Many bedroom producers dream of getting one of their creations on a prestigious mix CD. In fact, respected producers chase the same goal. It’s thus rather impressive that Rowan Blades, as half of the hugely successful Breeder, managed to get his first two singles – ‘The Chain’ and ‘Twilo Thunder’ – both on Sasha’s acclaimed San Francisco Global Underground. And mix CDs don’t come any more prestigious than that.

You know a DJ of Sasha’s calibre doesn’t push tracks unless they are quite simply something special. Conclusive proof is that those two songs went on to sell an unprecedented 30,000 copies. Blades, currently touring Australia, believes “the Chain and Twilo captured a moment in time. They were released when the early period of progressive was becoming popular and people really liked that new sound”. The Breeder project never rested on laurels. Blades, along with Simon Noble, went on to release a string of equally astounding records including ‘Tyrantanic’, ‘Rockstone’ and ‘New York FM’. These were complemented by a short but impressive collection of remixes – ‘Children’ by Robert Miles, Brother Brown’s classic ‘Under the Water’, ‘Not Over Yet’ by Grace, and a sizzling mix of Orbital’s ‘Nothing Left’.

Given the amazing success of Breeder, fans may wonder why the collaboration ended earlier this year with ‘Carnival XIII’ being the duo’s final release. Blades is refreshingly honest on the breakup: “The fiery nature of our relationship was the main reason our tracks took so long. I can’t imagine two people less alike. We were thrown together out of the blue and ended up where we couldn’t agree on anything”.

Aficionados of Breeder’s unique progressive sound shouldn’t worry though; Blades has plenty planned for the future. Operating under a number of guises, many will be particularly aware of his work with Gaetan Schurrer under the Pariah moniker. The pair have already decimated dancefloors with their enthralling mix of ‘Space Manoeuvres’, and promise a series of releases and possible album out soon. To top it off Pariah has just completed a couple of tracks for the computer game ‘Wipeout 4’. Those in the know will remember the soundtrack to Wip3out was provided by none less than Underworld, Paul Van Dyk and Sasha.

Blades also owns and runs the successful Rhythm Syndicate record label. The producer believes diversity is the key: “the stuff we are releasing is the kind of music I like to play. There are loads of different styles – techno, dark tribal, uplifting progressive to just get started. The aim is to release music that as many different people as possible will enjoy. Although I wont please everyone all the time, the tracks should get a wide range of listeners excited”.

This variety is refreshing in a scene beginning to choke with scary, dark monotonous base lines. As an important figure behind the current pervasiveness of progressive house, one wonders if Blades feels the deep, driving sound is running out of ideas. Surprisingly, he does. Blades laments that “dance music is possibly the worst I’ve known it for years” and regrets that there is too much of one sound, melody is not cool, and few tracks are ultilising vocals. According to a leading producer of future sounds its time for a change. So who does he admire at the moment? “While never a fan of the big, overproduced sound, I really respect what Hybrid are doing now. Their remix of ‘I Love You’ is amazing. I think they have the potential to be the next big crossover band”. Blades also cites Adam Freeland and Sasha as a long term inspiration. Interestingly, he suggests looking outside of dance music: “I get bored of the cycle it takes, the same things coming back and forth. If dance music is going to survive it needs to reinvent itself”. Here is a progressive artist in the true sense of the word – constantly looking to defy genres and push dance music forwards.

Although best known in Australia as a producer, Blades is an adept and enthusiastic DJ (“DJing is something I love doing”). He has taken his sophisticated sound around the world to great acclaim, spinning in places like Norway, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Brazil, Argentina, Ibiza, Florida, ‘Spundae’ in San Francisco, NYC’s ‘Twilo’ and Club XIII in Moscow. Back in England, Blades plays regularly at Bedrock, Cream and Gatecrasher, confirming his status as a notable figure on the DJ circuit.

Unperturbed by the war on terrorism, Blades is weighing up whether to spend New Years Eve DJing in Moscow, Athens or Sydney. Luckily Australian punters don’t have to cross their fingers to hear his brand of dirty house – Blades plays Sweetchilli at Sydney’s Berlin Bar on Friday night, and Republic in Melbourne this Saturday. Those in attendance can expect a three hour expedition into diverse, yet consistently superb dance music, including the latest upfront tracks from Rhythm Syndicate.

Some DJs rely on clever marketing, fancy press releases and bucketloads of hype. Others release outstanding records that speak for themselves. There is no finer example of the latter than Rowan Blades.