Rae & Christian are an English production duo, consisting of Mark Rae and Steve Christian. They are also founders of the

Grand Central Records Grand Central Records was an independent record label based in the Northern Quarter of Manchester, England. It was started in 1995 by DJ Mark Rae (who, along with Steve Christian makes up the duo Rae & Christian). Rae started out working as ...

label.

History

In 1995, Mark Rae fulfilled a long-term dream by founding Grand Central Records in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. He first met

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Steve Christian when they both utilised the same rehearsal space in Ducie House in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. The first meeting took place when Christian, who is the production strength of the duo, walked past Rae's studio and informed him that his music was out of key. The pair embarked on a partnership that has seen them achieve critical and public acclaim for their work In an interview with ''Pride of Manchester'', Rae said: Naturally, this new act was the first to release records on the Grand Central Records label. Their first release was an EP, ''Pure Arithmetic'', released in June 1995 under the band name

First Priority First Priority is a youth organization that supports student-initiated, student-led Christian clubs on middle school and high school campuses. First Priority of America, Inc. supports local city FP movements in cities across the US. First Priori ...

. A year after their emergence, Rae and Christian enlisted the vocal skills of Veba to add a more diverse flavour to their sound. Contributions to the

Grand Central Records compilations Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commun ...

Frying The Fat and

Central Heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...

attracted attention from the dance music press. In 1998, they released their debut album as Rae & Christian, '' Northern Sulphuric Soul''. The

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and

Jeru The Damaja Kendrick Jeru Davis (born February 14, 1972), known as Jeru the Damaja, is an American rapper and record producer. He is known for his 1993 single " Come Clean" from his debut album, ''The Sun Rises in the East'', ranked as one of the 100 great ...

both contributed to the album's songs, giving them an edge over other sampling groups of the late 1990s. They undertook a heavy touring schedule, travelling with their own percussionist, double bass player, female vocalist, scratch DJ, saxophone, flute and rhodes players, to complement the skills of Rae behind the deck and Christian on guitar. At the same time as nurturing other acts on the Grand Central Records label, their production and remixes were utilised by (

Lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

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, Wai Wan) and mainstream stars such as

Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian singer and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''. Three years after leaving the programme, she began a singing car ...

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the ...

and

The Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

. Their second album, ''

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'' marked a change in approach, a movement towards more live instrumentation and more varied songwriting partnerships with veteran musicians such as

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...

Tania Maria Tania Maria (born May 9, 1948) is a Brazilian artist, singer, composer, bandleader and piano player, singing mostly in Portuguese or English. Her Brazilian-style music is mostly vocal, sometimes pop, often jazzy, and includes samba, bossa, Afro- ...

and

The Congos The Congos are a reggae vocal group from Jamaica which formed as the duo "Ashanti" Roy Johnson (tenor) (b. Roydel Johnson, 1947, Hanover, Jamaica) and Cedric Myton (falsetto) (b. 1947, Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica), later becoming a trio ...

. Mark and Steve released their third album in October 2013 and took the new album on the road with varied line ups to match availability with the vocal guests involved. The album was recorded over the previous four years in Yorkshire in Steve Christian's studio with additional recording and writing under taken in Mark Rae's London studio. The album features the following guests:

Ed Harcourt Edward Henry Richard Harcourt-Smith (born 14 August 1977) is an English singer-songwriter. To date, he has released six studio albums, two EPs, and thirteen singles. His debut album, ''Here Be Monsters'', was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Priz ...

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, Mystro, Jake Emlyn, Gita Langley, Diagrams, Mark Foster,

Agent 86 ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, an ...

, Mel Uye Parker and Pete Simpson.

Discography

Studio albums

DJ mix albums

* '' Blazing the Crop'' (1999) * '' Another Late Night: Rae & Christian'' (2001)

Remix albums

* '' Nocturnal Activity'' (2002) * ''Raiding the Vaults'' (2009)

Charted singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rae and Christian English electronic music duos English hip hop groups Musical groups from Manchester Night Time Stories artists Record production duos