Biography
Los Angeles native Josh Kouzomis, known in the industry as Troublemaker, began making his musical name in the early 1990s as a college radio DJ and music director at Ohio Universitys ACRN. His school stint was brief but critical, and resoundingly affirmed Kouzomis future lay elsewhere, specifically, Los Angeles.
Once home, Kouzomis joined punk/hardcore giant Epitaph Records first as a grass-roots marketing intern and then as a radio promoter, positions he capitalized on. He took what he had learned firsthand about the indie music business and production during his Epitaph tenure to co-found Celestial Recordings, the acclaimed underground hip hop and drum-and-bass label, in 1998. Just one year later, Rolling Stone named Celestial-affiliated Konkrete Jungle (L.A.) 1999?s Best Dance Club.
Troublemakers Konkrete-era sonic experiments with such Celestial partners as rapper Phoenix Orion and junglist Hive fueled Kouzomis personal ambitions. Not one to miss a beat, he next enlisted E. Moss to form Backyard Bangers, whose eponymous debut track, a collaboration with DJ Z-Trip, is on 2002?s Constant Elevation compilation.
The albums title typified the trajectory of Kouzomis career then and today characterizes Troublemakers professional advance and ascent. This DJ since then has steadily turned out remixes and commercial pieces true to his name, consistently causing the best kinds of diggable disturbance. Whether edits for the likes of Bonde do Role or Justice, winning the annual URB Magazine/Scion Mixtape contest, or re-working Linkin Parks Runaway to beat out more seasoned studio mixers versions for a place on the multi-platinum Reanimation album, Troublemaker has proven himself both a master producer and DJ. With a diverse discography boasting works ranging from Johnny Cash Remixed and Good Charlottes Greatest Remixes to the Peter Bjorn and John remix (now exceeding 20K downloads in the month its been out), Kouzomis has roused the audio rabble in-car, in-club, and even in-Capital: in January 2009, Troublemaker, alongside De La Soul, Santogold, and Shepard Fairey, rocked D.C. at the Manifest Hope Inauguration Party in Washington.
While others are satisfied with the standard mix-and-tour, Troublemaker refuses to settle, or settle down. His first solo album, Maestro, features tracks like the alt/modern rock-tinged All Night and the hip hop/pop-appealing I?m Famous that demonstrate Troublemakers ability not only to produce and remix others but also to do it for himself. Maestro sets itself above and apart by including new up-and-comers. Their sheer diversity and Troublemakers motley musical skills together make this album new and unique. In its conception and in your ears, Troublemakers Maestro truly is the kind of aural showcase and body-moving rollercoaster that can not (or will not) be stopped.
True to form, Troublemaker continues plotting mischief both in-studio and out-. In addition to spinning for his Wasted Space residency at the Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas, getting ready to play The Roxy on Sunset with Adam Tensta, U-N-I, and The 87 Stick Up Kids, masterminding remixes (Tim Armstrongs Poets Life album for Hellcat Records; Matt and Kims Daylight for EA Video Games; Big B, Mastodon, Phoenix, and Zion I), and producing several new artists of various genres, Troublemaker is gearing up for Mays Hope Artists Festival in Kenya, Africa, as well as the brief European tour he will play en route to the States in June. He is also planning U.S. tour dates for July to promote Maestro, due for release on July 7, 2009.
FOR MORE INFO, PLEASE CONTACT TREVOR at trevor@scorepress.com 323.254.4027
Discography
| Remixes and Singles | |||
| King Fantastic | Stop Fucking Playing (HavocNdeeD Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Bassnectar | Bass Head (King Fantastic Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| King Fantastic | Colors (Ice T Cover) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| The Bird and the Bee | Because (King Fantastic Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| The Glitch Mob | Drive It Like You Stole It (King Fantastic Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| One Republic | All the Right Moves (Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| These New Puritans | Attack Music (Troublemaker Remix) | Domino/Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| King Fantastic | Lost Art of Killing | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Tegan and Sara | Alligator (Troublemaker Remix) | Warner Bros/Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Rad Omen | Rad Anthem | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Matt and Kim | Daylight (Troublemaker Remix) | EA | [ mp3 ] |
| Nina Simone | Feeling Good (Troublemaker Remix) | EA | [ mp3 ] |
| Pete Lawrie | Black and Blue (Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Troublemaker | El Presidente | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| HOPE Artists | Change the World (prod by Troublemaker) | Hollyrock/HOPE | [ mp3 ] |
| The 87 Stick Up Kids | Lights, Camera... (prod by Troublemaker) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Matt and Kim | Daylight (Troublemaker Remix feat. De La Soul) | EA | [ mp3 ] |
| Zion I | Geek to the Beat (Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Mastodon | Oblivion (Troublemaker Remix) | Warner Bros/Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Big B | Sinner (Troublemaker Remix) | Suburban Noize/Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Troublemaker | Work It Out (feat. Naptron and Phoenix Orion) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Phoenix | 1901 (Tatelarock and Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Silversun Pickups | Panic Switch (Chin and Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| De La Soul | Oooh (Tatelarock and Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Peter Bjorn and John | Nothing to Worry About (Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Milosh | Awful Game (Troublemaker Remix) | Plug Research/Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Troublemaker | Follow the Leader | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Solange | T.O.N.Y. (Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Good Charlotte | Where Would We Be Now (Troublemaker Remix) | Epic | [ CD ] |
| Johnny Cash | Straight A's in Love (Troublemaker Remix) | Compadre | [ CD ] |
| Bonde do Role | Gasolina (SK87 Remix Troublemaker Edit) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Robosonic | Kaputt in Hollywood (Troublemaker Remix) | Diskomafia | [ mp3 ] |
| Camp Lo | Luchini (Tatelarock and Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Lady Tigra | Bass on the Bottom (Troublemaker Remix) | High Score/Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Tatelarock and Troublemaker | The End Is Near | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Yes King | 40 Long Days (Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Tatelarock and Troublemaker | High Five (Live) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Lateef and Z-Trip | Mass Hysteria (Goldenchyld and Troublemaker Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Backyard Bangers | Rock, Shock, Shake, Break (feat. Phoenix Orion) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Lady Tigra | Bass on the Bottom (Mr. Hahn and Troublemaker Remix) | High Score/Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Justice | Phantom + Phantom pt. II (Troublemaker Edit) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Pump n Dump | Let's Meat Girls | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| George Sarah | 1920 (Backyard Bangers Remix) | Transistor | [ 12-inch ] |
| Backyard Bangers | Perception | Hollyrock | [ 12-inch ] |
| Flaming Lips | Fight Test (Backyard Bangers Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Craig David | Whats Your Flava? (Backyard Bangers Remix) | Hollyrock | [ 12-inch ] |
| Linkin Park | Rnw@y (Backyard Bangers Remix feat. Phoenix Orion) | Warner Bros. | [ CD/LP/DVD ] |
| Beastie Boys | So What'cha Want (Backyard Bangers Remix) | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Phoenix Orion | Secret Wars EP | atomcandy | [ 12-inch ] |
| Hive & Troublemaker | Nu Planet | Celestial/ffrr | [ 12-inch ] |
| Mixes | |||
| Troublemaker | Murder Beats Not People | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Troublemaker | HOPE | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Troublemaker | 4 | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Troublemaker | Your Face | Hollyrock | [ mp3 ] |
| Troublemaker | No Wine, Just Women | Hollyrock | [ CD ] |
| Troublemaker | Mi Nombre es Trouble | Hollyrock | [ CD ] |
| Backyard Bangers | Get That Shit Outta Here | Hollyrock | [ CD ] |
| Backyard Bangers | Scion 7 | Hollyrock | [ CD ] |
| Backyard Bangers | Pardon My French | Hollyrock | [ CD ] |
| Backyard Bangers | Spunkbubble | Hollyrock | CD |
| Albums | |||
| Troublemaker | The Maestro | Hollyrock | [ CD ] |
| Troublemaker | Wreckreation | Hollyrock | CD |
| Good Charlotte | Greatest Remixes | Epic | [ CD ] |
| Various Artists | 4 | Metropark | CD |
| Johnny Cash | Johnny Cash Remixed | Compadre | [ CD ] |
| Z-Trip | All-Pro | Decon | CD/LP |
| Backyard Bangers | New Math | Hollyrock | [ CD ] |
| Various Artists | Amoeba Music Vol. V | Hip Hop Slam | CD |
| Linkin Park | Reanimation | Warner Bros. | [ CD/LP/DVD ] |
| Various Artists | dublab: Summer | Hefty | [ CD ] |
| Various Artists | Constant Elevation | Astralwerks | [ CD/LP ] |
| Various Artists | Scratch Tour 2002 | Scratch | CD |
| DJ Spooky | Under the Influence | Six Degrees | CD |
| Phoenix Orion | Secret Wars | atomcandy | [ CD ] |
| Various Artists | Celestial Squadron | Celestial | CD |
| Various Artists | Urbal Beats 3 | ffrr/Universal | [ CD ] |
| Phoenix Orion | Zimulated Instrumentalz | Celestial | LP |
| Phoenix Orion | Zimulated Experiencez | Celestial | [ CD/LP ] |
| Film, TV, and Video Games | |||
| Various Artists | Sabotuer | EA | Video Game |
| Various Artists | Need for Speed Nitro | EA | Video Game |
| Various Artists | FIFA 10 | EA | Video Game |
| Various Artists | NBA Live 10 | EA | Video Game |
| Various Artists | Scratch: All The Way Live | Scratch | DVD |
| Sound Engineer/Mixer | |||
| The 87 Stick Up Kids | Out for Fame EP | SK87 | CD/mp3 |
| Haul & Mason | Cell:Eight | MyUtopia | CD/DVD-A |
| Jazzy Jay | All the Way Live | Scratch | CD |