Brisk began producing tracks in 1992 with a friend of his DJ Intense, who had been a regular at the record store he was working at. The access to a small studio in Intense's garage led to their first 12" "Get Live/Muffdiver" which was released on Men From Uncle Records. Well known for his hard, stompy sound we asked Brisk what his take on the cheesier side of happy hardcore was. His response seems to mimic that of many a stateside happy hardcore DJ: "Personally I think that originality is the key here, a track can be classed as "cheesey" but if it is well thought out, produced and arranged and does its job then that's just as good as a more "credible" or "underground track". It depends really on what "floats your boat!"

Throughout his career Brisk has worked alongside the likes of Ham, Trixxy, Devastate, Vinylgroover, and many others. Knowing that sometimes working as an artists dealing with others can be less than cohesive we questioned him on who his favorite artist to work with were and to no surprise he claims to work well with Ham, Trixxy and Devastate, his label mates. Brisk says, "We are all on the saem level and have a mutual respect and understanding of each other's ideas and methods. Its easier to work with people who understand your style and techniques than a complete stranger, and I find I get the beest reults with these guys." This should be readily apparent by the amazing releases out on Next Generation and Blatant Beats and by the undeniable claim that those two labels are the backbone of happy hardcore today.

When Brisk and Hamilton Dean (aka DJ Ham) met while working for Knite Force records they had a mutual friend who did not have the time to run Blatant Beats, so the duo took over. They gave the label a facelift and began concentrating on original tunes and ditched the ripoffs. Now they're working on showcasing a whole new range of styles on the label and they're not just looking in the UK. Having always been a fan of hardcore of all styles, Brisk is a regular buyer of imported music. Looking towards Holland, he followed the trend there during its last big boom and has heard tracks from Toronto and Los Angeles but nothing that has caught his ear yet. Having a stringent screening process with their releases both helps filter out the cheesy tunes but also keeps the scene going strong with quality released. If Brisk or Ham do not like a track, for whatever reason, it will not see a release. He admits that the policy may of cost them in some ways but taking the high road of quality over quantity, has worked out for th ebetter and doesn't beleive they've had any "bum" releases.

Beginning in 1999 many have cried the end of the hardcore scene. One of the most vocal had been Chris Howell, better known as Luna-C from the well respected Knite Force Records. Brisk sees it differently though. With a steady sales of records and an positive attitude he beleives "it has gone back underground and will resurface bigger and bolder than before". His desire is to have the music go back underground and emerge fresh again. He'd love to see the hardcore scene explode here in the states as it's one of his favorite places to be and the potential for the hardcore culture is huge. He points out that America has a lot of good things going for it, like good venues, different licensing laws and more. Brisk beleives once the US and Canada has a good hardcore infrastructure its going to rock here! However, he does find it wierd that US ravers do not like going to the same venue over and over, because, compared to the UK scene, if they took that stance, the scene would have never survived. Having played at Club Kinetic for 4 years, he beleives its far better for the scnee to concentrate on making a good venue have different layouts and looks to make the parties different.

You can reach Next Generation on the web at http://www.nextgeneration.demon.co.uk and if you have a demo you'd like to submit, send it to: Next Generation Records Ltd, P.O. Box 545, Southampton, S016 8ZH, England, and be sure to follow his advice: "Be original and try your best! Develop your own style and flava, and as long as it moves the dancefloor, you will get there!"

Check in next issue where will be talking to the likes of DJ Fade and bananaman and DJ Sy down the line.