9 december 2014
Naam | Ryan Hunn |
Functie | 12 × DJ, 1 × live act |
Herkomst | Verenigd Koninkrijk |
Genres | ambient, breakbeat, dubstep, electro, house |
Links |
Biografie
Restless as a DJ and adventurous in his productions, Illum Sphere (real name Ryan Hunn) is both a key player in the Manchester scene and a unique presence on the global stage. Deliberately oblique in his approach, he has still had a vital impact on electronic music, and it's about to get bigger.
Hoya:Hoya, the club night he founded in 2008 along with Jonny Dub, has steadily expanded its reputation in and outside Manchester: they now boast Eclair Fifi, Jon K, Lone, and Krystal Klear as resident DJs, as well as mic skills from Chunky and visuals by EMN. That's a hotbed of talent from which radio stations, festivals and record labels outside Manchester draw. Hoya:Hoya also brings names like Four Tet, Dabrye, Ikonika, and Kuedo, to the city, helping to spread their name as a nightclub singular in style and one of the best parties in the country. It's well known that you can't fully predict what music you'll get on a Hoya:Hoya night, let alone from one of Illum Sphere's own DJ sets. He'll skip effortlessly between hip hop, psych, techno, boogie and you name it, before you even know what's happened.
It's partly through this reach that Illum Sphere has also attracted international attention. He's played from Low End Theory in LA to Sydney, Australia, and besides releases on Manchester's own Fat City had output on Martyn's label 3024, Pinch's Tectonic, Young Turks and now signed to Ninja Tune. As with his boundary skipping DJ sets, Illum Sphere's releases are marked not by a regulated approach beginning with tempo or genre, but a free-spirited attitude that reigns in a range of genres. With his series of EPs for Fat City Illum Sphere began in sci-fi atmospherics and loosely slung beats and ventured into more exotic grooves. 'Titan' (on 3024) achieved a new, bleepy dancefloor leverage while 'Dreamstealin' (on Tectonic) is a trip awash with warped and droned strings, far out rhythms and a soothing boogie comedown. His Young Turks EP saw Illum Sphere stepping out with a new 4/4 fearlessness. Both tracks are dancefloor to the max: while 'h808er' effortlessly sweeps you up into storming Drexciyan techno and then lifts you unexpectedly into breezy psychedelia, 'Birthday' is full on bump coupled with Illum Sphere's distinct musical humour. Just as his DJing style fuses the explorative and the unexpected, so do his productions, and with the talent to match his idiosyncratic style, he is now achieving a newfound confidence and artistic distinction.
Hoya:Hoya, the club night he founded in 2008 along with Jonny Dub, has steadily expanded its reputation in and outside Manchester: they now boast Eclair Fifi, Jon K, Lone, and Krystal Klear as resident DJs, as well as mic skills from Chunky and visuals by EMN. That's a hotbed of talent from which radio stations, festivals and record labels outside Manchester draw. Hoya:Hoya also brings names like Four Tet, Dabrye, Ikonika, and Kuedo, to the city, helping to spread their name as a nightclub singular in style and one of the best parties in the country. It's well known that you can't fully predict what music you'll get on a Hoya:Hoya night, let alone from one of Illum Sphere's own DJ sets. He'll skip effortlessly between hip hop, psych, techno, boogie and you name it, before you even know what's happened.
It's partly through this reach that Illum Sphere has also attracted international attention. He's played from Low End Theory in LA to Sydney, Australia, and besides releases on Manchester's own Fat City had output on Martyn's label 3024, Pinch's Tectonic, Young Turks and now signed to Ninja Tune. As with his boundary skipping DJ sets, Illum Sphere's releases are marked not by a regulated approach beginning with tempo or genre, but a free-spirited attitude that reigns in a range of genres. With his series of EPs for Fat City Illum Sphere began in sci-fi atmospherics and loosely slung beats and ventured into more exotic grooves. 'Titan' (on 3024) achieved a new, bleepy dancefloor leverage while 'Dreamstealin' (on Tectonic) is a trip awash with warped and droned strings, far out rhythms and a soothing boogie comedown. His Young Turks EP saw Illum Sphere stepping out with a new 4/4 fearlessness. Both tracks are dancefloor to the max: while 'h808er' effortlessly sweeps you up into storming Drexciyan techno and then lifts you unexpectedly into breezy psychedelia, 'Birthday' is full on bump coupled with Illum Sphere's distinct musical humour. Just as his DJing style fuses the explorative and the unexpected, so do his productions, and with the talent to match his idiosyncratic style, he is now achieving a newfound confidence and artistic distinction.