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Controller 7

Real Name:
Tommy McMahon
Profile:
Born in San Jose, CA in 1979, Controller 7 (aka Tommy McMahon) spent his early years spinning G.I. Joes off of his Sesame Street record player, playing in the mud, and falling face first off his bike. After spending some quality time memorizing the lyrics to Run-D.M.C.'s "You Be Illin'," air drumming to mid '80s jams on MTV, and becoming obsessed with dubbing tapes, he started playing the drums in 1988.
Fast forward four impatient years later and the idea of lessons and proper technique have been abandoned for pause tape beats with drums and an out of tune player piano. Two or three years later the obsession becomes making mix-tapes with a belt-drive turntable, a cd player, no mixer, and a broken 8 track cassette receiver.
It wasn't until he was introduced to the Ensoniq EPS sampler that his music materialized into rough demo tapes. Although the tapes were made purely for his own enjoyment, the dream of pressing up a record was there. So when one of those demo tapes fell into the hands of Sole (who was starting the Anticon label) in 1998, things started to take shape. Requests for a beat or two soon turned into a series of budding friendships.
In 1999, while living in Berkeley, Controller 7 started working on the third of those demo tapes. The two week project ended up taking six months to finish, and after squeezing 4 track mix sessions in between classes and homework, "Left Handed Straw" was finally released in the Spring of 2000. A small scale hand-made cd, it was self-described as a mixtape of "soon to be lost beats and records". After receiving great reviews, it was professionally re-released, and helped earn Controller 7 the honor of being one of URB Magazine's NEXT 100 people to watch for the year 2002 (in the company of D-Styles, RJD2, Dabrye, FOG, and others).
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Discography

Releases:
Cross Eyed Dislexics (Cass, Album)   Controller Music 1998
Left Handed Straw (CD)   6months 2001
Expansions EP (EP) (2 versions)   Bully Records 2003
Left Handed Selections (LP)   Grey Carpet Records 2004
Bumps (CD)   We Nod Records 2005
Egg EP (2x7", EP, Ltd)   Bully Records 2005
Bozo Geek Blends (12")   4th And Wellington Records 2006
Mash Up (7", Ltd)   Token Recluse 2007
Play The Thief Vol. One (12", Promo, Ltd)   Token Recluse 2007
Remixes:
Rain Men (Controller 7 Remix) / I Am Hip-Hop (12", Maxi) Rain Men (Controller 7... Anticon, Buds International Distribution 1999
The Taste Of Rain... Why Kneel (CD, Album, RE) Rainmen (Controller 7 ... Anticon 2002
The No Music Of Aiff's...The No Music. Remixed (Album) (3 versions) Mouthful Anticon 2003
Triple Threat (CDr, Mixed) Candle Not On Label (Detect Self-released) 2003
Production:
Bottle Of Humans (12", Maxi) Makeshift Writers Work... Anticon 1999
Sole's Bottle Of Humans (Rev. Destructo's Bootleg Version 2.0) (CDr) Dismanteling Of Sole's... Anticon 1999
Bottle Of Humans (Album) (5 versions) Dismantling Of Sole's ... Anticon 2000
Anticon Giga Single (CD, Comp) Heckles From The Peanu... Octave 2001
The Anticon Giga Single (CD, Comp) Heckles From The Peanu... Anticon 2001
Uck Rt (CDr) I Have Since Moved On.... Not On Label (Sole Self-released) 2001
Personal Journals (Album) (4 versions) Specialist Anticon ... 2002
A Healthy Distrust (Album) (5 versions) Agony In Her Body Epitaph Records ... 2005
Live From Rome (Album) (3 versions)   Anticon 2005
Songs That Went Tin (Comp) (2 versions) Stuffed Animals Trailer Not On Label (Sole Self-released) 2005
Appears On:
Invisible Superstars Vol 001 (Comp) (3 versions)   The Secret Life Of Sound 2007
Tracks Appear On:
Anticon Giga Single (CD, Comp) Heckles From The Peanu... Octave 2001
The Anticon Giga Single (CD, Comp) Heckles From The Peanu... Anticon 2001
Anticon. (CD) Bunny Slippers Sinedín Music 2003
21 Loops In Pang (CDr, Comp, Mix) Unknown Hansen & Nilsen 2004
Anticon Label Sampler: 1999 - 2004 (CD, Mixed, Smplr) Bunny Slippers Anticon 2004
Lastebil (Debris From A Fragmented Culture Volume 1) (CDr, Comp, Mixed) Shades Of A Former You Not On Label (Jakobsen) 2004
Lunch Money Singles Vol. 1 (CD, Album, Comp) Shades Of A Former You... Bully Records 2004
Oddetall! (Debris From A Fragmented Culture Volume 3) (CDr, Comp, Mixed) Yellow Not On Label (Jakobsen) 2004
Solid Steel Presents Amon Tobin Recorded Live (Comp) (3 versions) Reactionary Ninja Tune 2004
Commonwealth Kids (CD, Mixed, Ltd + 7") Ex-Telest Paper Soap Street Factory, Gluesticks Acoustic 2006
Invisible Superstars Vol 001 (Comp) (3 versions) Consumer The Secret Life Of Sound 2007
Minicomp2 (7", Comp, Ltd) Rope On A Dope Sneakmove 2007
Freehand Recordings (Cass, Mixed) Freehand Intro Not On Label (Werd Self-released)  
Unofficial Releases:
Remixing Glass (CDr, Mini) Untitled Not On Label 2004
H Is For Hero (CDr, Promo) Wandering Song Hero Records 2006
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