1997 saw the release of Decoder’s ‘Decoded
EP’. The release went on to become one of the most
played tracks in the country’s drum and bass clubs
and achieved press recognition with a number eighteen placing
in N.M.E’s ‘Vibes Singles Of The Year’
chart.
Suddenly Decoder was appearing across various labels. Breakbeat
Culture, Tech Itch Recordings, Hard Leaders, 31 Records
and Audio Couture were some of the labels that were to feature
Decoder’s patented and increasingly popular style.
If writing his own music wasn’t enough, Decoder was
also supplying Peshay with his much vaunted production skills.
His name appears all over Peshay’s ‘Miles From
Home’, an album that has gone on to sell well over
100,000 copies worldwide. Pure testament to Decoder’s
production skills.
Darren’s next release, the ‘Encrypted EP’,
released in 1998, peaked at number three in Fab & Groove’s
‘Rollers Top Ten’. The ‘Encrypted EP’
along with ‘Headlock’, ‘Deception’
and Decoder’s collaboration with Mark Caro, ‘EKO’
ensured the artist was here to stay. By the end of the year
Decoder had ammased enough material for an album release.
‘Dissection’, the album, appeared on Hard Leaders
and went on to receive critical acclaim throughout the industry.
Muzik magazine labelled the album as being “Wracked
with quality”, Mix Mag said that it provided “Proof
that there is still a bright future for Drum & Bass
albums” and Wax titled it as “One of the more
interesting long-players to surface this year".
Throughout all this, Decoder was responsible for the groundbreaking
remixes of tracks like Photek’s ‘Rings Around
Saturn’, Adam F’s ‘Dirty Harry’
and Alan McGee’s ‘The Chemical Pilot’.
Naturally Decoder’s awesome talents needed another
outlet to allow him to realise his true potential, and with
that came his latest project entitled ‘Kosheen’.
Most notably Kosheen has been responsible for the track
‘Hide You’. A song that has occupied most sound
systems across the country and reached a number one chart
position in several European territories.
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