From the ashes of every phenomenally successful pop band there comes, usually, one successful solo career and pop history of late would dictate that its always the ones you'd least expect that end up on top.
Which brings us to Abs Breen who has picked up the gauntlet, tackling unfinished business…"When Five finished I hadn't had enough, I'd have been crazy not to want to carry on! I was still hungry, still needed to do something - I couldn't just sit around. Music's my Life…"
Abs today is fired up, excited, thrilled at the prospect of chatting about his music, and there's a grin on his face that refuses to fade. There's plenty to smile about, his debut solo album: 'Abstract Theory' is complete.
Richard Abidin Breen was born in Hackney, East London in 1979. For the first few years of his life he lived with his Turkish father and Irish mother, when his dad left home Abs' mum, Kay, continued to raise him on her own until the age of 15 when Abs left home. Left to his own devices Abs focused on his career aspirations. One day he hooked up with four guys. And four plus one, equals Five…
Abs joined Five when he was 17. From humble beginnings - 'Slam Dunk (Da Funk) peaked at Number 10 - Five soon became the star players in pop's premiere league. They sold seven million albums and seven million singles (including three UK Number Ones), made the rare move of achieving success in the States, and accumulated many awards (including a Brit, an MTV and six Smash Hits Awards). Over the course of three albums they defined and refined their own sound, maturing without ever losing sight of the fact that they were a pop group, establishing a mighty blueprint for sophisticated pop successes. When Five finally split in the autumn of 2001, bequeathed to their fans a Greatest Hits compilation, which left an audible scrawl across the face of modern music.
Let's rewind. It's May 2002, and Abs is in a Dublin recording studio. He's got himself a record deal - with Simon Cowell's label S Records - and he's chuffed that the Dublin-based production house Biff Co. (who, as well as being behind some of Five's biggest hits, had also done the business for the likes of the Spice Girls, Gabrielle and S Club) have phoned him up personally in the wake of the Five split. With the team in place, Abs sets about recording his debut album and, from the sessions, plucks 'What You Got', a funked up, skanked down, balls-out reworking of Althea & Donnas' 'Uptown, Top Ranking', as his debut solo single. It becomes the summer sound of 2002, and shoots into the UK charts at Number 4. And then….Well, then things go rather quiet.
With his label boss being suddenly hurled into mega-fame in the US as the star of American Idol, Abs is temporarily left twiddling his thumbs. The Australian release of 'Shame' - his reworking of Monie Love's 'It's A Shame (My Sister)' - sees him soaring up the charts down under, and he builds up a sturdy reputation on the London Club circuit DJing under the name Cheeky Monkey at spots like Rouge, Pop and CC Club. Great experiences, great fun, but not what he wants to do….
"It was a frustrating period," he admits. "I had an album's worth of material ready to go, but nothing scheduled for release." Abs may have been worried about time passing, but as it turned out, the gap between then and right now was needed. "It was meant to happen," he grins.
Abs swapped Cowell for a new A&R guru and, before long, was meeting with new producers to work on tracks which, combined with those from the first sessions, made Abs' debut album 'Abstract Theory' one of the most exciting UK albums of 2003 - smart, contemporary pop fuelled with diverse beats, rhymes and flow that makes Abs utterly unique. One of Abs' first meetings with Brian Higgins, the Sugababes/Girls Aloud maestro whose astonishing versatility turns another corner with '7 Ways', a shockingly beautiful paean to mislaid love featuring the vocals of new BMG signee, Eve.
The second commercial single from the album is 'Stop Sign', Abs' re-invention of the Northern Soul Classic by Mel Wynn and the Rhythm Aces, from the late 60's.
Produced by Absolute (Tina Turner) and mixed by Steve Fitzmorris (Craig David, Depeche Mode), this is a blast of 2 minute 57 second 148 bpm perfect pop that attacks the senses. The rhythm will have you moving, the melody will have you humming and the lyrics will lodge themselves in your head after one listen. This is a track that will change your perception of Abs as an artist. It's different…
Flick through the album and the tunes keep coming, while the fruits of Abs' time recording in New York - with Hod David, producer and guitarist for soul sensation Maxwell are just as rich and include the startling Rain "The vibe in New York is so unique it gave a different perspective to writing and recording"
Put it all together and you've got an album that is impossible to second-guess and which teems with a dark, wry humour and unabashed pop sensibility; an album whose growth has been totally organic.
"I want to maintain the level of success I achieved before in Five and hopefully, even, take it a step further". It's not only a new record from Abs it is the coming into being of something.
Abs has been in the music business for over 9 years. "Abstract Theory" sees him taking ownership of his musical direction more than ever before. Have a listen, let the music speak for itself...
Abs' debut album 'Abstract Theory' was released in September 2003 |
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