Adam Freeland, who has also performed under the shortened name Freeland, emerged in the mid-1990s as a breakbeat DJ and producer based in Brighton, England. Among the earliest figures to shape the breaks scene, he established the Marine Parade imprint and later appeared onstage with a live band at select shows. Born August 7, 1973, in Welwyn Garden City, England, he issued his first recording in 1996, the mix album Coastal Breaks, Vol. 1, which highlighted the then-new strain of breakbeat electronica known as nu breaks. Its popularity prompted the sequel Coastal Breaks, Vol. 2 in 1998. Around the same period he formed the production duo Tsunami One with Kevin Beber; the pair first surfaced in 1997 on the track “Number 43 with Steamed Rice Please” and later joined BT for “The Hip Hop Phenomenon,” which appeared on the 1999 album Movement in Still Live. Freeland launched Marine Parade in 1998, using the label to issue work by additional artists. In 2000 he delivered the widely praised mix album Tectonics on Ultra, a forward-looking set that once again spotlighted “The Hip Hop Phenomenon.” His first proper solo album, Now & Them, arrived in 2003 on Marine Parade and yielded the singles “We Want Your Soul,” “Supernatural Thing,” and “Mind Killer.” Although he continued producing and remixing throughout the decade, his next full-length solo effort, Cope, did not surface until 2009. Issued on Marine Parade, the album blends shoegaze-style rock with breakbeat electronica and functions as a band project featuring Kurt Baumann on vocals, bass, and guitar alongside Freeland on synths, electronics, and backing vocals, with guest contributions from Joey Santiago of Pixies, Jerry Casale of Devo, and Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe.
