LIVE recordings from Hard Times: Hex's Birthday Bash @ The Electric Banana, W-s-M 21/10/22

Sy, Hex & Bishop with Steal & Energy B (master)

MUSIC IS THE BEST THING IT HELPS ME WITH MY DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY MUSIC IS MY FIRST LOVE AND ITS DEFINITELY MY LAST LOVE BANNING TUNES 

With roots being sown as early as 7 - by listening to tracks by The Prodigy and Rotterdam Termination Source on The Top 40 - Bishop has always had an soft spot for rave music.

Purchasing his first set of decks at 15, he set about honing his skills by listening to tapes of Hardcore greats like Brisk, Sy and Hixxy. 

With huge influence from the local Hardcore legend Kickback and events like GBH, Bishop had great exposure to what it took to be a great DJ. 

Gaining early bookings in Weston at nights like D-Tox and Conspiracy, Bishop played regularly on the Weston scene up until 2005 where he played his first main room set at Lakota and also entered the coveted Weston Wheels DJ competition. 

Out of hundreds of entry’s, Bishop made the finals  and won the competition, which included other talented competitors such as Hex and Miss Special K. Bishop then went on to perform to a tent of 5000 people the following afternoon (before Mark EG) which really put him on the map. 

Bishop then gained a residency at the legendary event Q-Bic. Sets then followed with top MCs such as Storm, Whizzkid, Wotsee and Fugitive and allowed Bishop to play to some great crowds and build a decent following. 

Whilst clocking up some big bookings at Uproar and Firewall in 2007, Bishop started to produce Hardcore.

Bishops first track produced was a bootleg of Vinylgroovers “Virtual Dreams” and was played by Hixxy! 

Many tracks followed after this with Bishop working with a wealth of producers such as Al Storm, Chaos, Orbit 1 (aka Bioweapon and Audiofreq), Fracus, Joey Riot and Stabilize. 

This saw signings on labels such as Raverbaby, Evolution Records, Junkbox, 24/7, Warped Science, Lethal Theory, ROTC, Electrik Euphoria and Notorious Vinyl. 

This also saw Bishop feature on many albums such as Hardcore Nation (Nukleuz), Hardcore Underground, Hardcore Heaven, Hardcore Addiction and The Dark Shadows. 

DJs such as Darren Styles, Headhunterz, Scott Brown, Sy, Brisk, Unknown, Gammer, Re-Con (Camelphat), Joey Riot, Squad-e, Hixxy, Breeze, Dougal, Marc Smith, Seduction, Billy Bunter, Ramos, Supreme, Stu Allen, Al Storm and Kurt all played tunes produced by Bishop. 

Getting signed to 24/7 Hardcore, Bishop struck up a successful production partnership with Al Storm (Black and White). Their biggest release saw them teaming up with Angie Brown (Bizarre Inc) to produce “Get your Hands Up”. This was signed and remixed  by Darren Styles for his label and was featured on his mix for Clubland Extreme Hardcore 8. It was also signed to the big Dutch label Fusion and remixed by Code Black which featured on albums all over the world. 

Kutski was a massive supporter of Bishop, featuring many of his productions on his BBC Radio 1 show. One of the highlights was having “Attack the Dancefloor” used on the show 3 weeks in a row. 

Whilst the producing achievements shone through, Bishop is also known as one of the finest DJs In the South West. His bouncy, uplifting style, crisp mixing, great scratching and ability to read the crowd, has pleased many ravers all over the UK and made him a popular choice at events. This has seen Bishop featured at large UK and overseas events such as Hardcore Heaven, HTID, Raverbaby, Uproar, HTID in the Sun, Hardcore Paradise, Hardcore Evolution, Fusion, Totally ‘Ardcore, Delerium, Hindsight, We are Hardcore, Oxygen and held residencies at the infamous Firewall, Atmosphere and Ravers Are: and saw him feature on the nominatees list three years in a row for the Best Breakthrough DJ at the Hardcore Heaven Awards. 

After achieving more than what he’d set out to do, Bishop took a step back from the UK Hardcore scene in 2011 due to his career in IT. 

In recent years, Bishop has returned at some events, such as Bodstock, which have been well received. 

You can listen to Bishops sets and productions below:

https://www.soundcloud.com/themightybish
https://www.mixcloud.com/themightybish/

Don't turn your back on the music you love.The music was better on vinyl!

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛 𝑀𝑒 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝐷𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 ♡︎

Owner of Hard Times Events.

Born and raised in the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare, England, UK.

After spending his youth listening to rave music via stolen tapes from his older brother (you've all done it hehe) and attending his first rave whilst still sitting his exams (GBH  vs. Fusion @ The Depot) DJing was something Mark had his heart set on doing. 

Hex first graced the decks at a young 17 years old following his love for UK Hardcore. Gaining residencies and regular bookings in his home town of Weston-super-Mare for the likes of Q-Bic, T4 On The Beach and all the local events, this was to be his platform which would launch him to the world of rave and beyond for many years to come. 

Known for his party anytime attitude both on and off the decks, his energetic, freestyle, multi genre sets accompanied by his recognised skills as a scratch DJ, live mash-ups, and his antics behind the decks, Hex is guaranteed to give you full aural satisfaction.

Regularly playing in all 4 corners of the UK and having made himself a fixed name in the underground scene, Hex has earned himself b2b bookings with the likes of DJ Sy and Mark EG, residencies at the mighty Bodstock and Uplode Festivals and often frequenting various events throughout the UK, and has worked alongside most headline artists in the game both as a DJ and as a promoter with his Hard Times brand which is still going and is known to be one of the BEST events in the South West for our soundsytems & lineups

For everything I get up too, please feel free to follow me on Facebook @ Mark Phillips (Hex)
Instagram - Dj Hex
Snapchat - Mark - Hex
Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/mark-hex-phillips
Mixcloud - https://www.mixcloud.com/markhexphillips/

One love x

Sy, Hex & Bishop with Steal & Energy B (master)

Mark "Hex" Phillips (Hard Times)