Reuben Wu (born 1975) is a British artist, photographer, musician, and
industrial designer
Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactur ...
. He is also known as a keyboardist, songwriter, and producer for the
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
band
Ladytron
Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synthesize ...
.
Biography
Reuben Wu was born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in 1975, the son of
Hongkonger
Hongkongers (), also known as Hong Kongers, Hong Kongese, Hongkongese, Hong Kong citizens and Hong Kong people, typically refers to residents of the territory of Hong Kong; although may also refer to others who were born and/or raised in the ...
immigrants. He trained in
industrial design
Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...
at
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...
, graduating in 1997.
Meanwhile, he met
Daniel Hunt
Daniel Hunt (born 25 July 1974) is an English musician, songwriter and producer. He is a founding member, principal songwriter and producer of the electronic band Ladytron.
Biography
Hunt met Reuben Wu in Liverpool in 1995 and formed Ladytro ...
in Liverpool in 1994; they formed
Ladytron
Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synthesize ...
in 1999, along with
Mira Aroyo
Mira Aroyo ( bg, Мира Аройо, ; born 11 July 1977) is a Bulgarian singer, musician, songwriter, DJ, and geneticist. She is best known as the keyboardist, co-lead vocalist, and co-songwriter of the electronic band Ladytron, which she co-f ...
and
Helen Marnie
Helen Marnie (born 21 February 1978) is a Scottish musician, known as the lead vocalist and one of the keyboardists and songwriters of the electronic music, electronic band Ladytron. In 2012, she started a solo career as Marnie and released her ...
.
Wu finished his
MSc in 1998 at the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
. He worked as an
industrial designer
Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactur ...
until going full-time with the band in 2002.
Wu hand drew the artwork of the UK edition of Ladytron's first album ''
604
__NOTOC__
Year 604 (Roman numerals, DCIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 604 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini ...
'' and began to document his travels on tour with the band via photography. His visual art career began in 2012 once the band took a break and he was able to focus full-time on his own creative output.
Wu had since created artistic content for
GE,
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
's Mac OS Big Sur wallpapers,
Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover Limited (also known as JLR), and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and sport utility vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover is a ...
,
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
and
Interscope
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Musi ...
amongst others.
Wu and Hunt set up the Liverpool nightclubs Evol in 2003 and
Korova in 2005.
Wu produced and co-wrote two songs "Birds of Prey" and "Little Dreamer" for
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
's 2010 album ''
Bionic
Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.
The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 1 ...
''.
In 2017, Wu photographed the artwork for
Zedd
Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German disc jockey, DJ, record producer, and songwriter.
Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaise ...
and
Alessia Cara
Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known professionally as Alessia Cara (), is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Mississauga, Ontario, to Italian Canadian parents, she began posting covers of songs on YouTube at age 13. After uploadi ...
's double platinum single "
Stay
Stay may refer to:
Places
* Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US
Law
* Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment
* Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...
" and
Zedd
Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German disc jockey, DJ, record producer, and songwriter.
Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaise ...
&
Liam Payne
Liam James Payne (born 29 August 1993) is an English singer. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Payne made his debut as a singer in 2008 when he auditioned for the British television series ''The X Factor''. After being ...
's single "
Get Low" in collaboration with
Samuel Burgess-Johnson
Samuel Burgess-Johnson is an English art director, graphic designer and photographer based in Los Angeles, known for working with musical artists such as The 1975, Tove Lo, Wolf Alice and No Rome.
Career
Samuel Burgess-Johnson moved to Melbour ...
.
Instruments
During
Ladytron
Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synthesize ...
's live shows, Reuben Wu plays
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s.
Korg MS-10
, founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, the ...
was his primary synthesizer for the first four Ladytron tours.
Wu played live the following instruments for the band:
*
Korg MS-10
, founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, the ...
,
Roland
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
SH-2 (''604'' tour);
*
Korg MS-10
, founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, the ...
,
microKorg (''Light & Magic'' tour);
*
Korg MS-10
, founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, the ...
,
Korg MS2000
The Korg MS2000 is a virtual analog synthesizer produced by the Japanese electronic musical instrument manufacturer Korg.
History and features
The synthesizer was offered as either a 44-key board or as a rack module, the latter being controlled ...
B (''Witching Hour'' tour);
*
Korg MS-10
, founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, the ...
,
Korg MS2000
The Korg MS2000 is a virtual analog synthesizer produced by the Japanese electronic musical instrument manufacturer Korg.
History and features
The synthesizer was offered as either a 44-key board or as a rack module, the latter being controlled ...
B,
Minimoog Voyager
The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002 by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a s ...
(''Velocifero'' tour);
*
Minimoog Voyager
The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002 by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a s ...
(''Best of 00-10'' and ''Gravity the Seducer'' tours).
On the early part of the ''Witching Hour'' tour, Ladytron used to name their four identical
Korg MS2000
The Korg MS2000 is a virtual analog synthesizer produced by the Japanese electronic musical instrument manufacturer Korg.
History and features
The synthesizer was offered as either a 44-key board or as a rack module, the latter being controlled ...
B to enable easier installation on stage. His MS2000B keyboard was named Gloria.
Discography
Ladytron
*''
604
__NOTOC__
Year 604 (Roman numerals, DCIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 604 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini ...
'' (2001)
*''
Light & Magic
''Light & Magic'' is the second studio album by English electronic music band Ladytron. It was released in the United States on 17 September 2002 by Emperor Norton and in the United Kingdom on 2 December 2002 by Telstar Records. The album has ...
'' (2002)
*''
Witching Hour
In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Definitions vary, and include the hour imm ...
'' (2005)
*''
Velocifero
''Velocifero'' is the fourth studio album by English electronic music band Ladytron and their first to be released by Nettwerk. The album was first released digitally on 19 May 2008, followed by a physical release on 2 June in the United Kingdo ...
'' (2008)
*''
Gravity the Seducer
''Gravity the Seducer'' is the fifth studio album by English electronic music band Ladytron. It was released on 12 September 2011 by Nettwerk. Recorded in Kent, England, the album has been described as "haunted, evocative, romantic", and having ...
'' (2011)
*''
Ladytron
Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synthesize ...
'' (2019)
References
External links
Reuben Wu's Official WebsiteReuben Wu's Official InstagramInterview with The Photographic JournalNational Geographic: Surreal Desert Landscapes Painted on a Canvas Made of SkyThe Adventure Photography of Ladytron Co-Founder Reuben Wu*
ISO50 feature on Reuben Wu's photography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Reuben
1975 births
Living people
Photographers from Liverpool
Musicians from Liverpool
Ladytron members
Electronic dance music DJs
English people of Hong Kong descent
Alumni of the University of Liverpool