Darren Styles

It’s nice, sometimes, when artists don’t beat around the bush with their stage names and instead christen themselves in a manner that immediately reveals to the listener what they’re all about; credit’s due, then, to Ultrabeat, who give you a pretty clear idea from the very get go that you should be expecting high-tempo dance music, and little else. The Liverpudlian trio hail from Liverpool, having formed in 2002 after having met through DJ’ing in clubs like the legendary Cream and bonding over a shared love of happy hardcore, they first made an impression on the UK charts with ‘Pretty Green Eyes’ in 2003, which went in at number two on the singles rundown. They’ve never quite topped that since, but their two records to date - Ultrabeat: The Album in 2007 and The Weekend Has Landed in 2009 - have both fared well commercially and among the dance scene that Ultrabeat are so steeped in. Additionally, their live sets have won them acclaim from fans and critics alike, and they remain active across the UK and Europe, mixing intimate club sets with huge festival slots to this day; don’t rule out a return to chart success just yet, with plenty still left in the Ultrabeat tank.

“They call me the Stryderman, top East London writer man” is the lyric I seem to recall that Tinchy Stryder burst onto the UK grime scene with, back in 2008; you have to wonder whether he knew then, though, that it was a song that would herald his arrival on the charts proper, prefacing as it did his debut album, Catch 22, which would end up dropping the following summer and charting at a peak of number two. From there on out, Tinchy looked unstoppable, following Dizzee Rascal’s lead by moving from grime to rap and dance pop and becoming a household name in the process; it was a crossover that afforded Stryder huge chart success, with his single ‘Number 1’ becoming the first song in history to actually reach that position on the charts. His quick-fire follow-up album, Third Strike, was a commercial disappointment, reaching only number forty-eight in the UK, but Stryder has remained an energetic live performer, packing out intimate rooms across the country backed by just a turntablist. He’s currently working on album number four, and his prospects once he does resurface shouldn’t be written off; he’s not hit thirty yet and already has achieved more than most do in a lifetime.