N-Trance (/ˈɛntrɑːns/) are a British electronic music group who were formed by Kevin O'Toole and Dale Longworth, in 1990. The group has sold over 5 million records worldwide and some of their hit singles include "Set You Free", "Forever", as well as covers of the popular 1970s disco songs "Stayin' Alive", "D.I.S.C.O." and "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?".
Kevin O'Toole and Dale Longworth formed N-Trance, in 1990, after meeting at The Oldham College, where they were both studying sound engineering. Initially, O'Toole and Longworth, along with four or five other students used their college's recording studio for free recording and use of equipment, however they began producing music which they thought was comparable to other rave music in the charts at the time.
Their first demo tape was a dance remix of the theme tune to Roobarb, a children's television show. The next record the group produced was a more credible dance track, consisting mainly of sampled music, called "Back to the Bass". Within days of being recorded, the song had caught the attention of Dead Dead Good Records (owned by the manager of The Charlatans) who had wanted to sign the record, but shortly before signing they were outbid by Pete Waterman's 380 Records (a sub-label of PWL). Following the interest from record labels, the band and their manager decided a new band name was needed. Previously, they had been using a variety of band names such as Quartech, but settled on changing their name and signing their record contract as N-Trance.
Crash Bandicoot is a series of platform video games published by Activision. The series was formerly developed by Naughty Dog from 1996 to 1999, and by Traveller's Tales, Eurocom and Vicarious Visions from 2000 to 2004. The series features a large cast of distinctively quirky characters designed by numerous different artists, the most notable of which include Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson. In addition, it features an all-star cast of veteran voice actors.
The series centers on the conflicts between a mutated bandicoot named Crash Bandicoot and his creator, Doctor Neo Cortex. Crash acts as the main playable character of the series, though other characters have had occasional player access, most notable Coco Bandicoot and Doctor Neo Cortex, as well as Crunch Bandicoot. Out of the numerous characters in the series (numbering over sixty), only a few have significantly contributed to the story of the series.
Aku Aku, also known as Holiugd, is the guardian of the Wumpa Islands and the father figure of Crash Bandicoot and his friends. Aku Aku is the spirit of an ancient witch doctor encased in a floating, wooden mask. During Crash's missions to stop Doctor Cortex, he scattered copies of himself throughout the travels in an effort to aid him in his mission. Whenever Crash possesses an Aku Aku mask, he will be shielded from one enemy attack or contact. Collecting three Aku Aku masks gives Crash temporary invulnerability from all minor dangers, but does not protect from falling down holes. In his English speaking appearances, he is voiced by Mel Winkler up to Crash Twinsanity, and Greg Eagles in Crash of the Titans and Crash: Mind over Mutant. In the Japanese versions of his speaking appearances, he is voiced by Kenichi Ogata up to Crash Twinsanity.