London Elektricity: Biography, Discography and More | EDM Encyclopedia

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Introduction

Tony Colman, better known by his stage name London Elektricity, is an English electronic musician and a consistent presence in British drum and bass. His career, extending from the 1990s to the present day, operates on two parallel tracks: recording artist and label executive. Colman co-founded Hospital Records, a London-based independent label that has become a significant force in drum and bass worldwide, alongside the publishing entity Fast Soul Music.

Hospital Records was established in 1996 by Colman and Chris Goss. The label’s roster has included artists such as High Contrast, Danny Byrd, Metrik, and Camo & Krooked, among others. Hospital also operates a sister label, Med School, focused on experimental and liquid drum and bass. The label hosts a long-running podcast, which Colman presents, featuring new releases, guest mixes, and commentary on the contemporary drum and bass scene. Hospital’s associated club nights and festival stages have expanded its reach across Europe, with events bearing the Hospitality branding appearing regularly at major venues and festivals.

Colman’s decision to maintain an active recording career while managing label operations distinguishes him from artist-label founders who shift toward A&R full time. He has continued to release full-length albums at regular intervals, tour internationally, and perform live shows, adapting his sound across multiple eras of drum and bass. London Elektricity has remained his primary creative outlet throughout his career, serving as the vehicle for his solo drum and bass productions and the focal point of his live performances.

Prior to establishing Hospital Records, Colman was involved in music through various channels, including jazz and funk projects. His background in these genres informed the musical direction London Elektricity would take: a sound rooted in harmonic sophistication and rhythmic complexity rather than raw energy. This foundation separated his work from the harder, more aggressive styles that dominated drum and bass in the mid-1990s and established a distinct identity within a crowded field.

Genre and Style

London Elektricity operates within drum and bass, working primarily in the 170-175 BPM tempo range. Colman’s specific approach to the genre prioritizes musicality over technical spectacle: his productions feature piano chords, jazz-influenced harmonies, and structured songwriting that draws from soul, funk, and orchestral arrangement rather than relying on aggressive or minimalist sonic elements common elsewhere in the genre.

The drum and bass Sound

His production method incorporates live instrumentation alongside programmed elements. Colman has worked with session musicians, vocalists, and recording engineers to build tracks that feel closer to band recordings than solo electronic productions. Strings, brass, and acoustic piano appear frequently in his arrangements, layered over programmed breakbeats and synthesized bass. This emphasis on organic sound extends to his performances: London Elektricity has toured with a full live band featuring drum kits, keyboards, brass sections, and vocalists, a format rarely seen in a genre where DJ sets are the standard performance model.

Colman’s drum programming uses processed breakbeats and layered percussion rather than rigid drum machine patterns. His basslines favor melodic movement, warm tones, and syncopated rhythms over the distorted low-end associated with darker drum and bass subgenres. Across his career, his sound has evolved from sample-heavy early productions, built with hardware samplers and analog synthesizers, to cleaner digital arrangements that reflect changes in production technology and his own creative interests. The integration of software instruments and digital audio workstations in his later work allowed for greater arrangement complexity and higher-fidelity mixes.

Vocal collaboration is central to London Elektricity’s identity. Colman has built entire albums around sung melodies, working with recurring vocalists to develop tracks with verse-chorus structures. This emphasis on songcraft gives his albums a coherence uncommon in dance music, where

Key Releases

The discography data provided for this article lists five releases: Accelerator (1991), Lifeforms (1994), ISDN (1994), Dead Cities (1996), and From the Archives, Volume 1 (2007). These are documented releases by Future Sound of London (FSOL), the electronic project of Garry Cobain and Brian Dougans. Attributing them to London Elektricity would be factually incorrect, and they are excluded from this section on accuracy grounds.

  • Accelerator
  • Lifeforms
  • ISDN
  • Dead Cities
  • From the Archives, Volume 1

Discography Highlights

London Elektricity’s actual discography spans multiple studio albums released through Hospital Records, beginning with his debut full-length in the late 1990s. His early work relied on hardware samplers, vinyl sampling, and analog synthesis. As production technology shifted, Colman adapted his methods, incorporating digital audio workstations and software instruments while maintaining the emphasis on live musicianship that defines his sound. Each album reflects both the era’s available technology and Colman’s evolving musical interests.

Colman’s releases have been distributed through Hospital Records, the label he co-founded, giving him complete creative and commercial control over his output. His albums typically feature a combination of solo productions and collaborative tracks with vocalists, instrumentalists, and other dj producers within the Hospital Records network. This self-contained model allows for longer production timelines and greater artistic freedom than traditional label arrangements.

In addition to studio albums, London Elektricity has released singles, remixes, and compilation contributions throughout his career. His remix work has included reinterpretations of tracks by other Hospital Records artists and external projects. Colman has also contributed to label compilation series, which serve as showcases for the Hospital roster and have helped introduce newer artists to the drum and bass audience.

Colman has performed at major electronic music festivals across Europe, including Let It Roll, Boomtown, and Hospitality-branded events. These performances, whether as a solo DJ or with the live band, have documented the evolution of his sound across decades of active touring and reinforced his position as a working musician rather than a retrospective figure.

Famous Tracks

Tony Colman operates under the moniker London Elektricity, building a substantial discography within drum and bass. His work helped shape the melodic, vocal-driven approach to the genre that became Hospital Records’ signature sound during the early 2000s.

Colman co-founded Hospital Records alongside Chris Goss, establishing a platform for his own releases and those of like-minded artists. The label became synonymous with a polished, accessible take on drum and bass artists that prioritised musicality alongside rhythmic complexity.

Prior to London Elektricity becoming a solo project, Colman worked with various collaborators. His early output demonstrated an interest in combining electronic production techniques with jazz-influenced harmonies and live instrumentation concepts, distinguishing his tracks from the darker, more minimalist drum and uk drum and bass prevalent in the late 1990s.

Live Performances

London Elektricity became known for translating electronic studio production into engaging live contexts. Colman assembled a full band to perform his material, treating drum and bass compositions with the same musical rigour applied to a jazz or funk ensemble.

Notable Shows

The live band format allowed for improvisation and reinterpretation of studio material. Musicians covered keyboards, drums, bass, and vocals, creating arrangements that expanded upon the original productions rather than simply replicating them. This approach positioned London Elektricity alongside acts like 4Hero and Roni Size’s Reprazent in proving drum and bass could function as performed music rather than purely DJ-driven entertainment.

Colman also maintained an active DJ schedule, performing at clubs and festivals across Europe and beyond. His DJ sets typically showcased the Hospital Records roster alongside wider drum and bass selections.

Why They Matter

London Elektricity’s significance extends beyond his own recordings. As co-founder of Hospital Records, Colman built one of drum and bass’s most enduring and commercially successful independent labels. The label’s consistent output provided a home for artists including High Contrast, Danny Byrd, and Netsky, each of whom released debut albums through Hospital.

Impact on drum and bass

Colman’s decision to pursue a melodic, musically intricate form of drum and bass offered an alternative to the genre’s harder styles. This emphasis on harmony, arrangement, and vocal integration influenced subsequent producers who gravitated toward the label’s aesthetic.

Through the Hospital Records podcast and his ongoing A&R role, Colman fostered a community around the label’s releases. The podcast, launched in the mid-2000s, provided regular exposure to new material and helped maintain listener engagement between official releases.

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**Note:** The albums listed in your confirmed new EDM tracks (Accelerator, Lifeforms, ISDN, Dead Cities, From the Archives Volume 1) are releases by **Future Sound of London (FSOL)**, not London Elektricity. I have not attributed them to London Elektricity to avoid factual inaccuracy. If you’d like sections about FSOL instead, or can provide London Elektricity’s actual discography (albums such as *Pull the Plug*, *Billion Dollar Gravy*, *Power Ballads*, *Syncopated City*, *Yikes!*), I can revise accordingly.

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