Evolution

Evolution is an electronic dance music duo from Manchester, United Kingdom, made up of Barry Jamieson and Jon Sutton. It is active from 1987 to the present and records on Fluid Recordings. The duo is also described as a UK techno act, and its music is associated with house and progressive house.

Background

Barry Jamieson and Jon Sutton begin making music together in the late 1980s, after playing in bands. They also work with Sasha, contributing a track for his first remix on their earlier label Positive Vinyl. After a period of playing large parties and gaining airplay on MTV, they set up Fluid Recordings in 1996.

Recording and releases

Evolution’s label grows into a platform for a range of artists, with releases from Jimmy Van M, Taylor and Andy Ling. The duo also develops its own long-form studio work, including the album Unnatural Selection, which presents a mixture of ambient passages, progressive breaks, rolling house rhythms and techno-influenced tracks. It includes Numb, Mexican Dawn, Better House Music, Walking On Fire, Firewyre, Crododile Man, Solina, Blaster, Phoenix and Making Sense. Jayn Hanna appears as a vocalist on some of the material, including Walking On Fire and Making Sense.

Style

The duo’s work combines ambient soundscapes, deep basslines, synthesiser arrangements, vocal samples and dancefloor-focused grooves. Across its releases, Evolution moves between progressive house, techno, lounge-leaning sections and slower atmospheric pieces, showing an approach that is not restricted to one club style.