Urban Dance Squad
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Urban Dance Squad was a Dutch band, celebrated as being one of the most innovative and important music groups to come from The Netherlands#redirect . Their music was a blend of genres such as heavy rock, funk, soul and rap, but also reggae and ska, which were not commonly mixed at the time. They were one of the first mainstream acts to incorporate a turntablist in a live line-up. They are therefore considered as pioneers of one of the best known fusion trends of the early 1990's, sometimes referred to as rapcore.
In the U.S., the band is still associated with their hit "Deeper Shade of Soul", which topped at the 21st spot on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1991. In their native Europe, however, they have enjoyed popularity throughout their career, and most listeners at the time discovered them through their popular single "Demagogue" (1994).
Career highlights
The band was founded in Utrecht in 1987 and published their debut album Mental Floss for the Globe in 1989. They toured worldwide before releasing Life 'n Perspectives of a genuine Crossover in 1991, in the same vein but showing more maturity.
In 1993 DJ DNA left the band during their tour. Without a DJ, the band started focusing on rock with a touch of funk. This resulted in the very raw and guitar riff oriented album Persona Non Grata in 1994, followed by the smoother Planet Ultra in 1996, where the band compensated the DNA's absence by incorporating touches of groovy synthesizer, aided by their Dutch fellows of Wizards of Ooze. They also released a live album the next year, which was recorded in Beograd on November 20, 1996. This is the only release where keyboardist U-Gene is credited as a part of the band.
In 1997 DJ DNA rejoined the ranks of the Urban Dance Squad and two years later they published the critically acclaimed album Artantica.
Internal struggles fueled by continued negativity from the (Dutch) press (like negative remarks on Rudeboy's stage appearance as a soldier, while he's a World War II enthusiast) led to the break-up of the band in 2000.
Reunion
The band is scheduled to perform at the 2006 editions of the Dutch Lowlands festival and Pukkelpop in Belgium.
Members
- Rudeboy Remmington (Patrick Tilon) - Vocals
- Tres Manos (Renè van Barneveld) - Guitar
- Sil (Silvano Matadin) - Bass
- Magic Stick (Michel Schoots) - Drums
- DNA (DoNotAsk) (Arjen de Vreede) - Turntables
Albums
- Mental Floss for the Globe (1989)
- Life 'n Perspectives of a genuine Crossover (1991)
- Persona Non Grata (1994)
- Planet Ultra (1996)
- Beograd Live (1997)
- Artantica (1999)
References
Frans Steensma (ed), "OOR's Eerste Nederlandse Pop-encyclopedie" (12th edition, Amsterdam, 2000)
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