Artist
Freestylers
Why we feature this artist The breakbeat as a meeting place Freestylers records pull hip-hop, reggae, electro and club music into the same physical space. The beat is usually the first thing that catches the ear, but the voices and samples keep giving it a dif…
- From
- United Kingdom
- Sound
- Electronic, breakbeat, trip hop, big beat
- Active
- 1996–present
Start with the music
Tracks to explore
The artist, in context
The story of Freestylers
Why we feature this artist
The breakbeat as a meeting place
Freestylers records pull hip-hop, reggae, electro and club music into the same physical space. The beat is usually the first thing that catches the ear, but the voices and samples keep giving it a different character. The music sounds communal because several dance-floor histories are already in conversation inside it.
The first full statement
Matt Cantor and Aston Harvey built the project around a shared interest in old-school hip-hop, electro and broken rhythms. We Rock Hard in 1998 made that world clear through tracks including “B-Boy Stance” and “Ruffneck”. The arrangements could be rough and busy without losing the central groove.
Pressure Point followed in 2001, widening the production while keeping the same interest in rhythm as the main carrier of personality. A voice could supply a quick command, a sung line or a fragment of another musical world, with the drums holding the pieces together.
A bigger song without a smaller beat
Raw as F**k in 2004 brought “Push Up”, a more overtly melodic crossover that still kept the rhythmic character intact. Adventures in Freestyle followed in 2006, continuing to move across different forms of bass-heavy dance music.
The albums are more useful than any single genre label. Freestylers are interested in what happens when a beat borrows the energy of one tradition and the vocal or bass line comes from another. The best records make those connections feel immediate, with enough roughness left in the sound to keep the music moving.
Essential releases
We Rock Hard
A vivid first statement of the project’s hip-hop, reggae and breakbeat connections.
Raw as F**k
The club sound makes room for a particularly effective pop crossover.
Adventures in Freestyle
A wider journey through rhythm-led electronic music.