Steve Rodway (born inCambridgeshire),[1] also known under the aliasMotiv 8 orMotiv8, is a Britishelectronic dance musicproducer,songwriter,remixer andsound engineer.
While known for many remixes, including those produced forErasure,Spice Girls,The Doobie Brothers,Robert Palmer,Saint Etienne,Pulp,Dubstar andPet Shop Boys, as well as his own singles such as "Rockin' for Myself", "Break The Chain" and "Searching For The Golden Eye", his highest-profile work was composing and producing the song "Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit" forGina G. The song was the United Kingdom's entry in theEurovision Song Contest 1996 and a subsequent UK number 1 and international hit.[2]
Rodway started his musical career as a vocalist anddrummer before settling as akeyboardist forBilly Ocean. An early release, "Mission", was licensed byGo! Beat Records. Rodway then startedindependent record label 'Nuff Respect Records, in preparation for distributing another single, "Rockin' for Myself". While the success of these early singles was limited toclub play, Rodway's subsequent contract withWarner Bros. Records and a re-release of "Rockin' for Myself" took the single to #18 (week of 7 May 1994)[3] on theUK Singles Chart.
Afterwards, Rodway began his remixing career, with an early remix of "Listen to the Music" byThe Doobie Brothers (peaking at #37 UK, only a week after "Rockin' for Myself" peaked)[4] opening up further opportunities.
Rodway's distinctive style ofcrossover remixes soon became in demand and his talents came to the attention ofJarvis Cocker of the groupPulp. Cocker and bassistSteve Mackey personally met with Rodway requesting a complete overhaul of "Common People" in the Motiv8 style; the resulting classic remix went on to replace the original version onBBC Radio 1's playlist. Following the success of "Common People", Rodway remixed "Disco 2000".
More involved was a 1995 production forSaint Etienne called "He's on the Phone", created by Rodway through a considerable rework of the song "Accident" from the Saint Etienne andÉtienne Daho collaboration EPReserection and used as the new single included on theToo Young to Die singles compilation.Time stretching and pitch shifting of a vocal sample from the song were used to create a new melody on the final product.
In 1997, Rodway took on remixing "Addicted to Love" byRobert Palmer, the best known song he had worked on to date. For this remix he insisted on usingmultitracks from the original version rather than a recent re-recorded version.
Motiv 8 was also responsible for additional production work on the single mix of "A Red Letter Day" byPet Shop Boys (see below).
In 1995, Rodway was asked to remix "Wannabe" by theSpice Girls. At this stage little was known about the group other than they were a future priority for their record companyVirgin Records. Because the original down tempo of "Wannabe" was too slow for club play, Rodway re-recorded the girls' vocals and produced a new faster version of the track aimed specifically at club and radio play. When "Wannabe" was eventually released in 1996 as the Spice Girls' debut single, it became a huge hit on club and radio play around the world helping to establish the girls' own brand ofGirl Power.
One of Rodway's other objectives was to work with new recording artists. In December 1995, he was introduced to Australian singerGina G, who had come across Rodway through an earlydemo called "Just a Little Bit" produced by Simon Tauber. The demo was eventually developed into the song "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit". Rodway produced a brand new version which went on to be selected as the United Kingdom's entry in theEurovision Song Contest 1996.
In conjunction with the May contest, "Ooh Aah..." was released as a single in March 1996, hitting #1 in the UK in May and receivingBPIPlatinum certification;[5] #12 on theBillboard Hot 100; and selling 2 million copies worldwide. It was performed six times onTop of the Pops from March to May, and yet again on the year-end episode.[6] "Ooh Aah's" stateside success brought Rodway both a Grammy nomination and an ASCAP award.
Rodway provided additional production on Pet Shop Boys' 1997 hit "A Red Letter Day". The duo became admirers of the Motiv8 sound andNeil Tennant visited Rodway at work in his studio during the remix. Ironically after it was finished and delivered, Tennant insisted a synth line which Rodway had come up with on the Motiv8 version, should be used on the Pet Shop Boys' own main mix. After trying unsuccessfully to recreate Rodway's riff it eventually had to besampled from the Motiv8 mix. Thus it appears on both the Pet Shop Boys' main version as well as the Motiv8 remix
In 2000 Rodway began to experiment with changes to the Motiv8 sound. Although the vocals were still kept and the song preserved, he began using combinations of clean synth lines layered with deliberately distorted acoustic instruments to produce a more forceful rhythm.Parallel compression was then applied. The synthesizer riffs in "On A Night Like This" are good examples of his technique. This version together with the Motiv8 remix of Billie Piper's "Something Deep Inside" are regarded as clear departures from the previous Motiv8 style. Due to the popularity of the remix, a video of "On a Night Like This" was alsodubbed from an edited version of the Motiv8 Nocturnal Vocal Mix.
Motiv 8 remixes have a reputation for being focused onsongwriting and composition, generally keeping the full vocal track — an approach that Rodway attributes to coming from a background of songwriting, as opposed toDJing. Often all the backing tracks are discarded in favor of an entirely new set built from the vocals alone; one exception was "Addicted to Love", in which maintaining the "essence" of the song was a concern due to the iconic nature of the song. Musical characteristics of Motiv 8 remixes includearpeggios playing during verses, andloops overlaid on programmed drum samples.
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [7] | AUS [8] | US | ||||
| "Don't Stop Trying" (as Rodway) | 1982 | — | — | 83 | Horizontal Hold | |
| "Don't Knock It 'Til You Try It" (as Rodway) | 1983 | — | — | — | ||
| "Keep On Walking" | 1985 | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Mission" | 1992 | — | — | — | ||
| "Rockin' for Myself" (featuringAngie Brown) | 1993 | 18 | 9 | — | ||
| "Break the Chain" | 1995 | 31 | 43 | — | ||
| "Searching for the Golden Eye" (featuringKym Mazelle) | 40 | — | — | |||
| "Riding on the Wings" (featuringJocelyn Brown) | 2005 | 44 | — | — | ||
