SIMS, BEN / BROOM, MARK / WILLIAMS, MARK / ROKU - HARDGROOVE ORIGINALS EP

From early formative days earning his stripes spinning hip hop, house and rave on pirate radio, and at parties around Essex and East London, through the 90’s as an ever more in demand DJ, and on into the new millennium as a label boss, producer and internationally recognised techno legend in his own right, Ben Sims has spent all his conscious life exploring all facets of underground dance music Throughout that time, the man has honed his reputation as a tight, energetic mixer who skilfully weaves together his own distinctive blend of tough funk and hardgrooves, often using three-deck wizardry and plenty of dexterity. Be it at clubs like Fabric London, Atomic Jam, Berghain, Florida 135, or any number of festivals around the world, Sims’ sets are powerful, memorable, and unique, while constantly pushing the boundaries of a DJ set – utilising a mesmerizing blend of vinyl, CDs, and software. As well as carving a reputation as one of the world’s leading techno DJs, Ben has curated many of his own revered labels over the years. Chief amongst them is Theory – an imprint this year celebrating it’s 40th release, that counts amongst it’s supporters contemporary connoisseurs like Marcel Dettmann, Ben Klock, and the old guard of Dave Clarke, Robert Hood, Rolando and more - proof, then, that Sims is on the form of his life production wise. Riding high on the wave of critical acclaim from his cultured debut long player on Drumcode, 2011’s Smoke & Mirrors, an album that voyages into Sim’s unique take on techno, coupled with authentic house outings, thanks to guest appearances from Chicago's Tyree Cooper and Detroit's Blake Baxter, whilst also showcasing plenty of dubbed-out and grainy textures. Sims has put his name to more than 50 releases in the last two decades. During those years, there has also been a steady stream of high profile remixes of scene heavyweights, including Jeff Mills, Adam Beyer, Kevin Saunderson and Chris Liebing, on labels du jour like AXIS, KMS, CLR and Drumcode, all of which have won as much critical praise as they have crossover success. Despite his veteran status in the scene, Sims has always been keen to evolve. Alongside Kirk Degiorgio, he is co-founder & curator of Machine - a clubnight which focuses on new, unreleased, & upfront music; it’s primary home in London, but with editions all across Europe each year. Ben also hosts Sims & Friends events and stages at top clubs and festivals across Europe. Such shows incorporate Killa Productions sets with long time associate Paul Mac and feature regular appearances from like-minded talents such as Surgeon and others. Quite simply, if you know techno, you know Ben Sims. Official website: http://www.djbensims.com Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

It all started in the summer of '89 ...Mark went on holiday to Tenerife and in the clubs they were spinning the now legendary Acid House music. On his return to England Broom went on a search for this music... found it... bought some turntables and the birth of his musical career was born. After a few years of playing at peoples parties, Mark decided to try his hand at making music. Through a friend, he was introduced to Ed and Andy from Black Dog Productions. Together they created Brooms first musical ideas. These ideas went on to be released on General Production Records. The studio used for these first recordings was called UXB Studios and was run by Dave Hill. After many visits to UXB, Dave asked Mark if he would be into making some tracks together, and from that day their musical and later business partnership was born. In 1994 they started Pure Plastic Recordings which has played host to many of Marks musical productions, ranging from the landmark 'Angie Is A Shoplifter' LP, through to the recent 'Rave Days' EP. Mark has also recorded on many of the worlds best labels including A13, Ifach, Speaker Attack, Mosaic, Dark House Music and New Electronica. As a DJ Mark has spun at some of the worlds best clubs ranging from Belgium's FUSE club to Spain's La Real. As a remixer Mark has had the pleasure to mix artists like Eddie Flashin' Fowlkes, Ken Ishi, Ben Sims, Samuel L. Session and The Advent, to name but a few. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Mark Williams is a veteran that has paid his dues over more than two decades on the scene as a DJ and producer. Since the 80s, when he started his career at UK hot spots like the Ministry of Sound and Final Frontier, he has been laying the groundwork for his future success. His production work has also gained him acclaim the world over and he has released a staggering catalogue of quality tracks on some of the most respected techno labels in the world including: Tortured, Dark House, Pure Plastic, Phont, Primate, and Carl Cox’s Ultimate Trax imprint, to name a few. In addition to releasing on other labels, Mark also has his own imprints: Artificial Vinyl, Real Sessions, Macumba and Real Vinyl. Mark has also gained worldwide recognition with his skilful and distinctive DJing style. Mixing tribal, tech house and techno on three decks and CDJs, his rocking performances have helped him to develop a strong fan base and facilitated gigs in places like Spain, Turkey, Slovenia, Japan, Brazil, Colombia, Macedonia, and Sweden. His first major tour was in 1998 when Mark was asked to join Carl Cox on his “World Wide Ultimatum Tour.” In 2000, Mark became a resident at a club night called “Damage” in Dublin and later that year he supported Billy Nasty on his “Torture Chamber World Tour.” 2003 found Mark on his first “Ingoma Tour” with Ben Sims which culminated in a now legendary party at the Loft Club, Barcelona, the weekend of Sonar. In 2004, Mark and Ben set out for another tour to promote Mark’s debut album, “A Point in Time” on Ingoma. 2005 was another banner year, with Mark playing at clubs, parties and festivals around the world including a set for more than 40,000 people at the Monegros Festival in Spain. 2005 also saw Mark bringing his sound to radio. The “Concept Show” (www.conceptshow.com) is a monthly broadcast that Mark co-hosts with Macedonian DJ Goran Kan. Some of the past guests have been Mark Broom, Paul Mac, Ben Sims, Cari Lekebusch, Oscar Mulero and DJ Bone. From the studio to the DJ booth, Mark Williams is one of the brightest stars in the world of techno and his list of accomplishments is impressive and ever growing. In 2007, Mark has teamed up with Paul Mac to provide a new way of presenting his music using a combination of three turntables, 2 CDJs and a laptop running Ableton. Mark and Paul are intending to fuse their customary sounds to create something new and fresh. The addition of Ableton to the standard setup enables the use of custom edits of classics and to be able to drop all manner of surprises into the mix. Mark has also found time to create a masterpiece of an album that expresses all the sides of his musicality. His love for tribal, Detroit techno and house music shines through in his album “You can’t hide what you truly feel” (out later this year) for the label Subject Detroit. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Just a local Roku trying to enjoy life. Check me out on http://www.youtube.com/user/LocalRoku and like me on http://www.facebook.com/IvyLeagueZombieMusic . Enjoy the sounds Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.