Riton (musician)
{{Short description|British DJ and music producer (born 1978)}}
{{Redirect|Eine Kleine Nacht Musik|the serenade composed by Mozart|Eine kleine Nachtmusik|the 1986 album by Venom|Eine kleine Nachtmusik (album)}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Riton
| image = Riton1.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| caption = Riton in 2006
| alt =
| birth_name = Henry Smithson
| alias = Riton, Lil' Papi Riton, Eine Kleine Nacht Musik, KUU, Carte Blanche, Gucci Sound System
| spouse = Imogene Barron
| birth_place = Newcastle upon Tyne, England
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1978|9|13}}
| genre = Electronic, house
| occupation = DJ, music producer
| years_active = 2001–present
| label = {{hlist|Riton Time|Last Gang|Ed Banger|Ministry of Sound|Grand Central|Love & Other|Switch}}
| associated_acts = Gucci Sound System
KUU
{{lang|de|Die Verboten}}
{{lang|de|Eine Kleine Nacht Musik}}
Riton & Primary 1
{{lang|fr|{{ill|Carte Blanche (group)|fr|Carte Blanche (groupe)|lt=Carte Blanche}}}}
Kah-Lo
| website = {{URL|ritontime.co.uk}}
}}
Henry Smithson (born 13 September 1978), best known by his stage name Riton ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|iː|t|ɒ|n}} {{respell|REE|ton}}), is an English electronic music DJ and producer from Newcastle upon Tyne.
Biography
Smithson was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. The name Riton is French slang for "Henry". He graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
After finishing university, Smithson started the Switch Recordings label, upon which he released his first two 12" singles. He began DJing at Newcastle's "Shindig" nightclub. There, he was discovered by Mark Rae and signed to Grand Central Records independent record label. Like Rae, he then worked in Manchester's Fat City Records label/distribution/retail outlet.
His first release on Grand Central, the song "Communicated", featured on the compilation album Central Heating 2 (2000) and was followed by his mostly instrumental debut album, Beats du Jour (2001).
Riton's second album, Homies And Homos (2004) was a much more vocal affair, and featured amongst others, Lee Jones of Howdi and Luca Santucci. It includes a cover version of The Cure's song "Killing an Arab".
In 2005, Riton and Ben Rymer formed the Gucci Sound System. The pair have a monthly residency at the 333 Club in London and have their own nightclub named Druzzi's Baltimore Rave Club at Nightmoves{{clarify|date=September 2013|reason=what is "Nightmoves"? an entertainment center with multiple venues?}} on Shoreditch High Street in East London. Guests have included Headman, Erol Alkan, 2 Many DJs, The Rapture, Richard X, Mylo and FC Kahuna.
Since the demise of Grand Central Records in 2006, Riton has released 12" singles on several European labels, including Linxfarren in the UK.
In late 2006, it was announced in the Belgian magazine HUMO that David and Stephen Dewaele from Soulwax had formed a krautrock band with Riton called {{lang|de|Die Verboten}}. An album was expected late 2007, but to date there has been no further information on the project. Instead, Riton released an album under the pseudonym {{lang|de|Eine Kleine Nacht Musik}} on the label Modular Records in July 2008. In 2010, he launched a project called "{{lang|fr|{{ill|Carte Blanche (group)|fr|Carte Blanche (groupe)|lt=Carte Blanche}}}}" with DJ Mehdi.
Riton was to release new music in November 2011 ('Dark Place' and 'A.C.P) and was also working on music for his album, collaborating with artists and producers such as Surkin and AlunaGeorge{{spaced ndash}} due for release in summer 2012.{{update after|2012|12}}
At the start of 2016, Riton hit chart success with the track "Rinse & Repeat"; the track featured vocals from Kah-Lo. The track was released via Riton's own Riton Time record label.
He then released a collaborative album, Foreign Ororo with Kah-Lo, in October 2018 producing fan-favourite hits including GRAMMY nominated 'Rinse & Repeat', 'Fake ID', 'Up & Down' and 'Ginger' – anthems that received a wealth of radio support from tastemakers around the world including the likes of Annie Mac at BBC Radio 1. He also co-produced on the Dua Lipa and Silk City single 'Electricity', winning a Grammy for "Best Dance Recording".
In 2021, the MK remix of Nightcrawlers' "Push the Feeling On" was sampled by Riton, to record a track called "Friday". Credited to Riton X Nightcrawlers featuring Mufasa and Hypeman, the record featured a couple of social media stars and was issued by Sony's Ministry of Sound Recordings. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 60 on 22 January 2021 and eventually reached the top 5 on the Official Chart Company's chart of 5 to 11 March 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/20210305/7501/|title=Official Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company|website=OfficialCharts.com}} In November, his Gucci Soundsystem project with Ben Rymer teamed up with Jarvis Cocker to release the climate change-inspired "Let's Stick Around", which came with a video filmed in Glasgow around the time of the COP26 conference.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/jarvis-cocker-and-riton-share-new-sustainable-banger-lets-stick-around-3092826|title=Jarvis Cocker and Riton share new "sustainable banger" 'Let's Stick Around'|website=NME|date=11 November 2021|access-date=25 January 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/jarvis-cocker-riton-lets-stick-around-video-single-watch-3109709|title=Riton and Jarvis Cocker share video for climate action "banger" 'Let's Stick Around'|website=NME|date=2 December 2021|access-date=25 January 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/jarvis-cocker-and-riton-share-new-sustainable-banger-lets-stick-around-3092826|title=Jarvis Cocker and Riton share new "sustainable banger" "Let's Stick Around"|website=NME|date=12 November 2021|access-date=25 January 2022}}
Discography
= Albums =
class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of albums ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Album details |
scope="row"| Beats Du Jour
|
|
---|
scope="row"| Homies and Homos
|
|
scope="row"| Eine Kleine Nacht Musik (as Eine Kleine Nacht Musik){{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12628-eine-kleine-nacht-musik/|title=Eine Kleine Nacht Musik|website=PitchFork|date=February 2009|access-date=23 January 2021}} |
|
scope="row"| Foreign Ororo (as Riton + Kah-Lo) |
|
= Extended plays =
class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of EPs ! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | EP details |
scope="row"| One to Ten
|
|
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scope="row"| Lost My Mind
|
|
scope="row"| Bad Guy RiRi
|
|
scope="row"| My House, My Rules
|
|
= Singles =
== As lead artist ==
== As featured artist ==
class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of singles ! scope="col" style="width:25em;"| Title ! scope="col"| Year ! scope="col"| Album |
scope="row"| "By My Side" (Clashcorner presents Riton featuring Watine){{cite web|url=https://de.juno.co.uk/products/clashcorner-presents-riton-watine-by-my-side/144594-01/|title=By My Side (single)|website=Juno|date=4 May 2004 |access-date=23 January 2021}} | 2004 | {{n/a|non-album single}} |
---|
scope="row"| "Don't Talk to Me" (N.F.I. featuring Riton & Faangs){{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/au/album/dont-talk-to-me-feat-riton-faangs-single/1481375907|title=Don't Talk to Me (single)|website=Apple Music|date=18 October 2019|access-date=23 January 2021}} | 2019 | {{n/a|non-album single}} |
= Production credits =
class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
scope="col" style="width:160px;"| Title
! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Artist(s) ! scope="col" style="width:180px;"| Album ! scope="col" | Credits ! scope="col" | Produced with |
---|
scope="row"| "Daffodils" {{small|(featuring Kevin Parker)}}{{cite web|url=https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/daffodils-mark-ronson/0886445032451|title=Daffodils – Mark Ronson|website=Qobuz.com}} | 2015 | Additional producer |
scope="row"| "Fasta"
| 2017 | Kah-Lo | Foreign Ororo | Producer | - |
scope="row"| "Only Can Get Better" {{small|(featuring Daniel Merriweather)}}{{cite web|url=https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/only-can-get-better-silk-city-feat-diplo-mark-ronson-and-daniel-merriweather/jt4tpex9rye2a|title=Only Can Get Better – Silk City|website=Qobuz.com}} | rowspan="2"| 2018 | rowspan="2"| Silk City | rowspan="2" {{TBA}} | Co-producer | Mark Ronson, Diplo, The Picard Brothers, Alex Metric, Lil Silva |
scope="row"| "Feel About You" {{small|(featuring Mapei)}} | Producer | Mark Ronson, Diplo, Magnus Lidehäll, Alex Metric, Jr Blender |
scope="row"| "Close to You"
| 2019 | | Remixer | - |
scope="row"| "Freak Like Me"
| 2020 | | Remixer | - |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://ritontime.com}}
- {{AllMusic|id=mn0000280318}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riton}}
Category:20th-century English male musicians
Category:21st-century English male musicians
Category:Alumni of Newcastle University
Category:English electronic musicians
Category:English record producers
Category:Modular Recordings artists
Category:Musicians from London
Category:Musicians from Manchester
Category:Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne