Freemasons

Freemasons are an English dance band from Brighton, East Sussex, England. The act consists of the producers Russell Small (who is also one half of the house production duo Phats & Small) and James Wiltshire (who also works with Phats & Small under the alias 'Jimmy Gomez'). Their name is taken from the Brighton pub, Freemasons Tavern, Hove, which they frequently visit. The duo also record and remix under the similar sounding "Freemaison" name, which is also the name of their record label that was founded in 2005. Freemasons have also produced tracks under the names of Alibi, Walken, Funk Fanatics and BN3 (which is part of their hometown of Hove's postal code). In 2005, the duo transformed Jackie Moore's 1979 #1 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play track "This Time Baby", and Tina Turner's 2000 hit "When the Heartache Is Over", into an international club hit as "Love On My Mind". A #11 hit in the UK, it was also released in the United States on their U.S. label home, the New York based Ultra Records. Freemasons were also the remixers on Faith Evans' 2005 #1 Hot Dance Club Play and #4 Hot Dance Airplay hit, "Mesmerized". The Freemason's follow-up, "Watchin'" was released in the United States in 2006 with Amanda Wilson as their lead vocalist for the track. "Watchin'" peaked at #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play and within the Top 20 of the Hot Dance Airplay chart. The third original single from the Freemasons, "Rain Down Love" reached the Top 20 of the Hot Dance Airplay chart. Their fourth single (released digitally), "Nothing But a Heartache" featuring vocals from Sylvia Mason-James was released in June 2007. The Freemasons also remixed Beyoncé Knowles' original song, "Déjà Vu" in 2006 (for which they were nominated for a Grammy Award). The Freemasons followed this up with further remixes of "Ring the Alarm", "Beautiful Liar" (duet with Shakira), and "Green Light". They also co-produced "The One" on Kylie Minogue's album X with Richard Stannard and remixed the song for single release in May 2008.