Starsmith
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| Starsmith | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Finlay Dow-Smith |
| Born | 8 July 1988 Bromley, England |
| Genres | Pop, electronica, house, synthpop |
| Occupation(s) | Record producer, composer, musician |
| Instruments | Drums, synthesizer, saxophone, piano, guitar, bass, vocals |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Associated acts | Ellie Goulding, Kylie Minogue, Cheryl Cole, Lady Gaga, Jess Glynne |
Starsmith (born Finlay Dow-Smith, 8 July 1988, Bromley, England) is a multi-platinum selling British songwriter, producer, remixer and DJ. He is best known for his writing and production work with artists such as Ellie Goulding, Jess Glynne, Kylie Minogue, and Clean Bandit as well as his own solo work. He studied a classical music degree at the University of Surrey[1] majoring in performance on saxophone. He has also received widespread acclaim for the remixes he created for Lady Gaga, Robyn, Timbaland, Katy Perry, Passion Pit, and Marina and the Diamonds amongst many others.[2] His remix of "Bad Romance" was chosen as the lead remix of the track on Lady Gaga's hugely successful 2010 remix album, The Remix.[3] He was nominated for the Music Producers Guild Breakthrough Producer of the Year award in 2011[4] and then again for the Remixer of the Year in 2012.[5]
Contents
Early career
He is good friends with singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding and in addition to producing the majority of her debut album Lights also co-wrote five tracks on the album, which following its release on 1 March 2010, went straight to No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart. The album has gone on to sell nearly 2,000,000 copies worldwide. He teamed up again with Goulding on her second number-one album, Halcyon, producing and co-writing three songs on the album,[6] which debuted in the top 10 in both the UK and the US in October 2012.[7] He produced tracks for Diana Vickers' debut album, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree which also went straight to No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart in May 2010. He had subsequent UK Number 1 album cuts in 2010 with both Cheryl Cole and Kylie Minogue.[8] He co-wrote and produced the track "Burn" for Clare Maguire's debut album in 2011.
Starsmith toured with Goulding in 2009 and 2010, and also played with her on Later... with Jools Holland in 2009, playing bass guitar. He is a noted instrumentalist, additionally playing piano and guitar, but his main instrument is the saxophone (tenor or alto); the saxophone solo on his 2013 rework of the Hall and Oates track "I Can't Go for That" is performed by himself.
He spent the majority of 2010 working on his own solo album, but in a post on his blog in early 2011[9] he revealed that he had decided to postpone releasing the album and was instead focusing on songwriting and production. However, one song from the album sessions, "Lesson One", which he co-wrote and produced with Alan Braxe, was released later that year on Braxe's Vulture label.[10]
In December 2011, he was the subject of an episode of the Red Bull and Vice documentary series, The Producers.[11]
Latest work
In March 2014, the track "Dead In The Water" that he co-wrote and produced with Ellie Goulding was included in the promotion and soundtrack for the film Divergent,[12] which opened at No.1 at the Worldwide Box Office.[13]
Charli XCX revealed that she had worked alongside him writing a song for Britney Spears' latest album; however, the track did not make it onto the final album.[14][15]
In June 2014 he revealed he had signed with Ministry of Sound to release his new solo music.[16]
Songwriting and production discography
| Year | Artist | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Ellie Goulding | "Fighter Plane" | Under the Sheets EP |
| 2010 | Ellie Goulding | "Guns and Horses" "Starry Eyed" "This Love (Will Be Your Downfall)" "Under the Sheets" "The Writer" "Every Time You Go" "I'll Hold My Breath" "Salt Skin" |
Lights |
| 2010 | Ellie Goulding | "Human" "Animal" |
Bright Lights |
| 2010 | Kylie Minogue | "Put Your Hands Up (If You Feel Love)" | Aphrodite |
| 2010 | Cheryl Cole | "Yeah Yeah" ft. Travie McCoy | Messy Little Raindrops |
| 2010 | Marina and the Diamonds | "Hollywood" | The Family Jewels |
| 2010 | Diana Vickers | "You'll Never Get To Heaven" | Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree |
| 2010 | Erik Hassle | "Hurtful" | Hurtful (single) |
| 2010 | The Saturdays | "One Shot" | One Shot (single) |
| 2010 | Starsmith | "Give Me A Break" "Knuckleduster" |
Give Me A Break EP |
| 2011 | Clare Maguire | "Burn" | Light After Dark |
| 2011 | Starsmith | "Lesson One" "Champion" |
Lesson One EP |
| 2012 | Ellie Goulding | "Dead In The Water" "Without Your Love" "The Ending" |
Halcyon |
| 2013 | Fenech Soler | "Somebody" "Glow" |
Rituals |
| 2013 | Mark Owen | "Us and Ours" "S.A.D" "The End of Everything" |
The Art of Doing Nothing |
| 2013 | Starsmith | "Clockwork" | Clockwork (single) |
| 2014 | Joel Compass | "Vanilla" | upcoming album |
| 2014 | Betty Who | "Better" | Take Me When You Go |
| 2014 | Py | "Swimming Slow" | Swimming Slow (single) |
| 2014 | Starsmith | "Now I Feel Good" | Now I Feel Good (single) |
| 2014 | Clean Bandit | "Real Love" | New Eyes |
| 2015 | Pawws | "Turnaround" | Kitsuné New Faces II |
| 2015 | Mika | "Staring at the Sun" | No Place in Heaven |
| 2015 | M.O | "Preach" | Preach (single) |
| 2015 | Ella Eyre | "Don't Follow Me" | Feline |
| 2015 | Kwabs | "Fight For Love" | Fight For Love (single) |
| 2015 | Jess Glynne | "Hold My Hand" "Gave Me Something" "Ain't Got Far" "You Can Find Me" "It Ain't Right" "No Rights No Wrongs" |
I Cry When I Laugh |
Remixography
| Year | Artist | Song Title | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Private | "My Secret Lover" | 4:01 |
| 2009 | Elviin | "In Colour" | 4:44 |
| 2009 | Bombay Bicycle Club | "Always Like This" | 4:06 |
| 2009 | Frankmusik | "3 Little Words" (Starsmith Remix) | 3:29 |
| 2009 | Marina and the Diamonds | "I Am Not a Robot" (Starsmith 24 Carat Remix) | 5:18 |
| 2009 | Little Boots | "New in Town" (Starsmith Remix) | 5:30 |
| 2009 | The Twang | "Barney Rubble" (Starsmith Remix) | 5:24 |
| 2009 | Girls Can't Catch | "Keep Your Head Up" (Starsmith Club Mix) | 5:18 |
| 2009 | The Mission District | "So Over You" (Starsmith Remix) | 3:29 |
| 2009 | Team WaterPolo | "Letting Go" (Starsmith Remix) | 4:29 |
| 2009 | Frankmusik | "Better Off as Two" (Starsmith Holiday in the Heath Remix) | 4:29 |
| 2009 | Passion Pit | "Sleepyhead" (Starsmith Remix feat. Ellie Goulding) | 3:19 |
| 2009 | Animal Kingdom | "Signs and Wonders" (Starsmith Remix) | 4:17 |
| 2009 | Paloma Faith | "New York" (Starsmith Remix) | 3:36 |
| 2009 | Lisa Mitchell | "Coin Laundry" (Starsmith Remix) | 4:49 |
| 2009 | Lady Gaga | "Bad Romance" (Starsmith Remix) | 4:56 |
| 2010 | Mika | "Blame It on the Girls" (Not on the Starsmith Remix) | 6:17 |
| 2010 | Timbaland featuring Katy Perry | "If We Ever Meet Again" (Starsmith Remix) | 5:21 |
| 2010 | N.E.R.D. | "Hot-n-Fun" (Starsmith Club Remix) | 5:35 |
| 2010 | Beyoncé | "Why Don't You Love Me" (Starsmith Remix – Radio Edit) | 3:34 |
| 2010 | Robyn | "Hang with Me" (Starsmith Remix) | 6:04 |
| 2011 | Gypsy & the Cat | "Jona Vark" (Starsmith Remix) | 4:58 |
| 2011 | Lady Gaga | "Born This Way" (Starsmith Remix) | 6:45 |
| 2011 | Marina and the Diamonds | "Radioactive" (Starsmith Rework) | 4:37 |
| 2012 | St. Lucia | "We Got It Wrong" (Starsmith Remix) | 6:03 |
| 2013 | Ed Drewett | "Drunk Dial" (Starsmith Remix) | 5:37 |
| 2013 | Matthew Koma | "Parachute" (Starsmith Remix) | 5:18 |
| 2013 | Hall & Oates | "I Can't Go For That" (Starsmith Rework) | 4:48 |
| 2013 | Betty Who | "Somebody Loves You" (Starsmith Remix) | 6:24 |
| 2014 | Joywave | "Tongues" (Starsmith Remix) | 4:39 |
References
- ↑ http://www.surrey.ac.uk/msr/news/stories/2012/93586_updates_on_achievements_in_music_and_sound_recording.htm
- ↑ New band of the day – No 618: Starsmith Guardian.co.uk
- ↑ The Remix
- ↑ http://www.mpg.org.uk/mpg-awards/2011-short-lists/
- ↑ http://www.mpg.org.uk/mpg-awards/2012-short-lists/
- ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/halcyon-mw0002411263
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/474608/macklemore-ryan-lewis-score-top-billboard-200-debut-mumford-still-no-1
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- ↑ http://www.vice.com/en_uk/the-producers/episode-5-starsmith
- ↑ http://www.divergentsoundtrack.com/news/divergent-track-listing-revealed
- ↑ http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/movies/2014/03/24/Divergent-based-on-young-adult-book-series-is-No-1/stories/201403240028
- ↑ http://www.popjustice.com/interviewsandfeatures/an-amazing-charli-xcx-interview-slash-chat/128483/
- ↑ http://www.nme.com/news/charlie-xcx/72285
- ↑ https://twitter.com/starsmith/status/462224042326757376
External links
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