Todd Terry has been engulfed in dance music since he first started listening to European dance music records while growing up in Brooklyn. Already devoted to turntables, he heard something different in those tracks, and he “went for the difference. I never got a break in New York, but England happened right away, so I catered to them.” In any event, the Todd Terry sound was born.
By 1994, Todd Terry hit big in England and Europe, and his notoriety was making its way back to the U.S. In addition to DJ appearances, Todd was cutting his (now) classic underground tracks Bang (Go To The Batcave), Weekend and Can You Party, released under monikers such as the Todd Terry Project, House Of Gypsies, and CLS, all considered essential DJ listening.
In 1995, the Ministry of Sound’s eponymous UK label released A Day In The Life, a collection of Todd Terry tracks that had been causing dance floor panic. That then led the way to a deal with Mercury Records allowing him to set up a context in which to work with his favourite singers and performers. The first release, Keep On Jumpin’ on Logic Records US/Mercury Records for Europe, featured a vocal workout from super-divas Martha Wash and Jocelyn Brown, together for the first time ever. The song became a No. 1 club track in the U.S. and a dozen countries around the world.
All the while, Todd continued to break new ground as a producer/remixer. From SNAP to Annie Lennox to George Michael to Bjork, Todd’s mixes bridge the ground between club cool and commercial accessibility. In 1995, his remix for Everything But The Girl’s Missing became a worldwide smash, giving the British duo their first ever hit. In 1996, he rode the charts with mixes for Garbage (Stupid Girl), The Cardigans (Love Fool), Everything But The Girl (Wrong), among others. He also produced a Robin S track (Givin’ You All That I’ve Got) for the multi-platinum Space Jam soundtrack. Recent work includes mixes for 10,000 Maniacs (More Than This), Jamiroquai (Alright), The Cardigans (Been It), and The Lightning Seeds (You Showed Me).
These days Todd is one of the world’s most celebrated figures in dance music and the summer of 2001 is set to see him storm up the charts with the Gypsymen’s latest track Babarabatiri (pronounced Ba-ba-ra-ba-teery). As part of the Gypsymen Todd has already seen the tune rock Miami WMC and looks set to be the Ibiza tune this year. The track samples the original Babarabatiri by Beny More and Perez Prado which was used in the recent Guinness TV ad campaign (with the racing snails.) In support of the Gypsymen record Guinness have agreed to re-run the adverts over the summer. Which is obviously a major coup for the Sound Design label. Babarabatiri has also scored at radio and in the clubs occupying a Powerplay slot on Danny Rampling’s Radio 1 show and reaching number 1 in the Buzz and Capital Club charts and number 2 in the DJ Hyper and Mixmag Big Tunes charts, so far.
With over a decade of dancefloor domination under Todd’s belt the quality of his productions goes from strength to strength. Welcome to the church of house music presided over by Todd The God. Are you a believer?
