Freddy Fresh

Fresh was born Frederick Schmid, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States.[2]

In addition to a growing U.S. audience, Fresh was also one of the few contemporary non-Detroit musicians of the techno/electro genre to receive a strong European following. His records for Experimental, Harthouse and Martin "Biochip C" Damm's Anodyne label were evidence of his popularity in Europe and also strengthened his international presence. Although Fresh's releases included tracks in hip hop, house music, techno and trance music, his musical essence exists in the electro and breaks subgenres.[1]

Although Fresh grew up listening to gothic rock and new wave, a trip to the Bronx, New York, U.S. in 1984 introduced him to the hip hop scene.[1] Fresh began collecting DJ tapes (Shep Pettibone and Marley Marl) and records from the Jonzun Crew, Newcleus, Liquid Liquid, Cerrone, Shannon and Cat Stevens.[1]

Fresh's first studio recording was released on Boogie Down Productions, with Fresh remixing a track for The Man & His Music Dedication album for Scott La Rock.[1] Fresh then constructed his own studio, collecting numerous analog and modular synthesizers as part of the building process.[1] In 1992, after releasing debut singles on Nu Groove and Experimental, Fresh's first record label, Analog Recordings, was formed in late 1992, and grew to include numerous imprints: Analog UK, Butterbeat, Electric Music Foundation, Socket and Boriqua.[1]

The label and its offshoots have since attracted Thomas Heckman, Tim Taylor, Cari Lekebusch, DJ Slip, the Bassbin Twins, and Biochip C. In 1995, Fresh signed a contract with German techno label Harthouse Records and his second full-length album, Accidentally Classic, was released by the label's UK arm in late 1996 – a Harthouse U.S. reissue was later released.

His third album, The Last True Family Man, was released on the Eye Q label and resulted in two international chart hits, "Badder Badder Schwing" (featuring Fat Boy Slim) and "What It Is".[1] The recordings peaked at number 34 and number 63, respectively, in the 1999 UK Singles Chart.[3] Several singles and a mix album followed, until 2001's release, Music for Swingers. Fresh subsequently issued numerous albums on Howlin Records.

In the late 1990s, he formed the record label Against The Grain with then-partner Krafty Kuts. Fresh also released records through the Wisconsin, U.S.-based Drop Bass Network and the German label "Electrecord."

In 2000, Fresh also formed a collectors label specializing in vinyl 45 singles, called "Howlin' Records", and released over 35 singles and four albums through the label. The catalog of Howlin' Record includes "Have Records Will Travel," "Outstanding in His Field," "Diggin' Up Ghosts," "Surrounded By Funk" and Howlin' Greatest Hits.

In 2004, Fresh released the reference book entitled Freddy Fresh Presents The Rap Records, which covers the history of the early independent "old school" rap scene, and provides an extensive catalog of rap releases from 1979 to 1989.[4] The book was featured in The Source, Vibe, The New York Times and Village Voice, and won journalism awards in the U.S. — it is recognized as the only reference book on the subject. Fresh released the updated second edition, with over 740 pages and more than 2,500 color photographs.

In 2008, Fresh released the updated Freddy Fresh Presents The Rap Records Book Revised Edition that contains thousands of full-color photos from the independent rap scene.

In 2014, Fresh taught DJ techniques at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. He began work on his next album, Play The Music, with a launch of various singles starting with the song "Hardcore Rocka" done with Andy Ictus feat. Jamaica reggae stars Tanto Metro & Devonte with a video released in October 2014.

Fresh's music also appeared in films such as Austin Powers in Goldmember and Jackie Chan's The Tuxedo, as well as in television commercials by Adidas, Budweiser, Coors, Ritz Crackers, and Xbox.

Fresh tours regularly and has DJ'd in over 34 countries, including Russia (Olympic Stadium, where he opened for The Orb), Australia ("Teriyaki Anarki Saki" and Future Entertainment[5]), Canada (MTV Canada) and Spain (Club Spain). He has also been featured on Club TV, S2 and House Viva TV. His list of radio appearances include two Peel sessions for John Peel on BBC Radio 1.

Fresh mixes all his tracks live. He sequences with an MPC 2000XL and MPC 4000, and uses pre-midi analog synthesizers and modular systems.

Fresh married his wife, Alexandra, on 21 April 2005, in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. The couple are parents of two daughters.

• Freddy Fresh – official site
• Freddy Fresh discography at Discogs
• Freddy Fresh at SoundCloud
• They're rapping for a hip hop diploma article on CNN