There are not many artists that have created a single track that defines an era, but in Drum & Bass, Keaton—as part of The Usual Suspects—did just that with “Killa Bees”, the epochal single released on Renegade Hardware in 1999. Epitomizing the dark, intensely nervy sound of the late 90s, the single was in near-constant rotation in every corner of the Drum & Bass scene. Named Best Newcomers by Knowledge Magazine and thrust into the limelight virtually overnight, Keaton found himself in the enviable position of having entered the game on the top floor.
As founding member of the ubiquitous ‘The Usual Suspects’ and production partner of Hive and Gridlock, Keaton terrorised the Drum and Bass scene from 1999 to 2006, bringing to the booth tunes you couldn’t dare ignore – “The Plague”, his remix of Dillinja’s “Twist ‘Em Out,” and the tremendous “Bring It On”, to name just a few caught the attention not only of ‘heads’ and ‘ravers’ but his peers and tastemakers alike. Queen of Electronica BBC Radio 1’s Mary Anne Hobbs gave her approval when she dubbed “No Hope” the first release on Keaton’s own label Refuge, Single of the Year in 2005. BBC Radio 1Xtra couldn’t resist the temptation to award “Bring It On” A-list rotation on their playlist – the first Drum and Bass tune to do so.
Intoxicated with the soul eclipsing beats of House, Minimal and Techno Keaton relocated to Berlin for 2 years in the mid noughties, making the City of Techno his spiritual home, headlining at the cities biggest and most influential clubs Tresor and Livedemo in his inimitable style. Already garnering fans, ‘Don’t Criticize’ has effortlessly enticed and won over the Deep House masses of Berlin, Europe and the UK.
A love of Hip Hop has seen Keaton produce beats for Rap Star T-Pain, Wizard Sleeve and more. The Hip Hop and, dare we say it, Urban scene is currently where Keaton is flexing his production muscle with a number of exciting projects in the pipe line.
It’s been a hell of a ride, the Keaton you see before you is re-born. The result – his self governed production label Mad Love, forthcoming Planet Me & Mad Love Eps; a slew of genre busting House / Hip Hop / Bass and way beyond tracks which are guaranteed to have any reveller crying for the lost years are the result.
While producing for the celebrated photographer and documentary film-maker, Nick Knight OBE, remixing for UK Rap Star Bashy, a rework of the band Kaya’s beautiful acoustic piece, new music produced for Lena Cullen and with much more to come, we can expect nothing but creative genius from this truly gifted and versatile artist.