An introduction to the music of UK Techno pioneer Steve Picton (Stasis)
Of all the artists who emerged in the early days of British techno and is finally gaining the kind of recognition in the annals of electronic music he truly deserves, Steve Pickton first appeared on the UK electronic music horizon as an artist in 1993, after making his debut release ‘Point of No Return’. Released on the now seminal imprint B12 Records as Stasis.
Always one for keeping his identity shrouded in mystery, little did he (or the rest of the world) know exactly what a rich musical legacy he would go on to create and bestow upon us almost three decades later. Releasing a string of 12s, collection of sought after albums and remixes under various guises that include Paul W. Teebrooke, Phenomyna, Skye, Sugar-Plum and The Otherworld Collective. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find his name surface on renown imprints such as Peacefrog, Pure Plastic, Mo-Wax, Delsin and Soul Jazz amongst others.
In 1994, he released his debut and much sought after solo album ‘Inspiration’, followed by a second in 1996 when he laid down ‘From the old to the new’: both courtesy of Peace Frog. Undeniably embracing the new found sounds of Techno and IDM, he then decided to turn his hand to a more tripped out jazz-influenced flow, producing fat down-tempo beats as the golden era of Trip Hop caught the ears and imagination of music fans the world over. Though he’s always been inspired by a wide range of music and artists, especially those from the world of Jazz, he has always sought to carve out his own unique intensive sound, that is hard to compare to anything else in the field of Electronica. There’s no mistaking Pickton’s output, characterised by a dreamy-edged melodic futurism shot through raw, powerful machine edged production. He manages to combine the best of Shake Shakir’s Detroit fuelled experimentalism with the culture of UK heavy subbass – woven together by beautiful melody that never fail to leave you basking in its warmth.
A consistent creative force who has never relinquished his passion for shaping sounds. Over the years, he has had a hand in running his own label, Otherworld. In more recent times, he has teamed up with old friend Dave Biggs to set up Fencepiece, one of the two owners of the London record shops ‘Time Is Right’ which helped put out his first record.
An artist we continue to be surprised by without fail, we thought it time to dig through his catalogue and bring you some of his lesser known gems:
