 217. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ^ "Funkstar de Luxe Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ "danishcharts.dk - Danish charts portal (Search for: Funkstar)". danishcharts.dk. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  4. ^ German peaks[dead link]
  5. ^ Search for Irish peaks Archived 2009-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community (Search for: Funkstar)". swisscharts.com. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  7. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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