Lotek | |
|---|---|
 Wayne Lotek of Lotek Hifi | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Wayne Bennett |
| Born | 1977 (age 46–47) |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Rap, Hip Hop, Reggae, Dub, Ska, Dancehall |
| Occupation(s) | Vocalist, rapper, Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, record producer |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Counter Clockwise Records, First Word Records, Big Dada |
| Website | waynelotek.com |
Wayne "Lotek" Bennett (born 1977 in Gosport, England) is a music producer, songwriter and rapper from the UK. He is most famous for his work with Roots Manuva and more recently with Speech Debelle, producing her debut album Speech Therapy which won the 2009 Mercury Prize.[1][2][3]
In 2005, Lotek won the BBC Performing Arts Fund's Urban Music Award and was quoted as saying, "with the Performing Arts Fund money I bought a laptop, microphone and a compact mixer. After flying around Eastern Europe recording with artists from Poland, Russia and Hungary I returned briefly to London before flying to Australia (the flight down under was also funded by the award)".[4] He was based in Melbourne, Australia for 10 years, during that time Speech Therapy was recorded.
One of his other projects is the dub, reggae and hip-hop group Lotek Hi-Fi,[5] who are currently signed to the Big Dada label.[6][7]
In late 2010, Lotek's debut solo record International Rudeboy was released. Completed in Collingwood, Melbourne (Australia) at Counter Clockwise Studios, it features many local and international guests including Roots Manuva, Jimmy Screech, Ricky Ranking, RuC.L, Ozi Batla, Dialectrix and Ciecmate. The critically acclaimed album mixes hip-hop, reggae, ska and dancehall styles.
Lotek appears as a guest vocalist on the song, "Living in Bunkers", track 5 of Hilltop Hoods's album, Drinking from the Sun. The song also features Black Thought of American hip hop group, The Roots.
- ^ "Wayne Bennett & Speech Debelle". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "Mercury Prize 2009 – Speech Debelle". BBC. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ [3] Archived 25 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Big Dada". Big Dada. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "Buy and Sell Vinyl and CD at Discogs Marketplace". discogs. Retrieved 20 November 2011.