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Nick Halkes (born Nigel Halkes) is a UK based music industry executive best known for signing a breaking dance act the Prodigy and being one of the founders of the XL Recordings label. He is now an artist manager and music publisher, managing Liam Howlett (the Prodigy), Bad Company UK and more. Halkes previously managed Engine-EarZ Experiment, [1] DJ Fresh and Stanton Warriors. Over recent years as a manager, Halkes has also worked with DJ René LaVice. [2] He is also a part time lecturer on the music industry at the University of Westminster.[ citation needed ] Currently he does guest lectures [3] at a variety of UK educational institutions [4] including The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (London), London College of Creative Media (London), Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies (Nottingham), Tileyard Education (London), Notting Hill Academy of Music (London), Birmingham City University, Point Blank (London), BIMM (Brighton and Bristol) and more. [5] He runs the Reach Up club night and radio show with partner Andy Smith; Crissy Kybosh is no longer involved in Reach Up. [6] As a DJ/producer, Halkes has officially remixed Kylie Minogue's single "Magic", Xpansions' "Move Your Body", and tracks by Mel C, Degrees of Motion, and many more. Halkes has played multiple festivals including Bestival, Shindig, Eastern Electrics, Beautiful Days, Bluedot and more. [7]
Along with Richard Russell, he formed early rave duo Kicks Like a Mule, enjoying chart success in 1992 with their debut single, "The Bouncer". This track was covered by fledgling new-rave outfit Klaxons in 2006.
Halkes has enjoyed major A&R success with the Prodigy in recent years with the album Invaders Must Die on which he co-wrote the title track and the subsequent album The Day Is My Enemy on which he co-wrote three tracks.
Halkes was one of the founders of independent record label XL Recordings where he signed and worked with acts such as House of Pain, SL2 and Liquid before taking up a position as a director at EMI and launching the Positiva label (developed that label into a powerhouse imprint), then later the Incentive label. The Positiva label enjoyed significant success under Halkes' leadership with artists such as Reel 2 Real, Alice Deejay, the Bucketheads and more and is now home to David Guetta and Deadmau5, amongst others.
Halkes has a track record for signing and developing dance and electronic talent that stretches across three decades. Halkes has also overseen the careers of developing artists Catchment, [8] One Bit [9] and Engine-EarZ Experiment. [10] He records sporadically under the Horx moniker.
Amongst the publishing signings to Halkes’ JV with Sentric Music Group are northern writer and producer team PBH & JACK. They are the first to sign an exclusive songwriting agreement as a result of the partnership. [11] Irish producer/DJ Elaine Mai who was nominated for song of the year and album of the year 2021 at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize in Ireland, has signed an exclusive publishing deal with Halkes and his joint venture with Sentric Music Group. [12]
Halkes co-produces and co-hosts a successful podcast series called Trailblazers: Electronic Pioneers with Eddy Temple-Morris, where they are now on their 4th season. [13]
Jungle is a genre of dance music that developed out of the UK rave scene and sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, and synthesised effects, combined with the deep basslines, melodies, and vocal samples found in dub, reggae and dancehall, as well as hip hop and funk. Many producers frequently sampled the "Amen break" or other breakbeats from funk and jazz recordings.Jungle was a direct precursor to the drum and bass genre which emerged in the mid-1990s.
Alexander Paul Coe, known professionally as Sasha, is a Welsh DJ and record producer. He is best known for his live events and electronic music as a solo artist, as well as his collaborations with British DJ John Digweed as Sasha & John Digweed. He was voted as World No. 1 DJ in 2000 in a poll conducted by DJ Magazine. He is a four-time International Dance Music Awards winner, four-time DJ Awards winner and Grammy Award nominee.
Tom Holkenborg is a Dutch composer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, producer, and engineer.
XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group.
Positiva Records is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and concentrates on releasing dance music in the UK. The record label was set up in 1993, by Nick Halkes, who previously ran XL Recordings. Its headquarters are at the Universal UK offices, where it is the only large dance music label under the EMI banner.
Keith Andrew Palmer, better known by his stage name Maxim, is an English musician, known for being a vocalist of electronic music band the Prodigy.
Incentive Records is an independent dance based company with records, publishing and producer management interests. It was launched in 1999 with investment from Ministry of Sound and a private investor, and run by XL Recordings/Positiva founder Nick Halkes. Releases by the label include "Liberation" by Matt Darey, "Communication" by Mario Piu, "Angel" by Ralph Fridge, "Boom Selection" by Genius Cru, "Whoomp!...There It Is" by BM Dubs and "Runaway" by Distant Soundz.
Leeroy Thornhill is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and occasionally keyboardist for the British electronic group the Prodigy. Thornhill's live performances throughout the 1990s included his unique style of shuffling.
IDC is David McCarthy, an English recording artist and DJ from London, England.
Mark Summers is the English CEO, sound engineer and music producer of Scorccio, a music production company founded in the UK in 1996. A London DJ since 1979, he is a guest lecturer and masterclass presenter on sample replay production, sound engineering, DJ culture, sampling and the music industry. His productions have been featured on hits for Nicki Minaj, Diplo, Sam Smith, the Prodigy, Pitbull, Fatboy Slim, David Penn, Jess Glynne, Disclosure, Steve Aoki, CamelPhat, Swedish House Mafia, the Shapeshifters and many other notable music artists. He is related to Herbie Flowers, one of the UK's best-known session bass players.
"Poison" is a song by English electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 6 March 1995 by XL and Mute as the fourth and final single from their second studio album, Music for the Jilted Generation (1994). Maxim Reality performs the vocals on the track. It was a number one hit in Finland, while peaking inside the top five in Ireland and Norway. Additionally, it peaked within the top-30 in Sweden and Switzerland. The music video for the song was directed by Walter Stern.
DJ Hyper is a British DJ, producer and remixer, known for his use of live bass, guitars and uncompromising vocals. He has done remixes for artists such as BT and Paul Van Dyk and his music has been featured on TV and in trailers and video games.
Richard Russell is an English record producer and the owner of British record label XL Recordings.
XL Recordings Chapters was a musical compilation series which showcased tracks from the XL Recordings record label. Also, other notable breakbeat hardcore, house and techno tracks, XL's output at the time, were featured from other labels.
Kicks Like a Mule is a British electronic music duo consisting of Richard Russell and Nick Halkes. Their first single, "The Bouncer", peaked at No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart when it was released in 1992. Although both Halkes and Russell worked at the XL Recordings label at the time of the single's release, it was released on Rebel MC’s independent Tribal Bass label. It featured a repeated vocal sample of an archetypal club bouncer saying "Your name's not down, you're not coming in" and "Not tonight, you're not on the list."
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and vocalist Keith Flint, dancer and occasional live keyboardist Leeroy Thornhill, dancer Sharky, and MC and vocalist Maxim. They are pioneers of the breakbeat-influenced genre big beat, and describe their style as electronic punk.
Empirion are a British industrial dance music group, originating from Essex, England. They were formed in 1993, and the original line-up consisted of Austin Morsely, Bob Glennie and Jamie Smart.
Deekline is a British producer and DJ of breakbeat, breakstep, drum and bass and garage music. He is the innovator of breakstep music which is bass-heavy, breakbeat-infused 2-step, first characterised in his 1999 hit "I Don't Smoke", which reached No. 11 on the UK charts. He is the owner of Rat Records, which has released material of such artists as DJ Fresh, Jack Beats, Stanton Warriors, Wiley, Skinny Man, Rennie Pilgrem, House Breakers and Freq Nasty. Deekline has also had notable collaborations with British electronic music producers Ed Solo and Wizard. In 2011, he opened up his online clothing store, Bass Boutique.
Rave 92 is a DJ mixed compilation album compiled by Mark Arthurworrey and released on Cookie Jar Records, containing popular rave singles that had become popular in the United Kingdom in 1992. The compilation, the fifth and final rave compilation compiled by Arthurworrey and released on the label, aims to collect some of the year's biggest rave hits, although, as has been pointed out, Rave 92 also intends to "bridge across the gap between chart rave and the more obscure hardcore tracks." Released in November 1992, Rave 92 was well-received and a commercial success, reaching number 3 on the UK Compilation Chart. Several latter-day electronic producers, including Phaeleh, have cited hearing Rave 92 for the first time as the point they became interested in electronic music.
The Positiva Ambient Collection is a compilation album of various artists released by British dance music label Positiva Records in 1993, documenting ambient house and ambient techno music, both of which were popular underground electronic genres in the United Kingdom at the time. The compilation, the first album released on the label, features an exclusive live recording of The Orb and is said to prove ambient house's variety and worldwide emergence. Upon its release, The Positiva Ambient Collection received critical acclaim, and has continued to receive acclaim in the ensuing years. It has also been credited for bringing Beaumont Hannant to prominence via the inclusion of his track "Awakening the Soul".