Freestyle

by Sean CooperOne of the most prolific and influential of the 80s electro artists, Miami-based producer Tony Butler recorded a string of popular club tracks on Power/Jam Packed and his own Music Specialist label in the mid-80s, helping build the electro legacy that would give birth to Miami-style bass music and freestyle (named after Butlers primary pseudonym), as well as influence 90s post-techno artists such as Autechre and Biochip C. Butlers earlier tracks under his own name are all electro classics, with singles such as Fix It in the Mix, Jam the Box, and Get Some exploring a thinner, more stripped-down sound similar to Man Parrish and Cybotron. Butlers tracks with Freestyle are perhaps the more well known, and include such club staples as Its Automatic, Dont Stop the Rock, and The Party Has Begun. His more commercial, pop-oriented writing and production work with Trinere, Debbie Deb, and Shannon, however, remain his claim to fame. Butler continued to live and record in Miami thereafter.