Hixxy, or DJ Hixxy, (born Ian Hicks) is a British

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

and electronic music

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

known for his innovative work in the UK

Happy hardcore Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or "hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s. H ...

scene, co-founding the Raver Baby record label, and the Bonkers compilation album series.

Career

Hixxy came to prominence in 1995 when he and

DJ Sharkey DJ Sharkey (born Jonathan Kneath on 25 July 1974 in Plymouth, England) is a British record producer, disc jockey and rapper. As of September 2011 he is semi-retired from music production and performance. Sharkey has performed in the United King ...

released their 1995 track ''Toytown'', which is considered "a classic of the genre, a riot of scruffy breaks and sugar-sweet vocals that signalled a schism in rave history when it was released". Being considered pivotal in the

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

scene, ''Toytown'' led in 1996 to React Music releasing the first of the Bonkers compilation with Hixxy and Sharkey mixing. The Bonkers series stretched to 19 volumes, with Hixxy as a regular contributor, and while critical reception was varied the series was credited as the "dawning of a new era" in the UK rave music scene. By the early 2000s Hixxy's sound had evolved, releasing tracks that adopted the more mainstream

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

sound but with hardcore style

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. In 2004 Hixxy founded the ''Hardcore Till I Die'' events via his record label ''Raver Baby''. That same year the late BBC Radio 1 DJ

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, who was a supporter of the hardcore scene, invited Hixxy to do a mix on his show. The mix was subsequently released on CD by React Music under the title ''Bonkers: Hixxy Mix as Heard on the John Peel Show''. The following year Hixxy partnered with

Darren Styles Darren James Mew (born 23 May 1975), better known as Darren Styles, is an English record producer, DJ, singer and songwriter from Colchester, England. Originally a member of the breakbeat hardcore group DJ Force & the Evolution, Styles found s ...

to follow up the Bonkers series by initiating another popular compilation mix series called

Clubland X-Treme Hardcore ''Clubland X-Treme Hardcore'' are a series of compilation albums from Clubland released by Universal Music TV, AATW. Series overview Clubland X-Treme * Disc 1 # Scooter – Weekend 4:49 # Drunkenmunky – E 2:39 # Porn Kings vs. Flip & Fi ...

. Hixxy has a prolific touring and performance record, both nationally in the UK and internationally with shows in the United States and Australia. As of 2023 Hixxy continues to perform live, often with fellow hardcore innovators such as

DJ Dougal Paul Arnold Clarke (born 1975 in Northampton), and better known as DJ Dougal, is a British UK hardcore and happy hardcore artist and DJ. He first became involved with the dance music scene at the age of 15, while setting up sound systems for so ...

at events including the Bang Face Weekender in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Living people British DJs Happy hardcore musicians UK hardcore musicians 1975 births