Omid Nourizadeh ( fa, امید نوری زاده), better known as Omid 16B or 16B, is a British-Iranian electronic music producer/composer and DJ based in London. He is considered one of the creators of the

tech house Tech house is a subgenre of house music that combines stylistic features of techno with house. The term ''tech house'' developed as a shorthand record store name for a category of electronic dance music that combined musical aspects of techno, ...

genre.

Biography

Omid's parents were Iranian but he spent his childhood in

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

, London. He grew up listening to rock music, and listed

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

and

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

among his favourite artists – after Robert Smith became a fan Omid would later remix various Cure songs. He learnt to play guitar and formed a rock band, but after hearing

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

records played on pirate music stations he began making his own tracks on basic equipment that he had bought. Beginning in 1995, his early house and techno singles were released on his own Alola and Disclosure labels under the names of 16B and Phaser, but they soon attracted the attention of big-name DJs such as

Derrick Carter Derrick Carter (born October 21, 1969) is an American DJ, record producer and musician from Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is regarded as one of the bestFrançois Kevorkian François Kevorkian (born 10 January 1954), also known by the stage name François K, is a French-born, U.S.-based DJ, producer, remixer and label owner of Armenian descent, who started his career DJing in clubs such as the Paradise Garage an ...

and Sasha, and he signed to

Sven Väth Sven Väth (born 26 October 1964) is a German DJ and electronic music producer. He is a three-time DJ Awards winner, and his career in electronic music spans over 30 years. The single "Electrica Salsa" with OFF launched his career in 1986. Referr ...

Eye Q Eye Q was a record label founded in 1990 by Sven Väth, Matthias Hoffmann and Heinz Roth. It was based in Offenbach, Germany, specialized in trance music and greatly influenced the '' Sound of Frankfurt''. Eye Q ceased operations in 1997 due t ...

label to release his debut album ''Sounds from Another Room'' in March 1998, which was described by the ''

Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' as "avant-garde" and by ''

Muzik ''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003. ''Muzik'' was created by two former ''Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until he ...

'' as "quite breathtaking". Although he started out as a producer, Omid gradually moved into DJing, at the request of friends who asked him to play records at parties. He secured a regular spot playing the Elements club night run by

Hooj Choons Hooj Choons is a house record label formed by Alex Simons and Red Jerry (real name Jeremy Dickens) in 1990. The first release was "Carnival de Casa" by Rio Rhythm Band, however, it was not until 1992's release of Felix's "Don't You Want Me", ...

record label boss Red Jerry. In October 2001 Omid released ''The Witch/Which Equation'' under the alias of the Sixteen Million Dollar Man. Inspired by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

initially releasing his ''

Planet Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...

'' album as a

covermount Covermount (sometimes written cover mount) is the name given to storage media (containing software and or audiovisual media) or other products (ranging from toys to flip-flops) packaged as part of a magazine or newspaper. The name comes from the ...

with a British newspaper, Omid released his third studio album ''Like 3 Ears and 1 Eye (Part 1)'' in a similar manner as a covermount with the November 2007 issue of ''

DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

''. Omid also formed the SOS collective of DJs, consisting of him, Desyn Masiello and Demi. The trio secured a residency at London's

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

nightclub, and were asked to produce the club's first mix CD in 2010.

Discography

Studio albums

As 16B * ''Sounds from Another Room'' (

, 1998) * ''How to Live 100 Years'' (

, 2002) As $16 Million Dollar Man * ''The Witch/Which Equation'' (Under the Counter, 2001) As Omid 16B * ''Like 3 Ears and 1 Eye (Part 1)'' (SexonWax, 2007) * ''Like 3 Ears and 1 Eye (Part 2)'' (SexonWax, 2008)

Mix albums

* ''Everything All of Them Every Year'' (Alola, 2002) * ''In House We Trust 4'' (with

Alex Neri Alex Neri (born in Sarzana, Italy, on June 16, 1970) is a DJ, producer and songwriter. Biography A founding member of Planet Funk, having formed the band in the late 90s, Alex Neri also pursued a solo career and established an independent reco ...

) (Shinichi/

Yoshitoshi Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ( ja, 月岡芳年; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ; 30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese printmaker.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005)"Tsukoka Kōgyō"in ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 10 ...

, 2004) * ''SexOnWax Traxx'' – (SexOnWax, 2004) * ''DJ Face Off'' (with

Mr. C Richard West (born 2 January 1965), known as Mr. C, is an English house music DJ, producer and rapper. He was the resident DJ at the early acid house "RIP" nights at Clink Street, London, and later was the co-owner/co-founder of London's The En ...

) (

, 2005) * ''Sounds Like Alola Volume 1'' (Alola, 2011) * ''Omid 16B Presents Alola Volume 4'' (Alola, 2013) As SOS * ''SOS The Collective – MOS presents SOS – (

Club UK, 2010)'' * ''SOS The Collective – Balance 013 – (Balance/EQ, 2008)''

References

External links

*
Official WebsiteAlola RecordsSexOnWax Recordings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omid 16B Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Ableton Live users British electronic musicians DJs from London British people of Iranian descent Iranian DJs Progressive house musicians