While this is a solo artist, in other projects, Rus Stewart has collaborated with the following:
Chris Sterio -electronic instruments, production (Source of Gravity)
Olly Sterio -electronic instruments, production (Source of Gravity)
Mark Wheawill -electronic instruments, production (Source of Gravity)
Jason Gearin -vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, production (The Dystopia Project, The Fashion Police, etc.)
Patrick Gadola -vocals guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, production (The Fashion Police, At This Remove, Dog OK, The Dystopia Project)
Shadi Ziaei -vocals (The Fashion Police)
Scott Romano -vocals, guitar, keyboards (The Fashion Police)
Evelyn Johnson -vocals (The Fashion Police)
Tom Volinchak -vocals, guitar, harmonica, accordion, production (The Fashion Police, Corporate Culture)
Christina Moananu -spoken word (a Fashion Police track)
Cliff Disney -production (The Fashion Police)
Maria Mulu -guitar, vocals (unrecorded sessions in American Samoa)
Gordon Rogue -keyboards (unrecorded sessions in American Samoa)
And, the artist often appears on stage with The Electrodroid, the stage-prop robot, which plays back audio sound-collages, and is the other half of the project, Elektrodroid.
Influences
Sampling of some favourite artists, an incomplete list, in random order:
New Order, The Other Two, Joy Electric, Wave in Head, Cetu Javu, The Psychedelic Furs, Klaus Schulze, Alien Skin, Telefon Tel Aviv, Kitaro, Xymox, Clan of Xymox, Depeche Mode, Tangerine Dream, A Flock of Seagulls, Jean-Michel Jarre, Yanni, Joy Division, Red Flag, Genesis, Styx, Blue Infinite, The Stone Roses, Ultramarine, Trecento, Kate Bush, REM, Midnite Oil, A-Ha, Pink Floyd, Crystal Machine, Tim Blake, Harold Budd, Synergy, Wendy Carlos, Aphex Twin, The Cure, Morrissey, The Smiths, Killing Joke, The Ocean Blue, The Church, The Fixx, The Stranglers, Echo and the Bunnymen, Close Lobsters, The Affordable Floors, The Mighty Lemon Drops, New Fast Automatic Daffodils, Anything Box, Book of Love, Erasure, Blue Clocks Green, Cause and Effect, Information Society, Mr.Mister, Mike + The Mechanics, Orbital, Suzzanne Vega, Real Life, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Device, Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians, Boys Don't Cry, Ebyn Ozyn, The Pet Shop Boys, Kraftwerk, The Alarm, The Mission UK, Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, The Dead Milkmen, The Blue Nile, Icicle Works, Trans-X, U-2, Lee Pennington (Section 75), Section 25, Electronic, Sean McClellan, Source of Gravity, OMD, When in Rome, Bauhaus, The Fashion, The Killers
Some favourite DJs, random order, incomplete listing:
DJ Nakadia, (a long-time friend from Thailand) Chris Sterio, Olly Sterio, (both long-time friends from UK, Isle of Man) Kimball Collins, Dave Ralph, DJ Icey, Sandra Collins, Sasha, Danny Tenaglia
Favourite remixers, random order, incomplete listing:
Francios Kevorkian, Shep Pettibone, Danny Tenaglia, Source of Gravity (Chris and Olly Sterio)
"thank you to all my friends and fans. no artist ever goes anywhere or becomes anything at all, without these, and my fans and friends are my biggest influences toward me continuing as a recording artist. thank you, also, to every venue, promoter, and booking agent who has supported and assisted me in the past as well as those who do so in my future endeavours."
As many of you know, I had done some remixing over the years also, when I used to be a DJ, many listeners enjoyed these artists, several, of whom i had remixed, were among some of my favourites. Below, are some examples:
Artist credits for remixing (while DJ on Underground Groove Radio):
Alternative/New Wave:
A Flock of Seagulls, A-Ha, Anything Box, Book of Love, Blue Clocks Green, The Blue Nile, Camouflage, Close Lobsters, The Cure, The Dead Milkmen, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Erasure, The Fashion Police, The Icicle Works, Joy Division, Kate Bush, Killing Joke, Kon Kan, Love Spit Love, Mike + The Mechanics, Missing Persons, The Mission UK, Modern English, Morrissey, New Order, The Ocean Blue, The Pet Shop Boys, Phil Collins, The Psychedelic Furs, Red Flag, Simple Minds, The Smiths, Suzanne Vega, Talk Talk, Tears for Fears, Till Tuesday, Trans-X, Ultravox, U-2, Xymox (or Clan of Xymox)
Ambient/Underground/Abstract:
Aastiage, Amel Larieux, Crystalsphere, Enigma, The Fashion Police, Klaus Schulze, Nocturnal Waveforms, Queen Millenia soundtrack, Question Face, Source of Gravity, Tangerine Dream, Zeo
House/Trance/Club:
Anything Box, Book of Love, Boy George, Corona, Cher, Datura, Depeche Mode, Dubversive, 2-Elvissa, En Vogue, Enigma, Eiffel 65, Faithless, The Fashion Police, Garbage, Jocelyn Enriquez, The KLF, Kraftwerk, Madonna, New Order, One Vision, Opus III, Plasmic Honey, Qattara, Real McCoy, Red Flag, Robi Rob's Club World, Robin S, Rockell, Rhythm Centric, Shabba Ranks, Stars on 54, Snap, Sunscreem, Source of Gravity
Notable projects I have been personally involved with are:
At This Remove, Corporate Culture, Dog OK, The Dystopia Project, Elektrodroid, The Fashion Police, Nocturnal Waveforms, Source of Gravity.
Sounds Like
YOU, the listener, must decide for yourself, what this sounds like to YOU.
This is music for fans and venues searching for something aside from the ordinary.
Something for the open-minded, in search of something that is light-years removed from the same-old bad cover song or ho-hum karaoke machine track that has been done to death.
It is something that will bring happiness for those who have wearied of their quest to discover something fresh.
Simply put, it dares to be different!
Just a few examples of other artists that have been heard to achieve similar results with their sound are:
Anything Box, New Order, Tangerine Dream, Joy Division, Jean Michel Jarre, Harold Budd, Tim Blake, Crystal Machine, Klaus Schulze, Depeche Mode, Red Flag, Book of Love, Kraftwerk, Alien Skin, Synergy, Ultravox, Kitaro, Section 25
Now, that you've listened and enjoyed the music, and perused the wonderful photos, read the page, and were entertained by the videos, don't forget to add yourself to the "friend" list, and if you are a promoter, or agent, and want me on your roster, contact me, or if you manage or book for a venue, don't be afraid to book me for a concert. ;)
I enjoy performing live shows, for many years I've headlined shows doing this for crowds of many thousands, and the fans are very happy with it, and your venue will be all the better for it. :)
Much of the music coming from the Robotique Records label, resembles the sound of music released during the time of the old Factory Records label, the two labels being very similar in genres and quality of music.
TESTIMONIALS FROM FANS:
Feedback (a collection of interesting input regarding the work)
In an effort to preserve and conservate the better input and "buzz" from comment posts and emails, from fans, as some of them can disappear over time, we are copying and pasting them to be saved in here for you to read:
Peter Hook
(known from his work with New Order, etc...mutual fan, friend) writes:
"very interesting...reminds me of the FAUST tapes, very kraftwerky too, good work! "
George Pappas of Alien Skin (international artist, mutual fan, friend, known for his work with Real Life) writes:
Jun 22, 2009 9:37 PM
"Your new track VISIONARY is excellent Rus! Liquid electronics with a gorgeous 80s sensibility. So infectious!
Tell everyone about it!!
ALIEN SKIN"
Nakadia (international DJ, long-time friend, mutual fan) writes:
2 Sep 2006 13:05
"Hi Rus !
Great music... love your work. All the best for the album. Cant wait to get it.
Best wishes, your friend
Naka "
Kiri Chamberilin-Close.. (long-time friend, fan) writes:
1 Sep 2006 9:52
"Rus,
The sounds are OFF THE HOOK!!!!! I LOVE them!! The tracks mesmerize, but with an energy that is otherworldly, artful. I thank you for getting a myspace page.
Let me see what I can do with some other artists in incorporating your sound--i love it! It lets me breathe deeply into who I am.
talk to you soon,
==Kiri"
Gordon Roque (long-time fan, friend, national artist) writes:
22 Nov 2006 9:18
"Hey Rus,
Happy Thanksgiving!! I like to stop by here once in a while and listen to Astral Voyage. It makes my want to dance against my will.
TAKE CARE
-gordo"
Eddie Haskell and his Singing Saw.. (fan and national artist) writes:
3 Oct 2006 2:40
"I Just got the CD. Very Kewl stuff,You are a great songsmith I can't wait to listen to all of it. I will be sending you some of my new tracks very soon. I'll send my old stuff and new DVD just for you to have if you want. Talk soon.
Pleasant Screams,
Eddie Haskell"
(more will be added from this page's feedback as i have time)
DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS REGARDING WHAT YOU FEEL THIS SOUNDS LIKE TO YOU. IT COULD BE CONSIDERED FOR INCLUSION HERE.
This page is the solo artist electronic-music project of long time THE FASHION POLICE keyboardist and composer, Rus Stewart. For anyone who perhaps may not be aware of this, the American synthesizer band The Fashion Police are internationally renowned for smash 1980s hits such as "Kick the Party In", "High Fashion", and the highly acclaimed The Fashion Police debut album, "A Secret Policeman Patrols the Night."
(see myspace.com/fashionpolicemusic. beware of imitators, this is the only one that was around at that time.)
Other projects by Rus Stewart are NOCTURNAL WAVEFORMS, and ELEKTRODROID. The artist was also a part of the bands THE DYSTOPIA PROJECT, and AT THIS REMOVE, and has worked with the internationally-renowned SOURCE OF GRAVITY, of the UK in an international trans-Atlantic record label remix alliance between SOG and his own ROBOTIQUE imprint, among other notable projects.
In 2007, Rus Stewart, long time keyboardist of the renowned American band, has finally relaunched and re-invented full-on as a solo artist. He follows nobody, but leads himself, crafting his works in his infectious and addictive sonic textures artistically painted from his palate of synthesizers onto a huge, ever-growing wall of sound, that can sometimes be simple and sensible, and complex and intriguing, all at once.
"my music is usually abstract, and mostly built around instrumentals, and, when there are any vocals, if the vocals are done by myself, they generally are minimal and spoken-word, often with much echo, reverb, vocoder and other effects, a strategy that has served me well over the years. the words that i write for them can be generally, abstract, and feel as if it could be somewhat a sort of mysticism, which allows the listener to interpret them however he or she feels."
An underlying Gothic darkness often collides with enlightening and uplifting ambiance that provides a never-ending beauty within the music that this artist composes. Sometimes sparse and minimal, other times, lush and dreamy, with moments of melancholy, intertwined with sheer ecstatic bliss, introspective, and contemplative, the music drives the listener onward and upward, as an escape from the sometimes mundane existence of earthly entrapment to be enraptured into a swirling, otherworldly experience with mystical synthesizers in full bloom. The focused and open-minded listener will be caught up in this, and spiritually ascend ever-skyward as the music takes them on a sort of quest toward enlightenment, as the forces of Gothic darkness become penetrated by Celestial light.
"the music i compose is meant to draw the listener in, and allow them to experience the sound somewhat as one would experience a lucid dream or a great movie. it is intended to be listened to in its entire form in order to be fully appreciated. it is best to listen to it in an environment which would allow one to empty one's mind from worldly distractions, in order to extract the most enjoyment from the experience."
Often the music is instrumental, however, in some tracks, there can be moments, when a voice, spoken-word, never sung, haunting, albeit purposefully emotionally-detached, yet somehow, on a mission to convey something, oscillating between menacing and peaceful, and vaguely bored, oddly robotic, yet somehow human, resembling Darth Vader in a way, will be heard, as it seems to echo from the sky. This effect can sometimes pierce into the very centre of the listener's soul, with both a metallic coldness and a mysterious warmth within, which will leave the listener further mystified.
It is music for the open-minded.
Fans of any one of the many fantastic bands and artists, that you see mentioned in the artist "influences" and "sounds like" sections of this page, would feel quite at home here.
"i don't use computers at all in the compositions. all of my studio kit is hardware based, keyboard/synthesizers, samplers, vocoders, effect processors, sequencers and drum machines."
"i record to analogue reels and sometimes use high quality cassette machines and minidisc, usually live to two tracks, sometimes to four tracks on the reel machines, and when i do need to multitrack to more than four tracks, i used to have a sixteen-track tape machine, now i use a stand-alone portable hardware-based multitrack recorder, along with the four track machines, but i never need more than eight tracks. a considerable percentage of my kit is one-of-a-kind that i either built myself or modified to fit my specific needs."
"i do not do much editing, if any at all. what you hear, is generally what was played as i composed and performed it. sometimes i compose material on-the-fly as i improvise the material live in a session. if there are any imperfections, generally i leave them be, to exist as part of the sound, a sort of 'warts and all' approach...i guess this is from my influence of what was played on the local college radio station when i began listening to alternative music, as much of that music had a raw edge to it."
"i find it refreshing to hear music done that way, especially in an age of often over-produced and over-edited and ear-fatiguing recordings, which are usually recorded too loudly, too busy, and over-compressed in the mastering phases. i never try to be pretentious or try to add too much to the music, but prefer to keep it simple much of the time."
"while i enjoy a great pop song just like the next guy does, my approach is somewhat the antithesis of the typical 'popstar' recording in some ways, i suppose, being more abstract as it is. however, regardless of my left-of-centre approach, and my experimental and improvised style, my music tends to possess the same mass-appeal to audiences, as does pop music, in general."
see also:
reverbnation.com/label/robotiquerecords
(seven projects linked off that page. many of them may also include a myspace or ilike.com page...add yourself to the fan lists of these various projects. ;)
If you've added yourself to the fan lists of the other project's pages, DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOURSELF TO FAN LIST HERE. ;)
I like to read your feedback posted in the comments, especially those regarding this page's music, photos, etc.
However, please don't spam the comment board...those will get deleted. ;)
I never spam people's comments or email.
I keep it real and keep it positive! :) Everybody should do this. ;)
Dropping by to say Hello! Enjoy the music, whether it be Alien Skin or any other independent artist here on MySpace. We all thank You for listening & being part of it!
Rus Stewartasaurus our lost bretheren...Oh when can we eat delicious leaves and roam the plains again like in the days of yore?
'Tis us Bossasaurus with more remix hotness excavated from the hottest volcanoes around. This time we've got a Redman and Method Man remix of "Dangerous MC's". Please come on over to our page and check it out. We will be making it available for free download very soon.
Thanks for stopping by. I checked out your music too and it is very cool - I like how you do very little editing...kind of compose on the fly, improvising.
Hey Rus Stewart, hope you're having a great day! Say, do you believe in God? If so, do you think it comes with a tangible science we can hope to understand one day, or should it remain a mystical concept? Also, how do feel about the odds of making contact with another intelligent species in the universe?
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