Axl Smith
Hip Hop / Funk
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People Come First is what I'll call it..
Finland,
Sweden
Profile Views:
30464
Last Login:
6/4/2009
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| Axl Smith: General Info
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| Member Since | 6/22/2006 | | Band Website | musictelevision.fi | | Band Members | Axl Smith - vocals, sampler, Thriller - dance
Toni Porthen - drums, sampler
Vellu Salminen - bass
Osmo Ikonen - keys, gtr, voc
Sami Baldauf - keys
Mikko Pettinen - horns, keys
Max'C - hooks
| | Influences | Hip-Hop stuff:
Slum Village, Common, De La Soul, ATCQ, J Dilla (RIP), Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Busta Rhymes, Kanye West, Outkast,
Neosoul/Rnb:
D'Angelo, Musiq Soulchild, Dwele, R. Kelly, Chaka Khan,
The Legends:
Michael Jackson, Sly & The Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Prince, The Time, James Brown (RIP)
Gospel:
Kirk Franklin, Tye Tribbet & GA, Deitrick Haddon
The crazy stuff!:
Chromeo, Daft Punk, Pharrell | | Sounds Like |
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| | Record Label | Unsigned |
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| About Axl Smith |
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BIO
Born in 1984 like any other baby Axl knew absolutely nothing. The first couple years were absolutely normal, learning to do all the basic stuff and not to put everything in his mouth.
Axl’s mother was a little bit on the nutty side, so she put him into "little kid" music classes at the age of three. The madness did not stop here. At the age of 4 she put Axl into ballet lessons and made him wear tights. (This must be why he likes the 70’s spandex stuff) During this time one of his dancing instructors recommended that Axl should move to more mainstream dance. And, at the age of 5 he did he’s first Moonwalk in front of an audience.
In elementary school it was discovered that Axl had an aptitude for music. Therefore, it was necessary to select an instrument. The first instrument selected was the flute. This didn’t last long, (two weeks), yet again a magnificent idea of Axl’s mother. With the doom of the flute, mother and son reached an agreement over the saxophone which was influenced by Axl’s grandfather, a great jazz fan. This Axl studied fastidiously and finally was awarded a spot at the honored Helsinki Pop and Jazz Conservatorium. But at the end of the day - jazz was not Axl's thing, he detested school and after these endeavors he decided that performing arts was his calling in life.
From performing in musicals to ghostwriting for Swedish rappers, it was a tape sent to MTV that was about to change things. MTV Europe was searching for a new VJ and Axl's version of Outkast' 'Hey Ya' beat over 4000 applicants for the job. After hosting international events (like the countdown show to the MTV Europe Music Awards '06 with approx. 350 million viewers), Axl started combining the VJing with producing. One thing left to another and soon Axl was hosting and producing 'Axl Meets', the only locally produced MTV show that has Pan-European coverage. 'Axl Meets' is a documentary show that has followed the lives of Snoop Dogg, Chris Cornell, Muse, Chemical Brothers,...
In 2009 - at the age of 25, Axl was promoted to Head of Music & Artists, being the youngest ever music programmer & manager in Scandinavia.
After MTV was "on lock" it was time to get back to the music - as an artist. 3 years in the making - Axl is finally ready with his solo debut album. Tracks from 'People Come First' were played to radio stations in Paris and reviews started popping: "the album sounds like Michael Jackson and Prince would've met in the hip-hop world" (Allhiphop) "..talk about not following the trends, but getting it SO right." (Metro)
'People Come First' sounds like a J Dilla beat with a synth bass sound similar to Prince, James Brown screaming on top of a funky breakbeat by Justice and Common laying poetry to bed of harmonies by Take 6. You can hear the diversity and the live feel in this album.
This hip-hop funkateer comes with the whole package; Not only does Axl bring the house down with this flamboyant stage presence, but he somehow reminds you of the time when music was still electric, energetic - and most of all - entertaining.
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