Layo & Bushwacka! are one of electronic music’s most esteemed duos. Comprising of Matthew ‘Bushwacka’ B, a percussionist in the London School Symphony Orchestra who was converted into a member of the infamous Rat Pack after a warehouse party in ’88, and Layo Paskin, a North Londoner immersed in the acid house scene who met Mr C at one of the legendary Clink Street parties in 1988, before together setting up their world renowned night club, The End. It was via their mutual friend Mr C that Layo & Bushwacka! first met, whilst Matthew was working at his studio, and by the mid 90s the two had started writing music together. Over a decade later, the partnership has yielded three artist albums, three mix albums, internationally renowned club residencies and a superb record label.

By 1999 they’d already composed their debut album, ‘Low Life’, released on End Recordings, the label spawned by The End. The album announced the arrival of the duo as a force in electronic music, with a record that brought together electro, house and breakbeat fused with blues, dub and downtempo, all underpinned and informed by their collective experience of underground culture. This inclusive and open minded approach to sound became the blueprint for their future work.

Their sophomore album followed in 2002, this time released on the mighty XL Recordings. Entitled ‘Night Works’, the record featured their unforgettable top ten hit ‘Love Story’, and took their sound onto a bigger and broader canvas, selling 100,000 copies in the process. The accompanying live show brought further acclaim with stunning shows from Homelands to Sonar, whilst their famous DJ sets had now garnered residencies at some of the world’s finest clubs including Space in Ibiza, Sirena in Brasil and of course The End in London.

Their End residency, known as All Night Long, became one of the capital’s most revered nights with Layo & Bushwacka! taking the club through an edifying tour-de-force of electronic music. The night gave birth to their second mix album ‘All Night Long’, following the success of their first ‘The End’ in conjunction with Mr C, also released on XL Recordings, in the late 90s. The album was a perfect reflection of their DJ sets, inspirational, educational and all encompassing it slaloms through all manner of house music and even their own reworks of such timeless classics as Bebel Gilberto’s ‘So Nice’ and Sly & The Family Stone’s ‘Dance To The Music’, all without missing a beat.

The expansive musical tastes demonstrated on ‘All Night Long’ came together perfectly with the release of their third artist album, ‘Feels Closer’, in February 2006. Released on their newly launched label, Olmeto Records, ‘Feels Closer’ saw them broaden their sonic palette with the addition of live musicians, including legendary percussionist Mino Cineleu, on a record that unites their myriad of influences without ever losing sight of their electronic background and home territory. Highlights of the record include Green Velvet’s vocal turn on the electrifying electro-techno of ‘Life 2 Live’, the warm downtempo of ‘Sunshine in Ipanema’, featuring the talents of Brasilian legend Rogerio Flausino, and the jaw-droppingly incredible ‘Isn’t This A Lovely Day’, for which the boys fuse vocals from Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong with some killer live percussion. The album was again highly critically acclaimed and cemented their reputations among dance music’s most gifted.

The most recent addition to Layo & Bushwacka!’s catalogue is their mix album, Global Underground 33: Rio. Born out of the ongoing love story between the duo and their second home of Brasil, Layo and Matthew have a unique and unshakeable relationship with the world’s most effervescent nation. Disc one sees the boys scour their record collections, revisiting gems from the past twenty years, flowing through the music that helped shape the DJs they’ve become, whilst disc two represents the new wave of electronic music with a track listing that includes the most dynamic producers in dance music today.

Meanwhile, Olmeto has continued to provide an exclusive outlet for Layo and Matthew’s creativity. Following the release of ‘Feels Closer’ there have been remixes of album tracks such as the awesome ‘Saudade Remix’ and two fantastic reworks of ‘Life2Live’ from Green Velvet and Loco Dice. The duo have been busy in the studio cooking up some new material, including the lush soundscapes of ‘Djembe / The Sierra Madre’ and the peak time Martin Luther King sampling ‘Now Is The Time / The Time Was Then’, which smashed into the top of the Beatport chart. Bushwacka! has also turned out some impressive solo productions, with his trademark harder edge, including ‘Back On Top’ and ‘Every Dog Has Its Day’. Over the next few months you can expect more new material, including remixes of UNKLE’s Twilight’, ‘Dimension Intrusion’ by FUSE, on Richie Hawtin’s excellent Plus 8 label, and a re-work of Fat Boy Slim’s ‘He’s Frank’ featuring Iggy Pop.

Their monthly Olmeto residency at The End sees the duo continue to play extended and far reaching sets of electronica in the main room, regularly joined by live guests such as Gui Boratto, Paul Ritch and Marc Houle. In the last year they have also welcomed two more like minded labels into the fold - Will Saul’s fantastic Simple Records and Jimpster’s brilliant Freerange, creating a night that ranges from deep, melodic house to stripped back techno. The End due to closed on 24th January 2008 after 13 glorious years.

Layo & Bushwacka!’s reputation as two of the world’s foremost DJ duos is rock solid. Three artist albums have proven them remarkably talented producers, capable of mixing styles, tempos and genres to create enduring and engaging electronic music. Their trio of mix albums and international club residencies have shown they are masters of the turntables, sonic connoisseurs who can guide a dancefloor on an epic journey through the many facets of their sound. Their label Olmeto meanwhile has become a bastion for quality, a label that, much like its figureheads, has become a rubber stamped seal of class.