BUSHWACKA!

Bushwacka! In many
guises he has been
around since 1988
and is still loving the
life he lives and doing
what he does best -
making killer music
and rocking the
dance floors globally.
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, has been DJing
for over 30 years now. From that first Acid House experience
Matthew quickly started playing all over London, holding
residencies at four of the most famous clubs in town by the time he
was 18 years old. From London the gigs spread countrywide, doing
up to 8 shows a weekend, and then into Europe and the USA by
1992.

It was via a 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, charting all over the 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, Warung in Brasil and of course The End in
London. While this explosion was happening, Matthew was also
achieving huge solo success with his remixes for Depeche Mode,
his bootleg of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, and getting phone calls
from Madonna wanting him to work on her music. It was a crazy
time.
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.
When The End closed its doors for the last time in 2009, Layo and
Bushwacka! started the Shake It brand and threw amazing
warehouse parties all over London, booking Carl Cox, Richie

Hawtin, Magda, Laurent Garnier and many other friends, and
created dancefloor destruction for 4 years. The parties were
legendary, the energy incredible.

Layo & Bushwacka!’s reputation as two of the world’s foremost DJ
duos is rock solid. Four 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
dance floor 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, and many of their vinyl only releases have
become sought after rarities.
In 2013 Bushwacka! took some time out to focus on his solo Just
Be project, recording on Crosstown Rebels, Get Physical and Intec,
while Layo created a new empire in Soho, of world class
restaurants, applying his magic touch to everything he does. Five
years later, Bushwacka! started touring and recording again under
his original name, only on select shows and keeping it special for
the fans, old and new.
Fast forward to 2019, and Bushwacka! has been releasing massive
tracks – starting with his classic track The Healer, with remixes from
himself, Carl Cox, Sasha, M.A.N.D.Y and Denney – and just
released a second banging single on Ultra Records – Get Up, with
remix from Mason Manyard. Bushwacka is currently remixing for
Archie Hamilton, Bedrock Records, Richy Achmed, and writing new
music for Eats Everything. On top of this he is rereleasing vinyl only
limited tracks from his Plank Records catalog, and other rarities.
Gig wise, this summer Bushwacka! has focussed on his Ibiza
shows, with his residency at Pikes, the opening and closing of
Resistance at Privilege, regular slots at the Zoo Project, and Blue
Marlin shows, with South America, New York, headlining the Glade

again at Glastonbury festival, and a select few Layo and
Bushwacka! shows this year.
After COVID, having to park 3 huge residencies, in London, Ibiza,
and New York, Bushwacka took time out to focus on his Vinyl Love
Affair live streams, amassing over 2 million views, keeping people
all over the world entertained during lockdown. As well as this, he
released two albums – Listen Up Vol 1 and 2, remastered versions
of some of his classic and rarer productions.
2023 and Bushwacka has released House music on Nu-Groove,
The Classic Record Company, and Aus Records, and Tech-House
tunes on Bedrock, Oblong, and Hey records in Amsterdam. He has
signed a further 10 release deal with the Defected Group, and has
remixed and collaborated with Archie Hamilton, Darius Syrossian,

and Carl Cox, and Crosstown Rebels. On top of this he is re-
releasing vinyl only limited tracks from his Plank Records catalog,

and other rarities, and relaunching Oblong records. Gig wise, this
summer Bushwacka! has focussed on a select handful of shows as
the world opens up again, from London Kiev, Manchester, Liverpool
and Brighton, Glasgow to Ibiza, Brazil to Australia and more. He
starts his Pikes Ibiza residency again in April 2024, and will tour his
favourite parties around the planet, doing what he loves best...