Bentley Jones

This article is about a real-life person. Information in this article is about real-life people, companies, and objects, which do not relate to the in-universe Sonic series.

Lee Brotherton
Lee Brotherton
Overview
Gender	Non-binary
Birthday	22 March 1985
Birthplace	Solihull, West Midlands, England
Nationality	British
Nickname(s)	Bentley Jones[citation needed] Phunkstar[citation needed]
Company(s)	EMI Music Japan[citation needed]
Job	Producer Vocalist Singer-songwriter Composer

Lee Brotherton, better known by his stage name Bentley Jones (ベントレー・ジョーンズ, Bentorē Jōnzu^?), is an English recording artist who signed his debut album, TRANS//LATION, to EMI Music Japan in 2008. Jones has been known to perform in English, French and Japanese.

Jones is known for his performance on Silver's theme "Dreams of an Absolution" in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). He has also remixed other tracks from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Some of his compositions and writing work are credited to his production house and UK label, the Remix Factory. He has also used the alias Phunkstar when creating official remixes for artists including Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga.

History

Involvement with Sonic Team

When Brotherton was younger, he began experimenting with music production on the website OverClocked ReMix, where he uploaded remixes of songs from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, including tracks from Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic Adventure 2. Later on, he would become involved in the series proper when an instrumental showreel of his latest works ended up in the hands of Jun Senoue from Sonic Team, who contacted Brotherton to ask if he would like to work on the series.

The game soundtrack he ended up working on was Shadow the Hedgehog, where he was credited as Lee Brotherton for the Remix Factory. He arranged the tracks for the Blue Falcon boss and "E.G.G.M.A.N. (Doc. Robeatnix Mix)", both of which are remixes of music from Sonic Adventure 2, with the Blue Falcon song based on the GUN Mobile theme. He would go on to write and perform Silver's theme "Dreams of an Absolution" in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). His vocals were also used for the "LB vs JS Remix" of "Dreams of an Absolution" in the vocal soundtrack for the game, Several Wills. For Sonic Rivals, Brotherton composed the track "Quick Trip to Paradise", which was used for Forest Falls Zone.

Debut of Bentley Jones

In 2007, he departed the Remix Factory in order to pursue a solo career under the stage name Bentley Jones. Under this new name, Jones would create a remix of "Open Your Heart", orginally by Crush 40 for Sonic Adventure, for the compilation album True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog. He was a special guest at Summer of Sonic 2008, where he gave a live performance of his rendition of "His World", entitled the "Blue World Prelude".

Jones was offered a record deal by EMI Music Japan in 2008. He would release his debut single "Sunao ni Naretara ～FINAL NIGHT～" (素直になれたら ～FINAL NIGHT～, "Sunao ni Naretara ～FINAL NIGHT～"^?), and album TRANS//LATION, in 2009. He would also continue to contribute to the Sonic series with his "Fairytales in Trance" remix of "Seven Rings in Hand" for the vocal soundtrack of Sonic and the Black Knight, Face to Faith. His "K-Klub Remix'" of "Open Your Heart" was featured on the compilation album True Colors: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog Part 2. However, the song was released without his notification or approval. He did not consider it an accurate representation of his work, and as such did not regard it as an official addition to his discography.

In 2010, Jones released the EP So Much More... under his Remix Factory Music label. It features the theme for Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing also titled "So Much More...". For his second album TRANS//LATION 2, released in 2011, he produced and arranged a new version of "Dreams of an Absolution (2011 Version)". The 2015 album TRANS//LATION 3: The Complete Anthology would contain another rendition, "Dreams of an Absolution (Nightlight Version)". Later in 2019 for TRANS//LATED: 10th Anniversary Album, he would record yet another version of the song, "Dreams of an Absolution 2019", along with releasing a music video.

In 2024, Jones would announce that he is once again working on "official projects" for the Sonic franchise. To mark the occasion, Jones released an arrangement of "Diamond in the Sky" from Sonic R, alongside a ballad version.

Credits

Soundtracks

• Shadow the Hedgehog:
  • "E.G.G.M.A.N. (Doc. Robeatnix Mix)"
  • "Boss: Blue Falcon"
• Sonic the Hedgehog (2006):
  • "Dreams of an Absolution"
• Sonic Rivals:
  • "Quick Trip To Paradise"
• Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing:
  • "So Much More..."

Albums

• Sonic the Hedgehog Vocal Traxx: Several Wills:
  • "Dreams of an Absolution (LB vs JS Remix)"
• True Blue: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog:
  • "Open Your Heart (Crush 40 vs. Bentley Jones Remix)"
• Face to Faith: Sonic and the Black Knight Vocal Trax:
  • "Seven Rings in Hand ~Fairytales in Trance~"
• True Colors: The Best of Sonic the Hedgehog Part 2:
  • "Open Your Heart" (K-Klub Remix)

Other

• Summer of Sonic 2008:
  • "His World" (Blue World Prelude)
    • "His World" (Blue World Opus / Full version)
• TRANS//LATION 2:
  • "Dreams of an Absolution (2011 version)"
• ''TRANS//LATION 3: The Complete Anthology:
  • "Dreams of an Absolution (Nightlight Version)
• TRANS//LATED: 10th Anniversary Album:
  • "Dreams of an Absolution (2019 version)"
• Diamond in the Sky:
  • "Diamond in the Sky"
  • "Diamond in the Sky (Ballad version)"

Trivia

• Bentley Jones is the first ever British artist to have a major-label Japanese album after signing a deal with EMI Music Japan.
• Jones' first video game was Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
• His favorite Sonic games are Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic Adventure.
• "Dreams of an Absolution" was one of the few songs Jones sang where he was not directly involved with the production or arrangement. Upon hearing the final product, he "wasn't that keen on it," hence the reason why he remade the song for TRANS//LATION 2. However, he admitted that he was wrong, since fans loved the song.

External links

• Official website
• Bentley Jones on the Bentley Jones Wiki.
• Lee Brotherton on the VGMdb
• Lee Brotherton at the Internet Movie Database