Since his self-released debut EP, Divided Reality, caught the attention of some well-respected industry ears, 2econd Class Citizen has been keeping listeners spellbound with his unique psych/folk/hip-hop fusion. Snapped up by Equinox Records, his seamless hybridising bore two further EPs – Wyred Folk, One By One – and 2009’s sublime inaugural album, A World Without. Now on the cusp of his second album release, Aaron Thomason – aka 2econd Class Citizen – is poised to further beguile you with his beat-laden, ethereal sounds.

Raised in England’s rural north, this now London-based DJ and producer has captivated audiences and peers alike with his gorgeously-captured, audible emotions, most notable of which are the ears of DJ Food’s Strictly Kev, with whom he worked last year on the collaborative 9-track musical collage Magpie Music, released on the Ninja Tune artist’s latest output, both EP Magpies, Maps and Moons and album The Search Engine. To celebrate this anticipated album, 2econd Class Citizen contributed a bespoke space themed DJ set for the launch party held at London’s Royal Observatory Planetarium; a unique experience created in conjunction with the beloved venue’s own astronomers (stay tuned for the set on the Solid Steel radio show.) On top of this, he’s found time to accommodate another two Ninja Tune releases in the shape of remixes of The Illectric Hoax (feat. Natural Self) and Loka’s The Sound Stars Make.

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Dimitrios Kountouris a.k.a. Andreikelos is a Greek based producer and DJ. He has been involved in the local scene since 1996 when his first rap band, “Apokalypsis” was formed and has become one of the most known local underground beat makers as well as engineers.

After releasing three full-length albums with “Apokalypsis”, in 2007 Andreikelos releases his first album called “The Tides of Time”, featuring some of the most talented Greek MCs. A year later, he released his first instrumental vinyl EP called “The Creation / Planets” which marked a new beginning for his all-time passion for instrumental and abstract forms of beat-making.

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Brutal and Melodic, two words which often dont go together, but which pefectly capture the music of Arcsin. Drawing on influences as diverse as Iron Maiden to Devo, his patterns and textures allude to a time when drums were hot and synths were cold. With a unique and distinct sound Arc is able to create music that tells stories while still providing the all too necessary headnod. That – Animal Beat Drums – as he calls it, is found in almost everything he touches, and is as true to New York as corruption and good bagels with cream cheese. By just allowing himself to make the music he feels needs to be made, rather than what others may expect, allows him to stay fresh and innovative.

Some may know Ceschi for his experimental post-psych-rock-hop-jazz-fusion outfit “Anonymous Inc.”, a group formed by Ceschi and his brother David in 1994 that came into recognition in 2001 because of genre bending collaborations with underground hip hop rule breakers such as Circus of “The Shape Shifters”, Dose and Sole of “Anticon”.
Others may know Ceschi as a member of “Toca”, a Los Angeles based group whose lineup includes Xololanxinxo (Of Mexican Descent) and longtime Shape Shifters collaborator Tommy V – Toca is mainly known for a standout debut appearance on 2005′s “Project Blowed 10 year anniversary album” and for their collaborations with some of LA’s finest rappers including Aceyalone and Mikah 9 (Freestyle Fellowship), Abstract Rude, 2Mex (Of Mexican Descent/Visionaries), Busdriver, Awol One and many others.
Fans of hardcore, punk and metal may recognize Ceschi’s distinct vocal abilities from his role as a lead vocalist in “Dead By Wednesday” who released their critically acclaimed 2005 album “Democracy is Dead” on Jamey Jasta’s (Hatebreed/MTV2′s Headbanger’s Ball) Stillborn Records and have already toured the United States. On top of all of this, Ceschi has a promising solo career jump started by the 2004 Beyond Space Entertainment release of “Fake Flowers”, an album that some consider to be a “rare accomplishment in hip hop” (ugsmag.com) and “one of the most beautiful releases of [2004]” (movemusics.com). On his 2006 Net31 Records release, “They Hate Francisco False”, Ramos merges Beatles-esque melodies over crunk drums, heartfelt hip hop, folk ditties, unpretentious poetry and overall honesty.

These decidedly genre-less pieces retain a fluidity that feels completely natural and unfeigned. Erasoul.com stated that Ceschi’s latest album is “One of those albums you just have to hear. Words could not credit the talents of Ceschi, whether it’s rapping, singing, or composing.” Fresh off of a series of performances with K Records’ artist Little Wings, with a Japanese version of “They Hate Francisco False” being released and a nationwide tour in the works for Toca, 2006 may just be the year for Ceschi’s music to be heard.

a story contains but few words….
Born. Walked. Kept walking…

David Vangel, aka “Vangel”, is a Toronto based producer & live performer.  He first turned heads in 2000 with his production work in the Canadian hip hop scene, with his work being described as “beats so gloriously fucked, they make EL-P sound like a more accessible Moby” (Now Magazine). Since embarking on his own musical journey in 2005, Vangel has released a string of instrumental EPs that have confused and amazed music lovers and muddled the boundaries between such genres as electronic, hip hop, jazz, rock, and folk.

Vangel’s first musical steps began with his formal music studies as a member of his school band, strings ensemble, and symphony orchestra. “I hated playing. I just wanted to put it together”. His fascination with ‘putting together’ eventually led to an obsession with ‘taking apart’; dissecting songs, time signatures, and melody. Needing a more contextual knowledge base, Vangel spent his days digging through flea markets and garage sales in search of diverse vinyl records with new sounds and ideas.  Eventually, vinyl led to djing. Working with 2 records opened Vangel’s eyes to the possibilities of manipulating and creating new sound relationships. “I wanted to make beats so bad. I had so many ideas I wanted to try out. I bought a computer, quit my job, and started making music”.

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Deckard – An Extensive Odyssey

If you were looking for exceptional producers in the Munich area in the late 90s / early 2000s you may have heard of Deckard – the artist pseudonym of Attila Makai, which is inspired by Rick Deckard out of the movie “Blade Runner”.  In the “early days” of the internet there also existed his own platform under the name “Foundation Crew”, a melting pot for a diverse bunch of like minded producers and sound enthusiasts.  However, Deckard is one of the few of them that continued their artist careers successfully.

It must have been around 2003 when the first demo CDs by Deckard were spreading locally.  Even his early works may have been good enough to have been released officially on a label.  However, Makai let his music ripe step by step.  First extracts from his large assortment of tracks found the way to his first vinyl release, a limited stamped white label 12” entitled “Das Abstrakt EP”.  This release opened doors for Deckard: not only DeBug Magazine praised the release and gave it the highest rating, it even stated that it is “one of the very rare EPs that can rival early releases by (DJ) Vadim”.  Although this statement may not really be fitting regarding the musical style, it still emphasizes the fact that Deckard can easily be named in line with any top producer out of the left field electronica genre.

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Over the past few years, DJ Scientist has become an important figure in the German Hip-Hop and Electronic scene. Running the international label Equinox Records and publishing a magazine (DEAD Magazine), he is also busy djing in clubs, releasing mixes, expanding his record collection and, last but not least, producing music.

Starting his DJ-career in 1995 and dropping several mixtapes to spread his name in his home town of Munich, he put out his first record in 2001 – a dj tool called “Mad Science Breaks”. One year later, the dark and melancholic “Misantropolis EP”, mainly produced by Scientist, was the first release on Audiac. Since then, he put his main effort into his label Equinox Records which now has its headquarters in Berlin.  In 2004 he produced 3 tracks for the critically acclaimed “Welcome to the Neo Golden Age – A Sound Exposure Vol.1” compilation.  Being part of the Equinox 10inch Series, his 4 track “Journey Goodbye EP” (2006) contained the outstanding “Atarius” as well as the soulful and bluesy “Autumn Leaves”.  Since late 2007, DJ Scientist has mainly been producing and recording music with rapper/multi-instrumentalist/singer Ceschi Ramos (of Fake Four Inc.).  Releases so far are the singles “Same Old Love Song” (2009, with 2Mex, Awol One & Myka Nyne) and “Count On It / Bad Jokes” (2008) as well as the first album with Ceschi, “The One Man Band Broke Up”, released in june 2010. In the same year, an instrumental version of the album with Ceschi was released under the name “The One Man Band Instrumentals”, which became his first full-length solo work. In 2011, Ceschi and Scientist released another EP called “Shorted Circuits” and continued working on their second album. With his “The Artless Cuckoo EP”, that dropped in early 2012, Scientist put focus on his solo works again and will drop his new album in October 2012.

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Geste, aka François-Charles Domergue is an electronic producer from France. After releasing his debut EP “Jaw Breaker” in late 2008, officially remixing Kraddy‘s Glitch Hop anthem “Android Porn” as well as producing other remixes for artists such as Mondkopf, Jose Gonzalez or Fever Ray in 2009/2010, Geste’s new EP “Eating Concrete” is ready to hit the stores in March 2011.

On this new 5 track epos, the Parisian producer did again what he is best at: creating highly energetic electronic music that grabs you by the hair and makes you spin in all directions. Trying to describe his music will, at most times, leave you short of words. The German magazine Goon simply called it “electronic music for all head bangers” and De-Bug noticed the songs’ “exuberant terror flair” that “is almost making one weep for joy…”.

Furthermore, there is one question that is asked quite frequently: “Is this still electronic music?” There’s no definitive answer… Being a passionate listener of different styles of music ranging from Hardcore to Jazz, as well as being an accomplished bass player that led him to play in various bands, from MØN‘s Post-Rock to Ars Nova‘s Punk Hardcore, Domergue’s early work as Geste was yet just another way to explore new soundscapes. These quite unusual influences for an “electronic” musician naturally led to a completely new approach and resulted in one of the most unique styles to come out in electronic music since the past few years.

(Pictures by Vincent Bitaud)

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Facebook
Myspace
Last FM

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J. Baracuz is an electronic music producer/beatmaker from Berlin. His debut album “Lasergun Romances”, released in late 2006, has already given proof of his talents and his sense for complex sample-based compositions somewhere between instrumental hip-hop and electronica.

“Lasergun Romances” also was the reason Equinox Records got in touch with him and licensed a couple of his tracks to be released on the “One Year & A Day” series alongside artists such as Free The Robots, Deckard or Emynd.

J. Baracuz’ music can be described best as a progressive, interesting blend of shredded obscure samples, heavy mpc-soaked drums and modern synthetic sounds refined with some glitches here and there. The sampling approach behind all of his tracks is based on the idea of giving rise to not just beats but entire songs out of a “pile of broken dreams”.

After a creative break he spent with studying, travelling and digging for records, J. Baracuz has found his way home in 2011 and will release his new EP “A Contemporary Witness” on Equinox.

Links:
soundcloud.com/j-baracuz
facebook.com/jbaracuz

After deciding to part ways with the Glitch Mob, Kraddy continues to trail-blaze as a composer and a DJ in the US and abroad.  A dancefloor messiah to both booty shakers and trainspotters, Kraddy is known worldwide for his distinctive style.  His sets are a futuristic fusion of dubstep, hip hop, and dancehall – all laced with Kraddy‘s signature style of edits and remixes that make his sound so unique.  Like the skaters and surfers from his home in Venice Beach, Kraddy will unapologetically blow your mind with his skill, style and his no prisoners attitude.

Phonatic from Würzburg / Germany has been part of the Equinox fam for a long time. Having released well-received mix-cds on the sublabel Audiac as well as constantly providing album preview mixes (e.g. the Ceschi and 2econd Class Citizen promo mixes), he also produces fresh beats and remixes for the label. For the 25th release on Equinox he was invided to produce a megamix alongside Buddy Peace from the UK.

Christian Fischer a.k.a. Playpad Circus is an eclectic musician/composer/beatmaker from Berlin.

Musically trained at very young age by his father in playing guitar and violin, Playpad Circus also started making electronic music with computer and keyboard when he was 10. A couple of years later, not saving money for that serious electric guitar, he rather spent the cash on turntables that led his way from Hip-Hop to experimental electronic music.

His love for boombastic sounds, film scores, rock and club music as well as the ability to handle and combine all those different styles in his works, made him an established figure in the new German electronic scene. Soon afterwards, Playpad Circus’ connections reached out to international level where has made official remixes for a diverse bunch of Hip-Hop and Indie/Electronica acts such as Kraddy (formerly of The Glich Mob), Subtle (Lex Records), 2econd Class Citizen (Equinox), Bleubird (Endemik), among others.

In 2010, he released the self titled collaboration album “Noah23 / Playpad Circus” with Canadian rap legend Noah23 while he also focused on several band projects. Joining the gipsy-punk group Diving For Sunken Treasure as a bass player, he became part of the new Berlin swing scene and is constantly playing street gigs as well as big festivals.

Performing numerous live electronic shows in the past 2 years as a solo artist made Playpad Circus a favoured act in the European scene. Winning the first Finest Ego Beatmaker Challenge in 2011 raised expectations for a solo release. And here we are…

(Pictures by Max Winter)

Links:

http://www.facebook.com/playpadcircus

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Being involved with the mysterious German abstract Hip-Hop group 88:Komaflash (the name derives from camouflage) Aqua Luminus III. usually hides his face – and misleading information is the only information you might get about him. However, his music definitely speaks for itself. Since his early days as a discjockey he had been heavily influenced by britcore groups like Hijack or Gunshot and by the Golden Age of rap music. Speaking of times when the Bomb Squad was providing music that was so incredibly powerful and energetic. The same energy and creativity now needs to burst out when Aqua Luminus pushes buttons on his MPC or freaks synthesyzers on his computer. But – although the outcome is fierce and confulsed with rage – Aqua Luminus III. could just be the friendly guy from next door.

Brenmar was a name given to William Salas by his then 2-year-old brother. Music that does not easily fit into category, he constructs tunes out of old dusty records, digital and analogue synthesizers, microphones, samplers, and found sounds. He arranges, records, and produces these tunes in the comfort of his room/studio. A musician whos just as comfortable on stage as he is in his studio, the combination of big drums, found instruments, noise, and improvisation makes for an exciting and unique live show. He’s performed with Dosh, Styrofoam, Indian Jewlery, Daniel Givens, Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, Fog, Skeletons and The Girl-Faced Boys, Michael Columbia, Our Brother The Native, Clipd Beaks, Todd Carter, and The One AM Radio among others.

Buddy Peace is far from being a no name DJ and has earned a huge fan base of mixtape and underground hip-hop followers over the years. Besides doing dj gigs around the world, having played some of Europe’s biggest festivals and being the support DJ for Prince Po (of Organized Konfusion), he has done several mixes for well-known labels such as Warp, Lex, Bully and Sage Francis’ Strange Famous Records (which he is currently signed to). He provided Equinox Records with a great megamix for our 25th release.

Danny can do it all by himself. The piano tunes, the drums, the flute and whatever noise his keyboard can produce. The mysterious guy from Vienna, starts creating music where sound comes into being: with real instruments. He began all this at the age of five, when his fingers were big enough to reach a couple of keys on his parents’ piano. Later he started playing the drums and years of practice qualified him to become a drummer and percussionist in a whole range of live bands from his original home town of Regensburg. For example playing funk and soul in a band called “Soulflash” or being part of “Nomad”, a group doing a latin afro jazz fusion type of sound. But it was not always the applause of an audience he was aiming at: He well remembers the countless jam sessions with like-minded fellows, improvising sounds just for the sake of it. During all this time and ever since one tool accompanied his journeys into sound: the computer. He had been experimenting with electronic music production for quite a while when he seriously started to proceed digitally what he had learnt to create organically. Being able to combine those skills his often dark and electronic compositions still have the warmth and the analog feeling that will remind you where music once came from: acustic instruments and capable musicians.

Sleep Is For The Weak…

Ask producer/engineer DiViNCi (Glen Valencia, Jr.) what sleep is and he’ll tell you he doesn’t remember. Apparently he hasn’t rested since he was 14. At that age, he independently released his first group’s album, which he produced, mixed, and arranged. Even the artwork was led by his direction. DiViNCi has come a long way since his high school days in Pennsylvania. Now residing in Orlando, Florida, where he polished his existing audio engineering skills with formal training, 21 year-old DiViNCi has added a countless number of projects to his creative and versatile portfolio of sound.

Over the past seven years he has engineered and produced music ranging from hybrids of jazz and hip hop to funk and country, all of which allow his style to shine through with an organic, soulful, and, yet, experimental appeal. As not to limit his duties in the studio to just producing, DiViNCi’s sound design and editing skills have served him well in picking up additional audio post-production work. He has also tacked on the title of poet, and studio owner to his repertoire. DiViNCi is taking on as many trades as possible. Through doing so he hopes to elude what people expect of him. And just as the artist of the same name did many years ago, DiViNCi plans to even further master his current duties as he learns new skills to broaden awareness to new styles and limitless sounds.

In addition to being an all around studio and programming wizard, DiViNCi is also constantly raising the bar for his own live performances by being among the few to use a sampling/drum machine as an instrument rather than a tool. Whether supporting other musicians or soloing on his own, DiViNCi always uses two MPC2000XLs (his weapons of choice) to freely mimic any sound, style, or instrument fulfilling his need for a new embodiment of Free Jazz. As a huge fan of improvisation, you may never know what to expect from a DiViNCi performance, but you can always count on him to go all out, often resulting in an overwhelming emotional and physical experience. Through many beat-filled performances as well as working out of his own Soul.illoquy Lounge Recording Studio in Orlando, DiViNCi, along with fellow Sol.illaquists and others of the same ambition, hope to continue to spread a positive message and move people with their music along their own path of self-awareness.

Additional Info:
DiViNCi is always spelled this way. With all letters capitalized except for the i’s which are lowercase.

DJ Sept, a munich native who already earned his stripes with last year’s “Neo Golden Remixes”, returns with “A Promise Never Given”. An addict to rough beats as well as a sucker for spine tingling melodies, he presents us his very own “melodramatic” style. The EP features three tracks: The A-side starts with energetic hiphop drums turning into the rough drum n bass tune “Seventh Sense” and continues with the uplifting revised version of Sept’s classic “Morning Comes”. Side B on the other hand, presents the first real club hit on our label – a club hit in the style of Equinox: From start to finish “Mental Odyssey” is pure adrenaline and it will grab your heart as well. This EP will leave nobody untouched.

emynd (government name: Emil Nassar) is a cultural, ethnic, and geographic nomad through-and-through. Having spent a significant portion of his life in what seems like every corner of the world, emynd’s compositions and influences are as motley and muddled as his many homes and mosaic ethnicity. Having already produced for underground artists like Sole, Sage Francis, Reef the Lost Cauze, and Dose One, emynd made a name for himself early on as producer willing to take risks, sampling anything from listless Golden Earring guitar riffs to piercing Pretty Tony 808 kicks to appropriately illustrate his amalgamated and appropriated worldview. As a solo artist, emynd first exposed himself on the Beyond Space Compilation with the guitar-driven “Introdiction” that convincingly mumbles a head-hanging optimism through its minor-key sighs, inspiring as much introspection as dance floor delight. emynd also contributed to Equinox Record’s first vinyl release “Welcome to the Neo Golden Age EP” with his electr(o)rganic “Positive Reinforcement” which encourages its listeners to dance away their pain because, at the end of the day, if the dancing doesn’t work, there’s always suicide. emynd continues to throw caution to the wind every time he sits down to make music, finding that limiting his work to the arbitrary rules and customs that his many predecessors inscribed is not only an inaccurate representation of who he is, but at a more basic level, simply uninteresting. emynd is a wayfaring stranger and he has no problem with his music being a physical, sensual, and emotional representation of his nomadic nature.

Enter Free The Robots, a producer who pays homage to the past with a drive for the future blending elements of jazz, electronic, hip-hop, soul, psychedelic rock and noise. Somewhere between soulful-melodic bliss, head-nodding grooves and aggressively-driven rhythms, harmony and total freedom stands for those with open minds. A Low End regular, he knows the score.

As a “journey in blurred memories”, that’s how Mnemotrauma’s music once has been described: With the use of well-chosen samples and pulsing beats, the producer from Mainz Germany is indeed capable to infiltrate the listeners mind by his sinister but beautiful compositions. Finding his musical roots in Hip-Hop, Mnemotrauma later became influenced by jazz and jazzfunk as well as the progressive excrescences of 70′s rock music. While being a founding member of the Offbeaters, an independent and international network for alternative music, Mnemotrauma already made himself a name with some publications on Subversiv records: His first album “Der Audiopath”, which was originally released on CD in 2001, was reissued in the year 2003 on vinyl. And just recently he collaborated with the west coast underground MCs Awol One, Circus and Life Rexall (of The Shapeshifters Crew / L.A.) with 2 tracks. After his Split 7″ (along with DJ Scientist / Equinox Records) that featured his song “Waiting for the Sun”, further instrumental works are in progress. And since Mnemotrauma’s style and outcome is hard to predict one never knows on which journey he will take the listener next.

Sorry, no bio available.

Based in London, DJ and multi instrumentalist Son Of Kick is gaining a reputation from Berlin to Brooklyn for his bumping, super charged set, which is a bass-feast of heavy electro and dubstep. SOK has played on festivals and in clubs such as Gilles Peterson Worldwide Festival, the O2 Wireless or at Yoyo at Notting Hill Arts Club, to name a few. He has been co-producing alongside the French DJ/producer Simbad a new album for their collective project with Grems & Disiz La Peste (Rouge A Levre) as well as ongoing tracks with MikaMiki & Foreign Beggars.

Son Of Kick’s sound has already been picked-up by various labels including recording tracks for the Stanton Warrior’s imprint, Beats Records and pioneering London imprint Botchit & Scarper. Recent remix credits include work for artists such as Tokyo Police Club or Husky Rescue and for labels such as Man Recordings (Germany), ESL Music (Washington DC), Civil Music (UK), and Om Records (San Francisco).

What the papers say:

File Under ‘unexpected pleasure’.
Clash Magazine, UK

One of the most exciting and inventive producers I’ve heard this year – a fantastic blend of style and energy.
Bassnectar – Om Records/Amorphous/Child’s Play – San Francisco

Retarded! One of the nastiest tunes I’ve ever heard from you… fuckin nuke!
Stereotyp – Crunchtime/G Stone, Vienna/New York

Bass heavy freshness from Son Of Kick. Definitely a producer to watch for in 2010.
Mark, Stanton Warriors – Punk/Beats, London

For press material/pictures please go here:

http://press.e-q-x.net/eqx026/eqx026.htm

Info coming soon.

Liebe. Leben. Und Tod. Das sind die Quellen, aus denen die Musik des Misanthrop entspringt: Rap in seiner ehrlichsten und schonungslosesten Form. Keine Pose, dafür Haltung. Kein selbstbezogener Größenwahn, dafür selbstironische Offenheit. Daraus entstehen Texte, die sehr klar und stark sind, in dem was sie sagen müssen. Gleichzeitig scheuen sie, mit dem was sie sagen wollen, keinen Augenblick lang die Poesie – und das im positivsten Sinne des Wortes.

Misanthrop lässt die üblichen Stereotypen des Genres einfach hinter sich, verbindet lieber Musik und Texte zu (s)einer eigenwilligen Interpretation des deutschsprachigen Rap.

Seine bisherigen Soloveröffentlichungen sind Konzeptwerke, bei denen die einzelnen Lieder trotz der festen Rahmenthematik ein breites Spektrum aufweisen. Seine EP Die sieben Weltwunder beispielsweise behandelt …

Auch Live kann sich das Publikum von der intensiven Kraft des Misanthrop überzeugen, der auf der Bühne zwischen dem explosiven Wahnsinn eines jungen Jack Nicholson und der verletzlichen Seele eines Sole oder Buck 65 changiert. Und das geschieht mit krassem Witz, feiner Ironie und kampfbereiter Melancholie.

PlattenregalDie Musik von Misanthrop zeigt, dass es eine neue Bewegung im deutschen Rap gibt, die z.B. den selbstreferentiellen, und dadurch langweilig gewordenen Gangsta – Rap weit hinter sich gelassen hat. Heute, da unsere Musikkultur zudem beliebig reproduzierbar scheint, liegt es auf der Hand, der Flut flüchtiger Hörererlebnisse die Beständigkeit einer ausgesuchten Musiksprache entgegenzusetzen – und genau da beginnt die Welt des Misanthrop.

Sorry. No bio available.