Bill Laswell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bill Laswell (born December 2, 1950 in Detroit) is a prolific bassist, producer, and record label owner who has collaborated with hundreds of musicians all over the world. He is married to the Ethiopian singer Gigi. Bands he has led include Material and Praxis.

Laswell's first recording appearance was in 1978, playing bass for Michael Blaise and Cheater on a track titled "Scoring Power". His artistic breakthrough came in producing "Rockit" for Herbie Hancock's Future Shock album, a track cited by many as influencing the explosion of hip-hop and turntablism (via Grand Mixer D.ST).

Laswell has remixed the works of Bob Marley, Miles Davis, and Carlos Santana. Laswell continues to hybridize music styles of disparate world cultures. Tabla Beat Science is one such fusion, joining classical Indian instrumentation with modern electronic production.

Laswell draws upon many musical genres, most notably funk, dub and ambient, but also hardcore and jazz.

[edit]