b. 1973, Southend, Essex, England. Acclaimed techno producer, O'Brien grew up listening to his parents' favourite musicians, Stevie Wonder and the Beatles. As a teenager, he developed eclectic musical tastes (encompassing from heavy metal to jazz) but became particularly interested in the fusion band, Weather Report and Herbie Hancock. He took up guitar and studied music at his local college in Southend. At this time, he discovered the Detroit techno scene and grew increasingly interested in Underground Resistance, Derrick May and the other techno artists of the time. Inspired by this scene, O'Brien honed his production skills in his bedroom studio and at local recording facilities before releasing a debut EP, Memory Tree in 1995, which received radio play from the UK's Kiss FM DJs, Colin Dale and Colin Faver. A run of singles followed this on various UK underground labels such as Ferox, 4th Wave and Pacific Records. Desert Scores was released in February 1997 to considerable critical acclaim, admired for its experimentation and juxtaposing of musical styles. Perhaps most notable was his use of odd time signatures, something that subsequently became popular on many dance music records. The album's popularity led to remix and production work including a "bootleg" remix of Lisa Stansfield's "The Line" and work for Monday Michiru and Belgian pop artists, Telex.

Listen to Ian O'Brien at Finetune.

• Mina's Blues
• Joe 90

• Derrick May
• Carl Craig
• Jeff Mills
• Infiniti
• Kenny Larkin
• Akio Milan Park
• Kevin Saunderson
• Drexcya
• Juan Atkins
• Claude Young
• Kreem
• Designer Music
• Inter City
• Keynotes
• Kosmic Messenger
• Optical Nerve
• The Temptations
• Daphreephunkateerz
• Stevie Wonder
• Inner City

• kazumi
• BUDDHAART
• mpersons
• tsurumstk