ArtistInfo

Decoder

Dance
A.k.a. Darren Beale Acro Dibz Koda

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. (Taken from the BS1 Records website)