Tom Shorterz

Birmingham native Tom Shorterz's upbringing in the U.K.'s second city gave him a background in house and bass music unlike many others connected to those genres. A committed teenage devotee to U.K. garage, Shorterz began to DJ in response to avidly tuning into the pirate radio stations around at the time, as well as watching his friends play out in local bars and clubs.

A well-seasoned selector who cut his teeth warming up for the big-name DJs passing through Birmingham, Shorterz steadily built up a glowing reputation and soon established himself as a mainstay of several well-known club nights, such as Bigger than Barry and FACE. In 2011 he co-founded the popular 02:31 after parties (and the subsequent sister events named 10:31) at the Rainbow complex in Digbeth, Birmingham. A select group of resident DJs at this party, including <a href="spotify:artist:6rrfw2MwiwpIMnA8pWj1UQ">Cause & Affect</a>, attracted a loyal following and national attention that did wonders to improve the reputation of the city as a vibrant hub of new dance music. These nights saw Shorterz share the stage with headliners such as <a href="spotify:artist:41DZ1or3s4tphMQnLC5RNk">Annie Mac</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1O10apSOoAPjOu6UhUNmeI">SBTRKT</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3l1C23aRp4lfkBK3lLAp2m">Toddla T</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6lyYDuLxgcxPLH5RjUPH5p">Benga</a>, to name just a few.

London called in the form of Rinse.fm, the community-run radio station specializing in grime, dubstep, and other U.K.-centric electronic music genres. Alongside longtime collaborators <a href="spotify:artist:6rrfw2MwiwpIMnA8pWj1UQ">Cause & Affect</a>, Shorterz co-hosted a monthly show, to which he invited guest DJs and producers from the Birmingham scene to explore pretty much anything that fell under the "house and bass" genre -- an umbrella term he frequently used to encompass the different styles embraced in his shows.

Shorterz also released his own music. His 2014 debut single, "Mainline"/"The Grid," was followed by "Bump (No Way)"/"Walk Way," both on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Rinse%22">Rinse</a> label. He teamed up in 2014 with Danish vocalist/rapper and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Superbillion+Records%22">Superbillion Records</a> owner <a href="spotify:artist:2446Rfg2mJbSUoWwVzg0ZJ">Lucy Love</a> for the single "Colours," which was released in conjunction with major label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Virgin+EMI%22">Virgin EMI</a>. ~ Simon Spreyer, Rovi