There are not many artists in drum and bass that have created a single track that defines an era, but Keaton—alongside collaborators Carl and Chris of The Usual Suspects—did just that with “Killa Bees,” the epochal single released on Renegade Hardware in 1999. Epitomizing the dark, intensely nervy sound of the late 90s, the single was in near-constant rotation in every corner of the drum and bass scene. Named Best Newcomers by Knowledge Magazine and thrust into the limelight virtually overnight, Keaton found himself in the enviable position of having entered the game on the top floor.

Incongruous with the intense, synthetic sound he’s often identified with, Keaton followed a familiar trajectory into drum and bass: hip hop. Growing up on the south coast of England, he was removed from the center of action in London. At 11 he aspired to become a hip hop DJ, buying a pair of decks. At the same time, a friend gave him a mix tape by a rising DJ known as LTJ Bukem. In it Keaton heard an unexpected thing: his beloved hip hop breaks, sped up and fused with the textures of rave and techno. Astonished by this tremendously fresh sound, he found himself snapping up singles on labels such as Reinforced and R&S. He soon found himself emulating the mixes of Bukem, and by 14, with a pair of Technics in hand, he became a bedroom jungle DJ. He diligently compiled mix tapes, traversing the spectrum of drum and bass as it crystallized into a mature form, drawing both on the dark side and what was then being referred to as intelligent. By the age of 17, he’d landed his first residency, at Bournemouth’s Opera House. Galvanized by this promising start as a DJ, Keaton moved to London to pursue a course in sound engineering. It was there that he met future fellow Suspect Carl, and after forming EB1 with Carl, met Chris, and The Usual Suspects were born.

The full spectrum of the sound of drum and bass that Keaton explored as an aspiring DJ has remained a steady theme of Keaton’s output as a producer, apparent across his discography. As The Usual Suspects he released “Doorway,” an inspiring and darkly beautiful anthem on Hardware, followed by the mechanistic growl of “Spawn” and “Shrapnel,” and with Loxy, the deeply brooding, almost minimal “Stalker.” In 2000, pursuing the ideal of tempering the dominant hardness of drum and bass with a warmer musicality, Keaton befriended Ruxspin, Scandal and Nitrox and together produced “The Craft” under the name Universal Project. They soon founded a label under the same name, debuting with “Bleach” and “The Truth,” followed by “Vessel,” released on Virus.

Gradually, Keaton began working more aggressively as a solo artist, gaining commissions for several remixes. He also began working with other artists such as Dom & Roland, and Loxy, Ink, and Dylan as The Four Horsemen, all balanced with a continuation of The Usual Suspects and Universal Project through the end of 2002.

The winter of 2003 found Keaton on the brink of what would prove to be a huge year, the opening salvo of which was a tremendous collaborative single with Hive—“The Plague” and “Resolution.” Released on Hardware, “The Plague” became one of the year’s great tunes, opening the door to a particularly strong partnership with Hive, as evidenced by Keaton’s current and future contributions to Violence.

2003 also found Keaton remixing Dillinja’s “Twist ‘em Out,” Klute’s “Glue Sniffer” and Digital’s “Gateman.” By summer, he’d founded the new label Xtinction Agenda with Loxy, assigning it a darker mission, balancing that with his “Invisible Man” e.p. for Hardware, a collection which returns to the more diversified approach that has informed his career to date.

Attending his successes in the studio has been an exponential growth in his demand as a DJ, with numerous worldwide appearances. He’s toured alone and with co-conspirators Loxy and Hive.

By the close of 2003, Keaton scaled back his work with The Usual Suspects and ended his involvement with Universal Project, intent on cultivating his own abilities in the studio as a solo producer. Amongst a raft of scheduled releases on labels such as Violence, Metalheadz, Quarantine, Freak, and the mighty Renegade Hardware, Keaton will be introducing his own label in 2004 with the intention of cementing his position as a solo producer on the top shelf of drum and bass. Few producers in drum and bass can claim as bright a present as Keaton; his future is set to be utterly incendiary.