2 Bit Thugs met in Brighton in 2002 after drunkenly agreeing that music at clubs should never be progressive, dull or pretentious. A few pints later and the pair realised their shared interest in broken beats, rapping and heavy basslines and they began combining their musical tastes and talents. Playing hip hop, funk and beats the duo gained a reputation as party DJs across Brighton and they held their own residency at legendary Brighton subterranean bar ‘Ali Cats’ where they held weekly parties, hosting names such as JFB (UK DMC champion), Cut La Roc, Ashley Slater (Freakpower), Bushy, Kidda, Flevans and a host of local VJs.

Production was the next logical step and the thugs set out on what was to become a lifelong passion. Churning out their own tracks and remixes to play out, the pair experimented with all genres but felt most at ease with breakbeat – the combination of its broken beats and heavy basslines was ideal. They were taken under the wing of breaks maestros NineLives The Cat and Vlad Sokolov and learnt the tricks of the production trade. It wasn’t until later meeting fidget supremo The Bulgarian that their love of house music began and things really started to take off.

Now much in demand as DJs, the duo's full-throttle bass assaults have left dance floors nationwide drooling. Never afraid to push the music they love, regardless of pigeon holes, the pair bring a raw energy to their DJ sets – mashing up womping and wobbling basslines from drum and bass to house, from hip hop to garage, baltimore to dubstep - all blended with quick mixing and super sick edits.

Ahead of their upcoming appearance at SEone in London on the 25th April for Kidology's 2nd Birthday and Sick! On The Dancefloors 3rd Birthday celebrations, we caught up with 2 Bit Thugs to find out their latest and get our appetites wet before this mammoth night knocks our party spots off...

You guys met in Brighton and originally your roots lay in Breakbeat, what were those early days like and at what point did your interest in the House scene begin to grow?

Breakbeat was, and still is, a massive influence on what we do. Its beauty lies in its ability to soak up elements from other genres and that's something we strive to do ourselves. Being perfectly honest we fell out of love with it for a while but there's some really fresh stuff coming through now. We found a similar raw energy in the fidget/wonk/bassline house that was bought to our attention through our ex-housemate The Bulgarian and when we first heard Rico Tubbs' 'Gangsters' – a good year or so before it came out - we were just blown away.

Where did the unique name come from??

Unfortunately there's not really a funny or interesting story attached to this. It just sounded kinda cool.

Can you remember your first gig together? Where was it and what records did you spin?

The very first was in a student uni bar in Brighton and we were nervous as hell and pretty shit. We were playing hip hop and funk – good records played badly. Our first proper gig together as 2 Bit Thugs was a while after that in Walsall.

Going through a genre change as you did cross’s worlds in the dance scene, how do find the crowd differs at House nights as opposed to Breakbeat events? Which do you prefer playing at and why?

We don't really have a preference. We tend to go down better with crowds that are musically open-minded. It’s a fine line spanning genres cause sometimes we risk being too housey for the breaks crowd and vice versa.

Which other artists might you compare yourselves to and whose career would you love to mirror?

Musically we've found our own sound which really reflects our tastes. I think we share common interests with Jack Beats as they were obviously hip hop DJs first too, as was Rico Tubbs. In terms of a career were more than happy with the way things are going but we'll be pushing to become more of a live act over time, and hoping to cross-over into the mainstream consciousness.

What’s been the gig of your career so far?

It’s a hard call. They've all been so much fun and varied too.

Which tracks are currently getting a lot of airtime in your sets? Any promo’s you’ve heard lately that you’re tipping for success?

‘Sick As Sin’ by Stagga is a Dubstep tune that has been going down really well everywhere.

Your sound now can only really be described as a mash up, its very apparent that your roots don’t lie solely in House, do you ever find that some crowds find this hard to deal with? Or do you think people welcome the diversity your sets bring to a night?

People seem to want a bit of everything nowadays – which has been really useful for us. We have always played a variety of music in our sets but when we were first starting out it was harder to make a name because people wanted to pigeon-hole us and we didn’t fit properly into any box.

You are playing at the upcoming Kidology Birthday Party at SEone, alongside the likes of Will Bailey, and Fish Go Deep, have you played with these artists before? Are you looking forward to the event?

Cant wait! We went down to SEone a while back for a drunken night out and we were dancing on the tables. We were massively influenced by Twocker early on so its a real honour to play with Will, and we're really looking forward to seeing Fish Go Deep.

Which festivals will you be making an appearance at this year?

Tignesfest in France, Glade, Aeon, Exefest and hopefully Bloom – plus it looks like there may be some more in the pipeline.

Any plans for Ibiza? Or any further world domination in 2009?

We'd love to go out to Ibiza – it’s whether they would understand the sound we’re pushing. As for world domination; we're working on a proper artist album which is something we've always wanted to do. It'll be a range of styles – from hip hop, rock, chillout to drum and bass and house, hopefully with crossover appeal. After that we'll be putting together a live show and hopefully touring the album. Sounds easy when I say it but it'll involve a lot of blood, sweat and tears!

BUY TICKETS FOR THIS MASSIVE EVENT NOW AT: ticketweb.co.uk

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT 2 BUT THUGS AT: myspace.com