Fort Knox Five
Fort Knox Five is a Washington, D.C.-based musical group consisting of Steve Raskin, Jon Horvath, Rob Myers and Sid Barcelona. The musical collective releases music through their self-run label, Fort Knox Recordings. Their music style mixes elements of funk, reggae, hip hop and electronica. History. Fort Knox Five was formed in 2003 by four like-minded musicians as an outlet for a new style of funk-infused electronic music. The group chose their name "...because our studio has always been called Fort Knox. There are actually only four of us, but five sounds better than four …Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, Jurassic 5, Jackson 5, MC5." Members hail from various side projects and previous outfits; Steve Raskin originally part of Edsel and Raskal as well as ESL Music Recording Artists Liftoff and Thunderball, Rob Myers plays sitar and guitar with Thievery Corporation and International Velvet and also plays guitar in See-I, Jon Horvath recorded music with both DJ Dan and Raskal, and Sid Barcelona was also a part of ESL Music Recording Artists Liftoff and Thunderball. Fort Knox Five formed their own record label, Fort Knox Recordings to release their music, and the  label is now distributed by Washington, DC based Dischord Records. In 2005, Fort Knox Five were selected to be the opening dj's on Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers Tour throughout North America, playing numerous shows in a wide variety of venues alongside Gwen Stefani and The Black Eyed Peas. Fort Knox Five were also selected by Urb Magazine for their annual "Next 100" artists to watch. In 2007, Fort Knox Five were selected to remix two Bob Marley songs which were released on Roots, Rock, Remixed. Fort Knox Five were also selected as the resident DJs at the Eye  Candy Sound Lounge at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. In 2008, Fort Knox Five released their debut studio album Radio Free DC which features all four members of Fort Knox Five on production as well as numerous guest vocalists and musicians. The album is a good representation of the Fort Knox Five sound as it moves from genre to genre, all with a focus on providing party music. In 2009, Fort Knox Five began the year with a tour of Australia. This was followed by Fort Knox Recordings hosting a special inaugural event called The Funk  4 Peace Ball which featured Afrika Bambaataa, Fort Knox Five, 2Tuff and Nappy Riddem. EA released its Skate 2 video game in January, which featured Fort Knox Five songs on the game soundtrack. Fort Knox Five also released Volume 1 of Radio Free DC Remixed in February 2009. Member Jon Horvath died on August 21, 2015. in 2020, Fort Knox Five received the WAMMIES (Washington Area Music Award) for Best Electronic/Techno Artist or Group Discography. Featuring artists. Fort Knox Five works with various vocalists and musicians to add a live element to their music.. The featured artists they have  worked with include: