Elite Force

“Elite Force unites the sometimes warring factions of electro house, techno, and breakbeat, like a peace keeper who values the spirit of cooperation and tolerance. He was forged in the fires of breakbeat, which has always had a habit of sucking in sounds that pass by. Elite’s sets are like a team performance, with tracks coming from all corners of the bass-driven sector, to create a vibrant hodgepodge of boundary-pushing dance music….“ [Beatport] Simon Shackleton's visionary and emotive blends of sound and groove are the culmination of his remarkable career as a composer, musician, and DJ. He began as a classical music student and advanced to touring worldwide with the live band Lunatic Calm before performing at renowned festivals as Elite Force and Simon Shackleton. His Elite Force project began way back in 1996, debuting on his own newly founded Fused and Bruised label with a series of peerless 12s and remixes. After five successful years winning plaudits from the likes of Fatboy Slim & Jon Carter, he put Fused and Bruised on the backburner to concentrate on production work. After several years with Whole9Yards and Moonshine he became a primary artist on Adrift Recordings (formally known as Kingsize) before moving on to build his own empire under the U&A Recordings banner. Often credited for being a lynchpin in creating the tech-funk 'genre' (an amalgamation of breaks, house, techno and electro) he has released a series of massive singles in the past few years, finding broad support from DJs and musicians across the board, including the likes of James Zabiela, Sasha, Crystal Method, Laurent Garnier and Fatboy Slim to name but five. As a remixer, Elite Force has always been in huge demand, with legendary re-workings for the likes of Grandmaster Flash, Crystal Method, Jungle Brothers, Stereo MCs, UNKLE & Infusion all contributing to his reputation as one of the most creative and effective remixers around. On the decks, Elite Force has been a prime mover since 1990 when he cut his teeth playing huge student nights and self-promoted acid house nights in the South West of England, before moving up to London and ultimately gravitating towards his tech-funk style, with which he now has a full diary of global bookings. He has become known as one of the top technicians on a circuit that has included massive shows in Belarus, Hungary, Australia, Italy, USA, Czech Republic, India, Turkey, Spain, Japan, Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and China, amongst others, as well as numerous festival slots including Glastonbury, Coachella, Burning Man, San Francisco's Love Parade, Wickerman and the Glade.