Iain Cross

[Error in dsi:link tag]Jon the Baptist & DJ Chuck-E

Two of today’s hard trance pioneers, Giving the hard trance clubbers and ravers what they want, and not straying down the industry's 'tech road' The Jon the Baptist ( England) & DJ Chuck-E (Wales) connection started in the Summer of 2005, all though between them both they have over 20 years DJ'ing and producing experience. Jon a seasoned European hard trance producer, invited Chuck-E, an established DJ name on the hard trance circuit to his studio in Weymouth to learn how to write, and of course actually produce a couple of tunes. Their 1st tune ‘Intolerance’ (which the label was named after) was a monster hit in the clubs and with all the big hard trance DJ’s inc; Dave Joy, Cally & Juice, Mark EG etc..

Jon & Chuck-E started getting booked as a duo and this lead them to keep their connection going and go public as a production / DJ duo .The Jon the Baptist & DJ Chuck-E style of hard uplifting trance was soon touching down at places including Ripsnorter (Midnight set NYE 05) Addiction in Scotland, Fresh Clubbing & Concept in Ireland, Defcon 1 in Holland, Bionic in Wales, Tranzaction in Truro, Slammin Vinyl in Winchester, Wesfest in Shepton Mallet, Hardcore Weekender in Southport, and many events across London, Swansea, Bristol, Sheffield, Cardiff, Exeter.

Today, Chuck-E is Wales' Number 1 hard trance DJ. 10 years ago he started his DJ'ing journey, & in this time he has co-promoted several event including Viberation, Hardcore Explosion, Trancefusion & Panic Room. As well as being their resident DJ he established both permanent and, & rotational residencies including GBH, Breathe, MGK, Hostile, Xtreme, Devils Heaven, Ludicrous and Stimulate to name but a few. A former winner of the national PYP DJ competition, Chuck-E caught the eye of Ripsnorter’s head honcho, Martin Pod, back in 2002. within two years he was headlining his events playing back to back with internationally renowned DJ, Radio 1 Kutski.

Chuck-E continues to play major clubs and events on a weekly basis , he also finds time to co-own Intolerance Recordings with Mars W and have also been found working alongside Vandall (Trancewarez) in the studio.

His production partner is none other than Jon the Baptist- who is one of the most respected producers on the hard trance circuit. Jon the Baptists’s most notable tunes have been released via the Future Sound Corporation label. As well as those monster hits, he is responsible for remixing for hard trance kings Alphazone, and his tunes have been played out by the who’s who of trance, Judge Jules, Dave Joy & Scot Project. Together Jon the Baptist and Chuck E’s collaborations have been released by Future Sound Recordings owned by the Trance Generators in Italy, and Chuck-E's own Intolerance imprint.

Jon’s first release on UK label 2XS Recordings, a sub label of Alien Trax, led him to sign to Future Sound Corporation. Co-writing and mastering the projects 'THE ELITE' and 'PRO-T.O.N.', Jon's Neutron' and 'Insomnia'.saw him achieve success with his first releases. Jon has featured on 8 of FSC last 14 releases, not only under his own name but with featured remixes and under several alias's. All of Jon’s FSC work has received a massive amount of airtime across the globe, and has featured on many leading Hard Trance compilations.

Under the alias 'JTB', Jon has released and remixed on Club Quake, Skywarp & Sectioned Recordings to name a few.

2007 saw them on remix duties for Nish', with 'Talk To Me' released this August 2007 on Harderground Records in Japan!! A future remix release will soon feature on Dave Joy’s Joy Ride label (In the form of ‘Eclipse’ by French out fit Karybde & Scylla ) And once again, the home labels of Future Sound Corporation, and Intolerance Recordings.

With both Jon and Chuck set to committing their energy to future hard trance production & remix work under the JTB & DJ Chuck-E project this is a force to be reckoned with. Both of them are pushing the duo’ forward hammering it home with solid work tracks and gigs .Recently signed to Massive both the management agency and Massive Trax in Germany, together with gigs @ Magic City in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia this year, the future of the hard uplifting trance has its life force here!

M.N.K.Y & Ryki

Hailing from the sunny southern seaside town of Weymouth in Dorset, Mitch (M.N.K.Y) and Ricky (Ryki) have been DJing on the UK clubscene for just over two years. They first started mixing in 2004 and quickly gained recognition after coming 2nd in a DJ competition held in a local nightclub, not bad for their very first gig!!! Since then they have recieved regular bookings across the UK and have pushed themselves into spotlight to become one of the hottest DJing duo's to emerge from the south wests 'up and coming' ranks.

But it was 2006 that saw them become estabilished into the act that we all know and love today when they were signed up to the Plymouth Based 'Positive Impact DJ Agency' which boasts the hardstyle talents of Brainkicker, Vortex, Nino Pipito, Analogic Disturbance, Trilok & Chiren, Phillipe Rochard, Evanti & Thilo on their books, they were also quickly picked up by one of the finest hard trance labels in Europe, High Fish Recordings, home to Jon The Baptist, Chuck-E, Dave Spinout, Tricky, DJ The Corbz and S.F.M.

Ryki became co-promoter for 'Hard Trancelation' also that year which eventually led to a monthly residency with the South West based event. The night took off massively and soon the lads had built a small firm fan base from their regular appearances alongside such names as Organ Donors, Amber D, Madam Zu, Wid & Ben and BK.

In 2007 they continued turning heads by joining forces with six other like minded people to create 'Firesky' an event which boasted line ups that included Dave Joy, Hixxy, Cally & Juice, Jon the Baptist, Chuck-E and Stormtrooper. They also picked up a residency with Bournemouth hard house outfit 'Frenzy' and began work on 'Firesky Digital', an MP3 label designed to showcase the unsung talent that the hard trance scene has to offer.