King Unique

King Unique is a British dance music group from Chester, active since 1999. The project centres on Matthew Roberts and Matt Thomas, with Thomas later carrying the King Unique name as a solo artist after the original studio partnership ends in 2006.

Style and sound

King Unique works in progressive house, house, techno and minimal, with a sound that combines tripped-out cosmic techno, rough-edged underground house, euphoric acidic melodies, dark techno elements and older beat patterns. The project is also associated with DJ and live performance using laptops, studio equipment and other electronic controllers in the booth.

Releases, remixes and collaborations

The act builds a large catalogue of records, remixes and radio broadcasts and becomes widely known for remix work. It earns five Essential New Tunes mentions in five months on Pete Tong’s Essential Selection on BBC Radio 1. A remix of Dirty Vegas’ Walk Into The Sun reaches number 1 on the US Billboard Dance Chart. Other notable solo aliases for Matt Thomas include Watkins and Mainframe, under which he also receives Essential New Tunes plays.

King Unique’s remix work includes tracks by Underworld, The Killers, Planet Funk, John Dahlbäck, Tracey Thorn, John Digweed and Hernan Cattaneo. The project also has an ongoing association with James Lavelle’s UNKLE, producing reworkings of Heaven, Heavy Drug, The Answer, Reign feat. Ian Brown and Rabbit in Your Headlights feat. Thom Yorke. Original and collaborative releases mentioned include 2000000 Suns on Bedrock and Vamoosh, a collaboration with Anthony Pappa.

DJ work and live performance

King Unique appears regularly at clubs and festivals around the world, with DJ sets and live shows in places including Tokyo, Sydney, Panama, Budapest, Seoul, Helsinki, Mexico City, Dubai, Rosario, Bogota, Kazantip, Vilnius and Madeira. The project’s records are played by DJs including John Digweed, Soulwax, Richie Hawtin and Tiesto, and its music appears on compilations, mix albums, film soundtracks and mobile ringtones.

Other details

Since the start of the project, Matt Thomas uses new technology in performance, and by 2010 the Monome controller becomes part of the live setup.