AFTER FIVE YEARS, JOIN THE FUTURE IS HERE!

December 2nd 2019 is a day that I thought would never arrive. Five years ago, I set out to research and write a book about Bleep techno and the role it played in kick starting what would become British bass music. Today that book, Join The Future: Bleep Techno & The Birth of British Bass […]

THE MENTOR: THE DJ MARTIN STORY

Last week saw the publication of an article I’ve been waiting to share for some time. It concerns someone whose contributions to a number of pioneering early UK “bleep and bass” techno records has largely gone undocumented: Martin Williams AKA DJ Martin. The feature is called “The Mentor: The Untold Story of DJ Martin” and you […]

DANCE MUSIC & CLASS: TACKLING THE “ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM”

In 2018, dance music began to tackle a few issues that had gone untreated for far too long, most notably the gender balance and inappropriate sexual conduct at events. In 2019, I’d like to see the British dance music industry, in particular, turn its attention to another issue within electronic music culture: wealth, class and […]

REVISITED: CROOKED MAN

In the first of a new series reappraising the careers of electronic artists, Matt Anniss dives deep into the world of Sheffield miserablist RichardBarratt AKA Crooked Man

BASS IN YOUR FACE: JOIN THE FUTURE MIX 01

Last week, my Join The Future mix of sub-bass propelled early UK techno and electro was named as one of the mixes of the month by Fact magazine, which was a pleasant surprise. Since then, it has also been named Mix of the Week by German blog Das Filter. While my German is a little […]

ROB GORDON STEPS OUT OF THE SHADOWS

To mangle the words of LFO’s clanking bleep-era anthem “We Are Back”, there are many imitators, but very few true creators. When it comes to British dance music, Robert Gordon is undoubtedly a “true creator”. Gordon’s story is seldom told, a by-product of not only the overlooked nature of the turn of the ‘90s “bleep […]

THE INSIDE STORY OF LFO’S “LFO”

Take a peek inside this month’s issue of DJ Magazine and you’ll find my first ever feature for the magazine, an in-depth “Game Changers” article on what I believe to be one of the most influential and timeless British dance records ever made, LFO’s 1990 debut single “LFO”. Arguably the critical, commercial and artistic high […]

I:CUBE – LA VIE EN CUBIZM

As you’d expect, I was rather surprised when I received an email last November from Parisian producer Nicolas Chaix, better known as I:Cube. He’s never really been one to court media coverage, and the email was not a plea for coverage, but rather a friendly message to say how much he’d enjoyed reading some of […]

TALKING “DUB ROOTS” AT INNER CITY ELECTRONIC

This coming Saturday (2nd June 2018) sees the inaugural edition of the Inner City Electronic festival take place across 11 venues in Leeds. It’s a similar format to those previously used by things like No Bounds and Tramlines in Sheffield (before the latter’s move to Hillsborough Park) and Simple Things in my home city of […]