Shadow Child (Simon Neale)

Where did he come from? The shadows. He was born in the shadows, that's where he feels most comfortable. That's where he gets to work, creating bass-heavy house joints that raise the roof from London to Ibiza to San Francisco and everywhere in between. In the shadowy studio is where you'll find him, wrapped up in his blanket of darkness... Who is he?

Shadow Child is his name and he is now revelling in the limelight, thanks to his recent onslaught of firing house music. Not long ago, Simon was known by a different pseudonym, working within the electro house sphere – at his peak he made the brave decision to hit the resent button and go back to his roots. Neale put the electro sound to one side and shifted his focus to tougher drum'n'bass and hardcore influences (the sounds he grew up on), intertwined with today's omnipresent four-to-the-floor beats. This resulted in a lethal concoction that has found favour with many of today's most influential figureheads.

Shadow Child announced his rebirth with 'String Thing', a powerful production with haunting strings and a no-nonsense bassline that left everyone quivering in its wake yet struggling to resist its pull. The track was snapped up by Claude VonStroke and became the staple of DJs such as Eats Everything, Justin Martin, Zinc, Jaymo & Andy George, Annie Mac and many more of the industry's most influential tastemakers. From that point onwards a consistent flow of strong releases have appeared from his shadowy lair and been unleashed onto the dancefloors of the world to devastating effect. Labels including DirtyBird, Apollo Music and Moda Black have released his music, attracting a loyal fanbase in the process.

Leading on from his musical success, Shadow Child has also set up his own label with friend Kry Wolf, called Food Music, which provides a home for his productions. He also hosts a weekly slot on London's seminal radio station Rinse FM and he's been keeping busy as a DJ, too, travelling all over the UK and Europe. Not forgetting his track '23' being featured on the Grand Theft Auto V, played by none other than Flying Lotus. A studio hound, Shadow Child continues to work on new music on a daily basis, putting his unique stamp on each new club-ready production. Busy is not the word! But he wouldn't have it any other way...

It doesn't end there. With a forthcoming album 'Collected', scheduled for release in November 2013, plus a tour of Australia for the New Year and plenty more music to come from his label in 2014, it's safe to say you should be keeping a close eye on the shadows...