| Technotronic | |
| Origin: | Aalst, Belgium |
| Years Active: | 1987–2002 |
| Past Members: | Jo Bogaert Manuela "Ya Kid K." Kamosi Eric "MC Eric/Me One" Martin Felly Kilingi Réjane "Reggie" Magloire (deceased) 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 1987 by Jo Bogaert, best known for the 1989 single "Pump Up the Jam", which features vocals by Ya Kid K. The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Later that year, the single was followed by the album of the same name, which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200. They achieved further success with the singles "Get Up! (Before the Night Is Over)" and "Move This". Technotronic went on to release the albums Body to Body (1991) and Recall (1995).
Technotronic was formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert. Bogaert gained popularity in Europe as a solo artist with various new beat projects, including Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo. Ya Kid K joined the project as a vocalist, Bogaert adopted the stage name Thomas De Quincey, and in September 1989, they released the single "Pump Up the Jam". Ya Kid K was initially uncredited for her contributions to the song. A front for the act was put together (in a way similar to other Eurodance acts like Black Box and Milli Vanilli), utilizing Congolese-born fashion model Felly Kilingi who was presented as the group's vocalist.[1] She appeared on the single's cover art which was credited as "Technotronic featuring Felly" and also appeared in the music video for the song. The song became a worldwide success, eventually reaching No. 2 on both the US Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart in late 1989 and early 1990.
The success of the project's first single led to the release of the album Pump Up the Jam in late 1989, which featured vocals by Ya Kid K and MC Eric, but still featured Felly Kilingi on the cover. The album peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 in the US and reached No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart.[2] Following the release of the album, Ya Kid K was revealed to be the main vocalist for the songs, with Bogaert admitting "[Felly] didn't have much to do with the record. Me, Eric and Ya Kid did it all. We needed Felly to help promote the group at first - to create this image".[1] In January 1990, they released their second single "Get Up! (Before The Night Is Over)", which was a No. 7 hit in the US and a No. 2 hit in the UK. The music video for the song features both Ya Kid K and Felly, though Felly's vocals do not appear on the song. That year, Technotronic made appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Arsenio Hall Show, and It's Showtime at the Apollo. In February 1990, Ya Kid K and Bogaert collaborated with the group Hi Tek 3 and released the single "Spin That Wheel", credited as "Hi Tek 3 featuring Ya Kid K". Further singles released from Pump Up the Jam: The Album were "This Beat Is Technotronic" (US Dance No. 3, UK No. 14) which featured MC Eric instead of Ya Kid K, and "Rockin' Over The Beat" (UK No. 9). Beginning in April 1990, Technotronic became an opening act for Madonna's Blond Ambition World Tour. Following the tour, Ya Kid K departed from the group.
In September 1990, A megamix was released compiling Technotronic's previous hits. Released as a single, it peaked at No. 6 in the UK[2] and No. 1 on the Eurochart Hot 100. The megamix was the first single from the remix album , released in late 1990. Trip on This featured the new song "Turn It Up" featuring vocals by new group members Melissa Bell and "Another Monsterjam" rapper MC Einstein.[3] "Turn It Up" was not as successful as the group's prior releases, and Melissa and Einstein departed from the group.
In 1991, Technotronic released their second studio album Body to Body, which featured new main vocalist Reggie (Réjane Magloire).[4] Reggie provided vocals for six tracks on the album,[4] which also featured singer Riv and rapper Colt 45 on two tracks. Several singles were released in Europe, the UK and Australia, including "Move That Body", "Work" and "Money Makes The World Go Round" during 1991 and 1992.
In 1992, the song "Move This" from Pump Up the Jam (featuring vocals by Ya Kid K) became popular through its use in a Revlon television commercial. Ya Kid K rejoined the group and the song was released as a single. It became the group's third Top 10 hit in the United States, peaking at No. 6. With renewed interest in the Pump Up The Jam album, it was repackaged for the US market in 1992, retaining the original track listing but this time featuring Ya Kid K's face on the cover. In 1993, Technotronic released the compilation album The Greatest Hits. It included the new songs "Hey Yoh Here We Go" and "One + One", both featuring vocals from Ya Kid K. Both songs which were released as singles in 1993 and 1994.
Continuing with Ya Kid K as frontwoman, Technotronic released the single "Move It to the Rhythm" in 1994. It was followed in 1995 by the album Recall and the further singles "Recall" and "I Want You by My Side", the latter of which features male singer Black Diamond. Beside vocal contributions from Ya Kid K, the album also featured singer Daisy Dee on two tracks.
In 1996, the group released the remix EP Pump Up The Jam – The '96 Sequel, followed in 1998 by the single "Get Up – The '98 Sequel" as well as compilations This Beat Is Technotronic (Hits & Mixes) and Pump Up The Hits.
Technotronic returned in 1999 with new singles "G-Train" and "Like This", featuring male vocalist Monday Midnite. In 2000, Ya Kid K returned as the group's vocalist once more, releasing the non-album single "The Mariachi" to moderate success in Belgium. In 2001, Technotronic released the standalone single "Runaway Blues".
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [5] [6] | AUT [7] | GER [8] | NED [9] | NZ [10] | SWE [11] | SWI [12] | UK [13] | US [14] | |||||||
| Pump Up the Jam | 22 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 10 | ||||||
| Body to Body |
| 86 | 25 | 42 | — | — | — | 17 | 27 | — | |||||
| Recall |
| 153 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||||
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | UK | ||||||||||||||
| 50 | 7 |
| ||||||||||||
| The Greatest Hits |
| 48 | — | ||||||||||||
| This Beat Is Technotronic (Hits & Mixes) |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
| Pump Up the Hits |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
| Greatest Remix Hits |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
| Best of |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | Album | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (FL) [18] | AUS [19] [20] | AUT | GER | IRE [21] | NED | NZ | SWI | UK | US [22] | |||||||
| 1989 | "Pump Up the Jam" (featuring Ya Kid K) | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | — | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Pump Up the Jam – The Album | ||||
| 1990 | "Get Up! (Before the Night Is Over)" (featuring Ya Kid K) | 1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |||||
| "This Beat Is Technotronic" (featuring MC Eric) | 7 | 27 | — | 10 | 5 | 7 | 38 | 8 | 14 | — | ||||||
| "Rockin' Over the Beat" (featuring Ya Kid K) | 16 | 53 | — | 18 | 11 | — | — | 10 | 9 | 95 | ||||||
| "Megamix" | 8 | 13 | — | 9 | 4 | 18 | — | 7 | 6 | — | Trip on This – The Remixes | |||||
| "Turn It Up" (featuring Melissa and Einstein) | 39 | 87 | — | — | 26 | — | — | — | 42 | — | ||||||
| 1991 | "Move That Body" (featuring Reggie) | 18 | 27 | — | 19 | 3 | 38 | — | 10 | 12 | — | Body to Body | ||||
| "Work" (featuring Reggie) | 21 | 92 | — | — | 12 | — | — | 24 | 40 | — | ||||||
| "Money Makes the World Go Round" (featuring Reggie) | — | 117 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1992 | "Move This" (featuring Ya Kid K) | — | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | The Greatest Hits | ||||
| 1993 | "Hey Yoh, Here We Go" (featuring Ya Kid K) | 48 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 1994 | "One + One" (featuring Ya Kid K) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Move It to the Rhythm" (featuring Ya Kid K) | 50 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 83 | Recall | |||||
| 1995 | "Recall" (featuring Ya Kid K) | — | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 1996 | "I Want You by My Side" | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Crazy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | single only | |||||
| "Pump Up The Jam – The '96 Sequel" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 36 | — | Pump Up The Hits | |||||
| 1998 | "Get Up – The '98 Sequel" | 42 | — | — | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 1999 | "Like This" (featuring Monday Midnite) | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | singles only | ||||
| 2000 | "The G-Train" (featuring Monday Midnite) | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "The Mariachi" (featuring Ya Kid K) | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2005 | "Pump Up the Jam" (D.O.N.S. featuring Technotronic) | 46 | 77 | 34 | 25 | — | 43 | — | — | 22 | — | |||||
| 2007 | "Get Up" (Global Deejays featuring Technotronic) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 2022 | "Otro Jam" (Kembo Music featuring Technotronic)[27] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||||||
