More old-school hip-hop, electro and ragga than big-beat techno (though they're often pigeon-holed that way),
the Freestylers were formed by the trio of
Matt Cantor,
Aston Harvey and
Andrew Galea. All three were British b-boys back in the day, and were heavily involved in Britain's dance scene by the late '80s, both as DJs and producers --
Cantor recording as
Cut'n'Paste,
2 Fat Buddhas and
Freska All Stars among others,
Harvey as Blapps! Posse (author of the 1990 breakbeat classic "Don't Hold Back").
Harvey had also worked with
Rebel MC and
Definition of Sound, but after meeting
Galea, the pair began recording together as
Sol Brothers and soon brought
Cantor into the fold as well.
Taking the name
Freestylers from their first sample (
Freestyle's "Don't Stop the Rock"), the trio released their first single, "Drop the Boom (AK-48)" and formed their own Scratch City Records to release it. The track was a prime slice of vocoderized electro, and became an underground club classic as far afield as bass-driven Miami. The
Freestyle EP followed late in 1996, and
Freestylers also released singles on Freskanova (home of
Cantor's many solo projects). The group even managed a chart hit (and
Top of the Pops appearance) with 1998's "B-Boy Stance," a collaboration with vocalist
Tenor Fly. A spate of remixing followed, for
Audioweb,
Afrika Bambaataa and
the Jungle Brothers (the latter a pair of
the Freestylers' prime influences). The trio also helmed the big-beat compilation
FSUK 2 and contributed a Radio One Essential Mix (where
Beenie Man,
Public Enemy,
the Fall and
Whodini all rubbed elbows). Live appearances at Glastonbury and around the European festival circuit met with much praise, and
the Freestylers finally released their debut album
We Rock Hard in 1999. The mix album
Electro Science followed a year later. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide