Music Style Break Beat, Dub, Reggae, Lounge

Artist History Fuzz Townshend has had what most people would call a varied career. Formerly a member of industrial pioneers Pop Will Eat Itself and currently a member of UK chart-topping electronica act Bentley Rhythm Ace, Fuzz also has been a landscape gardener, a street paver and a van driver. Fortunately for music fans everywhere, amid his work with Bentley Rhythm Ace and a busy producing and Fuzz somehow has found the time to embark on a solo career, and is set to release his U.S. solo album debut on Stinky Records.Fuzz's musical career started when he was still at school in Birmingham, England (the city where he still is based). While most of his contemporaries were brushing their teeth and donning their pajamas, 14-year-old Fuzz was out playing drums with the bigger boys. Says Fuzz: "I used to get dropped off at the school gates with my books after a night's gigging. Sometimes I used to have to take my school uniform with me ready for the next day if we were playing out of town". Fuzz progressed to Pop Will Eat Itself, after Richard March, Pop Will Eat Itself's bass player, sought him out in a local hangout which Fuzz was known to frequent. Fuzz recalls, "Richard asked if I would like to be Pop Will Eat Itself's drummer and I said 'Yes'. I was just going to be touring with them, but as I could operate computers and write a bit, my contributions became great, so they took me on as a proper member of the band. I spent about four years with them." Richard March went on to form Bentley Rhythm Ace and Fuzz became their drummer, too. One of their early gigs was at legendary club the Big Beat Boutique, in Brighton, England. Recalls Fuzz fondly: "That was absolutely brilliant! We had these terrible suits to wear in the green material that boiler suits are made out of that cost L5 [$8.00] from this shop in London. They were so badly cut, we had to unstitch the sleeves on one of the suits because we couldn't get our arms through. It was a great laugh!" Around the same time, Fuzz launched his solo career, self-releasing a single entitled "Hello Darlin'", which garnered both critical acclaim and commercial chart success in the UK. Several additional singles followed in the UK, including "Smash It", "Tasty Big Ed" and "Bus" -- Fuzz's ode to his favorite mode of transporta- tion. The release of these singles was succeeded, in turn, by the critically-lauded UK release of "Far In" on Birmingham, England-based independent label Fruition Records. Several tracks from "Far In" have been remixed by some of the hippest UK artists such as Jacknife Lee, the All Seeing I and Cut La Roc. And, not content merely to sing about buses or to travel by them, Fuzz actually has owned and restored several vintage buses. He even has worked as a bus mechanic. He says, "I love buses, so I was getting paid to do something completely pleasurable!"What with the impending US release of "Far In", his work with Bentley Rhythm Ace and a busy producing and remixing schedule, Fuzz is not likely to have much rest and relaxation any time soon. No matter, though, because, as Fuzz muses, "I can't bear to be away from my studio and not be playing…but, ideally, I'd holiday in Ireland driving my 43-year old Land Rover around. I'm not one for lying on beaches all day unless there's a bar!" However, if ever you find yourself in Birmingham, England and happen to bump into Fuzz enjoying a much-deserved break at the pub, be warned that he's rather partial to pricey red wine. Quips Fuzz: "Look towards the top shelf if you're thinking of buying me a drink!"

Albums Far In

Press Reviews "A crafty blend of Sixties television themes and spidery rhythms - might be best described as 'little beat'" "Sounds like a…comedy theme, heard through the ears of a demented junglist" - Q Magazine "Acid breakbeat par excellence" "Bouncy glammy stomp to shake all cares away" "An affable ragbag of dreads 'n' surfer threads in real life, Fuzz has created a feminine fusion of skittering beats, dub incantations and plastic pop on vinyl. It's worlds away from big beat, and a testament to the multicultural make-up of his native Birmingham [England]. If Money Mark had come from the Midlands [of England], he might, possibly, have come up with the irrepressibly optimistic r 'n' b shilly 'Smash It', or the whimsical bullet-train dub-pop of 'I Have Seen the Light'." - Melody Maker

Location Los Angeles, CA - USA

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