Del Marquis

Del Marquis (born Derek Gruen on August 31, 1977) is an American musician and the lead guitarist for the US group Scissor Sisters. He is also the creator and producer of the US group Slow Knights.

Del Marquis
Background information
Birth nameDerek Gruen
Also known asDel Marquis
Born (1977-08-31) August 31, 1977
New York City, U.S.
GenresDisco, alternative, pop, R&B
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, producer
InstrumentsGuitar, bass guitar, keytar, guitar synth, vocals, organ, synthesiser, electric piano
Years active2002–present
Associated actsScissor Sisters

Scissor Sisters

Born in New York City, he was introduced to the Scissor Sisters in 2001 at the insistence of a friend who, at the time, was dating Jake Shears. He originally dismissed the band when he first saw them perform at The Cock, a New York City gay bar.[1]

Solo career

Del produced the DVD Kuvaputki released in 2008 by Embryoroom director Edward Quist about Finnish noise artists Pan Sonic.[2]

On Halloween 2008, he began releasing solo material, starting with the song "Hot House", only available with a digital film from his official site.[3] The video was made by Embryoroom, the same director who made Kuvaputki.[3] Further to this, on November 6 it was announced that Del was to digitally release a series of solo EPs, with one released the first Tuesday of every month from December 2008 to April 2009. These contained collaborations with Joan As Police Woman and Basement Jaxx. The first EP, titled Hothouse, was released on December 2.[4] The Runaround EP was released in September 2009, and includes remixes from Baron von Luxxury and Lifelike. The other EPs were titled Character Assassination, and Litter to Society, each with an accompanying videos by Embryoroom.

Del Marquis was included on a list of openly gay entertainers in The Advocate's "Forty Under 40" issue of June/July 2009.[5]

Slow Knights

After collaborating over a two-year period with musicians like Rod Thomas (a.k.a. Bright Light Bright Light), Xaxier, Mykal Kilgore, former Scissor Sisters backing vocalists Chrissi Poland and Bridget Barkan, and members of Prince's The New Power Generation in between world tours, Gruen eventually compiled what became a new project called Slow Knights, whose debut album Cosmos was released on March 26, 2013 on iTunes and through the band's website on limited edition vinyl.[6]

The album is rooted more in futuristic, '80s-evoking funk pop, a departure from Gruen's work as Del Marquis, which fuses a more familiar Scissor Sisters dance sound with elements of early albums from groups like Everything But the Girl and Style Council. Vocals are handled by a rotating cast of characters, including Xavier, Poland, Barkan, Thomas and Gruen, who takes the lead on "Legendary Children" but largely stays on the sidelines for the album's nine other cuts.

The accompanying video for the single "Shame" premiered on Nick Knight's prestigious SHOWstudio; remixes were done by ColeCo and Gavin Russom. There is also a video shot for the single "Sweet Harmony" with remixes by Bright Light Bright Light. Slow Knights is finishing a new record for an early 2015 release.

Del also appears on records by Bright Light Bright Light, singing and playing guitar on the track "Cry at Films" as well as guitar on "More than Most" and "There are No Miracles" from Bright Light Bright Light's record Life Is Easy, released in 2014.

Personal life

Marquis is of German, Irish, Polish and Austrian descent, though his great grandfather was born in Riga.[7] He is formally trained as a furniture designer.[8]

gollark: How is testing going?
gollark: Also, it's a societally-approved way (which they also partially pay for, often) to study stuff fulltime.
gollark: It might change in the future, such trends are hard to predict.
gollark: Not *exactly*. Regardless of actual education, it apparently increases lifetime income a decent bit.
gollark: Well, as they say.

References
  1. Scissor Sisters, Ana Matronic, Jake Shears, Del Marquis, BabyDaddy & Paddy Boom (November 27, 2004). We Are Scissor Sisters... And So Are You (DVD). Brighton Dome: Umvd Labels.
  2. IMDB listing for Kuvaputki
  3. Video page of Del's official site.
  4. "Scissor Sister Del Marquis to Release Solo EPs"
  5. "Forty under 40: Entertainment". The Advocate. June 1, 2009.
  6. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/1554521/scissor-sisters-del-marquis-talks-slow-knights-solo-project
  7. http://vimeo.com/24357857
  8. windycitymediagroup.com
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