Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert and best known for their 1989 single, "Pump Up the Jam", which features vocals by Ya Kid K. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Later that year, the single was followed by the album of the same name, which peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. Technotronic achieved further success with the singles "Get Up! (Before the Night Is Over)" and "Move This". They went on to release the albums Body to Body (1991) and Recall (1995), and they have been inactive since 2001.

History

1987–1990: Formation and Pump Up the Jam

Technotronic was formed in 1987 by Belgian musician, songwriter, and record producer Jo Bogaert, who had gained popularity in Europe as a solo artist with various new beat projects, including Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo. Congolese–Belgian rapper Ya Kid K joined Technotronic on vocals, Bogaert adopted the stage name Thomas De Quincey, and in September 1989, they released the single "Pump Up the Jam", though Ya Kid K was initially uncredited for her contributions to the song. A front for the act was put together (in a way similar to other Eurodance acts like Black Box and Milli Vanilli), utilizing Congolese-born fashion model Felly Kilingi, who was presented as the group's vocalist. She featured on the single's cover art, which was credited as "Technotronic featuring Felly", and she also appeared in the music video for the song. The track became a worldwide success, eventually reaching No. 2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart in late 1989 and early 1990.

Technotronic issued their debut studio album, Pump Up the Jam, in late 1989, which included vocals by Ya Kid K and MC Eric but still featured Kilingi on the cover. The record peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 in the US and reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart. Following the release of the album, Ya Kid K was revealed to be the group's main vocalist, with Bogaert admitting that "[Felly] didn't have much to do with the record. Me, Eric and Ya Kid did it all. We needed Felly to help promote the group at first — to create this image". "Turn It Up" was not as successful as the group's prior releases, and Melissa and Einstein later left the group. Reggie provided vocals for six tracks on the album,

! style="width:45px;"| AUT<br />

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! scope="row"| Pump Up the Jam

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  • Release date: 28 November 1989
  • Label: ARS Productions<br />SBK/EMI (North America)<br />Swanyard Records Ltd (UK)
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette

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  • BPI: Platinum
  • MC: 4× Platinum
  • NVPI: Gold
  • RIAA: Platinum

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! scope="row"| Body to Body

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  • Release date: 1991
  • Label: ARS Productions/Transistor Music
  • Formats: LP, CD, cassette

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! scope="row"| Recall

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  • Release date: 1995
  • Label: ARS Productions<br />SBK/EMI (North America)
  • Formats: CD, cassette

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| colspan="15" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart

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Remix and compilation albums

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! rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Title

! rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Details

! colspan="2"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Certifications

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! style="width:45px;"| AUS<br />

! width="35"| AUS<br />

! width="35"| AUT<br />

! width="35"| NED<br />

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| 1989

| align="left"| "Pump Up the Jam" <small>(featuring Ya Kid K) </small>

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  • ARIA: Platinum
  • BPI: Platinum
  • RIAA: Platinum

| align="left" rowspan="4"| Pump Up the Jam – The Album

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| rowspan="5"| 1990

| align="left"| "Get Up! (Before the Night Is Over)" <small>(featuring Ya Kid K)</small>

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  • ARIA: Gold

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| align="left"| "This Beat Is Technotronic" <small>(featuring MC Eric)</small>

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| align="left"| "Rockin' Over the Beat" <small>(featuring Ya Kid K)</small>

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|-

| align="left"| "Megamix"

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| align="left" rowspan="2"| Trip on This – The Remixes

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| align="left"| "Turn It Up" <small>(featuring Melissa and Einstein)</small>

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| rowspan="3"| 1991

| align="left"| "Move That Body" <small>(featuring Reggie)</small>

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| align="left" rowspan="3"| Body to Body

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| align="left"| "Work" <small>(featuring Reggie)</small>

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| align="left"| "Money Makes the World Go Round" <small>(featuring Reggie)</small>

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| 1992

| align="left"| "Move This" <small>(featuring Ya Kid K)</small>

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| align="left" rowspan="3"| The Greatest Hits

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| 1993

| align="left"| "Hey Yoh, Here We Go" <small>(featuring Ya Kid K)</small>

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| rowspan=2| 1994

| align="left" | "One + One" <small>(featuring Ya Kid K)</small>

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| align="left"| "Move It to the Rhythm" <small>(featuring Ya Kid K)</small>

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| align="left" rowspan="3"| Recall

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| 1995

| align="left"| "Recall" <small>(featuring Ya Kid K)</small>

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| rowspan=3| 1996

| align="left"| "I Want You by My Side"

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| align="left" | "Crazy"

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| rowspan="1" align="left" | non-album single

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| align="left" | "Pump Up the Jam – The '96 Sequel"

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| rowspan="2" align="left" | Pump Up the Hits

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| 1998

| align="left"| "Get Up – The '98 Sequel"

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| 1999

| align="left" | "Like This" <small>(featuring Monday Midnite)</small>

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| rowspan="6" align="left" | non-album singles

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| rowspan=2| 2000

| align="left" | "The G-Train" <small>(featuring Monday Midnite)</small>

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| align="left" | "The Mariachi" <small>(featuring Ya Kid K)</small>

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| 2005

| align="left" | "Pump Up the Jam" <small>(D.O.N.S. featuring Technotronic)</small>

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| 2007

| align="left" | "Get Up" <small>(Global Deejays featuring Technotronic)</small>

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| 2022

| align="left" | "Otro Jam" <small>(Kembo Music featuring Technotronic)</small>

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|-

| colspan="17" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released

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See also

  • List of number-one dance hits (United States)
  • List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

  • Pump Up the Jam: The Album – sleeve notes