Scott Hardkiss
Zoe Magik
One listen to Scott Hardkiss and you know why he is considered one of the world's top DJs and producers. The funky, psychedelic fusion of dance music and authentic live music demonstrates a depth and coherent vision that is immediately addictive and commands your body to move.
Hardkiss started out spinning hip hop in the early '80s in DC, playing in basements and house parties with DC's Warpath. He was soon throwing in rock, pop, dub, house, and techno into his hip hop mixes, moving towards a collage-oriented sound.
In 1989, Scott moved to England for a year, right when the rave scene and the indie rock scene were starting to explode. When Hardkiss returned to the East Coast, he immediately started organizing and DJing at some of the first American raves, including the legendary BLISS. Soon he was DJing, throwing parties and making music full-time.
But it wasn't until he moved to San Francisco before things really started to come together. With friends Gavin and Robbie, Scott set out to bring his budding vision of future dance music to fruition, and found the West Coast as the natural environmental catalyst. The trio became key players in developing San Francisco's world-renowned dance music scene, forging a new, funky, sleek sound that quickly became the city's pride and joy. Scott was the resident DJ at all of the biggest events and parties that are now legendary: Sunny-Side Up, Mid-Summer Night's Dream, Higher Than Heaven, Communion, Zanzibar, Spundae/Nikita, Stompy, The Gathering, Organic, Come-Unity and Cool World.
In 1992, Scott, Robbie, and Gavin released the Magic Sounds of the San Francisco Underground EP, the first release on Scott's own label, Hardkiss Music. In '93, Scott released several classic solo tracks under the name God Within, including the Raincry EP, which became the number one breakout on Billboard's dance charts. It was also featured in multiple compilations, including Sasha & John Digweed's Northern Exposure, the trailer for Spike Lee's He Got Game and the opening of the '96 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Since then, Scott has released several amazingly popular breakbeat tracks -- "The Phoenix" made it to 12 on the Billboard dance chart, while a remix of Elton John's "Believe" went platinum, making it all the way up to number two on the Billboard pop chart. In 1997, Scott, Robbie, and Gavin scored music for the Levis TV commercial, "in Prague you can trade them for a car." The spot ended up winning a place among Time Magazine's top 10 commercials of the year.
Scott has remixed oodles of tracks over the years, released two DJ mix CDs, and scores of singles as God Within. The following track is from a 1998 CD mix done by the Baroness on San Francisco's Zoe Magik.
last updated:
09/25/01
Similar Artists:
Gavin Hardkiss, Hawke, God Within, Darkhorse, Laron, HandieMan Maurice, 9000 Drummers Featuring Kevin Carnes
Other Suggestions:
Robbie Hardkiss,
Mondo Grosso,
Wagon Christ,
Mr. Scruff,
Little Wing,
Ga'inja,
The Baroness & Mr. Rosa,
Felix The Dog
