2badmice

2 Bad Mice form in England in 1991 and consist of Sean O'Keeffe, Simon Colebrooke and Rob Playford. Playford owns the Moving Shadow record label. The group is associated with the early UK hardcore scene and is known for helping to bring breakbeats into that style, with a role in the development of jungle and drum and bass.

Their approach centres on sampled beats cut into fragments and rearranged in new patterns. This method appears in mature form on the 1992 track “Bombscare”, which is widely treated as a key example of the style later used in jungle. As the hardcore scene declines, the group largely stops producing, though a best-of compilation of their work appears on the American Sm:)e Communications label in 1995.

After 2 Bad Mice, Rob Playford continues recording as Timecode, and Sean O'Keeffe records as Deep Blue and as part of Black Rain.