DJ Sharkey

Last updated

DJ Sharkey
DJ Sharkey.jpeg
DJ Sharkey in 2002
Background information
Birth nameJonathan Kneath [1]
Born (1974-07-25) 25 July 1974 (age 50) [2] [3]
Origin Plymouth, England [4]
Genres UK hard house, hardcore techno, gabber
Instrument Turntables
Years active
  • 1992–2011
  • 2017-present

DJ Sharkey (born Jonathan Kneath [2] on 25 July 1974) is a British record producer, disc jockey and rapper. As of September 2011 he is semi-retired from music production and performance. Sharkey has performed in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, [5] and Japan.

Contents

Career

Sharkey initially became known as an MC at "hardcore rave" events in Britain in 1993. In 1995, he moved into music production, teaming up with DJ Hixxy to release the track "Toy Town", which proved one of the most significant signature tunes of the UK's happy hardcore style in the 1990s. [4] [6] This led both Sharkey and Hixxy to being signed by the UK-based dance music label React Music, and the pair released Bonkers , the first in a series of albums which has become the best-selling hardcore compilation series of all time. [7] "Revolutions", a release on React, reached 53 in the UK charts, and Sharkey consequently released the album Hard Life in 1998. [3] [8]

Sharkey also produced mixes for Bonkers 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 , and 17 . Volumes 4 and 5 achieved silver sales status in the UK with Bonkers 3 reaching gold status. [9] [10] In 2001, Sharkey made his first appearance on the Eurodance compilation Dancemania series, at Speed 6 , along with Hixxy. [2] He was also invited to mix on BBC Radio 1 in 2003, performing John Peel's show. [11]

Retirement

In January 2011, Sharkey announced his retirement from Hardcore and Freeform. He completed a final tour, playing in various countries around the world, [5] and then reportedly retired in September 2011. [4] He then subsequently returned to the hardcore scene in 2017, and then got back into production in 2020, reviving the Bonkers label. In 2021, Sharkey started his own show called Bonkers Beat on the online radio station Beat 106 Scotland on Friday nights. [12]

Related Research Articles

Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or "hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s. The thing that makes happy hardcore stand apart from Gabber, is that happy hardcore tends to have breakbeats running alongside the 4/4 kick drum.

Hardcore is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in the early 1990s. It is distinguished by faster tempos and a distorted sawtooth kick, the intensity of the kicks and the synthesized bass, the rhythm and the atmosphere of the themes, the usage of saturation and experimentation close to that of industrial dance music. It would spawn subgenres such as gabber.

Bouncy techno is a hardcore dance music rave style that developed in the early 1990s from Scotland and Northern England. Described as an accessible gabber-like form, it was popularised by Scottish DJ and music producer Scott Brown under numerous aliases.

Chris Samojlenko, better known as Anabolic Frolic and Chris Frolic, is a happy hardcore DJ from Canada who is known for the Happy 2b Hardcore CD series and the Hullabaloo! promotion he threw in Toronto, Ontario.

Scott Alexander Brown is a Glasgow-born Scottish disc jockey and music producer, now living in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Brown produces and plays a variety of genres, although he is most associated with bouncy techno. His music ranges from happy hardcore, through hard trance, to gabber. He is the founder of Evolution Records, which started in 1994.

Matthew Nelson, better known as DJ Slipmatt, is a British electronic music producer and DJ. He was one half of breakbeat hardcore group SL2, who had a 1992 UK hit with "On a Ragga Tip".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Dougal</span> British hardcore DJ and producer (born April 1975 (unconfirmed))

DJ Dougal, is a British UK Hardcore and Happy Hardcore artist and DJ.

The Bonkers series was one of the leading happy hardcore compilation series in the UK. The first release was in 1996 on the record label React. It was available on 2xCD and 2xTC formats. DJs Sharkey and Hixxy were signed by React, and they released "Bonkers", the first in a series of albums that has become the best-selling hardcore compilation series of all time. As of 11 May 2009, the series had reached its nineteenth release, titled Bonkers: The Original Hardcore.

Darren James Mew, better known as Darren Styles, is an English music producer, DJ, singer and songwriter from Colchester, Essex. Originally a member of the breakbeat hardcore group DJ Force & the Evolution, Styles found success during the 1990s as one half of Force & Styles. The duo were pioneers of happy hardcore and wrote several well-known songs such as "Heart of Gold", "Pretty Green Eyes" and "Paradise & Dreams".

React Music Limited was a British independent record label, based in London, formed in 1990 by James Horrocks and Thomas Foley. James Horrocks was initially involved with successful dance music independent Rhythm King, and React pursued a similar approach — specifically electronic dance music, house music, acid house, techno and rave, along with newer "dance" oriented subgenres which emerged throughout the 1990s. These included hard house, tech house, trance, hardbag, happy hardcore, drum and bass and chill out.

Mark Breeze, also known as DJ Breeze, is a British DJ and producer of UK hardcore music. He is best known for his collaborations with Darren Styles as Styles & Breeze and the compilation mix series Clubland X-Treme Hardcore. He is also the founder of the label Infinity Recordings, running it from 1997 to 2003, when DJ Silver took over its operations.

This is the discography page for Darren Styles. It also includes the discography of his groups DJ Force & The Evolution, Force & Styles and Styles & Breeze. It also includes the peak chart performance of each album or single where applicable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kutski</span> British radio DJ

John Walker known by his stage name, Kutski is a British radio DJ, from Chester, England. He presented various shows for BBC Radio 1, playing a variety of hard dance music, including breakbeat, electro, hard trance, hardcore and hardstyle. Kutski now produces and hosts a weekly podcast, "Keeping the Rave Alive", which plays music similar to that heard on his BBC Radio 1 shows.

Clubland X-Treme Hardcore are a series of compilation albums from Clubland, released by Universal Music TV and AATW, that was initiated by DJ producers Hixxy and Styles. The series has been credited as a turning point in the popularity of the hardcore music scene.

Dowster or DJ Dowster, also known as David Thomas,, is a Welsh record producer, singer-songwriter and disc jockey from Cwmbran in South Wales. David has been involved in the rave scene since 1998 and his love of the music lead him to begin his DJ career in In 2001, Dowster was signed to Raver Baby Records by its owner DJ Hixxy to become part of the original Raver Baby Collective. This collective, known at the time as the RBC, included some of the UK Hardcore scene's leading DJs and MCs – Hixxy, Breeze, Darren Styles, UFO, MC Storm and MC Whizzkid. In addition to his DJ bookings and single releases within this period, Dowster's solo and collaborative studio projects can be found on certain volumes of the highly successful Bonkers series as well as other leading names in UK hardcore compilation albums. Three of his most popular tracks were "Starlight", "Steps Ahead" and "Here We Go".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fracus & Darwin</span>

Fracus & Darwin are a British DJ and production duo, known for producing a variety of electronic music styles. They have been guests on BBC Radio 1 and have performed at clubs and festivals across the world.

Hixxy, or DJ Hixxy, is a British disc jockey and electronic music producer known for his innovative work in the UK happy hardcore scene, co-founding the Raver Baby record label, and the Bonkers compilation album series.

<i>Happy 2b Hardcore</i> 1997 compilation album (DJ mix album) by Anabolic Frolic

Happy 2b Hardcore is a DJ mix album by Canadian DJ Anabolic Frolic. It was released in 1997 on American breakbeat label Moonshine Music and is the first series in Frolic's Happy 2b Hardcore series of DJ mix albums, documenting the emergence of happy hardcore music in the United Kingdom and Europe. The series itself is a spin-off of Moonshine's Speed Limit 140 BPM+ series of fast-tempo dance music compilations. The album was conceived to introduce American audiences to happy hardcore, and contains sixteen of the genre's anthems which carry many of happy hardcore's defining characteristics, such as fast tempo, frantic breakbeats, major key tonality, off-kilter, quirky keyboard effects and "semi-melodies."

The Reactivate series was a compilation album series known for pioneering electronic techno and trance music. With 18 releases, and a number of best-of compilations, the series has achieved both chart success and over a million record sales. The albums were published by UK-based React Music over a 24-year period starting from 1991. The Reactivate sound has been reported as significant in the international rave music scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toy Town</span> 1995 single by DJ Hixxy and MC Sharkey

"Toy Town" is a happy hardcore track by British duo Hixxy and Sharkey. Released in 1995, the single was a hit in the UK clubbing scene, peaked at number 24 in the UK dance singles chart, and had a pivotal impact in the UK rave music scene with a move away from breakbeat towards the newer happy hardcore "cheesy" sound.

References

  1. ↑ "Sharkey". Resident Advisor . Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sharkey". Discogs. Discogs. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  3. 1 2 Bush, John. "Sharkey Biography by John Bush". AllMusic . Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Roberts, Joe (10 March 2019). "Happy hardcore will never die: An ode to the Bonkers series". DJ Mag . Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  5. 1 2 amwise (28 March 2011). "Dj Sharkey (uk) & Lenny Dee (usa) @ Heroes Vs. Villains !! - July 22nd" (Forum thread). Ravesound. Rave.ca. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Kutski (27 May 2011). "Snap, Crackle....Drop! #5". BBC . Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  7. ↑ Ravens, Chai (11 March 2020). "Happy hardcore will never die: the life of rave's most juvenile subculture". Dazed and Confused . Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "SHARKEY". Official Charts . Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "Resist Various Artists Bonkers 3". BPI . Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  10. ↑ Staff (1999–2012). "Bonkers 3 goes gold (100,000 copies)". HappyHardcore.com. HappyHardcore.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  11. ↑ John Peel, DJ Sharkey. "John Peel's Sharkey - Bonkers Mix". Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  12. ↑ MC Direct (17 June 2021). "JUST IN: JOEY RIOT AND MARC SMITH NAMED AS NEW BONKERS BEATS RESIDENTS". MyHardcore.Life. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.