Romanthony | |
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| Born | Anthony Wayne Moore September 5, 1967 New Jersey, US |
| Died | May 7, 2013 (aged 45) Austin, Texas, US |
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| Years active | 1991–2013 |
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Anthony Wayne Moore (September 5, 1967 – May 7, 2013), known professionally as Romanthony, was an American DJ, record producer, and singer.
Anthony Wayne Moore was born on September 5, 1967, in New Jersey, where he was raised. He had a sister, Mellony Moore. His parents saw his musical aptitude when he was young and he was encouraged to take music lessons and learn the guitar.
Despite being a house and techno artist, many of his influences came from older acts such as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Marvin Gaye, and Led Zeppelin. He chose the name Romanthony to avoid confusion with the British musician Anthony Moore, a founding member of Slapp Happy.
His work was predominantly released on house music labels and was appreciated within that scene but crossed several genres, including gospel, blues, R&B, disco, p-funk and hip hop, and was praised for its experimental and individualistic production. In his interviews, Romanthony said that gospel and funk strongly influenced his singing style and his song production. Early single "Falling From Grace" was compared in contemporary reviews and later reporting to Prince. Tracks like "Hold On" make extensive use of sampling with a soulful house feel, while the later "Bring U Up" uses a James Brown–style breakbeat. His 1999 album Instinctual was a collaboration with New York producer Mary Mac aka DJ Predator, who he had met when she was DJing in Manhattan's Buddha Bar. Though often media-shy, and considered an eccentric and uncategorisable presence he received immense critical praise, and was included in Daft Punk's "Teachers" list song on their 1997 Homework album alongside the biggest legends of house and techno.
Daft Punk had talked of wanting to collaborate with Romanthony since at least 1995. He worked on their 2001 album Discovery on the songs "One More Time" and "Too Long". Legal problems for Daft Punk around an alleged sample of Eddie Johns on "One More Time" caused Moore's royalty stream from it to dry up, and he struggled to land a new solo deal. On November 7, 2012, he released his final musical contribution in the song "2Nite4U" with Kris Menace on his vocal collaboration album, Features.
Romanthony appeared on Black Male Records (his own label), Roulé, Dim Mak Records, Azuli, Play It Again Sam (PIAS), Compuphonic, and Glasgow Underground Recordings.
Moore resided in Austin, Texas. He died at his home on May 7, 2013, aged 45, due to complications from kidney disease, according to family members. He had been working on a track with German electro-house producer Boys Noize at the time of his death.
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