DAVID SCOTT - SEX MACHINE

Biography

_David Scott is an enigmatic and elusive figure in the history of electronic music. Trainspotters would argue that his contributions have been too seminal to go unnoticed but many have been left standing on the platform without a ticket to ride. Who is this puzzling figure shrouded in mystery? And why has he now chosen to come out of seclusion to release an album on Haute Couture? When David Scott is asked his age, he invariably answers that he's 32; despite the absence of any official information, however, all the clues seem to indicate that he was born in 1963. Rumours abound about Scott's history but, if photographic evidence circa '81 can be trusted, one may surmise that at the time Gary Numan's first singles were being recorded Scott was already old enough to be an assistant sound engineer. It is even said by some that he programmed a number of the synthetic sounds that would become the trademark of the '80s.

_Suspected of being responsible for the addition of an electronic sound to the group Van Halen (he had given one of his synths to the group's guitarist), one can feel the influence of David Scott in many of the artists then making their mark on contemporary pop. It's really only around the mid 80s that Scott moved from being a well kept secret to being an artist who's own hits were familiar to the general public. At this time he was a member of several groups, among them Generation, J-Deck (a side project with X & Y of the group CUBE) and Elektron (where he took his place as singer and keyboardist). He later put together the compilation album 'Synthetic, please!' and produced 'Total', the very first Peter Carter album. Finally, in 1991 David Scott released his first solo album - 'Prototype' - which left the critics perplexed but was a determining factor in the advent of a sound that launched a new musical era.

_With the number of hits that have been mistakenly attributed to Scott as well as his reticence to reveal pseudonyms, it would be almost impossible to draw up a complete discography for Scott. Nonetheless, his name has become a standard of originality and popularity through the years. After the success of his two last releases in '93 - the 'New Horizons' EP and the single 'Tomorrow/MMM' - which gathered much critical acclaim, Scott mysteriously disappeared. Occasional conflicting reports surfaced about Scott's whereabouts (alien abduction was a popular theory among early ravers, a clinic in Southern France was de rigeur among plugged in socialites) as did speculation about his projects (robotics, interstellar communication for NASA...).

_In 1999, Haute Couture's Martin Dumais received an unexpected phone call. It was David Scott making first contact after six years of seclusion. Scott had contacted the team at Haute Couture to let them know he wanted to share the fruits of his recent labours. "Why choose Montreal rather than Paris or London?" Dumais asked. David Scott answered, "Listen to 'Montreal, ville nouvelle' and then you'll understand. Montreal is an extraordinary city, it's the inspiration for this album and it was obvious to me that my return had to happen there!"

_If you don't yet know of David Scott, you're no doubt anxious to discover an artist of such calibre. If you are amongst the afficionados already conquered by his music, you surely haven't waited to finish reading these lines before laying back and turning up David Scott's 'Sex Machine'