D*Minds

Bristol born and bred; Distorted Minds is the story of two like minded individuals, Jon Midwinter and Alistair Vickery, coming together and living a dream. Over the last decade this dance music outfit have had a number of hit records across a number of prominent imprints including the likes of: Kaos (‘T-10’) Formation (‘Snuff Baby’ / ‘Warriors’), Break Beat Kaos (‘Give It To Me’) and there very own D-Style Recordings (‘Ouch’ / ‘Revolution’ / ‘Searching’) The pair met through their shared obsession with dance music, hanging around the same records stores in and around Bristol including ‘Time Is Right’ and ‘Replay’ and bumping into each other at the same local nights and some times even at the same raves hundreds of miles away. By the time they decided to go into the studio together, both of them had a number of beats under their belts. The fact they were both already accomplished DJs meant that they both knew exactly what they wanted to make and it involved an oxymoron: clean distortion? It wasn’t long before the outfit had something they were happy with: ‘Eventual’. To the guys delight the track received club support from the likes of Grooverider (BBC Radio 1) and Andy C which was shortly followed by a phone call from the renowned DJ and label owner SS who signed the track for his Hard Beats Incorporated imprint. This was the first of a number of Distorted Minds’ releases SS signed and released over the coming years including the anthems: ‘Snuff Baby’ and ‘Warriors’. Their success was taken to another level with the release of their ground-breaking release featuring MC Jakes on Adam F’s Kaos Recordings: with ‘T-10’ the outfit achieved just about everything they had dreamed of from their bedroom studio just a few years ago both production and sales wise. It wasn’t long before their time in the studio was broken up by a truly hectic DJ schedule, which literally took the pair all around the world, a lifestyle that continues today. With this kind of success comes remix work and over the years the guys have put together some brilliant mixes, the best known being their remix of EZ Roller’s ‘Crowd Rocker’ which is actually used daily as a sound bed on Zane Lowe’s award winning BBC Radio 1 show. At the turn of the millennium the pair decided it was time for them to start their own record label, as they were convinced that there was so much great music out there. D-Style and its sister label Stereotype were born and although all concerned were hesitant to begin with the labels have exceeded any expectations. Successful projects have included the innovative MC Series; which featured all of the industry’s best crowd connoisseurs including IC3, Foxy and Eksman. The series was also given the stamp of approval by the Adam F and DJ Fresh’s front-running Break Beat Kaos imprint, when they jointly released Distorted Minds collaboration with Skibadee titled ‘Give It To Me’ b/w ‘Stay Focused’. The last couple of yeas have seen D-Style forge it's way into the premier league of drum'n'bass labels. High-flying releases such as their own 'Searchin' as well as TC's 'Jump' and 'Deep' have received a whole host of positive press from around the world. Future plans include the highly anticipated 'Evolution' album from TC, a label compilation and artist albums from Distorted Minds and Jakes. Finally it’s also important to note what the pair has achieved with their weekly club-night ‘Run’. Always a roadblock the turntables are regularly graced by the scene’s leading figures plus Run residents which include Die, Clipz, Hazard, TC, Fierce, The Force and Pascal and guest appearances by the likes of: Scratch Perverts, Roni Size, Mampi Swift, Bryan Gee, Hype and Pendulum with Distorted Minds playing each and every week. In the past 18 months D Minds have been non stop in building their empire which they modestly call the "D Style Group'. The group is run from one large office in Bristol shared by management and record company 'Hope'. This work environment has created massive opportunities, combining contacts and work ethics the two companies have certainly learnt a lot from each other and made crucial contacts. The day to day running and management of the office is taken care of by Gerard who has over 10 years experience in the scene. Being the owner of Drive By with its very own show on Kiss Fm and formally the manager of Full Cycle, he is definitely a massive asset to the team. Alongside, Gerard is Sally who takes care of the huge task of organizing Run promotions and Run tour nights. Considering the amount of time in the studio TC and Jon have spent together its surprising how D Minds have managed to pull off a collaboration with DJ Hazard. This 12” (A. Mr Happy AA. Super Drunk) is one of the biggest d&b tunes of 2007 and is out now on DJ Hype's Ganja Records. On top of all this D Minds have had a massive DJ schedule to keep up with, its been a big 18 months for the guys and things look like they are just getting started! Since the outfit’s inception almost a decade ago, their passage can only be measured by means of an upward curve, and with their own label/s, club-nights and productions convalescing incessantly, one can only see that upward curve continuing for years to come.