1. How long have you been producing and djing, and under what names?

I've been producing for a total of 10 years now and have only started dj'ing over the past 4 years.I produce hardcore under the name Jamie Ritmen and Hard Dance under my Gridbreaker guise.

2. A lot of people know you from the hardcore scene, what turned you on to making hard dance and trance?

Well when I got back into producing 4 years ago I went with hardcore as it was all I knew and I had alot of contacts in that area so it was a good place to start.Also begun with Hardcore as the music had moved on so much and I really liked the vibe.However I always like to keep things fresh and have always loved any style of hard dance music so in 2006 I had a go at some hard house.The more I listened to the darker techy style the more desperately I wanted to produce it so I set up the whole Gridbreaker thing to cater for that genre.

3. How was the transition from one style to another, from a producers point of view?

I found it very difficult to make the transition as I hadnt really emersed myself in hard dance as I kind of went from memory from tracks Id heard in the past,not nessesarily what was happening right now so it took some time.So much was different all the way through from basics like percussion to the arrangement, its only over time that you realise its so far removed from hardcore in so many ways.

4. How would you describe your current style?

The Gridbreaker style for me is a dark, boomy, techy low end with a euphoric and uplifting vibe also accompanied by some vocals too.So even though its different from hardcore I still use alot of elements from that genre.I think this gives me a very unique sound.

5. What ‘s the main difference between a hardcore gig and a hard dance gig, from the dj & the clubber's perspective and which style do you prefer playing?

Hardcore gigs are to a much younger crowd (no offence to the hard dance massive, you can still kick it down) :P.So the vibe is very different from a hard dance gig both from a DJ and Clubbing perspective.A hardcore crowd are always that bit more demanding on a track by track basis where as the hard dance crowd are more patient.I think this has alot to do with the tempo, hardcore needs much more going on to keep the dancefloor busy where as with hard dance you can build your sets and use some progresssion as the tempo allows ravers to stick it out for longer periods.So each have there variants, I love playing both.

6. What’ve you got coming up over the next few months?

Hardcore wise the next Clubland Extreme album is nigh so I have some projects on the go with Mark Breeze.I have also just signed UK Dance Records to TID and Juno so I am currently preparing all of my mixes for the next realease including remixes under my DJ Fallout guise that I use for hard house.The next project with Anne Savage is number 6 on her own label Siren Trax, and also have a collab planned with Amber D in October for some hard trance/techno. Collaborations were a focus for me this year so its wicked to be working with so many talented people.

The Sound of Goodbye is available to download now on trackitdown - trackitdown.net