Bill Youngman Added by kwab, 26 July 2005

After years of jazz and classical guitar training, Youngman decided in '94 to put the strings aside for a bit of electronic dabbling. Being influenced by instrumental music, drum ’n bass, hip hop and bleep techno resulted in his take to be coined "electrostep".

In 1995 he met producer John Selway from Serotonin Records, for which he would release his first EP in fact entitled "Electro Step". This debut EP displayed Youngman's hybrid of drum ’n bass tempo, breakbeat chops with the tonalities and bleeps of classic electro. Youngman started to perform live in New York and released a couple more EP's for Serotonin. In 1998 Youngman met Neil Landstrumm (Scandinavia Records, Tresor) and soon after an exchange of tracks - the "zooted" EP - was released, which contained innovative cuts that well complimented the Scandinavia Sound. "Bad Box" EP followed in '99. Landstrumm and Youngman collaborated on further tracks experimenting with the machines and broken beatboxes.

In 2000, Youngman's full-length - entitled "slightly irregular" - displayed a wide variety of sonic-sculpting and intensely tweaked, percussive break-lines. A full-length of more downtempo abstract, retro-space funk under the alias "audible" came in 2002 on DC recordings yet showing a complete extreme in feeling and composition style whilst maintaining the electrostep ideals.

Youngman and Landstrumm continue to collaborate, combining elements of their roots and performing a simultaneous live PA ranging from breaks to floor techno with silly freestyle vocals. At the moment, Bill is living in Berlin and backing up his live sound with gigs over Europe.

For this artist, recorded material is the platform for expressing mutiple styles and new ideas. In the live situation Youngman takes control, ripping user-friendly classical techno feels and keeping the floor shaking whilst combining a new-school, freestyle approach to electronics with mic in hand, verbalizing throughout. Although known for his live ability to shake any crowd into bits, Youngman has a full plate of collaborations, remixes and record projects (including his own "electrostep" imprint due for early 2005) constantly in the works.