As one half of chart-topping production duo Bodyrox, Nick Bridges is currently enjoying his most successful year to date. In partnership with Jon Pearn under the Bodyrox alias, Nick produced what Pete Tong dubbed as one of the “biggest hits in electronic dance music” in the form of Yeah Yeah. The massive electro workout took the WMC by storm picking up early support from Judge Jules, Zane Lowe, Jo Whiley, Annie Mac and Annie Nightingale on BBC Radio One alone and went on to “fill every record box under the sun”. (Pete Tong)

Supplemented by a unique vocal from Luciana, a killer remix package and a highly acclaimed controversial video, Yeah Yeah became the huge international club anthem which kick started the global ‘Nu Rave’ phenomenon. On its official release in October 2006, Yeah Yeah debuted at #2 in the UK Top 40 and remained in the Top 10 for several weeks. It continues to receive national radio support even to this day.

In 2007, riding a wave of massive success, Bodyrox were nominated for an Ivor Novello – one of the music industry’s most prestigious awards – and went on to top both Music Week’s Cool Cuts and the DMC Buzz Chart again with their next three singles Sound of Eden, What Planet You On [BBC Radio One Dance Singles Chart #1] and Brave New World.

Recently dubbed an international “super group” by Pete Tong during their debut on Radio One’s Essential Mix, Bodyrox are currently one of the top three most viewed electro bands in the world with over one and a half million views on MySpace alone.

While the global success of Yeah Yeah has seen Nick’s profile rise exponentially, it must be recognized that he’s been a mainstay on the international DJ scene for many years and is widely regarded as one of the most technically gifted young DJ’s in the world. He has previously held residencies at Fabric London, Amnesia Ibiza and at Ministry of Sound London – a residency which spawned five compilations throughout a long-standing association with the brand that still continues today.

Fast forward to now and Nick is still at the top of his game with a number of solo productions and remixes widely supported by some of the biggest names including Pete Tong, Dubfire, Carl Cox and Mark Knight. His profile continues to rise with the release of the title track of the hit movie Street Dance 3D featuring N-Dubz as well as further collaborations with the likes of Lethal Bizzle and Luciana.

Michael Gray is one of the most respected and in-demand artists currently on the global dance music scene. The accomplished producer, DJ and remixer has enjoyed Grammy-nominated success alongside Jon Pearn as world renowned production and remix duo Full Intention; more recently however, it has been his solo productions, remixes and DJ-ing that have had dance floors rammed around the world…..

As a solo artist, Michael enjoyed worldwide success on the back of his massive 2004 single The Weekend. Featuring the vocals of UK singer Shena, The Weekend was heavily championed by Pete Tong and UK radio, reaching #7 in the UK charts. The single exploded at a rapid rate, possessing a feel-good vibe that proved infectious. It took the #1 spot on the Australian ARIA club charts and enjoyed similar chart success around the world.

The single’s crossover appeal was cemented when it was used in a number of television commercials, including Honda Cars, the BBC’s Football Focus commercials and just recently in Ugly Betty. Appearances on dozens of compilation releases were the icing on the cake for one of 2004′s biggest tunes…

Michael has not rested on his laurels since then, with his second single Borderline (released in July 2006) being embraced by both club land and daytime radio. It went straight to #12 in the UK charts as the week’s highest new entry. His other singles include Somewhere Beyond featuring Steve Edwards (2007, Kontor Records), Whatcha Gonna Do? featuring Hi Fashion and Maria Lawson (2004, Toolroom Records) and last year’s Home featuring Paul Harris, Kid Massive and Sam Obernik (2010, Phonetic Recordings).

Fast forward to now and Michael has just finished a new track with Marco Lys & Plastik Planet titled I Get Flashbacks out on Strictly Rhythm and remixed Gravitonius’ Religious as Full Intention. Peeps, watch out… the return of Michael Gray is imminent!

He was discovered in 1992 as he was doing his first sets in Paris, eventually achieving an offer to hold a weekly mixer party at the prestigious Parisian nightclub Queen. Laurent Wolf has worked for the Queen for ten years, mixing up to three nights a week which became his platform for success.

With six albums to his name and countless singles, it is hard to ignore the fact that Wolf has truly conquered the house scene and established himself as one of the foremost DJs and creative producers of his time. In 1995 he released House Train which quickly became #1 and shows Laurent’s undeniable gift for house music production, often tinted with more avant-garde electro music.

But the success was even greater with the hit Saxo which became a dance floor triumph all over the world, along with the single Calinda. These two singles appeared on the first album, Sunshine Paradise released in 2003 on M10; it is a two CD set on which Laurent Wolf puts his own distinctive stamp: rhythmical music in which elaborate drums and peppy percussion prevail. His label manager remembers the night when Laurent played Saxo for the first time:

“The audience went crazy. Laurent and I looked at each other in the booth. We knew it was the beginning of something huge.”

“I still test my instrumentals in the clubs today, even tracks that aren’t finished, to see if people like them. When it works like with Saxo and Calinda, then you know it’s good,” says Laurent.

Even the radio stations, generally hostile to electro music, play Laurent Wolf, now one of the French music scene’s rising stars. He has sold 250,000 vinyl maxis in 50 countries. Saxo and Calinda can be found on hundreds of compilations worldwide. At the same time, he has been consolidating his discography structures; after the creation of the Darkness label in 2001, the label Afrodynamic and Ritmodynamic were the logical follow-up.

For each album, Laurent invested in new machines to change his way of working and create new sounds. He now composes his records from A to Z: beats, bass and vocals. In 2004 he released the album Positive Energy and then in 2006 Hollyworld. He also released the first compilation under the Afrodynamic label. So, is Laurent Wolf a star DJ? Not really.

“I don’t care about being a star. I’m only interested in my studio work being recognized by the public. When someone tells me he/she likes the way I work, I’m far more pleased than when a guy asks me for an autograph for his younger sister.”

Yet Laurent’s reputation continues to grow, in particular thanks to his reluctance to act like a star. Being a hard worker that he is, he set up his own studio at home so that he could record anytime he wants, and he continues to tour the nightlife world, stopping over in Taiwan to mix in front of 2000 people at a flying-saucer-shaped club, in Russia at the Zima club, performing for a New Year’s eve in Chile for 15 000 dancers, on a beach in Colombia with a crowd of 25 000 people, in Mexico City at the legendary Living room, at the Pacha in Barcelona …

“I happened to fly twenty hours forth and twenty back just to perform a set of two hours,” he remembers.

In 2008 Wolf released the album Wash my World, showcasing tracks such as No Stress, Wash My World and Explosion. In 2010 he released yet another album Harmony, this time displaying impressive collaborations with artists such as Andrew Roachford, Mod Martin, Timati, Laurent Pepper, Moby and Severn Suzuky, and hit songs like Love Again, Suzy, Walk The Line and World Is Wonderful.

His collaboration with prestigious labels such as Ultra Records, Armada, Blanco y Negro and Time Records ensures that he is an international hit. With such extensive accomplishments already, and his charismatic modest character, Laurent Wolf is the man to follow.

Kerri Chandler is a house legend, icon, inspiration, key figure, and a true house music purveyor. An ambassador of the natural and instinctive 4/4 beat, Kerri’s influences can be traced back to New Jersey growing up in a family of jazz musicians. His father, a respected deejay, provided Kerri with a rich background in the origins of soul, disco and the New York Underground Sound (known also as “Garage” music). Kerri began playing records at the Rally Record Club in East Orange, New Jersey at the tender age of thirteen and it was only a natural progression for him to become interested in production.

Since the signing of his first single SuperLover/Get It Off by Atlantic in 1991, Kerri began producing a prolific body of work that has helped coin him one of the most respected house producers in the world. This has been achieved by remaining true to his style. When listening to tracks such as the Atmosphere EP on Shelter Records and the seminal A Basement, Redlight & A Feeling album on Madhouse, one has to marvel at Kerri’s ability to not compromise his unique sound for commercial gain. His ability to blend tradition and innovation produces avant-garde music with soulful roots reaching back into the history of Afro-American music. Kerri masters rhythm and space piecing together vocals and instruments with uncanny precision delivering beautiful monster jams.

A spiritual man, Kerri prays before making a record. Each project is an attempt to inject his free spirit into a groove. His command and mastery of rhythm allows him to create fleshy excitement, not mechanical repetition. His now legendary bass-lines go from heavy and heady to playful and quirky while remaining deliriously intoxicating. His fusions, clamped to the beat of his unique thundering kick drum, redefine house music at every turn. His hooks are loving details, paying attention to horn hits, washes of synthesizers, and catchy choruses creating songs with brutal drive. A believer in peace and harmony, Kerri blames soulful house’s positive vibes for its failure to make it commercially, as its openness to influences are difficult for many to accept.

Kerri is fascinated by technology and its application to creativity. He has built his own studio and spends hours developing newer and more forward-thinking computer programs to revolutionize the way we think of traditional deejay mixing. Kerri uses his deejay sets to inject a spirit into the dance floor by playing “live” sets during which he remixes tracks whenever he can by incorporating every possible element, including visual and musical. Armed with two laptop computers, thousands of music files, his own handmade mini-mixer and a cutting-edge imagination, Kerri manages to wow audiences around the globe while inspiring debate and envy in top industry circles about his new toys.

Never straying from his roots, Kerri has proved he’s remained loyal to the underground movement by producing contemporary classics like Bar-a-Thym and Back To The Raw. The future is very bright for Kerri who is now signing and releasing productions through his new record label imprints: Max Trax, Grei Matter and Lost Tribes of Ibadan. With such a hot hand, he is the man of the house and undoubtedly will be responsible for many new classics to come.

If you think all house sounds the same, has no soul and is just four to the floor, then I suggest you do some rethinking and check out Kerri Chandler’s latest releases and back catalogue…You’ll be glad you did!