Bentley Jones

"Music will never be the same..."

- Bentley Jones

Lee Brotherton, better known by his stage name, Bentley Jones (ベントレー・ジョーンズ), is an English recording artist who signed his debut album - TRANS//LATION to EMI Music Japan in 2008. He has achieved two UK Club Chart #1s and has produced for many artists including Britney Spears, Madonna and Beyonce. His first notable release was his song "Dreams of an Absolution" which was featured in the video-game Sonic the Hedgehog and released on CD in Japan. He also made what is known as the "legendary" remix to "Open Your Heart", the main theme of Sonic Adventure, with Crush 40. In 2009 he released his debut single and Japanese-language album, the prior reaching number 5 on the Recochoku international chart. Lee has been known to perform in English, French and Japanese. He has also done remakes of "His World" and "Seven Rings in Hand".

Some of his compositions and writing work are credited to his production house, the Remix Factory.

OC ReMixer: LeeBro
Lee Brotherton's work first began as an amateur remixer for OverClocked Remix (ocremix.org) using the username LeeBro. Under ReMixer LeeBro, Brotherton remixes and then uploads four downloadable songs to the site. Jun Senoue, surfing the site for Sonic remixes, stumbles upon Brotherton's remixes and immediately contacts him asking if he would like to help with a game project. Brotherton was skeptical at first as he believed that he was being pranked but agrees to help. The game project turns out to be Shadow the Hedgehog. Brotherton's Remix Factory produced and remixes themes for E.G.G.M.A.N. Robeatnix Mix and remixes of Sonic Adventure 2's GUN Mobile for the bosses Heavy Dog and Blue Falcon for the game.

Lee Brotherton
Often some of Jones’ compositions and writing work is credited to his birth name (Lee Brotherton) or his production house (the Remix Factory). As Lee Brotherton he co-wrote and performed "Dreams of an Absolution" from the video-game Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) which featured music from fellow J-pop artists Dreams Come True. The track featured on the original soundtrack as well as a compilation - "Several Wills" - consisting of the game's featured tracks from other artists including Zebrahead and long-time collaborators Crush 40. The soundtrack for Sonic Rivals was also produced by Brotherton's Remix Factory.

The Birth of Bentley Jones
In November 2007, Brotherton began segregating himself from the Remix Factory to concentrate on his own work as an artist under the pseudonym Bentley Jones. His music as "BJ" quickly became popular amongst fans of his earlier work, leading to Jones’ version of the song "Open Your Heart" from the video-game Sonic Adventure which was featured on the compilation album "True Blue - 15 Years of Sonic the Hedgehog" early in 2008.

Summer of Sonic 2008
In August, Jones was a special guest at the first Summer of Sonic event in London UK to celebrate his work composing for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Jones arranged and performed the main theme of the convention, Summer of Sonic, titling the theme "His World ~Blue World Prelude~" – an adaptation of the song "His World" which he also worked on for the video-game Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). A studio version of this was subsequently made available for free download from the Summer of Sonic website, with the song being a free gift for the fans. He also performed a new version of "Dreams of an Absolution" called the "~Ballad Version~" with fellow composer Richard Jacques and another new version of the song "His World", called "His World ~Reprise~". To end the show, Jones and Jacques joined TJ Davis for the song "Dreams Dreams" from the game NiGHTS - Journey of Dreams.

In August 2008, Jones collaborated with French duo Cassandre for remixes of the track "Liberté" broadening his linguistic spectrum to French as well as English and Japanese.

Digression into J-Pop
Early in 2008, Jones was touring the UK testing tracks for a tentative English album under the advisement of his UK management. However, by the summer, Jones parted ways with his management due to frustration over a slow pace of progression and his English album was put on hold. Using his knowledge of managing the Remix Factory, he took care of his own artist management and soon landed himself his first major-label deal.

Jones had stated in several interviews that he was a fan of Japanese musicians and artists – a curiosity that had come to fruition by working with Japanese video-game composers and artists. One of the artists he claims to be deeply inspired by is Utada Hikaru, an aspiration that was brought to reality when he was offered a deal by the same record label – EMI Music Japan – in November 2008.

Jones is also known for being a fan of Japanese star Ayumi Hamasaki. Not only did he cover her song "Depend on You" entirely in Japanese, but he rewrote it into English as a new track called "Depend on Me". These two covers resulted in lots of attention from J-pop and Ayumi Hamasaki fans, the large majority of which was very positive. Further on, the English version would be retitled "Depend on You ~Depend on Me~" and feature on Jones' debut Japanese album. In May 2008, Jones guest vocaled and remixed Hamasaki's previously #1-single "Step You" as a special promotion for Avex Trax in Japan.

TRANS//LATION (2009)
In January 2009, Jones announced the forthcoming release of the Japanese digital single "Sunao ni Naretara ~FINAL NIGHT~" - an English reworking of the Japanese original "Sunao ni Naretara" originally recorded by Juju featuring Spontania/ Jeff Miyahara - the original producer and one of the writers of "Sunao ni Naretara" - liked Jones' version so much that not only did he give permission for the English rewrite, but offered to collaborate with Jones for his second album.

On March 4 2009 the song "Sunao ni Naretara ～FINAL NIGHT～" was released as a mobile digital single - the first from the album "TRANS//LATION". It debuted on the Recochoku international daily chart at #7 before quickly rising to #5 despite very little promotion. Following its success, a remix of the track was announced to appear on the forthcoming "Love House" compilation album. The single would later be re-released as a remix single containing a remix by Phunkstar which would also be promoted in the UK, marking the first cross-over promotion of "TRANS//LATION".

"TRANS//LATION" was released on March 25, 2009. The album is a collection of Japanese songs reworked into Jones' signature electro-pop style and, in places, rewritten into English. All of the English lyrics, and the production and arrangement of the album was done by Jones. As well as endorsement from Jeff Miyahara, J-pop megastar Ayumi Hamasaki reviewed one of Jones' tracks from the album and offered her personal approval for an English rewrite of one of her songs.

Jones is unique as he is the first ever British artist to have a major label Japanese album release.

On March 27, 2009, the song "DEPARTURES" was released as a mobile ringtone.

Following "TRANS//LATION"'s release, in February 2009, it was announced that Jones was to feature on the international soundtrack for the video-game Sonic and the Black Knight. It was later revealed that Jones had recorded the track "Seven Rings in Hand ~Fairytales in Trance~" and was released on the soundtrack CD "Face to Faith" in Japan on April 8.

Phunkstar's Identity Revealed
On May 12, 2009, Jones announced that he was producing a brand new remix for Whitney Houston to help promote her forthcoming single "I Don't Know My Own Strength". He also revealed that he was behind the Phunkstar moniker and that, as Phunkstar, has previously remixed Beyonce and Britney Spears. The Phunkstar 2009 remix of "I'm Every Woman" was promoted throughout Europe by UK label DMC.

Gaia Online's "PROMAGEDDON"
On May 16, 2009, Jones announced that he was attending the online event "PROMAGEDDON" hosted by the Gaia Online social network. Three half-completed demos were selected by Gaia from an album sampler that Jones was in the process of putting together, along with tracks from fellow collaborator and J-pop producer Jeff Miyahara, to be the soundtrack of the event. Despite the tracks' premature condition, the songs proved to be incredibly popular and were streamed 1,152,835 times in less than a week making Bentley's music the most popular of the entire event. Due to demand, Bentley made the demos available to listen to through his YouTube channel in a album called the "3-Track Sampler (as featured in Gaia Online's PROMAGEDDON)"  and said that, thanks to his fans' reactions, he was more confident with his new style of music. He also stated that he was looking for a new label to release a particular project implying that he had parted ways with EMI Music Japan.

Jones also revealed that, as well as currently working with writer and producer Jeff Miyahara, he is collaborating with BAFTA award-winning composer Jeremy Soule and J-pop writer and producer Army Slick who has worked with the likes of ZoA and ZEEBRA.

Summer of Sonic 2009
Jones also reappeared at Summer of Sonic 2009 as the headlining musical guest, performing a selection of tracks from his album, songs from the 3-Track Sampler (as featured in Gaia Online's PROMAGEDDON) as well as those featured in the 'Sonic the Hedgehog' franchise. Included in the first set was a parody of the song "They Call Me Sonic", the original of which has become notorious amongst the fanbase. A studio version of Jones' parody was later made available for free download from several Sonic community websites. He also performed a surprise acoustic set with Nick Jennison from UK band Under the Gun which included rearranged renditions of his single "Sunao ni Naretara ~FINAL NIGHT~", "Dreams of an Absolution" and an exclusive cover of "Escape from the City" from Sonic Adventure 2. "TRANS//LATION" was available for sale and later in the day Jones did a signing session for fans.

So Much More... and Finally Free?
On December 4, 2009, Jones uploaded a video to YouTube officially announcing an EP, "So Much More...". The EP "So Much More..." features the theme for Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing called "So Much More...". Different remixes of the song were also made and featured on the EP. This includes remixes by Phunkstar and Fantazia Projekt and an Instrumental. There is also a different version of the song called the ~Ballad Version~ which also has an official music video to follow. Jones even includes a song titled "U Won't 4get ME" as a theme for himself. And taken from his 3-Track Sampler from Gaia Online's Promageddon is the full version of the song "Swing Baby!" and also, a new song called "Alpha Dog" is featured on the EP as well.

Jones wished to get his fans more involved with the production of "So Much More..." , so he gave his fans the chance to vote for the official cover artwork of the EP. Cover #4 received the most votes and was therefore made the official artwork of the "So Much More..." EP. Jones also held a "So Much More..." video competition where participants get the chance to star in the official music video for the song "So Much More...". Unfortunatley, production of the music video was cancelled due to many participants wanting to include game characters in their entries. Winners of the competition were announced and credited by Bentley himself.

Inside the "So Much More..." CD case, the sleevenotes state that the EP, "So Much More...", was taken from the forthcoming album Finally Free (working title). It also states in his official Biography that later in 2010, he would be releasing his debut English album in response to demand from fans. This "English album" may turn out to be Finally Free.

On February 17, 2010, Bentley Jones uploaded a video to YouTube announcing that he would be performing live at the Midland MCM Expo in Telford, UK on Saturday February 20th, 2010 as well as doing a signing session and answering his fans questions. Bentley performed Alpha Dog, U Won't 4get M.E. , a TRANS//LATION Medley and So Much More... . After U Won't 4get M.E. was performed, Jones was interviewed. Afterwards, Jones was one of the three judges to judge the Cosplay Masquerade.

According to Jones, the Remix Factory has expanded and is now the Remix Factory Music as Bentley's own label.

Absolution
Taken from Bentley’s official blog, below is a statement regarding his work with Sonic Team;

''It disappoints me to announce that the latest SEGA/Wave-Master releases relating to the Sonic series have proceeded without my consent, approval or notification. Specifically regarding the “True Colors” album, I wish to stress that I have not paid any direct contribution to its production at any point and is therefore not an accurate representation of my work. Furthermore; the music, vocals, production, engineering and my likeness(es) that appear on these albums do so without my permission, proper crediting and, in some instances, by breaching the copyrights of my work.''

The royalties that I would normally be entitled to for any music that I have written have been denied, and so the only people who have been profiting from the exploitation of me and my music are SEGA.

''The delay in issuing this statement has been due to legal investigations, and because of ongoing inquiries it may not be possible to comment on this area of my work through any medium: my sincerest apologies to the fans. Under protest, I will not list nor promote these albums as I do not consider them to be official additions to my discography.''

I hope that my fans will understand and sympathise with this situation and I hope it will be resolved very soon.

// Bentley x” 

WE Я ANIMADE (Live @ London MCM Expo)
"WE Я COMING..."

- Bentley Jones

On June 19, 2010, Jones uploaded a trailer video to YouTube titled "WE Я ANIMADE (MCM Expo Trailer)". At the London MCM Expo convention, it was revealed that "WE Я ANIMADE" is Jones' second Japanese album. During the convention, Bentley and the band Under the Gun performed various songs from NARUTO, K-ON!, Macross Frontier and Neon Genesis EVANGELION as well as a couple of Bentley's own songs from "So Much More..." and "TRANS//LATION". Even WE Я ANIMADE itself was performed as well as a new version of the song "Glamorous Sky", which Bentley posted on YouTube as the J-Hybrid and E-Hybrid versions.

WE Я ANIMADE is set to be released later this year

Alpha Dog (US Remixes)
Following its release on the So Much More... EP, the song "Alpha Dog" received attention from DJs in Los Angeles and New York, and a promotional single has produced with new remixes for an American release. The single, "Alpha Dog (US Remixes)" was released on 05-07-2010 as a digital single

Devil's Cry (Shall Never Surrender)
&nbsp In August 2010, Jones returned to OC Remix after 8 years to produce a cover to "Shall Never Surrender" from the video game Devil May Cry 4. It was added to his official YouTube channel on August 20, 2010. A download will soon be available from ocremix.org.

Finally Free
"My story comes in many chapters..."

- Bentley Jones After breaking loose of the industry’s constraints and restrictions, Bentley quietly released the protest-memoir mini-album “Finally Free” addressing it exclusively to his fans stating that he “made efforts to exclude any influence from labels, studios, companies, managers and agents in order to produce the purest expression of me, for me to give to you.” Despite receiving no promotion and being rush-released due to existing commitments, the album was streamed over 15,000 times within 3 weeks of its release, immediately selling out the CD-version and was once again picked up for club promotion in the UK and Europe

TRANS//LATION 2
"TRANS//LATION 2" is Jones' sophomore Japanese album, the bi-lingual sequel to his debut Japanese album. This time he's assaulting on all fronts with a personal selection of Western English standards, a handful of Japanese classics as well as brand new versions of his hit single "素直になれたら ～FINAL NIGHT～" and his artist debut "Dreams of an Absolution".

Marking his last independent release before his original debut in Asia, TRANS//LATION 2 is a send-off toasting all areas of Bentley's 8-year career in music including a duet with school friend Liz Saunders, cover tracks from his first ever UK shows and brand new re-arrangements of his biggest hits.

MUZIK - Collaboration With Curtis Young (Hood Surgeon)
American rapper, Curtis Young (son of Dr.Dre) contacted Bentley Jones on August 25, 2010, requesting a collaboration for his album "MUZIK". A preview of the song can be heard at Bentley's official SoundCloud account. It is confirmed that MUZIK will be released in May 2011.

Physiotherapy
Jones is an accomplished dancer and is known to train both professionally and in his free time. In March 2008 on the eve of his birthday, Jones fell ill and developed a tumour on his back. Details of the illness were kept private but in September he announced that although his medical treatment was yet to finish, he was feeling fully recovered and his work activities had returned to normal. However, as of July 2009 he is still receiving physiotherapy for his injuries.

Trivia

 * The bridge in Silver's theme song, Dreams of an Absolution, bears a resemblance to the Green Hill Zone music. Composer Lee Brotherton stated that this was not intended, but is appreciated.
 * Bentley Jones is the first ever British artist to have a major-label Japanese album after signing a deal with EMI Music Japan.