BLIP - 
was brought about by Cowie's subterranean interest to make a full vocal album and Skotarczyk's need to make an original album similar to Kings Of Convenience - DJ Kicks. Cowie, having always been drawn to less obvious hit records like Human Leagues  - The Lebanon or Killing Joke - Love Like Blood, saw this potential in Rai, who's natural style is a less obvious degree of indie pop. The entire process required both Cowie and Rai to completely destroy habitual approaches to music. Breaking the mould and rebuilding from scratch brought some uncomfortable moments and much personal reflection. But determination prevailed and eventually they let the songs speak for themselves. By listening to the muses, the art then dictated the artists and BLIP took on a personality all it's own.

Rather than strive for hits, they focused on the subtleties of what makes an album great. Because of this, there is much to peel back for the listener. While BLIP does have the traditional structure of a synth pop album and hints at an 80's influence, it is far from typical. It's message, though deliberate, is open to interpretation and will lead the listener to the cutting-edge of musical exploration. Expect the unexpected with a range of sounds from house, techno and straight electronic as your guide.



COWIE BIO:
Chris Cowie has been a producer and DJ for twenty plus years. As one of the most licensed producers in the industry, the Aberdeen, Scotland native has close to 200 releases, appeared on over 400 compilations, and has performed around the globe from Russia, to China, to Australia, and the US.
With such a notorious career built on credentials that read more like an almanac, chances are you’ve probably danced to his tunes, Yet Cowie still remains one of the major unsung heros of electronic music.

 In 1992, Cowie launched Hook Recordings and Bellboy Records. At only 22 years of age, the fledgling Producer/DJ's releases quickly monopolized the underground club scene. His labels gave him the leverage he needed to brand his own blend of music; an eclectic blend of indie electronic, techno, Tec House and progressive house; giving the UK two of the most groundbreaking and influential dance labels and artists of the 90’s.

 Cowie found early support in legendary BBC radio 1 DJ, John Peel and his productions were celebrated by countless DJ’s.  Paul Oakenfold,  Laurent Garnier, Carl Cox, Sasha, Digweed, Judge jules were just a few names dropping Cowie tracks into their mix. Danny Tenaglia called Cowie's album, Best Behavior, "Pure genius" and Carl Cox referred to him as, “The master of funk techno.” High compliments for a man who kept most of his massive career a secret, but maybe more surprising was the fact that he managed to accomplish all this on his own, well, sort of.

Like an ode to the liberation of excessive creative energies, Cowie not only produced under his official moniker, but spawned a legion of aliases (15 in total) that provided him the flexibility to produce a wider range of electronic music. Vegas Soul, X-Cabs, Scan Carriers, Bulkhead and Landlord (to name a few) generated equal amounts of success in their own rights. Because of this, around seventy five percent of Hook and Bellboy releases were a Chris Cowie production.

 During his career, Cowie was nominated for the highly prized BBC 'Radio One Essential Mix' beaten to the title by the tag team of Sasha and Digweed.  His break-out album, Best Behaviour, was voted fifth best album of the year in the UK and placed alongside the likes of the Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk. The album 'Pure' saw another chart topping release. His most notable singles, "Neuro" and "Infectious" were timeless additions to the X-Cabs alias. While his Vegas Soul alias became a DJ favorite after the successful release of Best Behaviour. 

Cowies numerous remixes knew no boundaries ranging from 808 State's Invader to Desyfer's Help Me,  kept him in the charts, but Cowie's most successful remix was ATB's "Don't Stop," which reached all the way to Number 3 in the UK. Growing up,  he always knew his music would be on the BBC's national chart show, Top OF The Pops. However, he never anticipated it would be in the form of a remix, and one which he doesn't think is one of his better efforts. The epitome of anti-climax.  Cowie's achievements, though grand, couldn't save him from his own profession. The music industry was shifting, and with more attention in digital releases, his labels took a hit. Around 2005, Hook and Bellboy left this mortal coil and ascended to where all good labels go, and there it stands tall for its outstanding contribution to the EDM scene.

Though a relaunch in 2008 peaked interests again, Cowie decided to wrap up a memorable fifteen-year reign and sold the infamous labels in 2012 stating the labels legacy "haunts me wherever I go. Every musical avenue I wish to explore is clouded by the labels shadow. That had to to stop". In 2010, Cowie teamed up with Detroit vocalist, Rachel Skotarczyk (a.k.a Rai) to create an eclectic, indie electro album. The first release, a Cosmonaut Grechko remix of "Love Trak," has already topped charts throughout the blogoshpere and received well over 5,000 listens the first hour of it's release. BLIP is due out in 2013.



RAI BIO:
Singer/songwriter Rai, a.k.a Rachel Skotarczyk, didn't grow up to a musical family. She had no guidelines on how to succeed. Her tale is more an arduous journey of mishaps, chance meetings and hard knocks. But it was precisely these trials and tribulations that led her to create 100's of honest, happy and sometimes sad songs.
Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit. In her early teens, she found an affinity with music and creative writing. Thinking that music was a clever medium to promote her writing, Rai acquired a guitar. Without any formal training, at 17 she wrote and recorded her first album of acoustic pop songs.
Rather quickly, those songs snagged the attention of Capitol Records. In 2004 Rai was flown to LA to record a demo. It was her first big studio experience. The demo, though professionally nurtured, could not make up for her lack of performance experience and Capitol passed on the deal.

Undeterred, Rai moved to Seattle, WA to sing lead for an indie grunge band. A year later she moved to L.A. and started another, more electronic, project that made some progress. Though her performing got better, she still was unsatisfied with the sound. Rai constantly sought to bridge her two favorite genres, pop and electronic. The opportunity came when Scottish techno producer, Chris Cowie, invited her to the UK for a unique electro/techno project. In 6 months, they had created an album that blended tec house and electro pop.

In 2009, Rai returned to Detroit only to get signed by a small hip hop label (Frontstreet Records) and began exploring a more R'n'B sound. Her single "New New" created some waves and she was invited to Atlantic Records. Again things just weren't clicking and though there was other label interest at the time, 2011 left her at an impass with her label. She stepped away from outside influence to write and produce her album, Self Portrait.
Skotarczyk now collaborates with international DJ's/producers, lending her vocals to projects she believes in. She's a practicing a writer, and hunts for the most exciting house, electronic, and nu disco artists for the nationally and internationally acclaimed blog, Indie Shuffle.
She's worked with Capitol Records, Off Recordings, Hot Creations, Frontstreet Records, and HookBellboy Records, (both directly or indirectly) and  has lent songs to Coach, The new 90210, Pepsi, and Cosmo Magazine.

Currently her abilities are hyper-focused on vocal and topline work, but she still produces her own material from time to time.
Skotarczyk's goal is to have a radio show for great electronic music, compose at LEAST 3 hit songs, and write a New York Times best seller. Cake.

 





Chris Cowie Music