4hero are an

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

group from

Dollis Hill Dollis Hill is an area in northwest London, which consists of the streets surrounding the 35 hectares (86 acres) Gladstone Park. It is served by a London Underground station, Dollis Hill, on the Jubilee line, providing good links to central Lon ...

, London, comprising producers Mark "Marc Mac" Clair & Denis "Dego" McFarlane. While the band is often cited as ''4 Hero'' or ''4-Hero'', the name is stylised as ''4hero'' on their albums and website. 4hero are known for being pioneers of

breakbeat hardcore Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave or oldskool hardcore) is a music genre of the very early 1990s that spawned from the UK rave scene. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In ...

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

broken beat Broken beat (sometimes referred to as "bruk") is an electronic dance music genre characterized by syncopated beats and tense rhythms, including staggered or punctuated snare beats and/or hand claps. It has been heavily influenced by styles such a ...

and

nu jazz Nu jazz (also known as jazztronica, or future jazz) is a genre of jazz and electronic music. The music blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, electronic music, and free improvisation.Definition from Sergey Chernov, June 7, ...

music.

Style

4hero's style was initially uptempo

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

, and has progressed to breakbeat hardcore,

oldschool jungle Jungle is a genre of dance music that developed out of the UK rave scene and sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, an ...

, and

. Comparisons have been drawn between them and East London band Shut Up and Dance, with both bands evolving in the early 1990s as a rapprochement between the breakbeat-driven

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

-diasporic musical structures of hip-hop and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, and the dark, European reconstruction of the techno sound popularised by the likes of

Joey Beltram Joey Beltram (born 6 September 1971) is an American DJ and music producer, best known for his pioneering singles "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm" and for remixing Human Resource (band), Human Resource's "Dominator (Human Resource song), Dominator". ...

CJ Bolland Christian Jay "C. J." Bolland (born 18 June 1971, Stockton-on-Tees, England) is an English-Belgian electronic music producer and remixer with British roots. Born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, Bolland's family moved to Antwerp in Flanders ...

and Mundo Muzique. 4hero both embraced the dynamics of populist rave culture, and maintained an avant-garde status as innovative and experimental producers. They trailblazed genre-crossing studio techniques such as timestretching and

pitch-shifting Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval ( transposition) are called pitch shifters. Pitch and ti ...

Early history, 1989–1995

The main players in 4hero first met and came to prominence in the late 1980s when they were involved in the Strong Island FM

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...

station. Marc Mac and Gus Lawrence set up

Reinforced Records Reinforced Records is a British breakbeat hardcore, jungle, and drum and bass record label, first founded in 1989 by 4hero and based in Dollis Hill, London. Reinforced is one of the groundbreaking record labels of the genre.Reynolds, S. (1998) ...

in 1989 to release their own productions as 4hero, with the group being completed by Dego and Ian Bardouille. Their first release was the 1990 single "All B 3 / Rising Son". The follow-up EP, ''Combat Dancin, underpinned the sub-bass pressure of the bleep 'n' bass artists associated with Sheffield's

Warp Records Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon.Southern, Richard (2003) "Label of Love: WARP", X-RAY, A ...

, such as LFO and

Nightmares on Wax George Evelyn (born 15 January 1970), better known by his stage name Nightmares on Wax or DJ E.A.S.E., is an English DJ and record producer from Leeds. His music has been released by Warp Records. He is based in Ibiza. Nightmares on Wax were or ...

, with mid-tempo hip-hop-style

s. It also brought the group to the attention of the

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

community due to the track "Mr Kirk's Nightmare", which pivoted around the "Get Into Something" break (taken from the

Isley Brothers Isley is an English surname. The name can also be used as an anglicized variant for the German surnames Eisele and Eisler. Notable people with the surname include: *The Isley Brothers, American musical group **Ernie Isley (born 1952), American mus ...

) and a morbid vocal

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

("Mr Kirk? Your son is dead. He died of an overdose.") taken from the Bobby Susser,

anti-drug The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

hit "Once You Understand" by

Think In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...

. 4hero were among the first proponents of what would become known as "drum and bass", which began to grow in profile via a series of releases on Reinforced. Another drum and bass figurehead,

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in th ...

, met 4hero at a performance in London's Astoria. Marc and Dego went on to teach and collaborate with Goldie which then brought the sounds Goldie envisioned to life, forming the Rufige Cru and

Metalheadz Metalheadz is a drum and bass record label based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1994 by Kemistry & Storm and Goldie. History Origins Goldie's early experiences of the rave scene, especially the club ''Rage'' had a profound effect on ...

monikers. The band's debut album, ''In Rough Territory'', was released in 1991 on Reinforced. This would be the only one of the group's albums to feature Gus and Ian as full members. In late 1992 and early 1993, 4hero would release the

darkcore Darkcore (also referred to as darkside hardcore) is a genre of electronic dance music, considered to be a subgenre of breakbeat hardcore, which came out from the UK rave scene of the early 1990s; this genre in particular emerged from late 1992 ...

''Journey from the Light EP'', which according to and referenced by music journalist

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on music ...

, "If anyone can claim to have invented dark-core, it's 4 Hero". Marc Mac and Dego would also record together under the alias "Tom & Jerry" (releasing classics such as "The One Reason", "We Can Be Free", "Lover to Lover", and "Air Freshener"), whilst Marc Mac solely as "Manix" (''Manic Minds EP'', ''Rainbow People EP'', and "Heading to the Light") and Dego as "Tek 9" ("Just a Dream", and ''Return of Tek 9 EP''). In 1995, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' voted 4hero's second album '' Parallel Universe'' the album of the year in its dance category.

1996-present

In 1997, one of their tracks, a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

Nuyorican Soul Nuyorican Soul is an American music group from New York City, New York. It was formed by Little Louie Vega and Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez. In 1996, the group released "Runaway". The single reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs char ...

's "Black Gold of the Sun", was released to critical acclaim with

Louie Vega Luis Ferdinand Vega Jr. (born June 12, 1965), as known as "Little Louie" Vega, is an American DJ, record producer and Grammy Award winner remixer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is one half of the Masters at Work musical production team. Biograph ...

describing it as "...one of the best remixes ever...". The next year, 4hero rose again to mainstream visibility with their third studio album as 4hero, ''

Two Pages ''Two Pages'' is the third studio album by English electronic music group 4hero, released via Talkin' Loud on 13 July 1998. It peaked at number 38 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Pri ...

'' (1998). Released on

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a French broadcaster, DJ, and record label owner. He founded the influential labels Acid Jazz and Talkin' Loud, and started his current label Brown ...

Talkin' Loud Talkin' Loud was a record label, originally founded by Gilles Peterson in 1990 after he left Acid Jazz Records. The label name is based on Peterson's Dingwalls club night "Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Something", itself a reference to James Brown and ...

record label, the

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

CD blended jazzy double bass, flowing breakbeats and a brew of

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

U.F.O. An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

s, and environmentalism. Luke Parkhouse provided the drums while

Ursula Rucker Ursula Rucker is an American spoken word recording artist. Rucker is known for a diverse repertoire, and for using techniques that catch her listeners' attention. Biography Rucker was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she wa ...

, Carol Crosby and Face V. Walsh provided vocals alongside veteran singer Terry Callier and a few other special guests. The album gained critical acclaim and a place on the shortlist for 1998's

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

as well as picking up a

MOBO The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Af ...

award in the same year. Both this album and artists recording on 4hero's Reinforced label were influential in the development of the broken beat scene. Between 1998 and 2001, they hosted a Sunday night show with

Kirk Degiorgio Kirk Degiorgio, better known as As One, is a British techno producer and DJ. Born in the late 1960s in Stepney, East London, and raised in Suffolk, he started producing music in the early 1990s. He founded the labels A.R.T. Records and Op-Art ...

Kiss 100 FM Kiss is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Kiss Network. It is primarily aimed at the 15-34 age group and broadcasts nationally to the UK on DAB Digital Radio, as well as on FM in London, Bristol and ...

under the "R Solution" moniker. 4hero's fourth album, '' Creating Patterns'' (2001), featured another

collaboration, an appearance from Jill Scott, and a cover of

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use o ...

's classic 1970s song "Les Fleurs" with Carina Andersson as the lead vocalist. The latter was featured in a

Baileys Baileys Irish Cream is an Irish cream liqueur, an alcoholic drink flavoured with cream, cocoa and Irish whiskey. It is made by Diageo at Nangor Road, in Dublin, Ireland and in Mallusk, Northern Ireland. It is the original Irish cream, invente ...

TV commercial and series 4 of ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

'' (both in 2004). In 2004, the group released a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

consisting of two discs. The first disc contained 4hero remixes, while the tracks on disc 2 are remixes of 4hero tracks by other artists. This was released on their new label Raw Canvas. In 2006, 4hero was featured on the track "Bed of Roses" by

Jody Watley Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and artist,USA Today (February 16, 1996), Best Bets: Albums Jody Watley Greatest Hits, "Few singers fired up the disco like Jody Watley who set trends ...

on her album, ''

The Makeover ''The Makeover'' is the ninth studio album by American singer Jody Watley, released on Avitone Records. Watley recruited a diverse group of contemporary dance and electronica producers for the project, among them King Britt, DJ Spinna and 4hero. ...

''. Six years after the release of ''Creating Patterns'', ''

Play with the Changes ''Play with the Changes'' is an album by English electronic music duo 4hero, released via Raw Canvas Records in 2007. It peaked at number 91 on the UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sal ...

'' was released in February 2007 to critical acclaim. ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'' described it as "their finest album to date" and awarded it the title of Album of the Month in its January 2007 issue. In 2012, the album ''Hipology'' was released under the alias The Visioneers.

Discography

Albums

* '' In Rough Territory'' (

, 1991) * '' Parallel Universe'' (Reinforced Records, 1994) * ''

'' (

, 1998) * '' Two Pages Remixed'' (Talkin' Loud, 1998) * ''

Two Pages Reinterpretations ''Two Pages Reinterpretations'' is a remix album by 4hero, released in 1999. The album contains tracks from their previous album Two Pages, remixed by other artists, however was preceded by the Japanese-only release '' Two Pages Remixed'' featu ...

'' (Talkin' Loud, 1999) * '' Creating Patterns'' (Talkin' Loud, 2001) * ''

The Remix Album The Remix Album may refer to: * ''The Remix Album'' (4hero album), 2004 * ''The Remix Album'' (All Saints album), 1998 * ''The Remix Album'' (Champion album), 2006 * ''The Remix Album'' (Lisa Stansfield album), 1998 * ''The Remix Album'' (Milli Van ...

'' (Raw Canvas Records, 2004) * ''4 Hero Present Brazilika'' (

Far Out Recordings Far Out Recordings is a UK-based record label specialising in the music of Brazil. It was founded in the mid-1990s and is run by DJ, entrepreneur and producer Joe Davis. Music released on the label extends from samba, jazz, MPB, soul and disc ...

, 2006) * ''

'' (Raw Canvas Records, 2007) * ''Extensions'' (Raw Canvas Records, 2009) * ''Hipology'' (as the Visioneers)" (

BBE Records Barely Breaking Even (BBE) is a British record label started by two DJs, Peter Adarkwah and Ben Jolly. The name BBE comes from The Universal Robot Band's 1982 track "Barely Breaking Even". It has two sublabels: Deep Funk, and Urban Theory. B ...

, 2012)

Selected singles/EPs

* "All B 3 / Rising Son" (

, 1990) * "Combat Dancin' / Mr Kirks Nightmare" (Reinforced Records, 1990) * "The Scorcher / Kirk's Back" (Reinforced Records, 1990) * "No Sleep Raver/Marimba" (Reinforced Records, 1991) * "The Head Hunter" (Reinforced Records, 1991) * "Cookin Up Ya Brain / Where's the Boy?" (Reinforced Records, 1992) * "Journey from the Light" (Reinforced Records, 1993) * "Golden Age" (Reinforced Records, 1993) * ''Internal Affairs EP'' (with

as Internal Affairs) (Reinforced Records, 1993) * "Mr. Kirk" (Sm:)e Communications, 1995) * ''Universal Love EP'' (Selector, 1995) * "Earth Pioneers" (

, 1997) * "Loveless" (Talkin' Loud, 1997) * "Star Chasers" (Talkin' Loud, 1998) * "We Who Are Not as Others" (Talkin' Loud, 1998) * "Escape That" (Talkin' Loud, 1999) * "Les Fleur" (Talkin' Loud, 2001) * "Morning Child" (Raw Canvas Records, 2007) * "Look Inside" (featuring Face) (Raw Canvas Records, 2008)

References

External links

Official siteArchived Site
at Wayback Machine *
Tom and Jerry
discography at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:4hero English electronic music duos British drum and bass music groups Drum and bass duos Breakbeat hardcore music groups English dance music groups Musical groups from the London Borough of Brent Reinforced Records artists Sonar Kollektiv artists Talkin' Loud artists Black British musical groups Musical groups established in 1989 Electronic dance music duos