Responsible for some of the most seminal drum & bass of all time Shimon is a legend in the scene. For over a decade he’s been smashing up dance floors around the globe week-in, week-out at the biggest parties, clubs and music festivals. Not only an accomplished DJ but also one the most infamous producers around with many accolades to his name, Shimon’s name is synonymous with high-grade quality dance music.

Born and bred on rock, Shimon is a self-confessed ‘Floyd head.’ His awareness and fervour for music became even more apparent when as a teenager he discovered dance music and on a regular basis would sneak into now legendary rave nights like Elevation and A.W.O.L at Paradise Club. The flourishing dance culture consumed him and Shimon was convinced this was his future.

It wasn’t long after that he’d leant the money to buy his first set of turntables and had learned how to mix. His next purchase, a sampler, brought about an epiphany; Shimon wanted to make the music, not just mix it! He laughs as he reflects upon the ‘thousands of hours’ spent developing his unique style as well as his production techniques on his Akai 950 and Atari ST computer!

It’s common knowledge that you don’t become a first class producer and sound engineer overnight, but even so it wasn’t too long before Shimon’s individual efforts caught the attention of his good friend and at that time burgeoning DJ and label owner, Andy C. They immediately joined forces and the results were astounding; ‘Quest’ with ‘Nightflight’ on the flip was huge and is arguably one the most popular D&B 12’s to date. So with that Shimon’s professional relationship with Andy C and with what was to become one of the music’s most successful labels had begun. In 1995 ‘Recharge’ was included on Ram Records’ first compilation, ‘The Speed of Sound LP’, and Shimon became a permanent fixture of Ram.

An ever increasing profile led to more DJ work around the globe and various remix offers of which he accepted only a select few; none more telling than his awesome and highly acclaimed rework of Dillinja’s ‘Tudor Rose’. It wasn’t until the heads came together though that things really began to fly; on teaming up with Andy C and Ant Miles the production collective known as Ram Trilogy was formed and would become an inspirational force in drum and bass that many still look towards today.

Kicking off their spate of classic cuts was ‘No Reality’ and would mark the first in their highly acclaimed ‘Chapter’ series. In 2001, however, Shimon and Andy came up with something quite special; the worldwide smash ‘Body Rock’ was born as if by accident after a night bouncing ideas around the studio. It knocked the scene for six surprising everyone with its totally unique sound and went on to transcend the underground to the mainstream to reach number 22 in the UK National Charts. A crowning achievement if ever there was one.

Over the proceeding years a long line of anthems were to follow from Shimon such as ‘Hush Hush’ (2001), ‘Jazzfreak’ (2005) and ‘The Shadow Knows EP’ (2006) as well as ‘Titan’ (2000) and ‘Screamer’ (2003) as part of Ram Trilogy. Increasingly though Shimon found himself experimenting outside the Ram camp more and more, even releasing some breakbeat on Fingerlickin Records which was picked up by the likes of the Stanton Warriors, Crystal Method and Plump DJs to name but a few.

Then as with all families the prodigal son outgrew the Ram Records home and with an urge to strike out on his own and have more creative control on his own output Shimon set up his own label Audioporn Records in 2007.
As you’d expect coming from someone with such a wealth of experience the label has gone from strength to strength in just two years to become a force to be reckoned with. With a highly trained ear for future talent Shimon has already managed to exclusively sign the Parisian five-man outfit, Dirtyphonics, who are rapidly becoming one of the scene’s most exciting artists in recent years with genre-defying tracks such as ‘Quarks’ and ‘Vandals’. Nominated in the ‘Best Newcomer’ category at the Drum & Bass Arena Awards 2009 there’s no doubt these guys have a big future ahead with Audioporn behind them. With collaborations forthcoming from Shimon, Moving Fusion and Ram’s Ant Miles as well as more Dirtyphonics goodness there’s no doubt that this is just the start of a new beginning for scene stalwart Shimon. Keep it locked!