Chart entered : 22 June 1991
Chart peak : 59
Mantronix had moved away from being strictly a hip hop outfit after rapper MC Tee left the group to join the US Air Force in 1989. Although he was replaced as an MC by Bryce "Luvah " Wilson, main man Kurt Mantronik had become more interested in contemporary R & B and electro-funk after working with Joyce Sims. With his mysterious cousin, D.J.D. joining the group at the same time as Bryce, their 1990 album "This Should Move Ya" produced two Top 10 hits in "Got To Have Your Love" and "Take Your Time" both featuring R & B singer Wondress and no rapping at all. In 1991 vocalist Jade Trini replaced D.J.D. in the group and the next album , "The Incredible Sound Machine" largely co-written with Angie Stone moved even further away from hip hop.
"Step To Me ( Do Me )" was the second single from the album. The song is a sexual come-on which didn't really need all the phallic symbols packed into the video to make its point. Jade proves herself an able vocalist and it works up a steamy vibe similar to En Vogue with Soul II Soul drums and house piano . However it does suffer from Kurtis's over-production with the chorus in particular being smothered by multiple synth lines and vocal overdubs.
"Flower Child" the follow up suffers from the same problem while featuring a sample that I recognise but can't place. It was a minor hit in Holland but nowhere else.
Kurtis was very disappointed with the reception the album received and dissolved the group at this point. He took an extended break from the music industry, first re-surfacing in 1996 with the rather dated house track "It's Time To Party" which he wrote for Althea McQueen. It was released as "Mantronix featuring Althea McQueen" but none of the other ex-members were involved.
Kurtis then moved to London and resumed his career as a producer working with Kylie Minogue, Liberty X, Fatboy Slim and The Chemical Brothers amongst others. In August 1998 he released the sample heavy rap track "Strictly Business " as Mantronik vs EPMD which reached number 43. The following month, he released his first solo album "I Sing The Body Electro". The predominantly instrumental album sounds more like an advertisement for his production skills than a cohesive LP with one rap track, "Mad" featuring foulmouthed female rapper Traylude, a Kraftwerk tribute "Original Electro" a Prodigy-esque brekbeat number "Baby, You Blow My Mind" and a fair few electrofunk numbers like the opener "King of the Beats". It didn't see any chart action.
Kurtis also turned his hand to writing music for video games such as Trick Style ( released on an EP in 2000 ).
He re-surfaced in 2002 with the party tune "77 Strings" as "Kurtis Mantronik Presents Chamonix" . It reached number 71 after being plugged by Fatboy Slim. The following year he had a much bigger hit in the same guise with "How Did You Know" which is basically the same tune with a female vocal from Miriam Grey superimposed on it. It reached number 16, but was his last hit as an artist.
Kurtis's career as a producer continued unabated through the noughties with clients including Atomic Kitten, NSync, Goldfrapp and La Roux . Then in 2015 he relessed a second solo album "Journey To Utopia" from which I haven't heard anything.
I 'm not sure how long MC Tee's stint in the Air Force lasted but he's never returned to the music business. In 2003 he was convicted of aggravated child molestation in Georgia and served six years of a fifteen year sentence. He is on the sex offenders register in the state.
Bryce signed with Rondor Music as a producer and was paired up with R & B singer Amel Larrieux. They formed the duo Groove Theory. In 1995 they scored a huge hit in the US with the slow-burning R & B of "Tell Me" which reached number 5 there. Their eponymous album reached number 69 in the US and spawned two more US hits in "Keep Tryin" and "Baby Luv" which reached 64 and 65 respectively. Both tread similar ground to "Tell Me" but sound a bit pedestrian. In Britpop Britain they made much less impact; "Tell Me" reached number 31 but that was it.
In 1996 Bryce co-wrote Toni Braxton's US number one "You're Making Me High" with Babyface.
The band was effectively stymied by Larrieux quitting to start a solo career in 1999. Bryce recruited a new singer Makeda Davis and continued work on a new album. However after the failure of the single "Shure" , he fell out with the record label and the album went unreleased.
Bryce then concentrated mainly on his acting career on US TV but he also produced an album for Brandy in 2008. In 2010, he and Larrieux were reported to be working together again but nothing has been forthcoming.
D J Dee does not appear to have re-entered the music business.
Jade went on tour with Monie Love in 1991 as a backing singer but a year later became a Born Again Christian and went to work at the Christ Alive Christian Center in New York. She's released at least one gospel album independently.
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