Moving Fusion

Jeff Langton & Daniel Sparham grew up in the drum and bass hotbed of Hornchurch, Essex, both attending secondary school with future “DnB” star, Shimon. Just a few short years later, Shimon was starting to make waves with his tunes on Andy C’s Ram Records. After going out to raves together and seeing the success of their Hornchurch mate in the mid-90s drum and bass scene, the two friends were quickly drawn in, and linked to form what would later become one of the most successful duos the scene, Moving Fusion.

By 1996 they had gone out and bought an Atari computer, Akai sampler and speakers and started to slowly learn their craft. After a year or two in the studio they came up with, ‘Turbulence’, which Andy C and Ant Miles quickly picked up on. Originally slated to come out on Liftin’ Spirit, once Andy C started playing it out and seeing the immense crowd reaction it was getting, it was decided to come out on Ram Records, later being released as a sampler to the Origin Unknown ‘Sound In Motion’ LP in 1998.
‘Turbulence’ sent absolute shockwaves through the drum and bass world, with huge support from DJs all over the scene and DJ Hype on his Kiss FM show, as well as winning MixMag’s coveted ‘Tune of the Year’ award. After appearing on countless compilations and mix CDs over the last 14 years, ‘Turbulence’ is still a staple in many DJs sets to this day and has been voted the best drum and bass tune of all-time in many online polls and articles.

After touring the world extensively off the back of the success of ‘Turbulence’, the pair felt a sense of pressure to follow up with something of equal significance. A short break ensued and Moving Fusion got back into the studio to produce 1999s ‘The Beginning EP’, which included the massive title track, ‘The Beginning’, alongside the huge hits ‘Brain Storm’, ‘Combat’ and ‘Sex Drive’. In 2000 they had yet another huge EP with, ‘The Atlantis EP’ which preceded 2001s ‘Atlantis Remix’ by then-super group Bad Company. The remix became yet another all-time classic, still receiving plays to this very day. Shortly after ‘Atlantis Remix’ came Moving Fusion’s best selling single, the huge hit, ‘Thunderball’ / ‘Lazy Bones’. The single would be a precursor for what was next to come, and ultimately be Moving Fusion’s biggest project to date.

It wasn’t until Dan and Jeff moved into a studio in White Chapel, away from their traditional home studio that an album began to take shape. With 24 hour access to the studio, no noise restrictions, and studio neighbours that included Shy FX, Blame and Master Steps, there was a confident vibe in the air. Six months later with much of the album completed and DJ work rolling in fast and furious, they put the final touches on their debut album, 2002s, ‘The Start of Something’. With colossal tunes such as ‘Guy Fawkes’, ‘Star Sign’, and ‘Back to the Future’ all receiving huge DJ support worldwide, as well as ‘Chilli Pepper’, with its flamenco influences cracking daytime radio, ‘The Start of Something’ was an unmitigated success.

After almost ten years of making tunes and touring the world together as Moving Fusion, the duo made the decision to part ways in 2005 to explore their own musical tastes as solo artists.

Jeff continued under the Moving Fusion banner, doing many collaborations with other producers. One of the most famous of these was his collaboration with Fierce on ‘Now’s The Time’, with the classic ‘Kill Bill’ sample, “any of you sons of bitches got anything else to say, now’s the fucking time!”, which came about after a week of crazy parties at Miami’s infamous WMC. Another classic collaboration came with Eddy Woo on 2006s ‘Black Hawk Down’, which appeared in Andy C’s Essential Mix and ‘Nightlife 3’ album, as well as ‘Triumph’ and ‘Special Occasion’ released on Frequency. Jeff also made a solo appearance on Viper Recordings with ‘So Real’, released on Viper’s ‘Circuit Breakers’ series in 2006.

Now under the solo guise of ‘Sparfunk’, Dan went on to do a number of collaborations with Shimon, including ‘Bass Fanatic’, ‘Mysterons’, and ‘Cold Killa’, featured on Andy C’s ‘Nightlife 2’ as well as Shimon’s ‘Ram Raiders – The Mix’. Sparfunk made his first solo release on Ram Records with ‘Rapture’, which immediately became a favourite on BBC Radio1’s Annie Mac and Zane Lowe shows. This was followed by ‘Dimension X’ on Ram’s inaugural ‘Dimensions EP’, as well as a collaboration with Nightbreed on ‘Arachnophobia’, famously featured as the last song on Andy C’s 2005 BBC Essential Mix.

In 2006, they both started their own labels, Jeff with Drum Culture, and Dan with Terrafunk Records. Drum Culture showcased three solo efforts by Moving Fusion, including ‘Monster Hunt’, ‘This Game’, and ‘Walk On’. Meanwhile, Terrafunk served as an outlet for Sparfunk’s more experimental tracks under his ‘Dr. Def’ alias, along with his collaboration with Shimon on ‘Snake Charmer’, with its famous tempo-change drop.

In more recent years, Jeff has been teaching music production at college, while still finding time to collaborate with Shimon & Ant Miles on ‘Pimp Slap’ and ‘Underbelly’, released on AudioPorn Records, as well as the huge single ‘Hysteria’ and ‘Cyborg’, released on Liftin’ Spirit in 2009. Sparfunk and Shimon also reunited for ‘The Smoker’, a #1 hit on Beatport and one of the biggest bangers to hit dance-floors in 2008, as well as a return to Ram with ‘Crash Dummy’ being featured on Andy C’s ‘Nightlife 5’ album.

As of 2011, the dust has settled and Jeff and Dan have now made a long awaited return to the studio, finally reforming the original Moving Fusion. Futurebound’s Viper Recordings was quick to sign the duos first collaboration in over six years, ‘Black Belt’, a classic Moving Fusion style track, set to feature on Matrix & Futurebound’s ‘Worldwide 001’ LP. The duo are also working on a forthcoming single set to drop on Viper in the near future, proving the duo are back in form without missing a beat. It’s set to be an enormous year for Moving Fusion as they look to reclaim their throne atop the drum and bass world, so don’t blink an eye!


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Press: tim@viperrecordings.co.uk


Words by Tim Dudley