Fueled by an early love of Hip-Hop music, Charlie B. Wilder (the masked man behind Captain Planet) began DJ-ing and making beats on a Tascam 4-track in his teens. He soon developed an obsession with vinyl records and digging for samples which led to an expanded appreciation of Reggae, Latin and African music as well as a curiosity for other styles from around the world. After being offered a primetime slot playing strictly international music on WNYU’s “Passport” radio show, Wilder began making frequent trips to the World music section of Lincoln Center’s Public Library- eventually acquiring their entire collection. Flipping these same World records the way Hip-Hop producers traditionally sample, these international sounds became the ingredients he used in concocting his trademark “Gumbo Funk” style. His 2005 debut 12” on Bastard Jazz sold thousands of copies and led to remixes for artists like Vieux Farka Toure, Alice Russell, Bibi Tanga and The Pimps of Joytime – not to mention placements on numerous TV shows such as Entourage, CSI:NY & Orange Is The New Black. Since then the Captain has released 2 more successful EP’s and a full-length album (“Cookin Gumbo”) on Bastard Jazz Records, as well as a slew of remixes (both bootleg & official) for the likes of Little Dragon, Erykah Badu, Katy B, Mayer Hawthorne, Mia Doi Todd, and Gilles Peterson’s Havana Cultura project. His cassette mixtape “Mystery Trip Vol. 1” was included in Sasha Frere-Jones “Best Music of 2012” in the New Yorker.
Wilder’s eclectic music blog MixtapeRiot.com has become a popular go-to for DJ’s, tastemakers, and music lovers worldwide- providing them with a steady stream of underground dance music, exlcusive remixes, and DJ mixes. The Captain’s upcoming sophmore full-length “Esperanto Slang” is the culmination of his many years constantly producing music and searching for new sounds. Blending a wide range of styles (from NY hip hop, to NOLA funk, to Turkish Psychedelic, to Nigerian Afrobeat and beyond), Captain Planet’s trademark sound has matured into a truly unique form of electronic music- bridging gaps between worldwide music diasporas as well as contemporary dance music sub-genres (house, hip hop, dubstep & breaks). Throughout every Captain Planet song, it’s clear to hear his inspired appreciation for breaking the boundaries between genres and bridging continents through rhythm.
