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.[1] Its headquarters are at the Universal UK offices (formerly at EMI offices in Brook Green in West London), where it is the only large dance music label under the EMI banner.[citation needed][2]
Other artists who have been with the label for many years include Paul van Dyk and the Shapeshifters, although the latter have since left to release tracks via Defected Records and concentrate on running their own Nocturnal Grooves label.
Andre Williams, better known as Shy FX, is a British DJ and producer from London. He specialises in drum and bass and jungle music.
Now That's What I Call Music! is a series of various artists compilation albums released in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Sony Music and Universal Music which began in 1983. Spinoff series began for other countries the following year, starting with South Africa, and many other countries worldwide soon followed, expanding into Asia in 1995, then the United States in 1998.
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.
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.
The Shapeshifters is the current alias of English house producer Simon Marlin and a former duo comprising Marlin and Swedish producer Max Reich, from Gothenburg. The Shapeshifters have been signed to Defected Records since 2008, and the duo were previously signed to Positiva. They are best known for their debut single "Lola's Theme", which went to No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in July 2004.
Blue Mercedes were a pop music duo from London, England, comprising David Titlow and Duncan Millar. Their debut album, Rich and Famous, was produced by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow for PWL, with songs written by Titlow and Millar. "It was dance pop, out and out; it needed to work on the dance floor," recalled Harding of actioning the brief given to him by the band.
Veracocha is the alias used for the trance music collaboration between Dutch producers Vincent de Moor and Ferry Corsten, both of whom have had solo success under their own names, and using various other pseudonyms.
Cristiano Spiller is an Italian electronic music DJ and record producer. He is best known for his 2000 single "Groovejet ", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song reached number-one in the UK, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand. It sold over two million copies and was rumoured to be the first song to be played on an iPod.
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.
"Lola's Theme" is the debut single of British house duo the Shapeshifters, featuring soul singer Cookie on vocals. It was released on 12 July 2004 as the lead single from the Shapeshifters' debut album, Sound Advice (2004). The song became the duo's biggest hit, peaking atop the UK Singles Chart and charting highly in Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. In Australia, it was the most successful club hit of 2004.
Dino Entertainment was a firm specializing in the compilation market of the late 1980s and early 1990s, releasing records such as the That Loving Feeling and Energy Rush range of CDs, in competition with Telstar Records, Arcade Records and K-Tel.
The Space Brothers are a British trance music duo comprising Richard 'Ricky' Louis Simmonds and Stephen Christopher Jones, noted for producing under a variety of pseudonyms such as Chakra, Lustral, Ascension, Essence, Ultra High, Lamai and The Realm.
The Annual is a series of compilation albums currently published annually by London-based electronic dance music brand Ministry of Sound. Described as Ministry of Sound's "flagship" series, the popular albums feature house, big beat and trance tracks popular in nightclubs, especially those in the United Kingdom.
Martijn ten Velden is a Dutch house music DJ and producer from Haarlem.
Nick 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, Bad Company UK and more. Halkes previously managed Engine-EarZ Experiment, DJ Fresh and Stanton Warriors. Over recent years as a manager, Halkes has also worked with DJ René LaVice. He is also a part time lecturer on the music industry at the University of Westminster. Currently he does guest lectures at a variety of UK educational institutions 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 and more. He runs the Reach Up club night and radio show with partner Andy Smith; Crissy Kybosh is no longer involved in Reach Up. 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.
Susan Brice, better known by her stage name Coco Star, is an English singer and songwriter, who was signed to Universal Music and EMI. Brice has collaborated with artists such as Craig David, Artful Dodger and Fragma for the number 1 hit, "Toca's Miracle".
Orhan Terzi, better known by his stage name DJ Quicksilver, is a German-Turkish DJ and music producer. His stage name derives from his days taking part in DJ contests, where a mercury column would gauge audience reaction.
John Truelove is an English record producer, DJ and music entrepreneur.
An independent record label is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented by trade associations in their country or region, which in turn are represented by the international trade body, the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN).
PMR Records is an independent record label founded by Ben and Daniel Parmar in 2011. Initially building recognition as a quintessentially British outlet plugged in to local dance/electronic music culture, with a keen awareness of the trajectory of pop music, PMR was responsible for the early development of Disclosure, Jessie Ware and Jamie Woon who have gone on to have mainstream success. It also nurtured specialist dance/electronic music acts such as Julio Bashmore and T.Williams.
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.
