Within a few years I became interested in producing as well as just playing music, and started writing techno and trance (this was 96 and hardcore had gone extremely wrong by then!) with just a cheap sound module and a now-ancient midi sequencer called Cakewalk Pro 3, which came on a single 3.5 floppy disk!

Going forward in time to 2005 the oldskool revival is going strong and hardcore breaks is just emerging. I’d been making oldskool style tracks for a couple of years mostly just for fun, but they’d been quite well received and I was keen to move it up a gear. A handful of labels had started up and were releasing oldskool style tracks on vinyl; I was really liking the music but for me it was missing something, most of the tracks were straight copies of the 92 sound whereas the stuff I was writing took big influences from more modern techno/trance/house. I wanted a way to get my tunes on vinyl, and was keen to push the particular style of hardcore breaks I envisaged, and so Sharkfin was born.

--What gave you that initial push?
You can thank/blame my girlfriend Claire for that! I’d been talking about doing some sort of vinyl release for ages, and she gave me the kick up the arse I needed. In fact she deserves a special mention for the continuing support and encouragement she’s given me over the years, as well as being far better at promoting me and my musical efforts than I am!

--Where did the name come from?
Claire’s fault again. She has a thing about sharks (she assures me its not sexual). We had watched Jaws the weekend I was trying to decide on a name, and it just popped into my head.

--Who’s throwing the best parties at the moment?
Well there are very few nu-rave/HCB nights these days unfortunately, but the best events I’ve been to in the last couple of years are K2 and Graffiti Breakz not only because they play HCB but also because both have a great atmosphere, they mix up the musical styles and they go easy on the cheese and anthems.

--What’s next for Sharkfin?
I really want to keep pushing the more electronic tech/trance/house influenced style of music that Sharkfin has become known for, keep it sounding modern and different. The plan is to keep plugging away with the digital releases, and hopefully keep the release schedule up. Also to try and keep up a professional standard with only the best tracks, professionally mastered, distributed as widely as possible and generally keeping the quality at a high level.



--What was the first event you ever played at?
Not very prestigious - an over 14’s night at a dodgy club in Croydon called the Blue Beyond, haha! I was the token house dj warming up at a jungle night a mate from school was promoting. Speed garage was just getting trendy but I was playing more of a proper house set (I had huge moral objections to garage at the time), the girls were loving it but I kept getting moody wannabe rudeboys coming up and asking for Professional Widow, Rip Groove, Gunman etc. First proper gig after that was when I was at Uni and got involved with playing prog house in the students’ union.

--What’s the best event you’ve played at?
Either Graffiti Breakz at the Purple Turtle a year or so ago, or a prog house night at uni many years ago. On both occasions I was lucky enough to play the last set of the night to a fairly busy crowd, and they were both one of those times when everything just clicks and the music seems to go down really well. A big buzz!

--What was your first record you bought?
First record ever was a 7" of Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens, whenever it first came out! First proper record was D-Press by Mickey Finn on Deejay Recordings, which is still one of my favourite d’n’b tunes of all time and one of my favourite oldskool labels.

--What's you favourite tune of all time?
I couldn’t pick out one, but there are a few tracks and albums that have been influential or significant to me and have stood the test of time:

KLF – Chill Out

Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works

The Shamen – Entacy

LTJ Bukem – Horizons

Brother Brown – Star Catching Girl

Holden & Thompson – Nothing

Ashtrax – Helsinki

Spooky – Little Bullet

About all of Sasha & Digweeds Northern Exposure 2 album.

(I’ve just realized this is becoming a huge list so will stop now!)

--Funniest thing that ever happened at an event?
Possibly a slightly over-enthusiastic female friend robbing someone of a laughing gas balloon and relentlessly beating the MC over the head with it for getting my name wrong throughout my entire set.



--Other producers you rate?
There are probably others who I’m about to offend by forgetting them, but those who spring to mind are: Richie K, Eddie V, Deluxe, Dekoy, D-Con, Running Man, Agent KR, Rob/Graham Malfunktion, Stu Chapman, Prove Correct, Twista, T92, Whizzkick, E-Lab Rat, Mindfields.

--What are your feelings on the MC's?
90% of the time a complete waste of space I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve cringed at the stuff I’ve heard them come out with, or have just wished they’d stop so I can hear the music properly. The rare few who know when to shut up and who realize it isn’t all about them can really add to the atmosphere of an event. Best MC out there at the moment I think is Cutter.

--What advice would you give to up and coming DJs?
Christ knows, I’ve never moved beyond up and coming myself! The biggest thing I’ve learnt over the years is that its all about getting yourself out there, meeting people, getting your face know and making personal connections. The dance scene is small and hardly anyone is making any money out of it, for every up and coming dj that gets booked there are 50 more that will do it for free and say thank you. So the way to get ahead is to get to know the people making the decisions about bookings etc, turn up at their events, keep yourself in their sphere of consciousness and show them that you’re someone worth a second look.

--When you play is your set pre-planned?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I’ll usually have at least a few tunes I know I want to play, and I might have an idea of the direction I want the set to go in. Occasionally I’ll be practicing in advance of a set and work out a few particular mixes that work well, then replicate those in the set. Other times I’ll just pick a first tune and take it from there.

--How do you see the scene 5 years from now?
Its almost impossible to even guess! Over the last few years the music industry as a whole has undergone some seismic changes, and this process isn’t over yet. The issues are well documented death of physical media, increasing disposability of music and its cultural devaluation as a throwaway accessory rather than something to keep and cherish, and as a consequence of this the difficulty of finding a business model to actually make money out of music (or even to cover production and marketing costs) in this new landscape.

At the same time as these broader changes, trends in popular music have moved away from dance and towards pop, indie/rock and "urban" music. With any mass youth movement – including dance in the 90s - what gives it its numbers are the followers who will join whatever scene/fashion is trendy at the time, and unfortunately those followers are following other forms of music at the moment. Additionally, the whole concept of youth culture as a subversive activity has been neutered by increasingly clever commercial infiltration by the mainstream (eg the sophisticated but fake marketing of Lily Allen as an alternative home-grown artist discovered by real fans on Myspace), and those left following true subcultures like dance are mostly just the passionate few who are prepared to swim against the stream. Nu-Rave/HCB faces some particular challenges; it is a niche genre within the rave scene, itself a niche of the overall dance scene, itself struggling across the board.

That said, I think the nu-rave/HCB scene is interesting in that its actually been around quite a while now - certainly a lot longer than the oldskool scene that inspired it, and longer than most niche dance genres manage. I think that says a lot about the passion of those involved in keeping it going, and also about the enduring quality of the music. The music has in my view matured over time and has naturally evolved in a positive way, and one of its strengths is the fact that it’s a broad church with room for many different styles. What I’d hope in 5 years time is to see it embraced more widely as an accepted and known genre, in the same way that for example dubstep has managed. Having started as a small underground genre pushed by a few individuals, dubstep has become a well-known and respected genre with broad interest including from tastemakers in commercial radio, big clubs and labels, etc. I think HCB deserves that same success and recognition, and hopefully will achieve it as time goes by and as the music matures even further. The current cross-pollination of HCB with other genres, and the growing influence of rave sounds in other styles like dubstep and house, can only help this.