Biography
Born on 20 January 1965 in Camberwell, London, Guthrie spent the 1990s shaping some of dance music’s most distinctive and lasting releases. Classical training at school gave way to live work in bands that explored rock, funk, reggae, bhangra and further styles. At home he began sketching original pieces on a sequencer and four-track, later taking on programming duties for Island Records. Dance music captured his attention toward the end of the 1980s, leading him in 1989 to launch Banco De Gaia alongside Toby Marks. His contributions appeared on Planet Dog Records’ inaugural release, the 1993 EP Desert Wind, and continued through the albums Maya and Last Train To Lhasa; after those projects he turned his focus toward independent work. Around 1993 he formed Medicine Drum with Chris Dekker while also producing for Children Of The Bong and Senser. Under the alias 100th Monkey he issued his first solo outing, the track ‘Spiritus’, on Matsuri Productions in 1995. The next year, working with Jaki Kenley of 21-3 Productions, he assembled the charity collection Earthtrance for Positiva Records, supplying the Medicine Drum collaboration ‘Invocation’ and, alongside Si Wild, a remix of Banco De Gaia’s ‘Kincajou’. Additional sessions that period included Eat Static’s Bony Incus EP and the Prana album Geomantik with Tsuyoshi Suzuki. Recording with both Medicine Drum and Prana persisted, and in 1997 he delivered the Funkopath EP Skwirm/Skweel on 21-3 Productions. Medicine Drum material draws from world-music sources, whereas Funkopath and Prana pursue a cleaner psychedelic-trance aesthetic edged with funk. In contrast to much dance music built on repetition and formula, his productions stand out for their shifting textures, intricate grooves and meticulous originality. Further credits encompass remixes for Bentley Rhythm Ace and Digitalis plus joint work with Mark Allen, Manmademan, Tristan and Process. Alongside composition and studio work he instructs music technology and, performing as 100th Monkey, spins dub and trip-hop sets.
Albums
