Total Science
Jason Greenhalgh (Q Project) and Paul Smith (Spinback) of Total Science have remained on the cusp of the electronic music counterculture from its inception to the present day.…
Jason Greenhalgh (Q Project) and Paul Smith (Spinback) of Total Science have remained on the cusp of the electronic music counterculture from its inception to the present day. Having first met in Oxford back in 1987, though Greenhalgh kicked off his career in 1991 with his single ‘Freestyle Fanatic’, it wasn’t until the release of Greenhalgh’s ‘Champion Sound’ on the Legend imprint that Greenhalgh and Smith began to establish themselves within the scene.
Under the name of Funky Technicians, the duo released ‘Got to Believe’, the first in a series of records that drew the label away from the slowing dark side movement towards the epic string sections and rolling beats being pioneered at the time. Greenhalgh and Smith continued releasing tracks on Legend for another three years until the end of 1996, which, along with help from Brillo of Timeless Recordings, saw the creation of their CIA label and the pair’s launch as Total Science.
Having made themselves prominent through their release of their Silent Reign EP for Goldie’s Metalheadz and their 2000 remix of ‘Champion Sound’, their debut album Advance showcased the pair’s musical prowess with its exploration of down-tempo rhythms. Their innovative revival of old-school sounds and arrangements, together with Digital and Spirit, dominated drum & bass throughout 2001. The pair went on to found C.I.A’s sister label Advanced in 2003, and with it Advanced’s now-renowned Sektor series. Created as a way of combining up and coming artists with those more established, the series was also developed to stress the importance of the music rather than the faces behind it.
This ethos of nurturing new talent continued across C.I.A and Advanced, with both labels striving to showcase rising talents in drum and bass. These talents included Friction, Mathematics and Baron, the latter whose remix of Total Science’s ‘Nosher’ became one of 2003’s biggest dance floor stormers, pioneering the jump-up resurgence. With releases across a range of labels including True Playaz , Soul:r and Metalheadz, Total Science became known for never adhering to one musical form and it was therefore little surprise when the duo launched hip-hop/soul imprint Skin Deep in 2004, which has forged broken beat to considerable acclaim.
With a global tour under their belt, the duo went from strength to strength with both C.I.A and Advanced continuing release world-class music through the 2000s from the likes of talented producers such as Juju, Calibre & Zero Tolerance and State of Mind. Greenhalgh, under Q Project, began releasing singles across a range of labels and eventually signed to Hospital Records; The increasing buzz surrounding Q-Project and Total Science putting both in serious worldwide demand.
The decade concluded with a string of successes for the pair. This included the much anticipated 2006 release of their third album Mars Needs Total Science (from which ‘Never Had a Dream’ reached Number 1 in the UK Dance charts), Q Project’s debut solo LP Renaissance Man for Hospital Records, the formation of CINNA (a collaboration with Dj Marky’s label Innerground) and huge releases alongside fresh talent such as Brazil’s Bungle. Total Science, now firmly on the radars of the most influential DJs around, had unquestionably made it.
2010 saw the duo’s collaborative releases with S.P.Y ‘Gansta/Above The Clouds’ and ‘Legion/Ploc Monster’ released on Shogun Audio and Metalheadz respectively. The pair continued to collaborate with S.P.Y on later releases such as the Ghostrider EP on C.I.A. With consistently impressive releases continuing to drop across Shogun Audio, Metalheadz, Critical and more, the duo eventually reignited their relationship with fellow innovators Digital and Spirit in 2016 for a series of releases that united Phantom Audio with C.I.A including massive tracks ‘Jigsaw’ and ‘Rumble’.
Recent successes include the pair’s 2016 Notes Of Blue EP on Metalheadz, their 2017 Turn Around EP on C.I.A and their collaborative releases with Break; ‘Big Time Winners’ and ‘Betamax’, both of which reached number one on Beatport’s digital sales charts. The last two years saw Total Science finish the decade in style. Chart topping collaborations alongside the likes of Break, War, Jubei, DLR and a reunion with Digital & Spirit, on top of the continued success of their label, C.I.A Records, Greenhalgh and Smith show no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Having performed unmissable sets globally (including festival appearances at Glastonbury, Sun & Bass, Outlook Festival, Hospitality On The Beach and Let It Roll), received major radio airplay and secured the attention of some of the UK’s most prominent DJs, Total Science have gone from strength to strength. With it being the 20th Anniversary of their debut LP Advanced, and less then 12 months away from the 25th Anniversary of Total Science and CIA Records, you can expect more of the same; innovative Drum & Bass and Jungle, expressed through their DJ sets.