Josh Abrahams
Josh Abrahams | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1968 Melbourne, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, producer, bass guitarist, electronic musician |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Known for | "Addicted to Bass" |
Josh Abrahams (born 1968) is a prominent Australian musician who rose to prominence within the underground dance music community during the early 1990s. Known for performing under various monikers such as Puretone, The Pagan, and Bassliners, he is a multifaceted artist encompassing roles as a composer, producer, bass guitarist, and electronic musician. Abrahams has made significant contributions as a songwriter, music director, and producer across albums, film soundtracks, television productions, and theatrical performances. His track "Addicted to Bass", featuring Amiel Daemion, achieved a peak position of No. 15 on the charts in February 1999.
Early life
Born in 1968 in Melbourne, Abrahams began his musical journey in 1990 as a bass guitarist and vocalist for the cover band Havana Moon.
1990–1995: Future Sound of Melbourne
In 1990, Abrahams co-established the techno ensemble Future Sound of Melbourne (FSOM) alongside acid house DJ Steve Robbins and drum and bass producer Davide Carbone. Their releases included singles and EPs distributed through Shock Records’ Candyline Records in Australia and Belgium’s underground label Two Thumbs Records. FSOM earned the ARIA Award for Best Dance Release at the ARIA Music Awards of 1996 for their album Chapter One. Concurrently, Abrahams issued dance tracks under his aliases The Pagan and Bassliners. He departed from FSOM in 1995 to embark on a solo career.
1996–2001: Solo endeavors, "Addicted to Bass," and Sweet Distorted Holiday
Abrahams signed with Carl Cox’s Ultimatum label in 1996, releasing his first solo album The Satyricon. Although critically well-received, it did not break into the ARIA Top 50 charts. A song from this album, "The Joker," was featured on the soundtrack of the film Hackers.
Following a brief stint forming the pop group Edison Project and releasing their single "Don't Be Afraid," Abrahams resumed his solo pursuits by signing with Festival Records in 1997. He was recruited by film director Baz Luhrmann to co-produce tracks for the album Something for Everybody, including the UK chart-topping single "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" in 1998.
In 1998, his sophomore album Sweet Distorted Holiday was released, featuring the successful single "Addicted to Bass" with vocalist Amiel Daemion, which reached No. 15 on the ARIA singles chart. Another collaboration with Daemion titled "Headroom" charted outside the ARIA Top 100. Additionally, he attained top 50 chart positions in New Zealand. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999, Abrahams made history as an independent artist by receiving six nominations and securing two wins.
The year 2000 saw the release of "Rollin'," which peaked at number 58 on Australian charts.
2001–2008: Puretone era, film scores, television, and theatre work
In 2001, Abrahams produced several tracks for Amiel Daemion, including the platinum-certified single "Lovesong" and her gold-certified album Audio Out. He also collaborated with Baz Luhrmann on co-producing the soundtrack for Moulin Rouge.
By 2002, Abrahams composed and produced original music for Paul Currie’s film One Perfect Day, which is set against Melbourne’s dance music backdrop. That same year, to differentiate himself from American producer Josh Abraham, he adopted the stage name Puretone. Under this alias, he re-released "Addicted to Bass", which climbed to No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as "Stuck in a Groove", reaching No. 26 in the UK; both tracks appeared on his album Stuck in a Groove.
In 2003, Abrahams composed and produced the soundtrack for One Last Ride, a project associated with producer Ang Lee. He broadened his portfolio by creating music for television commercials including campaigns for Portmans, Baileys Irish Cream, and LG. By 2005, his primary focus shifted toward composing jingles for TV advertisements. Notably, in 2007 he crafted orchestral jingles for Ask Dot Com commercials. Subsequent projects included arranging "My Favourite Things" for Dove TV advertisements in 2009 and composing the theme music for Tourism Australia’s international campaign in 2010.
Abrahams took on roles as music director and pianist for the Soubrettes' production Cabaret Tingel Tangel at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2004. In 2006 he managed a nightclub tour venue within a Spiegeltent across the United States and later resumed duties as music director for their show Desir in New York City in 2008.
In 2008, he co-wrote and produced seven songs featured on Kaz James’ debut album If They Knew.
2009–present: S:amplify
In 2009, Abrahams joined forces again with Davide Carbone to establish the production company s:amplify. Together, they co-wrote and co-produced Carl Cox's 2012 album All Roads Lead to the Dancefloor, while also remixing tracks for artists such as Moby, Miguel Bosé, and Gilles Peterson. S:amplify created sonic branding projects for Melbourne's Channel 31 and Metro Trains Melbourne, in addition to composing music for Tourism Australia, Alienware, and the International Cricket Council. Among their productions was Robyn Loau's rendition of "Wuthering Heights".
Featured on the cover of Music Tech magazine in April 2011, s:amplify released two sound design collections that received positive reviews through Loopmasters. They contributed sound design elements for the Japanese synthesizer KDJ One and took on the role of musical directors for Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks event (2011/2012), showcasing original compositions by both Abrahams and Carbone.
From 2015 onward, Abrahams has collaborated with Johnny "Galvatron" at the video game developer Beethoven & Dinosaur, composing music for The Artful Escape (2021). Beginning in 2017, he has performed and toured with YID!, producing their second album Zets! alongside Simon Starr under the name Kvetch Brothers. This project included contributions from musicians such as Husky Gawenda, Gideon Preiss, Audrey Powne, Cheryl Durongpisitkul, Alex Burkoy, Willy Zygier, as well as his daughters Alma and Syd Zygier.[1]
Studio albums
| Album Title | Release Information | Highest Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | NZ | ||
| The Satyricon |
|
— | — |
| Sweet Distorted Holiday |
|
59 | 50 |
| Stuck in a Groove (under Puretone) |
|
— | — |
Singles
| Single Title | Year | Peak Chart Rankings | Certifications | Associated Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | GER | NZ | SWI | UK | U.S. Dance | ||||
| "Scenes from the Satyricon Part I" | 1995 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Scenes from the Satyricon Part 2" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Thrill Seeker" | 1998 | — | — | 49 | — | — | — | Sweet Distorted Holiday | |
| "Addicted to Bass" (featuring Amiel Daemion) | 15 | — | 27 | — | — | — |
| ||
| "Headroom" (featuring Amiel Daemion) | 1999 | 146 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Rollin" | 2000 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| Credited as Puretone | |||||||||
| "Addicted to Bass" (re-released) | 2002 | 50 | 58 | — | 60 | 2 | 1 |
|
Stuck in a Groove |
| "Stuck in a Groove" | — | — | — | — | 26 | 4 | |||
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards celebrate outstanding achievement and creativity within the Australian music scene each year. Abrahams has secured two wins out of six total nominations.
|- | rowspan="6"| 1999 | rowspan="2"| "Addicted to Bass" | Single of the Year | |- | Best Video (directed by Craig Melville and David Curry) | |- | rowspan="3"| Sweet Distorted Holiday | Best Male Artist | |- | Best Dance Release | |- | Best Independent Release | |- | Josh Abrahams for Sweet Distorted Holiday | Engineer of the Year |
APRA Awards
The APRA Awards recognize excellence in songwriting, sales, and radio airplay. Abrahams earned one nomination.
|- | 1999 | "Addicted to Bass" | Song of the Year |
See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
External links
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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