1. William Otis Laswell was born on February 12,1955 and is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner.
24 Facts About Bill Laswell
1. 2.
Bill Laswell has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world.
3.
Bill Laswell was born on February 12,1955, in Salem, Illinois.
4.
Bill Laswell was influenced by jazz musicians John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, and Miles Davis.
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Bill Laswell began experimenting with effects pedals and early recording techniques, reflecting his broader artistic philosophy, that music could transcend traditional categorizations and connect diverse cultural and sonic elements.
6.
Bill Laswell moved into producer Giorgio Gomelsky's loft and became part of a group of musicians that would become the first version of Material.
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Bill Laswell worked with Brian Eno, Fred Frith, John Zorn, Daniel Ponce, Ginger Baker, Peter Brotzmann, Kip Hanrahan, Sonny Sharrock, and with musicians in no wave, a genre that combined avant-garde jazz, funk, and punk.
8.
Bill Laswell started a recording studio with Martin Bisi and met Jean Karakos, owner of Celluloid Records.
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Under the Material name Bill Laswell became the de facto house producer for Celluloid until the label was sold in the 1980s.
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Bill Laswell played bass guitar and co-wrote other songs on the album, leading to collaborations with Hancock through the 2000s.
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Bill Laswell won a Grammy Award for producing Hancock's next album, Sound-System.
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Bill Laswell became a member of the band Last Exit in 1986 with Peter Brotzmann, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Sonny Sharrock.
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Bill Laswell produced albums for Sly and Robbie, Mick Jagger, PiL, Motorhead, Ramones, Stevie Salas, Iggy Pop and Yoko Ono.
14.
Bill Laswell moved his studio to West Orange, New Jersey and called it Orange Music Sound Studios.
15.
At the request of Blackwell, Bill Laswell oversaw the debut album by Ethiopian singer Gigi for Palm Pictures with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, and Bill Laswell.
16.
Bill Laswell has stated in interviews that he met with Miles Davis a number of times and discussed working together, but busy schedules kept them from arranging such a recording before Davis' death.
17.
Bill Laswell signed a contract with Sanctuary Records that led to the creation of his label Nagual.
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Bill Laswell worked in the drum and bass genre, starting with Brutal Calling credited to Bill Laswell vs Submerged that was released by Avant in 2004.
19.
Bill Laswell and Submerged worked together again on The Only Way to Go is Down under the name Method of Defiance.
20.
Bill Laswell suffered health problems which required hospitalization in December 2022 and prolonged recovery, which jeopardized his tenure of Orange Music Studio.
21.
Bill Laswell's first venture during his health recovery in 2024 was a new Painkiller album titled Samsara with Zorn and original drummer Harris, although for this recording Harris' percussion is electronic and Zorn then Laswell layered up their contributions separately.
22.
Bill Laswell has done much work for John Zorn's Tzadik Records.
23.
In 2005, Bill Laswell was invited to appear on the PBS series Soundstage.
24.
Bill Laswell has worked with Eraldo Bernocchi and Mick Harris on a project called Equations of Eternity, which is an ambient music project started in 1995 by Eraldo.