Luxxury Explained

Luxxury
Background:person
Birth Name:Blake Robin
Origin:US
Instrument:Vocals, guitar, bass, synthesizer, turntables
Genre:Disco, funk, synth-pop
Occupation:DJ, musician, producer, songwriter, podcaster, TikTok creator
Years Active:2003–present
Label:Kitsuné, Manimal Vinyl, Boogie Angst, Future Disco, Deep&Disco, Super Weird Substance, Atlantic Records, Reinhardt Records, Razor & Tie, RCRD LBL, IAMSOUND, Nolita, Paperclip
Website:luxxury.com

Luxxury (birth name Blake Robin),[1] formerly known as Baron von Luxxury,[2] is an American producer, songwriter, DJ and artist.

Career

His best known songs include "Be Good 2 Me" (as heard in the Xbox game Forza Horizon 4), "Feels So Good" (as heard exclusively in the Xbox game Forza Horizon 5), "Breathe (Again)" and "Feel The Night"; earlier songs include "Drunk", which was used in commercials for Pontiac; "Sweet and Vicious", which was used on The Hills; and "I Know There's Something Going On", a cover of a song by Anni-Frid Lyngstad from ABBA.

In addition to being the sole songwriter and producer for that band, he is a touring DJ as well as being an in-demand producer, remixer and songwriter formerly under contract with Razor and Tie Music Publishing[3] for whom he has cowritten songs for artists including Vanessa Daou and Little Boots, as well as the song "If That's Love" (co-written with Jesse Owen Astin and Bonnie McKee), which was featured on the episode, "Show Stopper".[4] He was also a co-founder of the now defunct MP3 blog Disco Workout. Luxxury's 2012 full-length album "The Last Seduction"[5] was released on Manimal Vinyl[6] [7] and featured songs about his friends[8] Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake.[9] The album received strong[10] reviews[11] and made it to several "best of 2012"[12] lists,[13] including that of Duran Duran's John Taylor.[14]

In 2013 he began releasing a series of unofficial remixes called "LUXXURY Edits" using "(mostly) only original multitrack stems"[15] for a number of famous songs including Eagles' "Hotel California",[16] Duran Duran's "Girls on Film", and various others. As a result of the attention received he began to get commissioned remix work from artists including Greg Wilson, Melanie Martinez, Fitz and the Tantrums, and others.

A series of original singles moving away from "the synths and Moroder-y stuff from my earlier records" to "1979-style Rhodes piano, funky bass, vintage sounding beats and dreamy floaty vocals: Bee Gees meets Todd Terje" was announced in late 2015;[17] the first single "Take it Slow" premiered on January 19, 2016,[18] followed by a number of singles in a similarly vintage funk/disco vein. As a DJ, Robin performs a mix of live, on-the-fly remixes and sings his original material, often accompanied by one or more other musicians. Sometimes this includes a full live band, with whom he has performed opening for Giorgio Moroder, Escort and The Juan Maclean, including a performance on Last Call with Carson Daly.[19]

In July 2020 Robin began posting short videos deconstructing the musical origins of popular songs, and quickly amassed over 300,000 followers on TikTok and 100,000 on Instagram. In 2023 he signed to Kevin Hart's Hartbeat Network[20] to create and co-host the podcast One Song along with writer, producer and actor Diallo Riddle. He also signed with Oxford University Press to write a yet-to-be-titled book about musical borrowing, which will be published in 2025

Luxxury discography

Remixes & Re-edits

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: For every Britney and Lindsay. The San Francisco Chronicle. Chris. Colin. June 24, 2008.
  2. News: Musician Blake Robin creates his own life of Luxxury. Los Angeles Times. Sarah. Parvini. December 14, 2014.
  3. Making the Brand: More Than Meets the Ear. Paoletta. Michael. July 7, 2007. Billboard. 14. September 22, 2010.
  4. News: Show Stopper – CSI: Miami . TV.com . July 9, 2013.
  5. News: All Music Guide review of "The Last Seduction". June 20, 2013.
  6. News: Baron von Luxxury profile at Manimal Vinyl. June 20, 2013.
  7. News: Discogs entry for "The Last Seduction". June 20, 2013.
  8. News: Baron Von Luxxury on His Friends' Double-Suicide, Five Years Later. LA Weekly.
  9. News: Making Sense of a Double Suicide Through Tumblr. Buzzfeed.
  10. News: Baron von Luxxury's The Last Seduction. Electronic Rumors.
  11. News: Baron von Luxxury's Sci-Fi Glass Candy Video. Spin.
  12. News: Best Albums of 2012. The Pop Sucker. June 21, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20140812103620/http://www.thepopsucker.com/2012/12/the-best-of-2012-albums.html. August 12, 2014. dead.
  13. News: Top 20 Albums of 2012. Electronic Rumors.
  14. News: Duran Duran names Baron von Luxxury's song "The Lovely Theresa" among his top 20 songs of 2012.
  15. News: Classic Song 'Stems' Inspire Remixes. The Wall Street Journal. Hannah. Karp. July 10, 2014.
  16. News: Luxxury Talks. The Ransom Note. Josh. Ray. May 12, 2015.
  17. News: Luxxury – House of Disco Guestmix. House of Disco. David. Magnier. August 2015.
  18. News: LUXXURY Soundtrack a Couple's Lazy Day in 'Take it Slow' Video. SPIN Magazine. Rachel. Brodsky. January 2016.
  19. News: Zack Snyder/Luxxury/Melissa Rauch . Last Call With Carson Daly. March 2016.
  20. News: Kevin Hart's HartBeat Inks Multi-Year Deal with SiriusXM . Vibe.com. March 15, 2023.
  21. News: Premiere: Baron Von Luxxury's 'Rosebud Was the Name of His Sled'. Los Angeles Times. Jeff. Weiss. December 7, 2011. January 14, 2012.