Artist SpotlightTYKE

Tyke: A mischief maker, a rascal, a cheeky little upstart gnawing away at the ankles of life with raw determination… Never, ever, letting go. The tag relates to his days as a young graffiti artist, covering London’s rail network with his stark, sharp, vibrant style. But it’s just as relevant in the drum & bass world: His style is still distinctively sharp, stark and vibrant… But now he’s moved up from the ankles and is currently chewing the face off the scene. Signed to DJ Hype’s and Pascal’s mighty Playaz imprint, the once semi-pro footballer’s currency in D&B is more valuable than ever. But it’s always been strong, his earliest, self-released, tracks were supported by Hazard, Jumping Jack Frost and Nicky Blackmarket. Andy C quickly joined the premier support list when he snapped up Tyke and Recipe’s old skool homage ‘Music Makers’ for his ‘Nightlife 5’ mix. A deal with Grid Recordings followed, with label boss Twisted Individual developing Tyke into the characteristic artist you hear today. Tyke calls it moral guidance; starting each track with a fresh sound palette, approaching each creation as if it’s your very first. Somewhere at this point he also developed a taste for analogue outboard kit. Ploughing his earnings into his studio, Tyke’s warm, weighty output is made on kit twice his age… And sounds many, many times his weight. He takes his game very seriously but his tongue is firmly kept in cheek with alter egos such as Mugabe and Retronym and tracks such as ‘Infected Headphones’, ‘Drug Pusher’ and ‘Buzzards’ giving him a distinctive, playful edge over his peers. Backed by full support from the very biggest of DJs, armed with a notoriously bass-heavy approach and charged with a musical knowledge and creative, imaginative scope that dates back to being taken to Blackmarket Records before he was 10… Catch him on wax, catch him smashing the dance in any discerning venue across the world, either way this mischief maker is going to be chewing the face off the drum & bass scene for a long, long time to come. Tyke has used Sennheiser headphones and studio equipment for the length of his career, and recommends to the masses as the best audio available on the market, both for live performance and studio production.