William Breakspear

William Breakspear

William Breakspear is a UK bass music producer and DJ who works across breaks, drum and bass, glitch hop and ghetto funk. He begins producing at the age of 16 using an Atari ST and Akai S950, drawing on his parents’ record collection of rock, soul and reggae, before moving to Liverpool to study sound technology.

Early work and scene involvement

He first builds a profile in the nu skool breaks and drum and bass scenes as part of the Entity crew. His early releases and remixes appear on Intercom, Viper Recordings, CIA, Cyberfunk, Funkatech and Fusetrax, helping establish him as a producer in the UK breaks scene.

Skanky Panky Records

In 2009, Breakspear and sixAM launch Skanky Panky Records in Liverpool. The label focuses on glitch hop and bass music, and it becomes associated with releases that draw together low-end styles from different parts of the world. Breakspear issues solo material, collaborative tracks and both official and unofficial remixes through the label.

Style and later releases

His later work moves towards a blend of contemporary ghetto funk and glitch hop, with stuttering rhythms, heavy bass and glitched-up beats. His music reaches the record collections of DJs including DJ Food and Cheeba from Solid Steel, as well as Mochipet and Parker.

Album deal

Cut La Roc signs Breakspear to Rocstar for an album deal after hearing his work. His output continues to develop through the Skanky Panky catalogue and related releases.