From The Hood To The Big Room: 15 UK House DJs & Producers You Need To Know

Get your shuffle on with the rising names in UK underground house.

Arun Verone.

For a generation of London’s inner-city youth raised on grime and Giggs in place of garage and Gabrielle, "hood house" is one term that's been thrown around to describe the last few years of UK underground house’s new-found dark side. The tech and minimal aspects are easy enough to categorise, but the deepness could only come from one place, and with all respect to Chicago, Detroit and Berlin—they ain’t it. This is a sound, a heavy-on-bass one, that has been progressively gripping club-goers up and down the UK, which many believe was kick-started by Jamie Jones' remix of Azari & III's "Hungry For The Power".

After UK funky’s untimely demise in 2010, soulful house was one of the dominant sounds among young urbanites. For some, however, it was a little too soulful and soon enough, a Deep/Minimal/Tech music policy began appearing on flyers. Few would’ve predicted the game-changing effect it would eventually have on underground clubland though; despite ongoing snobbery from the older house crowd ("they're gonna spoil house like they did UK garage"), this scene couldn't be in a stronger state. Complex UK recently went in search of the main producers and DJs helping to spread this fast-growing, shuffle-loving movement across the land—​all of whom have proven they have what it takes to step into the big room arena. Get to know all 15 of them after the jump, in our latest music guide.

Words by Sean Piffen (@SeanPiffen)


 

Mark Radford

One of the founding fathers of London’s underground house scene, and a pioneer in his own right, Mark Radford has earned every last stripe over the years. His roots run deep, but it was sets at classic residencies like Keep It Minimal and Can’t Stop Won’t Stop which really saw his profile rise. In 2011, Radford was awarded a show on Rinse FM off the back of his work as a DJ and promoter, and this added platform proved pivotal to his career. The show, named Audio Rehab after a series of parties thrown by Mark, took off with a strict music policy: bass-driven tech-house, with a deepness that could only come from the pavements of LDN.

Next up was Audio Rehab, the label, which was set up in the summer of 2012 and scored a number of early underground hits. A consistent release schedule, combined with a hectic booking diary, saw Radford and Audio Rehab rise to the forefront of ravers’ minds across London and beyond in 2013; an elevated status which has not gone unnoticed. A series of takeovers at the Ministry of Sound nightclub soon followed—​starting with an explosive celebration of a 21-track compilation he put together for said dance music giant—confirming there was a much wider audience nodding along to Radford’s beat.

Arun Verone

Ever since making the move from bassline/4x4 to down south-favoured deep tech-house, Arun Verone—formerly DJ Pantha—has seen doors open left, right and centre. The Birmingham beatsmith joined the House Entertainment collective in 2013, and it’s safe to say the move has been beneficiary for all parties (literally).

With a production style that ranges from high-octane killer to bouncy floor-filler, Verone has already scored releases on DJ Q’s imprint, Q Recordings, as well as the groove-house centric Inner City Records. But it’s his releases on House ENT that have generated the most heat for DJs and clubbers alike, with his penchant for sub-aquatic bass lines and icy-cool melodies meshing perfectly with the attitude and sound of urban London.

Carnao Beats

Carnao Beats first cut his teeth as a producer in the heyday of UK funky, with tracks like "Funk The Sound" rotating on pirate radio stations. As said scene slowly started to reach its sell-by-date, Carnao decided the minimal tech path suited him more than the soulful/tribal house route everyone was seemingly going down at the time. One of the first artists to release on Audio Rehab, the south London lad has done much to define the sonic spectrum of this new house sound and, in doing so, marked himself out as nothing less than a connoisseur of bangers.

The demented, warped sounds of 2013’s "H.O.U.S.E" was a huge underground hit for the producer and is considered one of his signature cuts, but that’s not to count out his many refixes and recent party-starter with Donae’o: "Gone In The Morning". With French G-House stars Amine Edge & DANCE signing two of his tracks to their respected CUFF label—and an LP, reinCARNation, due out on Audio Rehab later this year—​Carnao is about to beat up more stereos and dancefloors than ever before.

DJ Majesty

Audio Rehab may be the biggest label in the scene, but when it comes to events—AudioWhore is at the very top. The brainchild of DJ Majesty and Steven Cee, AudioWhore attracts the cream of the crop in London underground talent, as well as big names from overseas—​not to mention ravers in their thousands. Getting his start back in the glory days of grime, Majesty has since gone on to achieve great things in clubland, where his party has graduated from semi-specialist to mainstream roadblock, in less than 16 months.

When he’s not promoting, though, Majesty is playing out to dancefloors across the UK that totally trust his selecting skills. Arguably one of the top three selected DJs, skills-wise, he plays a wicked mix of the nu-disco sound alongside his own sleazy, uber-dark productions to create an atmosphere where people shout "f**k off", frequently. (That’s the scene’s sign of appreciation when a big tune is selected, you see).

With a residency at the immensely popular Sankeys Ibiza on the cards and a string of unreleased hits waiting to fill up carts on Beatport, you’d be wrong not to expect huge things from the guy whose party has been quietly changing the landscape of raving in our capital.

Lance Morgan

Lance Morgan is one of those DJs who personify the multi-faceted nature of today’s disc spinners. The north Londoner's name began ringing three years ago with a series of day parties named House On The Street and, following its success, he launched the Frequency club night and the face-painting spectacle that is UK Zoo Party, in 2012.

2013 was a massive year for Lance, too, with his two brands extending their reach to the Northern parts of the UK, while he played in top London venues almost every night of the week. That same year, "When The Night Falls"—his co-production with Storm—announced the start of Morgan’s production career, a track that was an instant DJ favourite by the time its chilling opening gave way to its cavernous drop. Lance Morgan: a name promoters can trust to turn a club upside-down.

Lee "B3" Edwards

Along with the Lance Morgan and Arun Verone (plus the mastermind behind it all, promoter Jason Dudley), Lee "B3" Edwards plays an important role in the hydra beast that is House Entertainment. Unlike his DJing accomplices though, B3 has been part of the deep tech/minimal landscape for the better part of five years, with an overall house background spanning a decade (legend, much?). From Radunos and Herbal to Fridge and Aquarium, he’s played at many of the old school haunts, in addition to making regular appearances at the shuffling stronghold on that ol’ strip in Vauxhall.

B3's a dab-hand at making beats, too: last year his collaboration with Storm, "Take Me Away", was signed to the daddy of house labels, Defected, following the damage it did on nationwide floors. Its screwface-inducing, sharp bass line and soulful vocal perfectly encapsulated how London’s urban communities are re-appropriating tech-house. Like your house dark and twisted, with some extra bounce? Lee "B3" Edwards is the man that can.

Jakki Degg

A name most would probably associate with Zoo Magazine rather than UK Zoo Party, Jakki Degg switched from modeling to DJing in 2009 and hasn’t looked back, since. A member of DJ agency, 10 Management, she’s featured on some of the biggest flyers around town since the career change.

Degg's also a budding music producer, as one half of rising outfit, Mr & Mr Smith. In 2013, she hooked up with CiDJ to form said production team, who’re now responsible for serious belters like "Freaks Only", "Repercussions" and, more recently, the sweltering "London To Dubai". More releases on Recess Recordings have been scheduled for later this year. Catch Jakki Degg weekly on Bang FM.

DJ S.K.T

DJ S.K.T is fast becoming an underground house-hold name. The producer has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the last year or so, which is mostly due to his remix work and original club-hitters alike. Released last year on Audio Rehab, S.K.T’s Signature Sounds EP featured a mixture of chugging house grooves and skippy garage beats, and he has mined that sound with increasingly impressive results ever since.

Up next was his made-for-summer, unofficial remix of Miguel’s "Adorn", which pricked many-a-tastemaker’s ear and eventually led to him working on various projects with Sony, where he produced and co-wrote Little Nikki's ladies anthem, "Right Before My Eyes". As well as being a now-revered remixer, DJ S.K.T also runs Up-Tempo Records, a label that occupies the bassier zones of '90s-influenced house and garage with expert confidence.

Adam Cotier

Adam Cotier has been a part of the house scenery in London for near-on three years. Alongside partner-in-crime, Riaz Dhanani, he’s been playing in and around the Brick Lane triangle, building up a sizeable following for his tasteful mix of Euro tech and London deep. In addition to regular appearances on Rinse FM—plus a residency at trendy Camden spot, Gilgamesh—Cotier also boasts a close affiliation with Mark Radford and his empire, Audio Rehab, with sets at their early events back in 2010.

In recent times, Adam has stepped back from the rave circuit to focus on production—with pleasing results. He’s shown himself to be extremely versatile away from the decks, crafting sultry summer cuts such as "What Is Love" featuring Gemma Fox, and the balmy poolside rework of Lana Del Rey’s "Young and Beautiful". Growing production skills combined with an ability to delight clubbers, means that Cotier is sure to step in the big room sooner rather than later.

X5 Dubs

Like most dance music producers from the Midlands, the hallmark of bassline/4x4 is evident in X5 Dubs' music. Before rising to prominence in underground house, the Wolverhampton-based beatsmith was gracing labels like Marcus Nasty’s We R Bass with the type of dancefloor pressure steeped in Northern, Niche-inspired bounce. X5 Dubs could easily build a career on up-tempo bubblers and chilled rollers, but it’s his penchant for muscular show-stoppers that has been getting him most of the plaudits.

As part of the HER stable and with tracks on MFR, Recess Recordings and Eastside Records, X5 Dubs seemingly churns out warehouse workouts every week, with a sizeable amount of them ending up as free downloads on his SoundCloud. Being able to balance the delicate with the dangerous is one of X5’s key strengths as a producer, as is his ability to pull samples from the most unexpected of places and completely switch it up. A technically skilled DJ and superior talent in the scene, we’re expecting X5 Dubs to terrorise clubs with his shuddering bass-house jams deep into next year, and the year after that…

Storm

When Storm released his self-titled album two years ago, he did much to define the Audio Rehab sound as well as the sonic spectrum of this strain of house which has since evolved to become less hypnotic and more immediate, owing to its success in the clubs as well as on the streets. The album featured contributions from the inner stable of the AR clique and, at the time, lesser-known commodities like Lance Morgan, who joined forces with the producer to great effect on shufflers' favourite, "When The Night Falls".

Despite the many features, Storm’s debut remains a captivating and cohesive listen, which can be credited to the like-mindedness of those involved in the project. Since that release, Storm has produced tracks for the likes of Zephron, Defected, and his own Eastside Records. Formed with frequent lab partner Lee "B3" Edwards at the start of the year, Eastside Records has fast become a favourite of many born again house devotees and followers of British underground music. With an in-house team of producers using the 4/4 format as a launching pad for their cross-genre creations, Storm and Eastside Records will continue to push the boundaries of house into the new year and beyond, no doubt.

Kaiden Gray

Nottingham's Kaiden Gray seems to be a natural at composing the kind of radio-friendly house that's been dominating the charts recently. Far from being beige, though, his productions fuse the contemporary house sound with classic garage flavours to generate a vitality which has seen him gain recognition from labels such as House Ent., Love Not Money, and Dirty Trainers. Continuing to impress dancefloors everywhere with his deft mixing skills and intuitive tune selection, Kaiden Grey will no doubt continue to rise up the ranks through the rest of 2014 and beyond.

Calle Lebraun

Calle Lebraun, 25, has slowly but surely been building a strong foundation for his house since aligning himself with London-based imprint Music For Ravers on his first and subsequent releases. Forthcoming on MFR, "Because Of Me" is set to continue the rich vein of form that the Manchester-based producer/DJ has enjoyed since the release of his self-entitled, four-track EP earlier in the year. From grimey techno to demented acid and paranoid minimal, Lebraun has set himself out as one of the most versatile beat-makers around.

J Clarke

Starting off at Vauxhall’s Roller Disco, and having torn down much-loved venues of old such as Hidden, J Clarke’s LoveHOUSE club nights steadily moved up the ladder to larger capacity venues like Warehouse London and Great Suffolk St as it became one of the most highly attended raves on the circuit in the late part of 2012 and throughout 2013. As well as being an in-demand disc jockey, J Clarke is also quite the beat constructor.

After a short hiatus from the buttons, the Lewisham native returned earlier this year with two standout collaborations with J Retro, "Your Smile" and "Weak", which were promptly signed to budding Audio Rehab sister imprint, +Recordings. With forthcoming releases on the likes of MFR and Magnified, expect J Clarke and LoveHOUSE to make more moves in 2015.

DJ GGB

DJ GGB is part of the older guard in the deep-tech scene. Rising up the ranks with names like Supa D and Truce, the man was commanding the decks when many of the younger producers weren’t even listening to house. A DJ who caters for the moment, Glen has witnessed—first hand—the evolution of house from the UK funky days through to the current deep-minimal-tech wave. And with a popular show on Freek FM every Wednesday, his presence is felt as much as it is on-air as it in the club.

Not content with being one of the scene’s tightest mixers and most genuine personalities, GGB has now extended his hand to production, as so many end up doing. Unreleased as yet but set to come out on Supa D and Pioneers SOTU label soon, his productions—much like B3’s—has LDN stamped all over them.

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