Bio
Hip-hop, electro and breakbeats brought Aston Harvey and Matt Cantor together as Freestylers, a London partnership whose music crosses the boundaries between club production and live performance. Both arrived with substantial experience: Harvey had worked as an engineer and producer with Rebel MC and DJ Rap, while Cantor was part of Strike. They met at Fresh Records and built Freestylers around a shared appetite for bass, sampled rhythm and vocal energy.
Their early success with B-Boy Stance and Ruffneck carried them beyond the British breaks scene, into international touring and a live show that incorporated MCs and musicians. The 2004 album Raw As Fk broadened that reach with Push Up, while Adventures in Freestyle included the Pendulum collaboration Pain Killer, bringing drum & bass and rock into the mix. Performances at Glastonbury, Big Day Out and Fuji Rock, together with a residency at London's Fabric, reflect the different settings their music has occupied.
Freestylers continued exploring heavier bass music through Cracks, while retaining the reggae and soundsystem connections in their work. The joint album Enter the Sound with Dub Pistols brings those connections forward through contributors including General Levy, Tippa Irie and Johnny Osbourne. Alongside that collaborative project, their productions and remixes continue to connect breaks with a wider range of club sounds.
United Kingdom
