Technotronic

Technotronic
Origin	Aalst, Belgium
Genres	House, techno, electronica, hip house, tech house
Years active	1988–2000
Labels	SBK/EMI Records ARS Entertainment Belgium
Associated acts	Ya Kid K Réjane Magloire Hi Tek 3 (alias)
Past members	Jo Bogaert Manuela "Ya Kid K." Kamosi Eric "MC Eric/Me One" Martin Felly Kilingi Réjane "Reggie" Magloire Melissa Beckford Desiree' "Daisy Dee" Rollocks Colin "Einstein" Case Charles "Black Diamond" Davis Patrick DeMeyer "Monday Midnite" (Monday Osaigbovo Agbonze) Helen Mwangi-Taylor Deidra Jones

Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1988 by Jo Bogaert, who originally gained notoriety in the early 1980s as part of a cover band and as a solo artist under various New Beat projects, including The Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo. Together with vocalist Ya Kid K, he produced the hit single "Pump Up the Jam", which was originally an instrumental. An image for the act was later put together, utilizing Congolese-born fashion model Felly Kilingi as its album/single cover art, and supposed singer in the music video.

The track that became "Pump Up the Jam" began life as "Technotronic" (which later became the project's official name), an original instrumental that Bogaert released under the name The Pro 24s. Based on Farley Jackmaster Funk's "The Acid Life," this instrumental initially included vocal samples from Eddie Murphy's "Delirious" live set from 1983 and was months later replaced by newer music, along with lyrics and vocals from Ya Kid K. prior to the song's international release in September 1989.

The song became a worldwide success, eventually reaching #2 in both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart in late 1989/early 1990, becoming the first song in the house music genre to achieve commercial status. It not only introduced a new sound based on "New Beat", a dance genre developed around the Belgian music scene, but it was also one of the first songs outside of Chicago, Illinois, to pioneer the hip-house genre, a fusion of house music with elements of hip-hop.

The success of the project's first single led to the release of Pump Up the Jam: The Album, which featured tracks by Ya Kid K and MC Eric. They also became an opening act for Madonna and had appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Arsenio Hall Show, and It's Showtime at the Apollo. It was at this time that Ya Kid K became Technotronic's actual featured vocalist after it was revealed that Felly was merely lip-synching the vocals in the video for "Pump Up The Jam".

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Wikipedia