Micky Finn
Micky Finn was there at the foundations. With musical roots stretching back into the proto-hardcore acid house days of the eighties, hes having been among the very top tier of deejays and producers ever since. And the reason is simple, where some might stray into moody gangsta posturing or elitist conceptual art, his goal is simply to make ravers enjoy themselves.
From early productions like Shes Breaking Up (produced under the name Bitin Back), through his seminal collaborations with Aphrodite, onto his 2010s work with contemporary innovators like Erb n Dub and Voltage, his tunes have been making people dance for nigh-on thirty years. Production standards and styles might have evolved, but the one constant has been that he knows how to make a beat connect with audiences. No wonder selectors as disparate as breaks legend Adam Freeland, Carl Cox, and, of course, pretty much every jungle and DnB deejay ever, have played his tunes at one time or another.
And that all-about-the-ravers ethos manifests in every aspect of his career. A crowd favourite resident from the earliest days of iconic promotions like AWOL and World Dance, his deejaying has taken him to a passport-disintegrating list of countries. A Micky Finn set, packed with one-away specials and the latest fire blended into a rolling rave-wrecking frenzy, is a roadblock affair wherever he touches down.
Even aside from his production and performance work, hes got his fingers (or Finngers, if you prefer), in several other DnB-flavoured pies. His labels, Urban Takeover and Finn People, have, over the years, played host to the likes of Majistrate, Drumsound & Bassline Smith, and Camo & Krooked, among many other heavyweights. As well as knowing his way around A&R, hes also one of the masterminds behind the monumental DnB holiday experience Sunbeatz.
As we say, Micky Finn was there at the foundations. But hes also helped build the walls, put the roof on, and sort the electrics. Or, to abandon the metaphor, hes simply one of the true icons of the rave scene and a British music institution.
Dee Kline
DJ Dee Kline, born Nick Annand on December 20, 1979, is a prominent British DJ and producer renowned for his contributions to breakbeat, breakstep, drum and bass, and UK garage music. He is widely recognized as the innovator of breakstep, a genre characterized by its heavy bass and breakbeat-infused 2-step rhythms, which was first showcased in his 1999 hit single I Dont Smoke. This track achieved significant commercial success, reaching number 11 on the UK charts.
Dee Klines musical journey began at the age of 10, fueled by his early exposure to funk, electro, and hip-hop scratch DJs. He honed his skills playing at house parties and raves within Londons underground electronic music scene. His involvement with pirate radio station Don FM, where he DJed drum and bass alongside his long-time MC, Hyperactive, further solidified his presence in the scene.
In the late 1990s, Dee Kline took ownership of Londons influential pirate radio station, Flex FM, which primarily broadcast UK garage and other underground electronic music genres. In 1999, he established his own record label, Rat Records, to release his groundbreaking track I Dont Smoke. Rat Records has since become a platform for numerous acclaimed artists, including DJ Fresh, Jack Beats, Stanton Warriors, Wiley, Skinny Man, Rennie Pilgrem, House Breakers, and Freq Nasty.
Throughout his career, Dee Kline has engaged in notable collaborations with esteemed British electronic music producers such as Ed Solo and Wizard. His collaborative projects, including Deekline & Wizards Breaks, Beats and Blondes and his Jungle Cakes EPs with Ed Solo, have garnered international acclaim. He has also worked with a diverse range of artists, including Luke from 2 Live Crew, Splack Pack, DJ Assault, DJ Fresh, Tim Healey, Stanton Warriors, Freestylers, and Krafty Kuts.
In 2009, Dee 1 Kline co-founded the highly successful label Jungle Cakes with Ed Solo. This sublabel of Hot Cakes has become one of the top-selling jungle music labels to date, responsible for re-releasing Dawn Penns classic track No No No, which received significant support from Kissy Sell Out on BBC Radio 1. Additionally, he established the Giant Pussy Records label with Tim Healey.