小简介
站在 Drum'n'Bass 最前线的 4Hero，成立于1989, Dollis Hill, London, UK
主要成员为 Dego 与 Marc Mar 两位顶级电子乐制作人。
4Hero 成立初期，风格倾向于 Breakbeat 与 HipHop 的电子舞曲，并加入了少量的Rap
之后，于1991年开始，曲目制作方面，开始尝试融合一些Jazz,Soul等元素
从而，进入了使 4Hero 大获成功的 Drum&Bass 领域
在电子曲风上，4Hero 采用 较为柔和的背景乐
协调以密集低沉的鼓点，和大量华丽的Soul女声
再配合以，反复变化的间断Bass低音
在听觉上，展现出了一个柔美的电子乐世界
抹杀了纯电子乐的单调冰冷的疏离质感
从1991至2006，4Hero 一共发行了5盘专辑
其中，于1995发行的 Parallel Universe 颇受好评，使乐队声名鹊起
之后几年，又相继发行了 Two Pages 与 Creating Patterns
以高超的音效处理，展示出 Drum'n'Bass 的巨大魅力
也奠定了 4Hero 在 Drum'n'Bass 曲风中的领军地位
继续音乐之旅的 Dego 与 Marc Mar
于2007年2月，发行最新专辑 Play with the Changes
收录了从01年以来，精心制作的16首曲目
在曲风上，继承了 4Hero 的一贯 Drum'n'Bass 风格
优美黑人女声加以碎脆低沉的电子鼓点
而且 多首曲目 加入了合声混音的处理
进一步抹杀了电音的单调枯燥
从整体上提高了专辑的耐听度
by John Bush
Consistently on the front lines of the drumnbass battleground, the duo of Dego (McFarlane) and Marc Mac (Mark Clair) nevertheless failed to receive the exposure of luminaries like Goldie and Roni Size, mostly because they didnt release much 4hero material during jungles crucial crossover years, from 1994 through 1997. Despite beginnings in Londons hip-hop underground during the mid-80s, the duo moved into the hardcore/rave scene later in the decade and recorded classics like Mr. Kirks Nightmare and Journey from the Light for one of the scenes best labels, their own Reinforced Records. The tracks were among the first to chart the dark side of the rave scene and presage the more sinister tendencies of drumnbass. Quite ironic then, that while the jungle scene caught up with (and grew increasingly obsessed by) 4heros innovations during the late 90s, the duo had already moved on to a more polished, fusion-inspired sound with their major-label breakout, 1998s Two Pages.
In the beginning, the name 4hero did actually mark the presence of a quartet. Marc Mac and Dego first hooked up with Iain Bardouille and Gus Lawrence in 1986, through their mutual adoration for hip-hop and involvement in the Strong Island FM pirate radio station, which operated out of Londons Camden area. By 1989, Marc Mac and Dego were recording percussive breakbeat experiments and becoming increasingly involved with the rave and hardcore breakbeat scene, while Bardouille and Lawrence gradually moved into management of the quartets newly formed Reinforced Records. The label debuted with the Rising Sun EP by Marc and Dego, credited to 4hero. The second EP, Combat Dance, became a big seller in the dance community, though a shady distributor reneged on payment of the profits. The pair crisscrossed the country during the late 80s and early 90s, DJing and playing at raves while they struggled to earn enough money for Reinforced to stay afloat. After approaching the group at one show, Goldie began working as an A&R man and engineer for the label. He soon became a familiar face at Reinforced headquarters and learned much about production techniques from Dego and Marc Mac.
Though they were still in the rave scene, 4heros subsequent recordings also revealed a growing interest in the flip side of raves increasingly elegiac feeling. The single Mr. Kirks Nightmare included samples of a policeman telling a suburban father that his son has died of an overdose, and the statement of intent in the titles Journey from the Light and Cookin Up Ya Brain was self-evident. 4heros 1991 LP debut, In Rough Territory, also sketched a sinister path through the breakbeat scene, leagues ahead of other producers and on the cutting edge of a style that wouldnt peak for well over five years later.
Instead of continuing down the darkside breakbeat path, however, 4hero began to diversify. Dego introduced his Tek 9 side project, which united his love of hip-hop, jazz fusion, and occasional breakbeats, while Marc Mac debuted the straight-ahead hard techno of Nu Era. Two compilation albums were the next LP releases for Reinforced — Calling for Reinforcements and Definition of Hardcore — with obvious contributors 4hero and Tek 9 alongside newer projects like Goldies Rufige Cru and Marc Macs Manix. Three years after their debut LP, 4hero released another album, Parallel Universe. The smooth sound reflected more of a debt to old-school Detroit techno and Chicago house, much farther away from the hardcore of In Rough Territory. As jungle began to explode as a commercial force in 1994, 4hero was often name-checked as a godfather of the movement. (Great Britains BBC-TV even borrowed the title of a Tek 9 track for its jungle documentary, A London Sumtin.)
The duo was relatively silent during 1995, though Reinforced continued its release schedule with a debut full-length from Nookie (The Sound of Music), another compilation (Jungle Book), and several singles from Doc Scott. One year later, Marc Mac released a Nu Era full-length (Beyond Gravity) and Dego put out the first Tek 9 LP, Its Not What You Think It Is!?!! Also, Dego and Marc Mac added yet one more alias to their stable during 1996, with a self-titled album recorded as Jacobs Optical Stairway. Released on R&S Records, the LP became the duos most polished effort extant, with high-pitched synth and spacy fusion breakbeats, in addition to help from technocrat Juan Atkins and dance superstar Josh Wink.
Three years after their last 4hero full-length, Dego and Marc Mac signed to the British nu-groove label Talkin Loud and released their third album, Two Pages, tied to earthier forms of jazz fusion than their Jacobs Optical Stairway material. It was nominated for Britains Mercury Prize and prompted the remix album Two Pages Reinterpretations in 1999. Creating Patterns appeared in late 2001, boasting collaborations with a trio of groove specialists from several decades: Mark Murphy, Terry Callier, and Jill Scott. Six years later, the very similar Play with the Changes was released, with contributions from Larry Mizell, Jody Watley, and Darien Brockington.