The Scumfrog

The Scumfrog (Jesse Houk)

Jesse Houk in 2009
Background information
Birth name Jesse Houk
Also known as The Scumfrog
Born October 3, 1971 (age 44)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Genres Electronica
Techno
House
Occupation(s) Disc Jockey
Music producer
Years active 1997-present
Website http://www.thescumfrog.com/

The Scumfrog (Jesse Houk) (born October 3, 1971) is a Dutch-American DJ/remixer/producer/artist, mostly known for his underground flavored remixes of artists like Kylie Minogue, Missy Elliott, New Order, and Annie Lennox and his collaborations writing and producing techno-oriented works with David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, and Sting (musician). He released four full-length albums as a solo artist (Extended Engagement 2003, Simmer 2004, A Place Where We Belong 2011 and In Case We're All Still Here 2013). As a DJ, he has toured the world many times over, between 2008 and 2014 he hosted and produced the weekly radio show/podcast Glam Scum International, and in 2015 he launched a new series of club nights named M.B.T.S.(Most Below The Surface)

Biography

Early career: 1997–2001

Jesse Houk was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands from an American father and a Dutch mother. After finishing college, his dual citizenship allowed him to move to New York City in 1997 where he started producing music under his new alias The Scumfrog. Between 1997 and 2000 he lived between New York City—where he DJ’d Deep House and Tech House in NY’s East Village lounges such as the Opium Den – and the Netherlands where he worked with his production partner Jacques Sperwer. Jacques and Jesse released several singles under various names such as Jake & Jesse, Barbarus and a full-length album on BMG Bertelsmann Music Group under the name Resonance. In this period he also recorded his first work under the Scumfrog alias, called The Watersong, which was selected by Danny Tenaglia -- DJ Magazine’s number 1 DJ in the world at the time -- for his Global Underground Athens compilation.

After the underground buzz of The Watersong, The Scumfrog signed an album deal with Roger Sanchez, who also took him as his opening DJ on his 2001 tour. That summer, The Scumfrog single “We Love You” (based on the Beatles/Rolling Stones collaboration) went to number one in most European dance charts and put the Scumfrog name on the map.

2001––2007: Remixing, Extended Engagement, Simmer

The Scumfrog career has largely been marked by an ability to work with mainstream artists without sacrificing his underground sound. Between 2001 and 2007, The Scumfrog scored more than 10 number 1 Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play records remixing mainstream artists like Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, Annie Lennox, Jewel, J-pop superstar Utada Hikaru but rarely ever making full vocal remixes of the artists he worked with. His EMI collaboration with David Bowie, remixing his 1984 single “Loving the Alien,” set the tone for a career that would thrive simultaneously in underground clubs and in mainstream recording studios. While on duty for the stars, he never stopped remixing for respected underground Dance Music labels such as Positiva, Intec, Yoshitoshi Recordings, Bedrock Records and Strictly Rhythm, doing remixes for his DJ peers such as Steve Lawler, Planet Funk, Boris Dlugosh, and Dirty Vegas.

His first album ‘Extended Engagement’ (2003, EMI/Positiva/Effin) was a two disc mix compilation exclusively of his own productions and remixes, including his own singles We Love You, Music Revolution, and Learning To Fly.

Jesse released more radio-friendly records under the alias Dutch, getting his first number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 2003, "My Time" which he co-wrote with vocalist Crystal Waters.[1] The follow-up to "My Time" was the single "Why Should I Think About The Rain", featuring Grammy winning singer/songwriter and Rolling Stones back-up singer Lisa Fischer.

In 2004, The Scumfrog won the International Dance Music Award (IDMA) for 'Best Remixer' of 2003.[2]

His second album ‘Simmer’ (2004, Effin) was the first album where Jesse himself wrote all the songs (no remixes of other artists). It featured the singles ‘Music Revolution’, ‘Simmer’, ‘Come On’, and a duet ‘Bacon’ with his longtime friend, singer Lucy Woodward. Simmer did not have a huge impact, largely because it was marketed and promoted solely by The Scumfrog’s own label, and because the songs on the album were not nearly as DJ-friendly as his previous work.

In 2005, The Scumfrog’s most successful single ‘Music Revolution’ was chosen for Chevrolet’s long running Chevrolet HHR commercial on TV and radio.[3][4] In the same year, Jesse formed the band ‘DJs Are Alive’with fellow DJ/performers DJ Skribble, D:Fuse, Static Revenger and Kristine W.[5] The band’s mission was to sound like a DJ set and look like a band. DJs Are Alive performed a series of shows in 2006, but disbanded allegedly due to continuing scheduling conflicts with their gigs as individual DJs.

In 2006, the Scumfrog released another mix compilation ‘Mega Scum 1’,[6] which quickly became an industry sensation because of its artwork; Jesse himself posing in a bikini on the cover in an attempt to parody the culture of hot girls on the cover of Dance Music compilations.[7]

During this period nearly all of The Scumfrog's artist releases were on Effin Records, his own label with manager/partner Steve Rosen, and although the label never attained massive commercial success it proved to a valuable laboratory for the work that was to come.[8]

Upon his return to the US after a long European tour in 2007, Jesse decided to trade his New York City home for the desert and mountains of New Mexico where he lived until 2015.

2007 - present: Grammy Nomination, Glam Scum International, Donations

One of the biggest successes of his career came in the form of an unreleased Scumfrog remix of Peter Bjorn & John ‘The Young Folks’, which went viral during the summer of 2007, and in its unreleased bootleg form made it to the playlists of many mainstream radio stations. At the same time, his collaboration with Italian DJ/Producer Tommy Vee in covering Steve Miller Band’s 70s hit ‘Serenade’ also made it into many European pop-charts.

In 2008, the Scumfrog started a weekly hour-long radio show ‘Glam Scum’ on Sirius Satellite Radio in the US. A year later, after a merger between Sirius and Satellite radio company XM, the show was dropped, and the show was re-launched as ‘Glam Scum International’ and licensed to several radio stations around the world. The episodes can also be streamed and downloaded as a podcast from the show’s website[9] or from iTunes.

During 2007, The Scumfrog had been writing and recording with Cyndi Lauper in New York on her Dance Music album ‘Bring Ya To The Brink’. Their song ‘High and Mighty’ became the opening track of the album, which was released in 2008 and nominated for a Grammy in the category ‘Best Dance Album’ in 2009.[10] (The album lost the Grammy that year to fellow nominees Daft Punk.)[11]

In 2011, The Scumfrog reunited with his underground roots in the custom-made DJ set "A Place Where We Belong". Similarly to his debut album ‘Extended Engagement’, the mix consists of 12 original productions (some his own, some remixes of other artists). Jesse himself announced that he did not want to call it an album because ‘DJs are not supposed to make albums, DJs are supposed to make DJ mixes’. The new material was offered in a non-stop DJ mix on his Facebook page where – in a video – Jesse explained his voluntary donation system for his new music. Many of the songs on ‘A Place Where We Belong’ were licensed to labels for single-release. ‘In Love’ was released on Umek’s label 1605, ‘Illusion’ came out on Floorplay, ‘Running’ on Inkfish, and ‘Don’t Give Up featuring Vassy (singer)’ (a cover of Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush) on Armada.

Armada Music released The Scumfrog's fourth full-length album "In Case We're All Still Here" in 2013, which features his collaboration with Sting (musician). The two teamed up to remake Sting’s 1993 hit If I Ever Lose My Faith in You.[12]

In 2015, he released the single Send Wave on Hot Since 82 label Knee Deep In Sound [13]

DJ career

As a DJ, The Scumfrog has toured the world many times over. Even though he has played many festivals over the past ten years (Burning Man being his favorite), he makes it very clear that he prefers smaller venues with great sound systems for the music that he plays. In 2015 he started a new brand of small-room underground clubbing named M.B.T.S.(Most Below The Surface)

Personal life

Jesse Houk is married to Marlo Houk. His primary residence is in Brooklyn, New York.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Remixes

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ List of number-one dance singles of 2003 (U.S.)
  2. ↑ http://wintermusicconference.com/idmaballot/nominees/archived/index.php?year=2004
  3. ↑ http://www.screenmag.com/story/2009/feb/12/5590/?r=east
  4. ↑ http://www.jasongleed.com/commercials.html
  5. ↑ http://www.clubplanet.com/Articles/1290/DJs-are-Alive
  6. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Presents-Mega-Scum-1-Scumfrog/dp/B000I0QKYM
  7. ↑ http://www.djfix.com/interviews/show/70/THESCUMFROG
  8. ↑ http://www.23west.com/about.html
  9. ↑ http://www.glamscum.com
  10. ↑ http://www.huliq.com/3257/77244/full-list-2009-grammy-award-nominees
  11. ↑ http://dancemusic.about.com/od/conference/a/51GramNomAnn.htm
  12. ↑ http://www.armadamusic.com/music/?release=ARDI3245
  13. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/KneeDeepInSound/photos/pb.1393538904253296.-2207520000.1447004218./1572454516361733/?type=3&theater
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