Freshline Records | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Movement, The Freshline Allstars, Freshline Records Musikproduktion GmbH, Freshline Music, Freshline, Freshline Entertainment |
| Origin | Berlin, Germany |
| Genres | Eurodance, Pop, Hip House, Hip Hop, Vecoder Rap, Electro, Funk/Soul, Pop Rap |
| Years active | 1987-2005 |
| Labels |
|
| Website | Official Freshline Website |
Freshline Records was an independent German-based record label and music production team active in the 1990s. The best known song productions by Freshline Records are the platinum and gold pop hits "Another Night" and "Run Away" by Real McCoy. In 1995, the two hits drove the Real McCoy album, also titled Another Night, to multi-platinum status in North America and platinum status in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Under the production alias, "The Movement," the team also produced the top Eurodance hits "Get-A-Way" and "No More (I Can't Stand It)" by Maxx. In 1994, "Get-Away" earned Gold status in Germany and Silver in the United Kingdom while also selling over 1.5 million records across Europe. "No More (I Can't Stand It)" reached the top-5 in over 18 countries while nearly matching the worldwide commercial sales of "Get-A-Way." Prior to their great success in the 1990s, the team achieved notable success in Germany producing Electro, Hip House, Hip Hop, Funk and Soul music in the 1980s.
History
edit1987-1992: Early success in Germany
editFreshline Records was founded in Berlin, Germany by music producer Frank "Quickmix" Hassas and rapper Olaf "O-Jay" Jeglitza in 1987. In 1988, music producer Juergen Wind (J. Wind) joined Hassas and Jeglitza as an investor in the label, but quickly took on a producer and business management role upon joining team. All of the early song productions from Freshline were made in Wind's recording studio (Wind Studios B.C.) in Spandau. The early song productions releases independently in Germany with support from 99 records. Traditionally, Jeglitza was gives share producer credits alsongside Wind and Hassas . In reality, Wind and Hassas were responsible for all the music productions by Freshline while Jeglitza and held a minor songwriting role on the team and was often aided by ghostwriters when composing song lyrics. The first official project from the team was a Cut-up/DJ/Electro style rap project called 'The Alliance' featuring vecoder style rap vocals from Jeglitza. The debut Alliance single "Action!" was a success selling over 20,000 units locally in Germany. The follow-up release was a pop-rap cover of the Joyce Sims hit "Come Into My Life" by their second dance project 'The Admirers.' The team then released the debut Alliance album It's Time and an album single "Sweat" under Rough Trade Records. Both the single and album were commercial failures resulting in the quick demise of the project. A new deal was later formed with ZYX Records.
In June 1989, Freshline scored a major breakthrough under ZYX Records. The team released a cover of the Technotronic hit "Pump Up The Jam" featuring new rap by Jeglitza for their newest dance project M.C. Sar & the Real McCoy. The single was an unexpected success reaching No. 16 the German singles chart. Following the success of the single, Wind officially took over the management of Freshline as the new CEO and the team officially became Freshline Records Musikproduction Gmbh. The follow-up releases for M.C. Sar & the Real McCoy were Hip House style song productions. The follow-up single "It's On You," debuted in 1990 and became a top hit in Germany and a success in other European territories. The single was particularly successful in France where it had earned silver status for selling 200,000 units. The growing success of the two singles motivated ZYX Records CEO Reinhard Piel to request a live act and music video for "It's On You." A Frenchman of African descent named George Shampro Mario was hired to be M.C. Sar and to lip-sync Jeglitza's rap vocals for the live performances and the music video. During this early stage of the project, Jeglitza had chosen to not front the project and had provided rap vocals anonymously. Singer Patricia Petersen (Patsy) sang the choruses on the single and fronted the project with Mario. Four more singles ("Don't Stop," "Make A Move," "Let's Talk About Love," and "No Showbo") and an album (On The Move!) were later released. Each of these follow-up releases failed commercially in comparison to the first two singles. As a result, Freshline discontinued their relationship with ZYX records in 1992.
1993-1995: Mainstream success with Maxx and Real McCoy
editIn late-1992, Wind negotiated a new deal for Freshline with Hansa Records (which was then owned by BMG Berlin) to release new music for M.C. Sar & the Real McCoy. After a deal was finalized, Wind immediately began planning out a success strategy for the project with Hansa's A&R executive David Brunner and BMG President Andre Selleneit. The three made a creative decision to change the musical style of the project from Hip House to Eurodance and Pop. Wind and Hassas wrote and produced the new single "Another Night" while Jeglitza worked with songwriter/producer Bruce Hammond Earlam to develop the rap lyrics. A producer duo known as the Berman Brothers (siblings Frank and Christian Berman) presented their session singer Karin Kasar as a potential candidate for singing the choruses on the new single. After hearing a demo of her voice, Wind selected her for the role. In exchange for her participation in the project, the brothers made a deal with Wind to be listed as producers with the Freshline team as Freshline & The Berman Brothers. The brothers also made a deal with Wind to make the remixes for the new single. A mix created by the brothers was selected to be the official single version of the song. Petersen remained in the project as a front woman only and mimed Kasar's vocals for live performances and the music video. Wind and Brunner also decided to remove Mario from the project completely and promoted Jeglitza to the frontman role alongside Petersen instead of only providing rap vocals. Under the alias D.N.B., Brunner organized the marketing, promotion, distribution, sales strategies for the single and was credited as Executive Producer. When released in the Summer of 1993, "Another Night" was a minor hit in Europe reaching No.18 in Germany and barely making the Top 100 in several other countries. Following the mediocre response to "Another Night," in Europe, Wind, under the alias George Torpey, collaborated with Earlam to quickly release a German cover of the raggae hit "Informer" by Snow under Hansa Records in Summer 1993. The single, "Ich Bin der Farmer," featured rap vocals from newcomer Boris Kohler (then known as Bozo der Boss). The commercial success of the single in Germany motivated Wind and Brunner to start up new dance project called built around Kohler's with raggae themed rap lyrics written by Earlam. The debut Maxx single "Get-A-Way" was produced by Wind and Hassas with rap lyrics written by Earlam. Brunner handled the distribution of the single through Intercrd/Blow Up
When released in October 1993, the single became a major commercial success in Europe alongside the growing success of "Another Night."
The chorus vocals for "Get-A-Way" were sung by session singer Samira Besic. Due to unknown circumstances, Besic departed the project before. A dancer and model named Eliz Yavuz (Alice Montana) was quickly hired to take Besic's place and mime her vocals for the video. When released on October 27, 1993 in Germany, "Get-A-Way" became an overnight success in the country reaching No. 11 on the charts and remaining there for over 26 weeks. It later earned Gold status in Germany for selling over 250,000 units. The single was also a major success in neighboring countries like Austria where it reached No. 3 and in Switzerland where it reached No. 8. In the United Kingdom, "Get-A-Way" had reached No. 4 on the charts and had later earned Silver status in the country for selling over 200,000 units . The single was also a hit in Ireland reaching at No. 8. Thanks to the promotional efforts of Remixed Records, the single was an even bigger success in Scandinavia. In Sweden, it charted at No. 3, in Denmark at No. 4, Finland at No. 5, and Norway at No. 8. "Get-A-Way" was also a success in Belgium, The Netherlands and France. The single also managed to peak at No.11 on the Eurochart Hot 100. British singer Linda Meek was discovered early in 1994 and recorded vocals for the follow-up single "No More (I Can't Stand It)" with Köhler in Germany. The new single was officially released on March 1, 1994 and was a big success like its predecessor reaching No. 10 in Germany and the Top 5 in over 18 countries. By mid-1994, "Get-A-Way" had sold over 1.1 million units across Europe.
At the height of Maxx's success in mid-1994, Wind and Brunner were also starting to have success with M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy. The new singles "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" and "Run Away" had been released in Europe. "Another Night" peaked at No.1 on the Canadian dance/urban chart. "Get-A-Way" had peaked at No. 3 on the same chart and "No More (I Can't Stand It)" at No. 4. At this phase, Brunner had taken over the music publishing duties for both projects through his publishing company Maxximum Songs.
Following the success of the two Maxx hits, Wind, Hassas and Earlam immediately began work on the debut Maxx album To the Maxximum. A total of thirteen new music tracks were produced for the new album. Wind and Hassas were also simultaneously producing the album Space Invaders, the sophomore album of M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy. To the Maxximum was officially released in June 16, 1994 and had reached No. 22 on the German charts. The album was also a major success in Scandinavia, reaching No. 10 in Sweden and No. 6 in Finland. While the album was a commercial success in Europe, it still failed to match the huge commercial sales of the first two singles. The album had also failed in key territories like the United Kingdom where it peaked at No. 66.
The Maxx album track "You Can Get It" was then picked to be the third single and was released in September 1994. The single reached No. 21 in the UK and No. 13 in Finland. While still commercially successful, the single did not reach the same level of success as "Get-A-Way" and "No More (I Can't Stand it)." On October 31, 1994, a new Maxx song titled "Power of Love" was released exclusively on a Bravo Hits compilation music CD called Bravo Dance X-Mas.
By mid-1994, M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy had begun to achieve some small success on the charts alongside the massive success of the Maxx hits: "Get-A-Way" and No More (I Can't Stand It)." Thanks to the promotional efforts of BMG Canada, "Another Night" had suddenly hit No.1 on the Canadian dance/urban chart in March 1994 and had remained on the chart for several weeks. The follow-up singles "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)" and "Run Away" and the album Space Invaders were then released in Europe.
By early 1992, a decision was made at Freshline and Hansa/BMG to release a new single that would completely reinvent the sound of M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy. After almost a year of preparation with Hansa/BMG and months of production, Freshline released the single "Another Night" in the Summer of 1993. ... struggled....Canada...Europe. Under the alias "The Movement," Freshline then collaborated with Intercord, Blow Up and Remixed Records to release the single "Get A-Way," the debut single from Freshline's newest project called Maxx. "Another Night" and "Get-A-Way" quickly brought Freshline...
After noticing how quickly "Another Night" had reached No.1 on the Canadian dance/urban chart, Arista Records CEO Clive Davis became interested in bringing M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy to the U.S. market. Davis had previously had success making the Swedish Pop group Ace of Base a hit the U.S. and sought to do the same with M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy
After deal was finalized between Arista and BMG, the project name was shortened to Real McCoy and "Another Night" was released in the U.S. in the Summer of 1994. The single had peaked at No.3 in the U.S. by November 1994 and had quickly reached Platinum status. The follow-up single release of "Run Away" was also a successful hit in the U.S. reaching Gold status. Thanks to the success of the two hits, an all new U.S. release of the Space Invaders album was quickly planned for 1995. The project was officially re-branded as a trio act featuring Jeglitza, Petersen and newcomer Vanessa Mason. The Space Invaders album was re-titled Another Night.[1] The cover art, imagery and marketing for the album was completely changed to present a lighter romantic tone. Several tracks from the album were removed for the new release. Davis commissioned a new team of producers to write and produce three new covers songs ("Come and Get Your Love," "Ooh Boy," "If You Should Ever Be Lonely (Deep in the Night)") and an original track (Sleeping with an Angel) for the album. The new production team included: Songwriters Billy Steinberg & Rick Noweles, Producer Shep Pettibone and the Lemon Productions team (Per Adebratt, Douglas Carr & Tony Ekman).[2]
By 1994, the M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy hits "Another Night", "Run Away", "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)", "Love & Devotion" and the Maxx hits "Get-A-Way", "No More (I Can't Stand It)", "You Can Get It" become widespread success across Europe and Canada.
Wind, worked closely with A&R executive David Brunner to carefully map out the success strategy of the two acts. Wind also worked in-studio with co-producer Frank Hassas to develop the sounds, melodies and choruses for the music. By 1994, the M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy hits "Another Night", "Run Away", "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)", "Love & Devotion" and the Maxx hits "Get-A-Way", "No More (I Can't Stand It)", "You Can Get It" become widespread success across Europe and Canada.
in 1995, Artista Records expressed __
THE MOVEMENT. George Torpey, Dakota O'niel and Dawhite
During the peak years of the company's success (1993-1995) Freshline consisted of two core producers (Juergen Wind and Frank Hassas). Thanks to the marketing and promotion support from A&R executive David Brunner, Wind and Hassas' successful music production on the hit 'Another Night' gained Freshline widespread recognition in Germany as one of the elite music production company for music projects, singers and bands.
By 1995, M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy had achieved crossover success in America under the shortened group name Real McCoy. The massive commercial success of the Real McCoy hits: "Another Night", "Automatic Lover (Call for Love)", "Run Away", "Love & Devotion" "Get-A-Way, "No More (I Can't Stand It)", "You Can Get It" became recognized in Germany as one of the elite production teams for astists, bands and music projects in Germany. Wind and Hassas' massive success with the Real McCoy and the hit Real McCoy album Another Night ___
The Maxx hits and the Maxx album To The Maxximum. For unknown reasons the Wind and Hassas produced the , the name "The Movement" was used for Maxx's production credits instead of the name 'Freshline.' Producers, Wind and Hassas also used the aliases "George Torpey" and "Dakota O'niel" the song credits for Maxx.
1997-1999: Real McCoy decline
editIn 2010, Diddy offered Mase a 1-year release from Bad Boy to settle their differences after the 2009 incident with Mase wanting to be released from Bad Boy. With this Mase decided to retire from rap for good, although he was to be reassigned to Bad Boy after his year break was done. In 2011, under his new deal with Interscope-Geffen-A&M, Diddy stated he was looking for new talent to add to his new Bad Boy roster. Jay Electronica, who had close ties with Diddy, was originally planned to be signed to the label but had signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint instead.[3][4] Machine Gun Kelly announced that he signed to Bad Boy/Interscope on August 3, 2011.[5] French Montana and Los also were announced as signees to the label in 2012.
1998-2000: Releases with Mercury records
editFinal Real McCoy singles
On April 25, 2012, Mase featured alongside Diddy on Wale's "Slight Work" remix, marking the first appearance of the Harlem rapper on record since 2010. Rumors began to start that Mase, as well as singer Omarion, were both signing to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group. It was later revealed that Bad Boy artist French Montana was the reason Mase was making his third comeback.
Releases with Mercury records
According to Montana, Mase is serving as an A&R representative on Montana's forthcoming Bad Boy debut, "Excuse My French," as well as appearing on the remix of Montana's "Everything's a Go." "I'm not sure what kind of decisions he's going to make," Montana says, "[but] I would love to see him in my camp." Mase is currently resigned to Bad Boy Records but has yet to announce whether he is resigned as part of a joint venture deal between Bad Boy and MMG. He later announced he had gotten his release from Bad Boy.[citation needed] In April 2013, Cassie released her first full-length project seven years after her debut album, a mixtape titled RockaByeBaby, to positive reception. Rapper Los announced his departure from Bad Boy Records on March 19, 2014.[6]
On October 5, 2015, Combs announced that Bad Boy Entertainment would be distributed by Epic Records.[7][8] This will mark the second time that Epic president L.A. Reid oversaw distribution for Bad Boy, having previously overseen distribution for the label fifteen years earlier after being appointed president of Arista Records in 2000. Despite founding the label in 1993, Bad Boy began celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2015 with a 20-minute mega-medley performance at the BET Awards. It stretched into 2016, starting with the label's May reunion sold-out shows at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and originating the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour, starting in North America in the last week of August 2016.[9][10][11]
2003-2005: Final releases
editFreshline Discography
editSingle productions
edit| Artist | Title | Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Alliance | Action! | 1988 |
| The Admirers | Come Into My Life - Rap | 1988 |
| The Alliance | Action! - Remix | 1988 |
| The Admirers | Come Into My Life - Rap (Re-Release) | 1988 |
| The Alliance | Action! - Remix (Re-Release) | 1988 |
| D.J. Chrizz | Hui Buh | 1989 |
| The Alliance | Sweat | 1989 |
| EMCEE | We're Cruisin´ | 1989 |
| The Admirers | 2 Nite | 1989 |
| The All-Stars | Hello Babe | 1989 |
| Michael L. Williams | That Feelin´ | 1989 |
| Quickmix feat. La Rose | Love Is In The House | 1989 |
| The Deep | Curtain | 1989 |
| Berlin Adler | Touchdown | 1989 |
| Rap IV Rap | Keep On Movin´Rap | 1989 |
| M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy | Pump Up The Jam Rap | 1989 |
| Rap IV Rap | Let's Come Together | 1990 |
| Masterplan | Stars | 1990 |
| M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy | It's On You | 1990 |
| M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy | It's On You - Remix | 1990 |
| The Admirers | Got To Get Rap | 1990 |
| M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy | It's On You - The Re-Remix | 1990 |
| The Admirers | Out On A Limb | 1990 |
| M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy | Don't Stop | 1990 |
| Patsy | Dreamin´ | 1990 |
| Sugar Daddy | Are You Ready ? | 1990 |
| Jamtronik | Another Day In Paradise - Remix | 1990 |
| Jay Rapper | Wake Up | 1991 |
| M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy | Make A Move! | 1991 |
| Rap IV Rap | Hold you tight - Rap | 1991 |
| PRO-A | Trance | 1991 |
| M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy | No Showbo | 1991 |
| Construction | Oh girl ! | 1991 |
| Hype-a-delics | So what ! | 1991 |
| Lucky Nineties | Ohh la la la | 1991 |
| M.C. Sar | Let´s Talk About Love | 1992 |
| Inner Kneipe | Breit (A La La La La Leer) | 1992 |
| Cold as Ice feat. Eboni | ¡ Urgent ! | 1992 |
| Bruce & Bongo | We Ain't Back | 1992 |
| Construction | Sex Is Like Fire | 1992 |
| Kirk Smith | Rise & Shine | 1992 |
| Inner Kneipe | Ging Gang Golly | 1993 |
| Bozo Der Boss | Ich Bin Der Farmer | 1993 |
| M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy | Another Night | 1993 |
| Maxx | Get-a-way | 1993 |
| M.C.Sar & The Real McCoy | Automatic lover (Call for love) | 1994 |
| Maxx | No More (I Can't Stand It) | 1994 |
| M.C.Sar & The Real McCoy | Run Away | 1994 |
| Maxx | You Can Get It | 1994 |
| Maxx | I Can Make You Feel Like | 1995 |
| Maxx | Move Your Body | 1995 |
| Real McCoy | Come And Get Your Love | 1995 |
| Real McCoy | Sleeping With an Angel/Ooh Boy | 1995 |
| Tronik | Magic Fly | 1996 |
| Real McCoy | One More Time | 1997 |
| Real McCoy | I Wanna Come (With You) | 1997 |
| Juize Club | Denise | 1998 |
| Troja | Träume | 1998 |
| Admirers feat. Killer and Ayman | Come Into My Life | 1998 |
| Savannah | I´ll Be There | 1998 |
| Real McCoy | It´s On You | 1999 |
| Killer | Bring It On | 1999 |
| Real McCoy | Hey Now | 1999 |
| Ann Shakes | All Music | 2004 |
| Vanessa S. | Blah, Blah, Blah | 2004 |
| Vanessa S. | Don't Say (You're Sorry) | 2005 |
| Tenn McRae | There For You | 2005 |
| Vanessa Mason | Musik | 2005 |
Album productions
edit| Artist | Album | Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Alliance | It's Time ... | 1988 |
| M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy | On The Move! | 1990 |
| M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy | Space Invaders | 1994 |
| Maxx | To The Maxximum | 1994 |
| Real McCoy | Another Night | 1995 |
| Real McCoy | One More Time | 1997 |
| Vanessa Mason | Musik | 2005 |
| Vanessa S. | Independence | 2005 |
References
edit- ^ "MTV Bio on Real McCoy". MTV.com. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ^ "Real McCoy Music Makers GSA/Germany". Billboard Magazine. 18 November 1995. Retrieved 2018-10-19.
- ^ "Ruthlessblogs.com". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Machine Gun Kelly Announces Deal With Bad Boy/Interscope: 'They Understood Our Idea'". Vibe. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ "King Los Leaves Bad Boy: Was Diddy's 'Nobody' Rant The Reason?". MTV News. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
- ^ Hernandez, Victoria. "Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Entertainment Signs With Epic Records". hiphopdx.com. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
- ^ "Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Entertainment Partners With Epic Records". billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
- ^ "Bad Boy Plots Packed 20th Anniversary Box Set". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ^ "Bad Boy Celebrating 20th Anniversary With Huge Box Set". The Fader. Andy Cohn. July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ^ "Puff Daddy Announces Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour Featuring Lil' Kim, Mase, Faith Evans, Mario Winans, More". Pitchfork Media. Condé Nast. May 16, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
External links
edit- Bad Boy A&R team contact list
Bad Boy Entertainment Category:1993 establishments in New York (state) Category:Companies based in New York City Category:Hip hop record labels Category:Labels distributed by Warner Music Group Category:Music publishing companies of the United States Category:Music production companies Category:New York (state) record labels Category:Record labels established in 1993 Category:Rhythm and blues record labels [[:Category:Vanity record