Funkstar De Luxe | |
---|---|
Birth name | Martin Ottesen |
Born | 1973 |
Origin | Odense, Denmark |
Genres | Electronica, house |
Occupation(s) | Producer, remixer |
Years active | 1999–present |
Website | funkstardeluxe.com |
Funkstar De Luxe (born Martin Aulkjær Ottesen in 1973) is a Danish house producer and remixer. He is best known for his million-selling reworking of Bob Marley's "Sun Is Shining."
Funkstar was first exposed to Marley's music as a teenage keyboardist in an amateur reggae band. "Sun is Shining" was a worldwide hit reaching the Top 20 in nine countries including No.3 in the UK singles chart. It was also awarded best-selling international reggae single of the year at the World Music Awards.
Longtime Marley manager Chris Blackwell hurried to release his own remixes, but Funkstar had already moved on and had another hit with a remix of Marley's "Rainbow Country." He has since recorded other remixes for artists including Tom Jones, Mary J. Blige, Grace Jones, and Barry White, the most notable of which appeared on 'Keep on Movin: It's Too Funky in Here'. In 2003, Funkstar released an album of his own material, 'Funkturistic'.
Dubbed 'The Danish King Of The Remix' by Allmusic.com, after two sabbaticals away from the music industry during the 2000s, Funkstar recently returned to the scene charting with a remix of Kim Wilde's 'You Keep Me Hanging On' in 2013. In 2014 his long-time label Lifted House released a rework of his Marley hit 'Sun Is Shining - 15th Anniversary' which reached No.1 on the British Dance Chart.
Currently he is working on his EP from which the opening single 'Million Miles' featuring Michael Jackson collaborator Geoffrey Williams has been taken. The single has to date reached No.8 on the British Dance Chart and has spent ten weeks in the UK Dance Top 20.