Luke Spellbound has been a favourite of hardcore fans for years, and even though his hardcore sets are rare these days, he is still regarded as one of the main reasons why the sound became so popular.

“It was fresh and original and really captured the feeling of rave. I was drawn to the sound and was instantly hooked.” Spellbound explains. He wasn’t the only one, as his fans were crazy about his sets and his ‘Sex Drugs and Hardcore’ mixtapes. “The tape series basically featured party gabba/hardcore” Spellbound describes… “Every rave was playing that gabba/hardcore sound and those tapes were the only way back then that ravers could have the music at home. I think Sex Drugs & Hardcore really captured the energy being created back then.”

That energy was enough for Central Station Records to take notice. They wanted someone to represent the scene, Spellbound was an obvious choice. “It was a great honour to represent the Australian hardcore scene and mix up CDs for Central Station. It was an excellent opportunity to take hardcore to the public. I mixed Spellbound Vol 1, Dwarf vs Babyboom Records and Central Nervous System 3.” From that moment on not only was Spellbound present at huge raves such as Utopia, but hardcore was being blasted from car stereos all over town.

The production bug soon bit, and had Luke Spellbound eager to create his own material. “I’d produced a lot of mixed tapes and started to feel the desire to take the music production that next step further. Mikey Leadbetter had produced a record with Geoff Da Chef, he and I teamed up and started to produce Happy Hard and Hardcore.” The Cen-Cor label that Central had began was a perfect chance for him to showcase his work. “Cen-Cor was started to give Australian hardcore producers a chance to have their tracks released. Happy Hard was massive back then and the label followed that sound. Artists like DJ Daydream and DJ Crisis featured heavily on the label too. DJ Crisis even took the label in a new harder direction with Cen-Kill.” Attracting attention from abroad, the label soon brought artists such as Slipmatt and MC Bee to work with Spellbound in the studio.

However it was when he launched the EXECUTION RECORDS imprint that notoriety for Australian hardcore increased. “When the European scene went back to their hardcore roots I decided to follow their lead. With that in mind Mikey & I started our own strictly hardcore label Execution Records.” Spellbound explains. “We really wanted to showcase local hardcore artists, recording tracks with DJ Jen-E from Brisbane and Luke Kenny (aka The Berzerker, Industrial Strength) from Melbourne.” The recognition Aussie artists received was amazing. “It showed them that we were serious down here. A lot of international artists took great interest in our releases. Runs were only limited and only ever distributed in Australia but people were still getting their hands on copies of our records in Europe and North America.”

With countless mix tapes, two labels and a handful of releases with his name on them, it was the ‘Wannafuk’ release that cemented his name in Australian hardcore history. “It was written as a joke but was suprisingly well received” he explains. the British Pop group, Spice Girls were the inspiration for this parody. “The Spice Girls where massive at the time and we wanted to take the piss out of them. What more inspiration do you need?” As the ‘Wannabe’ release were climbing up the charts, ‘Wannafuk’ was chosen to be included on the Strictly Techno compilation. “Strictly Techno was known for featuring only the top rave anthems from around the country. For our track to be listed alongside some of the greats was truly incredible.” Spellbound recounts.

He has recently returned from a short stint living over in Canada, and in this time he has covered a number of huge events such as the WEMF and Ascension. “The scene there is very similar to the Australian scene so it worked out well, they’re very passionate about their music” he tells me. Since being back home he has been working hard in the studio once again. “Pumpin’ Hardstyle / Hard Trance is the sound I’m mixing and producing. It features a lot of hardcore influences which is reminiscent of my old style.” A release is on the cards already… “Its a 4 track Hardstyle Hard Trance vinyl release due out January next year. Written and produced by myself and production partner Mikey Leadbetter. I’m currently putting together a mixed CD for Central Station to be released on Bang On! Featuring the best of Hard Dance and a couple of our tracks.”

Spellbound will be doing a 2 hour Sex Drugs and Hardcore set at Utopia NYE.