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Kurtis Mantronik was born in Jamaica and lived in Canada before his family settled in New York City when he was 15 years old. He formed a musical partnership with MC Tee in 1984 and they made a demo that landed them a deal with Sleeping Bag Records. Mantronix:The Album is legendary for the impact of “Fresh Is The Word,” “Bassline,” “Needle To The Groove” and “Mega-Mix” which have all been recycled several times in the work of artists like The Beastie Boys, De La Soul and J.Dilla. Kurtis Mantronik was also employed by Sleeping Bag Records at this time as an A&R rep and he signed EPMD to their first recording contract with sister label Fresh Records. Music Madness followed in 1986 and and In Full Effect came out in 1987. “Who Is It,” “Scream,” “Simple Simon” and “Do You Like…Mantronik” further solidified Mantronik’s reputation as a pioneer of electro and hip-hop sounds. “Got To Have Your Love” is from their fourth album This Should Move Ya. MC Tee was no longer in the group but Bryce Wilson, who would later join Groove Theory, and DJ D joined the band as well as Wondress on vocals. “Take Your Time” and “Got To Have Your Love” were Top Ten British hits. The Incredible Sound Machine was their last album and Angie Stone co-wrote seven of the 11 songs. Kurtis Mantronik left music in ’91 and came back in ’98 with the solo album I Sing The Body Electro. He lives in Britain and in recent times has produced music for Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers and an array of techno artists.
