Illumination

BIOGRAPHY

Illumination is the dynamic London-Tromso constellation of Nicholas Sillitoe and Per Martinsen.

The pair met in Oslo in late 1992, in the dizzy days of global spirit, world fusion, pan-european warehouse raves, breakbeats and acid house.

They soon realised that without knowing they had both taken part in the same ridiculously underground happenings in London during the late eighties, and both shared a unique musical vision and stereo ambitions.

Armed with a strange cargo load of acid house, beat-poet literature, classical scores, folk rock, and industrial noise, they embarked on a majestic musical voyage, uniting in downtown Oslo to define the Illumination sound.

After releasing a couple of 12" singles on the Sillitoe imprint +47 (last seen wanted on eBay for 380 quid a piece), they released their epic "Hope to God" through a deal with Internal Records (a London Records/FFRR subsidiary).

Hailed by the UK dance press as "the next big thing" in 1995, the duo surprisingly withdrew to work on somewhat avant garde remixes and other projects - somehow disillusioned with the state of dance music at the time.

Retreating to the Norwegian underground, they kept on searching for the perfect beat with fellow contemporaries Those Norwegians (aka Royksopp), Bjorn Torske and Erot (R.I.P.) - spinning records and homebrewed tracks at Oslo clubs like Skansen and Jazid.

This research culminated in the duo releasing the first compilation of a now quite well-established circle of Norwegian Electronica in the shape of "FBU: Recollections in rare altitude" in 1998. (An album that made it to Album of the Month in Mixmag Update, without ever seeing an official uk release!)

After this, a string of 10 and 12" singles of both Illumination songs and their trademark "Chilluminati" remixes of artists such as Bugge Wesseltoft, Mari Boine, Nils Petter Molvaer and Lamb spead their magik around the global dance underground, from Oslo - London - Glasgow - Detroit - New York - Ibiza.

The eventual debut album "This is Illumination" was released in 2000 by BMG Norway. The album was politely received, and won both prizes and nominations for "album of the year" in various categories in the Norwegian music awards.

As both Illumination tracks and their Chilluminati remix work became much in demand on the worldwide compilation market, they were asked to be "brand ambassadors" for the release of "Cafe del Mar vol. 8", embarking on a massive inter-continental dj-tour in 2001/2002.

The haphazard meeting between the international jet set and Illumination, who insisted that Jose Feliciano, Underground Resistance and Psychic TV (amongst others) all had a democratic place within their utopian definition of "chill", led to a string of unforgettable parties all over the globe. Their somewhat unique "Glimmer Twins on Mandrakes" approach to djing made them many fans among the lounge lizards of the world, who originally just showed up to the events for the free cocktails and pert nipples.

The following events in world politics and general change of emotional climate saw the duo returning to the studio in 2002 charged with something as unheard of as a set of post-MDMA, post-apocalyptic protest songs, sometimes about life and how the hell to live it. totally in tune and yet typically well ahead of the following crowds.

These long sessions resulted in the album "The Poppy Rocks" - a record spanning fragile tales of innocence lost to "Manic Street Preachers armed with a 909" numbers covering old Cat Stevens gems. Perhaps the closest we may so far get to the essence of llumination?

In a time of much fuzz about anything from "folktronica" to the "second rave revival", Illumination prove that you can get far by staying true to your faith, keep on keeping on with unquestionable good taste, and quite simply by making uncompromisingly fine music.

The Poppy Rocks - an amazing album now available for licensing worldwide.