DJ Trace

by Sean Cooper
DJ Trace was an early member of the tight-knit crew of producers constituting popular techstep drumnbass label No U-Turn. Like colleagues Nico and Ed Rush, Traces first crack at broad exposure came through the Techsteppin compilation, released by the Emotif label and containing a number of tracks licensed from No U-Turn studios. Released in 1995, the compilation helped seed a new direction in drumnbass, one characterized by heavy use of electronics, cavernous beats and basslines, and the dystopian histrionics that have since become trademarks of the No U-Turn/Nu Black sound. Traces 1995 release on Emotif, The Mutant (itself a remix of T-Powers Mutant Jazz), also spawned a remix of its own, and Ed Rushs Mutant Revisited became an influential trial run of techs by now cliched hoover bassline and rolling, relentless breaks. A popular DJ whose schedule busied as No U-Turns popularity peaked in 1996, Trace moved from the U.K. to Philadelphia that same year and has participated in a number of U.S. events (including 1997s Big Top tour) both solo and with other members of the No U-Turn crew.