MARK KNIGHT

Over the past few years, Mark Knight has forged himself a reputation as one of the foremost house producers on the planet – a true ‘leader of the new skool’ - prolific both in the quantity and quality of his releases.  A string of consistently hot productions and skilfully written remixes has catapulted Mark to the top of the dance charts, earned him a nomination as “Artist of the Year” at last years House Music Awards, and has made him a firm favourite with a cross section of the house community; everyone from Deep Dish to Pete Tong, Sander Kleinenberg to Roger Sanchez has supported his productions.

Regarded as one of the hardest working DJ’s in the industry (42 countries in 12 months and a staggering 20 gigs in 1 month!), Mark’s technical ability is second to none, and his DJ style totally reflective of his attitude to production; rather than finding one style and sticking to it Mark likes to keep his sets as varied as possible, playing right across the board, from electro to tribal and everything in between.
Securing a residency at the infamous Ministry of Sound in 2003 was Mark’s real breaking point - the place where his ability to command and rock a dance floor has since been both tested and truly perfected. In 2004 with a soaring profile and a growing fan base, Mark launched ‘Toolroom Records’ – initially as an output for his own production. As house music returned to its underground roots the label embodied this shift and began re-shaping the scene with its own distinctive sound - the ‘Toolroom Sound’, releasing quality, cutting edge tracks at a time when the scene was lacking originality. In the space of 12 months the label established itself as one of the most respected dance labels in the UK – receiving a nomination for “best breakthrough label” in 2004 at the inaugural House Music Awards, followed a year later with a nomination for "Label of the year" at the HMA’s 2005.

Never one to rest on his laurels Mark launched his brand-new concept ‘Toolroom Knights’ at the 2006 Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). The night, based around the label’s and Mark’s distinctive sound aims to bring the underground sound of Toolroom Records to the overground, hosting parties at key venues across the UK and Europe, creating a unique party atmosphere that so many ‘nerdy label-nights’ lack. The Toolroom Knights brand will be further supported by a compilation series in 2007 reflecting the sound of the label featuring artists from the Toolroom roster.

Mark Knight is a DJ/producer who continues to push the musical boundaries of a scene he is truly passionate about – playing and producing cutting edge house music, pioneering his own distinctive sound. From the start of his Ministry residency in 2003 to the launch of the ‘Toolroom Knights’ brand, Mark has continued to build a solid worldwide fan base, and further establish his status as a world premier DJ/producer.

Michael Gray

British-based Michael Gray is an accomplished DJ, producer and remixer and is respected by DJs across the board with Pete Tong, Danny Rampling, Roger Sanchez, David Morales and Erick Morillo being amongst his most vocal supporters. As one half of dynamic production and remix duo Full Intention, Michael burst onto the scene in 1994 with the pair’s remix of Duke’s ‘So In Love With You’ which rocketed into the Top 20 charts.

Since then, Michael has completed a string of remixes both as solo efforts and alongside Jon Pearn as Full Intention. Shena’s ‘I'll Be Waiting’, Dajae's ‘What Do You Want?’, Dina Vass’ ‘The Love I Have For You’, Mood 2 Swing’s ‘Can't Get Away’, Junior Jack’s ‘E Samba’, Brandy’s ‘Full Moon’, Sugarbabes – ‘Hole In The Head’, Powerhouse’s ‘I Got What You Need’, Ultra Nate’s ‘Free’ , Jennifer Lopez’s ‘Love Don't Cost A Thing’ and Frankie Knuckles’ ‘Tears’ have all received Michael’s magic touch, as did George Michael’s ‘Amazing’, for which Full Intention received a Grammy nomination.

Michael’s most successful solo production to date has been ‘The Weekend’. Featuring the vocals of Uk vocalist Shena, ‘The Weekend’ was heavily championed by Pete Tong and UK radio, reaching #7 on the UK charts. The single just seemed to get bigger and bigger, possessing a feel-good vibe that proved infectious. ‘The Weekend’ took out #1 spot on the Australian ARIA club charts and enjoyed similar chart success across mainland Europe, being licensed to several labels including Ultra, Eye Industries, Germany’s Kontor imprint and Italy’s Motivo Records.

Remixed by artists including Nic Fanciulli, Ian Carey and Starchaser, ‘The Weekend’ sat in the record boxes of the world’s top DJs including Erick Morillo, Junior Jack, Groove Armada, Lee-Cabrera, Dave Pearce, Tall Paul, Steve Smart and DJ EZ and was used in a number of television commercials including ones for Radio 1’s Creamfields events and BBC’s Football Focus. Appearances on dozens of compilation releases were the icing on the cake for one of 2004’s biggest tunes.

Never one to rest on his success, Michael has of late been busy completing remixes for Scape and D’Empress’ ‘Be My Friend’ and Area F’s ‘Akumbe’, while working on several projects under the Full Intention namesake, one of which will be a triple CD album on Defected. The first two discs will be mixed and contain the duo’s best remixes & productions as voted by their fans, while the 3rd disc will contain some exclusive 12" mixes of previously unavailable tracks. Full Intention’s new single, ‘I Believe In You’, on Eye Industries is currently storming up the charts, as is Michael’s solo effort ‘Borderline’, also on Eye Industries and at this stage destined to follow ‘The Weekend’s’ success!