RENEGADE HARDWARE: SKOOL OF HARD KNOCKS
Renegade Hardware was instituted in mid 1995 as an outlet for the more creative and experimental music the TOV artists were producing. Jungle was mutating fast and TOV were quick off the mark rising to the challenge adding an imprint that once again broke away from the mainstream structure of Jungle and Drum & Bass. The new label, Renegade Hardware, captured perfectly the essence of this fresh hardstep techy music and was an overnight success. After numerous, successful vinyl releases, the first album, ‘Quantum Mechanics’ (1997) was conceived. The album optimised the sound of the time and became a seminal LP, firmly placing Hardware on the map, at the same time achieving No.1 in the Music Week album chart.
The second album, ‘Armageddon’ (1999) featuring new talent Usual Suspects and Loxy & DJ Ink proved once again that Renegade Hardware had their fingers on the pulse, generating an LP that was both dancefloor heavy and futuristic. After the success of ‘Quantum Mechanics’, ‘Armageddon’ was widely anticipated, and its release was met with critical acclaim, achieving another solid No.1 in the Music Week Dance charts. The album received heavy rotation on decks all over the world, and became one of the biggest-selling Drum & Bass albums of 1999.
The next chapter to the Hardware album saga was ‘Essential Rewindz’, mixed by Grooverider. Featuring a plethora of high quality beats, it was only fitting that the album of the year should feature the track of the year – Konflict’s ‘Messiah’ – now a stone cold anthem. Marcus Intalex & ST Files’ irresistible ‘Moon Walk’ and Usual Suspects ‘Bodycount’ were also particularly noteworthy, as was C4C’S Hardware debut ‘Research’. Amazingly ‘Essential Rewindz’ managed to even outsell both previous LP’s.
For 2002 Hardware stepped up the pace with 2 massive EP projects. The Triple part ‘The Harder they Come’ series and the four part ‘Four Elements’ series have been outstanding projects from Hardware, each containing tunes which have subsequently become massive and too numerous to list... ‘Four Elements’ also provided a debut platform for Hardware’s newest signing – Raiden - who is set for big things…
Today Renegade Hardware averages out the highest number of record sales of the music group, and can lay claim to both the biggest ever selling record from all three labels - Usual Suspects ‘Killa Bees’ - and the highest national chart position achieved by any of the labels – No.33 – for Dillinja’s massive hit ‘Twist Em Out’ in October 2002.
