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DISCOGRAPHY LIVE LYRICS MERCHANDISE PICTURES RARITIES VIDEOS
Conjure One website: http://www.conjureone.com
Conjure One > History
Conjure One is the solo project of Rhys Fulber. Since shortly after he left FLA in early 1997 there has been talk of a Fulber solo album in the vein of Deleriums Karma, but it took a little longer, the release was delayed until September 2002. However, Rhys has been busy over the years with producing, remixing, and helping out on other artists records, no matter be their music pop or industrial-metal. After returning to FLA and Delerium in 2003, the second Conjure One album "Extraordinary Ways" is out now.
Official Nettwerk Conjure One Biography 2005
Over the last two decades few artists have had as much impact on modern forms of music as Rhys Fulber. Best known from his work with Bill Leeb in the pioneering industrial rock outfit Frontline Assembly, Fulber has also made a significant mark in the world of electronic dance and pop music with his side projects Delerium and Conjure One, and has become one of the music industry's hottest producers.
Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Fulber's appreciation of music began at an early age. By the age of six, Fulber was playing the drums, and at age eleven, was already visiting recording studios and discovering punk rock and new wave artists (namely the Dead Kennedys and Pete Shelley's 1981 release, Homosapien.) Fulber was still only a teenager when he met another local like-minded musician, Austrian Bill Leeb. The duo initially worked under the alias of Wilhelm Schroeder on the 1984 Skinny Puppy EP, Remission, before launching groundbreaking industrial / rock outfit, Front Line Assembly. The group went on to issue countless releases on a steady basis - including such standouts as 1991's Caustic Grip, 1992's Tactical Neural Implant, and 1994's Millennium, among others). Fulber departed Frontline Assembly in 1997 to concentrate on several other side projects and record producing.
Despite leaving Front Line Assembly, Fulber and Leeb continued to collaborate on a number of projects. Most famous of all was an ambient pop side project called Delerium. The act shot to the top of the charts thanks to their 1997 global hit, "Silence," which featured vocals by Sarah McLachlan. As one half of Delerium, Rhys is no stranger to hit records, and as Conjure One (his current solo project) he has already scored a no.1 UK Club Chart placing with a package that contained remix treatments of the songs "Sleep" and "Tears From The Moon" (both included on the self- titled debut CD Conjure One). "Centre Of The Sun" also gained a Top 3 U.K. Club Chart placing.
Conjure One's follow-up release Extraordinary Ways is set for release on August 30 (Nettwerk America), and for the first time in his career, sees Fulber on vocal duties, delivering a unique modern take on the oft-neglected Buzzcocks classic "I Believe." As in the past, he also calls on the talents of female vocalists, including Jane ("Endless Dream," "One Word" and "Extraordinary Way"), Chemda ("Forever Lost"), Tiff Lacey ("Face The Music") and Joanna Stevens ("Dying Light").
In addition to his solo work as Conjure One and long-established songwriting partnership with Bill Leeb in Delerium and Front Line Assembly, the multi-talented Fulber has also been a producer-in-demand for several years. His list of credits ranges from metal outfits Fear Factory (supplying production, programming, keyboards, and arrangements to such popular albums as 1995's Demanufacture and 1998's Obsolete, among others) Megadeth, Mudvayne and Paradise Lost to AOR pop acts Sarah Brightman and Josh Groban.
Official Nettwerk Conjure One Biography 2002
Think Rhys Fulber and you flash back to his beat-breaking tenures with both Front Line Assembly and Delerium. At the decade's end, when the industrial genre started to run on fumes, Fulber broke from the pack once again with Delerium, an ambient dance project created with former Assembly collaborator Bill Leeb. In 1997, after years of playing to an insulated audience of digital diehards, Fulber and Delerium went worldwide with Karma and lead track "Silence," a blockbuster single featuring the Grammy award-winning vocals of multi-platinum artist Sarah McLachlan. A global smash, "Silence" rocketed to No. 3 in the U.K., No. 1 in Ireland, No. 4 in Belgium, hit the top five in Australia and the responsible album (Karma) sold a quarter of a million copies in the U.S. alone.
Since then, the multi-talented Fulber has become a producer-in-demand, with production credits that include P.O.D., Sarah Brightman, David Foster, Fear Factory and many more. Not bad for a guy "from the underground."
With Conjure One--his solo debut--Fulber expands upon the promise of Karma with a rapturous blend of lush textures, hauntingly beautiful melodies and softly curved electrobeats. Like a filmmaker using varying shades of light and dark, the studio wunderkind manipulates sound to create mood music rich with images.
"It's ambient, epic music with a pop structure," says Fulber. "The goal was to make cool, world-influenced songs without the constraints of a specific genre. As an artist, you're always grateful for the support of your core fans, but at the same time you want to stretch and reach a broader audience. To create something that everyone can get into is music in its purest form."
As Fulber tells it, the making of Conjure One was truly an international affair: it written and recorded in Amsterdam, Vancouver, London and Los Angeles, and draws its principal inspiration from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music.
"I did a lot of the writing and the initial programming in Amsterdam," recalls the Canadian native. "I also went to Turkey and Cyprus and bought a lot of weird CDs, which I later wound up sampling. I'd comb all the world shops looking for unique sounds. It was all about creating a vibe."
It took Fulber three solid years to make the record, and the resulting music--bracingly resonant and evocative--reflects his reputation as a meticulous artist. "I planned on making the whole album within the span of a few months," he says. "But the vocals took a lot of work. I'm not a vocalist and I don't really try to write lyrics. I like to stick to what I know I can do, so I wound up recording countless demos in search of the right singers."
It was worth the wait.
Critically acclaimed Atlantic recording artist Poe, Israeli vocalist Chemda, Argentinean singer Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo, and Melanie Garside take turns breathing emotional life into Fulber's exquisitely crafted compositions; their vocal performances are warm, seductive and absolutely mesmerizing. "I handed the songs over to the singers and let them do whatever they wanted," says Fulber. "Most of the final versions are their original visions."
"I wrote the melodies and lyrics after just three listens," says Poe, who appears on both "Center of the Sun" and "Make A Wish." "Rhys' music inspires that sort of creativity. His songs are beautiful and have that rare timeless feeling."
Tracks like "Center of the Sun," "Satellite Girl" and "Manic Star" are intoxicating and exotic, their honeyed melodies pouring over a throbbing pastoral pulse.
The latter was co-written by Fulber and songwriter Billy Steinberg, co-writer of hits such as "Like A Virgin" (Madonna), "True Colors" (Cyndi Lauper) and "Eternal Flame" (the Bangles). "Pandora," featuring vocals by Melanie Garside, is a swirling exploration of Middle Eastern melodies and atmospheric dance grooves inspired by an Albanian folk lament. "I heard it on a CD purchased in Turkey," says Fulber. "It was so grim, yet there was something about it that I really liked. I made loops of the samples and wrote the track around it."
Additional Conjure One contributors include Tom Holkenburg, the progressive house maestro behind Junkie XL (programming and mixing), London-based composer Chris Elliott (string arrangements) and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Says Fulber, "Everyone involved played an integral part in the making of the record. It's exactly the kind of album I wanted to hear and I don't think there's a lot of music out there that sounds like this. I must admit though, I did feel a certain amount of pressure at times. You get to a point where you don't know if what you're doing is good, but I got great feedback and support from my friends, my manager, publisher and label people. When I listen back to the record now, I'm really pleased. I feel like I've said something with it."
Fulber's musical roots can be traced back to his early childhood in Vancouver. "My dad was a musician, so we always had instruments around the house," he says. "When I was five or six, I started playing drums. By age 11, I was already hanging around studios, going to shows and buying Dead Kennedys records. I was a little kid hanging around these older punk rockers and music became really important to me. It suddenly became a lifestyle and a means to an end. Then I heard Pete Shelley's solo album, Homosapien, and that changed the way I looked at music. I began to realize the electronic aspect was way cooler because you could do everything yourself. My father bought me a synthesizer and drum machine when I was about 14 and things took off from there. Within a few short years, I was making records with Frontline Assembly and touring Europe. Looking back, I think I always knew I'd be making music one day, I just didn't know in what capacity. I never dreamed I'd wind up where I am now."
MP C1 News Dossier
Here is a little Conjure One News Dossier. This is a little research I made in our News archive. I just collected all the entries about Rhys work on the Conjure One album. This becomes actually a very long story. Have a look.
03-12-96 SHOCK NEWS:
FLA have split!! Rhys has left the band. I have heard this from a very close source. There will be an official announcement from Offbeat soon. Rhys will carry on writing and producing music aswell as doing remixes though and he still has to do one more Delerium and Noise Unit album. Bill has been working on the new FLA album with Chris Peterson of Will and Intermix. Looks set for a release around March.
21/12/97
Rhys is also rumoured to be working on some new material.
06/07/98
Rhys Fulber, who now resides in Amsterdam, is currently working on a new album for release on Nettwerk/EMI early next year. Expect something sounding like an up to date fusion of Delerium, Intermix and WiLL, ie. beats, bass and trademark Rhys keys, along with some female vocalists. There`s a possibility of a tour aswell.
14-12-98 Rhys update
Here`s an update on what Rhys is up to, his forthcoming album is described as "..in some ways, a less predictable "Karma" - ie some epic ambience, and some poppy songs as well, but has much more variation in styles and arrangements, and better programming." Live musicians will be brought in, including Junkie XL and possibly cEvin Key on drums. Look out for a possible collaboration with cEvin for another album too "...Not a half arsed side project, but a serious recording project with vocals and melodies and the expected weirdness." If that`s not enough, he has some production work lined up in America for urban/hiphop/pop acts!
17-01-98 Rhys update
Rhys has been busy working on Fear Factory and Paradise Lost remixes, plus material for his own album, 15 tracks are now recorded and ready for vocal demos. He`s been answering some of the questions for the Q+A interview when he gets the time.
16-04-99 Rhys update
Rhys is still in Canada working on his forthcoming album (he still hasn`t thought of a name for the project) aswell as various programming work and a remix for a band called Moist.
24-04-99 Rhys vocalists
Rhys is still sorting out vocalists for his forthcoming album, only one is confirmed yet, "..an unknown Persian/Hebrew 22 year old girl named Chemda, living in Manhattan who sang on the track "Conjure one". Picture a cross between Lisa Gerrard and Bjork, but in Arabic!! Very strong and powerful vocals, with a more "authentic" flavour than anything on Karma."
29-06-99 Rhys update
Rhys recently got back from LA where he was recording some material by Cevin Key for use on his album. The hunt for vocalists is nearly complete but nothing will be announced until everything is 100% certain. Rhys is also very busy with remix work, including stuff for some big name bands.
25-09-99 Rhys news
Rhys has recorded vocals on four tracks for his album and will be in London soon to record more. Expect the album to be released early next year.
11-11-99 Rhys's mounting workload
Rhys has finished/working on remixes for Flock of Seagulls, Mindless Self Indulgence and Sarah McLachlan.....Upcoming projects including producing one song for Covenant and another remix for Hardknox (from the UK. A much more raw version of Prodigy with female vox). Still awaiting the last few vocal demos for the solo album before commencing the final stage of mixing and additional recording.....
08-12-99 Rhys update.
Rhys has virtually finished his album now, with just some vocals left to record for the tracks that will be released as singles. He will be moving to L.A. next year and producing some soundtracks for Hollywood movies!
17-01-00 Rhys update
Rhys has been working flat out lately, not only to finish his album but also on some film soundtrack work, including Addition score (3 bits) for the movie Gunshy (starring Sandra Bullock), two instrumental demos from the album (Conjure One and Saviour) are being used in the new Luc Besson film, The Dancer, and also co-scoring (with Junkie XL) a Dutch film called The Delivery, for its US release through Trimark Films.
The album is basically done and ready to mix, with the exception of vocals for the three single-type tracks, but it won't be released until it's perfect.
05-04-00 Rhys update
Rhys will start mixing his new album in the next week or so having just finished recording vocal tracks. Expect a single to be released in the next few months.
25-04-00 Rhys mixes it up
Rhys is currently mixing his album at warehouse studios in studio 1. Check out the pics, in particular the 72 channel desk. (every channel's being used!) Some trance mixes will also be commissioned by top names in the field.
26-06-00 Rhys settles on a name
The official name for Rhys's project is Conjure One. Vocal recording has just finished up in London and Rhys is going back to Canada and L.A. Expect a single towards the end of the year with remixes and then the album in 2001.
19-08-00 Rhys update
Here's the latest update from Mr Fulber.."The first Conjure One release will be a 12" of remixes of the song "Sleep". The album will be out first quarter of 2001. I've been busy with remixes - Factory 81 "Peace Officer" (new heavy band from detroit, a bit like RATM), Hybrid "If I Survive", and P.O.D. "Rock the Party". I'm also programming for mega-producer David Foster on new pop-opera singer Josh Groban's debut as well as pre-production for the new Fear Factory album."
12-03-01 Official Conjure One news
Rhys has returned from Amsterdam with half the album completed and the rest to be mixed in L.A in early April. The album will be released in September with a single beforehand in the Summer. A white label 12" will be released shortly featuring the track Max Graham Dead Sea mix of Redemption (not Conjure one as it formerly called) This mix will also be on forthcoming Tranceport and Gatecrasher comps.
01-04-01 Rhys in the studio.
There's a "making of" clip series available of the latest Fear Factory album at roadrunner records in the fear factory section, with footage of Rhys and the band in the studio. The Conjure One album will start phase 2 of mixing tuesday, and should be complete by the end of april for a definite fall release. Rhys is also finishing a remix for Mudvayne right now.(the drummer is a big FLA fan)
29-05-01 Conjure One finished
Rhys has finished mixing the album it will have 13 songs on it, 5 of them instrumental. There is also a feature on Rhys and Fear Factory in the latest EQ magazine (an american producer/engineer magazine) www.eqmag.com The 12" of Redemption can be obtained from werkshop
06-05-01 Conjure One update
American singer Poe has just completed the last 2 vocal tracks for the conjure one album, its practically finished now! release will most certainly be september or october
The FLA album will probably not be released in August, expect the single though.
08-12-01 Conjure One update
Currently getting remixes and video treatments for the first single "Sleep"
(video will not use a remix). Release date still set fir Feb or Mar 2002.
Currently writing material for a follow up album...
21-01-02 Conjure One update
An 'excellent' new remix of Sleep (first single) from Max Graham has just been received by Rhys. The release of the album has been delayed due
to sample clearances and deals with vocalists, but it seems to be almost
ready to go for April with a single in March. Look out for a video done by
Sean Ellis (UK fashion photographer who did the Lamb video for "Gabriel"
see-www.cottonwool.com) Rhys has also been working on a new
Delerium track with Bill right now as well that will feature a "well known
but out of the current limelight" vocalist. Here's a couple of C1 promo shots;
05-02-02 Conjure One tracklist
Here's the tracklist for the forthcoming Conjure One album;
1. Damascus (vocals by Chemda)
2. Center of the Sun (vocals by Poe)
3. Sleep (vocals by Marie Claire D'Ubaldo
4. Tidal Pool (vocals by Chemda)
5. Manic Star (vocals by Marie Claire D'Ubaldo)
6. Redemption (vocals by Chemda)
7. Years (vocals sampled from Chemda)
8. Make A Wish (vocals by Poe)
9. Pandora
10. Satellite Girl (vocals by Mel Garside)
11. Premonition
24-03-02 New Delerium, Conjure One stuff
Some new Delerium tracks have been completed; featuring Carmen Rizzo
"First Phase", "Mystic", "Sensory Deprivation", "Touched"...
The Debut Album from Conjure One will now be released on July 30, 2002
24-04-02 Rhys in Rolling Stone, Bill sets the trend.
An article on Rolling Stone website confirms that Sinead O'Connor will be providing vocals on one of the Conjure One tracks.
10-07-02 Conjure One delay no.134
According to Nettwerk, the release date for the Conjure One debut has been pushed back again. The new date is currently September 17th, 2002; there are yet no reasons known for this new delay.
05-09-09 Conjure One release party details
Conjure One record release party - Vancouver Planetarium, sept.12.
Listening session with lightshow... Nettwerk may sell tickets, so if any
Vancouver people want to go, contact Nettwerk. There will also be a release
party in Los Angeles sept.23 @ Las Palmas, Hollywood.
17-09-02 The album will finally see its release in the US an Canada. hopefully:) It hasnt happened yet so prepare for the worst again:)
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Last updated 2005-09-09 23:12:54 by: derhenry.
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