Hint

Hint’s musical career began back in 2002, with his first release on the Leicester-based label Deep Water. The 6-track “Beau Selecta” EP caused quite a stir, with radio support on BBC Radio One and XFM. Within a week of the promos being sent out, Hint was lucky enough to be invited to record a Peel Session at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios, which was broadcast in May 2002 – an honour that would feature at the very top of any musician’s proudest moments.

The success of that first EP quickly attracted the interest of the Bristol-based Hombré imprint, and arrangements were made for Hint to record his debut album for the label, mixing it down in Geoff Barrow’s (Portishead) studio, State Of Art, in Bristol, during the first half of 2002.

Alongside John Peel, The Big Chill’s Pete Laurence was also an enthusiastic early supporter of Hint. Having received an upfront promo of “Portakabin Fever”, he was quick to secure the first Hint live performance, which took place that summer on The Big Chill’s Sactuary Stage. In fact, “Portakabin Fever” was even listed as The Big Chill’s 2nd favourite album of 2002 in the programme, despite the fact that it was yet to be released!

The success snowball continued to roll – that first Big Chill appearance lead to yet another invite to Maida Vale, this time to record a session for Radio One’s One World show (broadcast March 2003) and Hombré approached the UK’s respected Ninja Tune label and struck a deal under which the two labels would co-release “Portakabin Fever”.

A European Tour with Hexstatic and Pest followed, as well as a return to The Big Chill that summer. This time artist Will Barras was in tow, providing live visuals with paint and canvas and Hint was joined by Bonobo on bass and Minotaur Shock on drums.

Whilst things may have gone quiet in terms of releases since the album dropped, Hint continued to build his reputation with successful DJ tours of Japan and Russia, a monthly slot on Groovetech internet radio and a residency at Bristol’s respected Seen club night, where he supported the likes of Carl Craig, Bugz In The Attic and Jazzanova.

Having always been more of a club-style DJ, it seemed only natural that Hint would let this love of edgy, uptempo music works its way into his own productions. With dancefloor remixes for Diesler (Tru Thoughts) and Uptown Felaz (Wah Wah 45s) causing a bit of a buzz, the time seemed right for Hint to return to the record shop shelves with a new sound. Brighton label Tru Thoughts stepped up to the plate and the first fruits of this fine paternship were the 6 tracks that made up The Tremmuh EP, released in December 2005.

Change is good – Hint’s new sound continues to pick up stong support from new places and new faces. This time, the BBC DJs pushing the Hintertainment are J Da Flex and Benji B (1xtra) and the more dancefloor-friendly tracks are gracing the decks of some of Hint’s favourite club DJs and picking up great reviews in magazines such as Straight No Chaser, Knowledge and XLR8R. It’s almost like starting again – who knows where this 6-track EP will lead?

www.hinteractive.co.uk