From these beginnings, there has followed a rollercoaster ride, crowned by a Mercury Music Prize nomination and a MOBO award for their 4 Hero identity which produced two albums for Gilles Peterson's Talkin' Loud label. 4Hero are real world musicians. Rather than simply integrate, they interrogate and still strive to innovate: able to mix sounds from past, present and future. The Jungle/Drum n' Bass scene was unquestionably both their home and training ground but the acclaimed moody, filmic album 'Jacobs Optical Stairway' (1996 on R and S Records) was probably their last production that could even remotely be called Drum n' Bass. Since then, 4Hero have progressed to a level where they are happy to be judged for their music rather than their reputation. But what a reputation! Their touch can still be felt in virtually all corners of the post-dance music world.

 

Marc Mac is better known as one half of 4hero, the duo that changed the shape of UK electronic music. His production credits include; Jill Scott, Roy Ayers, Vikter Duplaix, Ultra Nate, Terry Callier, Ursula Rucker, Shaun Escoffery to name a few he also has a long list of remixes under his belt from Masters at Work to John Coltrane.

 

MC MG singer/songwriter and MC extraordinaire his co-writing credits include the mega ‘Superstylin’ w/Groove Armada as well as early releases on the legendary Reinforced label. MC MG can be heard touring worldwide with Marc Mac (4hero) & Bugz In The Attic.

 

From there the Bugz went on to set up their infamous Bita Suite studio, label Bitasweet Records and formed a 9 piece live band carving out a strong reputation both individually and collectively as top remixers and an underground electronic group; Bugz were laying the foundations for current trends namely UK & Funky House, Dubstep & contemporary Electronica. The first releases coming out through Virgin records were the remix of Amira "my Desire"  & several other early anthems on the seminal broken beat label People Records. The group went on to produce, remix and collaborate on hundreds of other titles and artists as well as culminating a top 46 chart position with their Booty La La  single & 76 with their rendition of Don't stop the Music. 

 

Bugz also co founded and  jointly ran the legendary Sunday club institution Co-Op and were especially well known for their remixes with artists such as Amy Whinehouse, 4hero, Macy Gray and Soul ll Soul which led to the signing with V2 Records in 2004 and which saw the initial  Got the Bug  remixes album, a studio album - Back In The Doghouse as well as a third single, Move Aside.  You can currently catch Orin 'Afronaut' Walters, Kaidi 'Agent K' Tatham and Mark Force of Bugz  in action behind the decks at their monthly Sunday East Village residency in Shoreditch while other member  

 

The Bugz, along with their Bitasweet label, have had numerous releases & underground smashes like Seiji & Lyric L's Loose Lips and Afronaut's Golpe tuyo Calinda. They have also individually remixed artists including Roisin Murphy, Basement Jaxx, Ruben Blades and Bunny Mac to name a few.  In 2007 V2 records was taken over & the Bugz were released. Since then they have been working on several solo projects, producing and co-writing material for artists such as Kele le Roc, Blu James (Basement Jaxx) & Joy Jones while also collating new material for their own follow up album due next year. Recent single releases include the Coop anthem "Reject" on Coopr8 / MOI Records, the new exclusively released " Expression"  - an instrumental dub of their Soul ll Soul Fairplay remix, a series of exclusive dubs & unreleased cuts available exclusively through the website, www.coopr8.net and of course the most current and exciting project - the new remix album Got the Bug 2 

 

 

Chris' musical career started early, as a cellist he had classical musical training since the age of 7. As soon he got his first PC in 1996 he immediately started producing electronic music in various genres such as hardcore techno, breakbeat and house. His first drum and bass 12" has been released in 2000 on Hungarian based Subscope records ("Time Warp" b/w "Angel").

 

Rousing on his success as a producer he decided to buy his own decks and started DJing. Since then he already had gigs in the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and numerous European countries. Besides his own work Chris has made various collaborations with Concord Dawn, Ill.Skillz, Black Sun Empire and SKC, including tracks like Desert Siege/Crash (Commercial Suicide), What’s Happening (Hospital Records) and more.

 

He is also involved in a project called TACTILE consisting of five people, Chris.SU, SKC, Longman, Bratwa and Safair. After their successful debut album SUPER SYSTEM they decided to launch their own imprint TACTILE VINYL.

 

At the moment Chris is working on his first solo album coming Q4 2009.

 

Last year saw DJ Vapour set up his own imprint 36 Hertz Recordings which has literally exploded onto the DNB scene with support from Andy C , DJ Hype, Shy FX , Randall , Goldie, Bailey, Storm and Ray kieth to name but a few. The label has already escalated into one of the distributors top selling labels and is showing no sign of slowing down.

 

Following accolades from a who’s who of the drum and bass scenes most respected stars, in print and on the airwaves, a huge demand for bookings has ensured that Vapour’s already phenomenal work load has continued to increase.

 

As a highly sought after re-mixer and one of the most promising production talents of recent years, DJ Vapour’s tracks have found homes with Digital Soundboy / 31 Records / Rufige / Intasound / Eastside / Inneractive / CIA / Dread recordings / 36th chamber / Deepkut / Mac II / Step back session / Bounce records uk / Basement and of course 36 Hertz

 

With his talent, passion for music, drive, willingness to help and support others and a positive “can do” philosophy DJ Vapour is a name that is on everybody’s lips.

 

Hive came of age as a drum and bass producer in the late 90s, but he's long been active in underground music, with roots that extend deep into underground Hip Hop, embodied in a string of iconoclastic releases and credits that include recording O.D.'s Beneath the Surface album, followed soon thereafter by his own first album Working with Sound, released on his own Mandala imprint. The album was largely centered around jazz-inflected instrumental Hip Hop, but glimmers of Drum and Bass flickering across the surface anticipated his forthcoming artistic development. It was on the strength of this album that London/FFRR signed him to an album deal. In 1998 he released Devious Methods, a hallucinatory fusion of Hip Hop and Drum and Bass. Lauded by critics in Urb, Spin, Raygun, Vice, and DJ Times, the album yielded the single Ultrasonic Sound, which ultimately made its way on to the soundtrack CD for The Matrix, which notched up double platinum sales, surely as much exposure as any drum and bass artist could hope for and beyond.

 

Yet beyond is where Hive has gone. Concurrent with his album was the establishment of Celestial Recordings. The label was dedicated to exposing underground Hip Hop and included luminaries Freestyle Fellowship, Awol One, O.D., Fat Jack, and The Shapeshifters alongside Hive's own tracks. From Celestial sprung Vortex, a label dedicated purely to uncompromising drum and bass. Vortex included releases by Dillinja, Tech Itch, Pieter K, Juju, UFO!, Sage, and of course Hive, and established itself as one of the premier Drum and Bass labels in the US, improving not only on the sound of American releases, but on the overall package as well, with first rate design, promotion, and DJ support. His "The Raw Uncut" project was a rousing statement for the label, its triple-pack vinyl and eight track CD release gathering new fans both in the US and in the UK, represented most dramatically by Moving Shadows licensing of three tunes for Killa Bites 2.

 

A club night to complement the expanding profile of the label was the next logical step, and Hive and label partner Daddy Kev opened the west coast franchise of New York's venerable Konkrete Jungle. Named "best dance club in L.A." by Rolling Stone magazine, Konkrete Jungle positioned itself as Los Angeles' premier Drum and Bass weekly until it closed its doors in 2001. Later on in that same year Hive and Kev dissolved Vortex, and Hive introduced Violence Recordings onto the drum & bass scene with ferocious determination. Featuring releases by Klute, Teebee, John Tejada, Gridlok, Keaton, Echo, Juju, and himself, Hive has steered the label into the vanguard of Drum & Bass.

 

Since the inception of the label, Hive's musical output has grown ever more assertive and daring, personified most clearly by Neo, one of 2003's great anthems. Neo has reached into virtually every corner of Drum and Bass, from dedicated ravers to disaffected breaks aficionados, binding fans of different stripes together in common cause. Hive has also been spending more time in the studio with collaborators, including Keaton of The Usual Suspects. The two of them were responsible The Plague, another massive anthem of 2003, released on Hardware. Now 2004 saw the duo release of their seminal tracks to date ‘Bring it On’ receiving massive support for Violence Recordings throughout the Drum & Bass community worldwide and from the European hip-hop fraternity.

 

In 2005 Hive was the first U.S. artist to have a solo 12” single on the legendary Metalheadz debuting this infamous catalogue with ‘Krush’ & ‘Against the Grain’. Bringing things back to helm at Violence in the autumn with the outstanding ‘Welcome to Violence’ LP showcasing Hive alongside the likes of Keaton, Gridlok, Gina Rene, Mc Armanni Reign & Kaos. 2006 saw extensions to the imprints catalogue witnessing collaborations with Calyx on ‘Event Horizon’, ‘The Definition’ w/ MC MC & ‘Keep Runnin’ w/ TC Izlam. Re-working Moving Fusions ‘The Beginning’ w/ Keaton on Ram Records also putting the VIP stamp on Tru Playaz ‘Last Call’ and let’s not forget one of Hive & Gridlok’s finest moments ‘Standing Room Only’ feat; D-Bridge, Break & Slient Witness.

 

Tough, propulsive, forged out of both the traditional sampled aesthetic and leading sound designs of contemporary Drum and Bass, the sound of Hive today bears the imprint of an artist searching for new ways to reinterpret the music by his own lights. Neither a retrospective purist, nor a follower of fashion, Hive's music, his DJ'ing, and his label strike a steely, inspiring balance, hewing closely to a tight creative vision that has propelled him into the forefront of Drum and Bass wherever it thrives.

 

The story of the stylus sistahood began in 2004 when members of Bugz in the Attic collective linked up with the old skool Sisamo & Marshmello & set up the 'Ladybugz' events at Cherry Jam West London. Soon to join forces with the female 'London Boogie/Bruk' platform was Miss Callis, Helen Asher and Katie Barber who we're the only 2 female DJ's ever to be featured at the legendary Club 'CoOp'. Special guests included Lyric L, Vanessa Freedman, Eska, Lady Alma, amoungst others. The Ladybugz soon became a concept hatched with the development of the Nu Skool now responsible for continuing the journey....

 

For 2009, we have the final incarnation as the Stanton is handed to the nu keepers of the Ladybugz dream. "And dis time dey gon' fly!"

 

Members:

 

Katie Barber aka KATIE B

 

Sophie Callis aka MISS CALLIS

 

Marcia Carr aka MARCIA CARR

 

Tayo Maronie aka T MARONIE

 

Marsha Smith aka MARSHMELLO

 

 

A testament to their talent, it took only a few short months of collaborative creation before they scored their first signing – and not just to any old label – but the massive and seminal Moving Shadow. At the time they were known as nCode, but by July they had become Cause 4 Concern and started their own imprint label. The first 12” dropped that December, and secured the support of DJs Doc Scott, Fierce and Grooverider, amongst many others. Releases on respected labels Tru Playaz, Renegade Hardware, Moving Shadow and Timeless Recordings were to follow, and left little doubt that this was one crew to keep an eye on. Promoters right across the planet couldn’t help but pay attention, and consequently there aren’t many places C4C haven’t performed.

 

Such was the success of Cause4Concern Recordings that 2001 saw the launch of sister label C4C Limited. Intended as an outlet for experimental tracks and remixes of previous C4C releases by other established artists, the imprint has so far seen input from producers Stakka & Skynet, Teebee, Matrix, Fierce and Rymetyme. By the end of the year, C4C had been nominated in the ‘Best Newcomers’ category of the Knowledge Magazine Drum & Bass Awards. Impressing their peers as well as the press, demand for their product increased, resulting in releases on renowned labels BC Presents, Metro, Quarantine and Virus. This well deserved exposure expedited their inevitable ascent through the ranks of the Drum & Bass scene.

 

Aside from being an integral part of Cause4Concern, Optiv had also built up a large selection of solo releases and in 2003 started his own imprint label ‘Redlight Records’ . The label was very well received from the start and has included collaborations and remixes from the likes of Black Sun Empire, Concord Dawn, The Upbeats, Bulletproof, Mayhem, Psidream, Chris Su, Dose & Axiom. Redlight continues to grow strong as a label and the next offering on the label is a collaboration with MC Rymetyme called ‘Run It Red’.

 

Recently reformed after a few years of inactivity, 2009 sees Cause 4 Concern return to wreak havoc with their first full length album. Spread over five separate 12”s to be followed by a double CD, Pandemic picks up right where the lads left off – the leading edge of electronic music. All of the elements that made them one of the most exciting and entertaining production posses in drum ‘n’ bass remain intact, and are both refined and reinforced.

 

After this he started buying records and listening to DJs like: Rhythm Doctor, Rob Ackinson, Lindon C, Mr C (-all members of the ‘Hypnosis’ crew) and Rhythm Doctor, whose way of mixing blew him away and pushed him to hone his own style. Randall is definitely a natural when it comes to mixing, saying that the basics took him only a week to learn. However, to become the artist he is today- he still had to continue refining his skills by studying music and making mix tapes every week. One of these tapes started to do the rounds, and in turn got him the chance to play out at ‘Delirium’ crew’s warehouse parties in Stratford, London. This opportunity got him noticed and he was soon after offered a regular slot on legendary East London pirate radio CentreForce FM (in 1989) and it was here his reputation really started growing.

 

“I’ve always had broad tastes and, as long as those beats are running, there's easily enough room in my set to contrast a wide range of flavas…” (Quote: Randall)

 

Not content with his sound being across the airwaves of London, and playing out at the illusive illegal raves of the time. Randall pushed harder, recalling his big break to be when he got a gig playing at ‘Living Dream’ at Eastway Speed Stadium in Leyton a10,000 capacity event. Colin Dale didn’t turn up for his set and Randall ended up playing a three-hour set a feat that got people talking! This not only directly lead to a Saturday night residency that lasted three years with the infamous ‘Orange’ at the Rocket Club in Holloway road, London (along side DJs Hype, Grooverider, Fabio, Rap, Squirrel etc)… But also saw Randall playing out with the ‘AWOL/World Dance’ crew at the Paradise Club, Islington (with other legends Mickey Finn, Kenny Ken, Darren Jay, Gachet and MC GQ). This circle of friends and crews found Randall at De-Underground Record shop making history, as we know it with DJ Cool Hand flex & co-founding Mac II Recordings.

 

Randall's style has always been fluid and probably always will & changes in his selection have been noticeable in the past couple of years, with more emphasis on “darkside flavas” than before. This can be illustrated crudely by his transformation from AWOL resident to a Metalheadz regular. Randall is simply reflecting what's going on around him and, even though some might say his sound has got 'darker', he inhabits that overlap between 'jump-up' jungle and 'darkside' drum & bass.

 

“When you have nothing, your hunger can focus your mind to the task in hand, and sometimes it's a harder job remaining at the top once you've got there than getting there in the first place. This situation increases the longer you're there…” (Quote: Randall)

 

Whilst he doesn't guard against complacency consciously, a significant factor to his continuing success is his sheer passion for the music. You can sense it in his voice when he talks about particular tunes and you believe him when he says that it is a kind of drug to him, needing a fresh ‘fix’ of tunes in his box every week.

 

When it came to compiling & mixing the drum & bass third of the "Dreamscape" CD, Randall was offered Pro Tools technology which basically would have done it all for him. He however, didn’t like this approach to creating, and as he had all the tunes on vinyl, said he would rather do it on decks. The only problem was finding the first tune, but once he settled on Dom & Optical's "Quadrant 6", he rolled out the rest first time in true traditional Randall style. The mix also features the vocal talents of his long time MC, Fats; and while his soulful style of MCing might not be everyone's cup of tea, it compliments the hard-edged music perfectly.

 

Randall is better known as a DJ than a producer, he is nevertheless no stranger to the studio having co-produced "Sound Control" with Andy C in '95, "Flava's" with Tek 9 on Reinforced's "Above The Law" album and "Hard Noize" with Tee-Bone on his "Strictly Business" compilation. Even with such renowned collaborations, Randall is still in no rush production-wise; probably he thinks, ‘because of everyone's high expectations through his Djing’; and is under no illusions about his position in the production game.

 

"I'm at the starting post of making music, and all I'm getting from people that I know that are well in it, doing albums and what not, is 'Take your time'. If you love it enough, it will come. I might not make a tune that hits top ten, but if I make a tune that satisfies my heart; that will be enough. It's quality not quantity that counts to me, but at the end of the day, I just want to make good tunes and be out there representing." (Quote: Randall)

 

Through his determination to learn the ins and outs of production; the birth of his label ‘Mac II Recordings’ (1996) and his latest label the ‘Step back sessions’ (2009) Randall is set to be known as a producer as side from his legendary status as a DJ.

 

bio coming soon

 

The first break came when LTJ Bukem began playing "Mendacity" at Speed and on his Kiss FM Radio Show, which was snapped up by Timeless Recordings. His music also attracted the attention of Q. Project and Spinback aka Total Science, whom he had got to know through his other work as d & b review writer for firstly Echoes, then Muzik. "Open Spaces" was released on their C.I.A. imprint. Further well-received releases on Timeless were to follow, including "Chapter 2" and "Confusion" which received singles of the month in Mixmag and Jockey Slut but it was his collaborations with Digital for Metalheadz and Razors Edge that began causing major interest. '99 finished well with the much played 'Final Chapter' also taking top slot in Mixmag charts,

 

Combining with Digital once again, the Phantom Audio label arose from the duo's desire to have their own base where there was no set musical agenda. The debut release, "Phantom Force", became one of the most played tracks of '99/'00, closely followed by a watertight selection of successful releases as well as another anthem in 'Remote Control' for Timeless. Phantom Audio has continued it's success over the years with a number of key releases, both solo and joint projects, with the latest 'Heavy Handed' due to appear in January 2004. The duo have also been called in for some major remix work, none more so than Shy FX & T. Powers massive hit 'Shake Your Body'.

 

Spirit's solo work continued with further releases for C.I.A, Timeless, Renegade Hardware (including the mammoth 'Sphinx') and the mighty 'Solitaire' for Metalheadz, culminating in the launch of his own solo imprint, Inneractive Music in the summer of 2002. The last few years have seen Spirit go on to even bigger and better things. With Inneractive Music now firmly in position and into double figures release wise, work for Klute's Commercial Suicide label, the ‘Solitaire Remix’ on Metalheadz alongside tracks for their MDZ03 & MDZ04 compilations, Marcus Intalex & St. Files Revolve:r imprint also a host of remixes which included the Goldie classic ‘Sinister’. While allowing the Inneractive label to showcase newer talent from the likes of Amit, Outrage, Cujo and Tactile, the second half of 2004 saw Spirit concentrate on a long overdue debut album. Now complete ‘Puzzle Box’ is due to be released on Inneractive Music mid December 2005 alongside 2 extensive US tours & various European dates; Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, etc…

 

This is set to be & is Spirit’s biggest & most important year to date…..

 

1999 was the turning point of A.D.'s career whilst hosting the Renegade Hardware show on Eruption FM this created a chance meeting with Clayton Renegade Hardware. After this meeting Clayton offered A.D. the opportunity to perform at one of their Renegade Hardware tour nights with DJ Ink that soon lead onto his residency @ Hardware. Soon after DJ Ink requested that A.D. join him on his forthcoming tour of Europe & America. During a performance with DJ Ink & Loxy in the states DJ Hype was in the building & present at one of these gigs he’d heard A.D. and was truly impressed with him. On his return to the UK Hype called A.D. asking him to join the rest of the residents at Playaz and become his personal MC at the time. Following on from this he recv’d a call from Unique Artists offering him a place on the roster & to become part of the agency where at the time some of the scenes finest DJ's and MC's were based.

 

Now after many years & many tours for Playaz A.D. still maintains a string of UK residencies: True Playaz, Renegade Hardware (UK/Worldwide), London residencies held at: Fabric:Live, Therapy Sessions, The Monday Club, W10 Recs & Autopsy….

 

2008 was a big year for Master X Mc'ing with acts such as Sigma, Diesel Boy, Subfocus, Noisia, Jungle Drummer and Dj Fu, DJ Storm, DJ Lynx, Bryan G, Chrissy Chris, Total Science and The Brooks Brothers. Playing at UK club nights such as Fabric london, One Nation- Brixton academy, Detonate @ stealth, DNBArena @ Skala London, Koola club, Newquay also Medium @ Plastic People, London to name a few. Further a field in Europe at events such as Garagem Porto, The ‘See Me’ festival in Bulgaria, ‘Danger’ Munich and ‘Drumderground’ Barcelona.

 

In the summer of 2008 Master X performed at 3 major UK festivals alongside Sigma at the sanctuary festival and Noisia at the Gatecrasher Festival, also the Sanctuary Festival, and the mighty Creamfields festival in Liverpool. The Creamfields set with Noisia was aired on BBC Radio 1 shortly afterwards and is now available to download on this page. He also featured on BBC 1Xtra with Chrissy Chriss on the MC Sessions that week. Over this period he also secured sponsorship deals with clothing brands 'AlpineStars' and 'THTC'.

 

Stepping into 2009, Master X has the wheels in motion. With a forthcoming feature on Lynx and Kemo's album "The raw truth" on Soul R, out in April. Brand new Sigma FT Master X DNBA podcast out shortly and an interview in the February 2009 Knowledge magazine issue.