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Leighton Howell aka @Ikon bought his first pair of decks and began DJing in 1997 at the age of 14. Although originally starting out as a Happy Hardcore DJ, it was during a work experience stint at the age of 15 in the local dance music record shop that Ikon was introduced to the sound that now dominates his sets - Hard Trance. Despite gracing the decks at many house and birthday parties over the next couple of years Ikon found it difficult to break into circuit of playing at "proper" clubs despite sending out numerous demos to promoters. So in 2000, aged just 17, Ikon decided to start promoting his own event Evolution. Evolution was a Hardcore Techno and Hard Trance event that ran monthly at The Orange Peel in Rhyl, N.Wales and was initially setup as somewhere for Ikon and other aspiring DJs to play in front of real crowds and gain valuable experience. The event ran from Oct 2000 to Oct 2001 and despite only running for one year the night became regarded as the 3rd biggest Underground Hardcore and Hard Trance event in the UK and attracted people from all over the country. During his time promoting Evolution Ikon was able to push his talents to the right crowds and promoters and make a name for himself, which in turn has seen him earn regular bookings from some of the big underground promoters such as Vibealite, North and Species. As well as DJing, Ikon has also made a huge name for himself as an MC in the underground scene. In January 2001 he entered an MC competition at the North "Dogz bollox" DJ competition for a laugh and won. This lead to a booking at the next North event, and it was at this event that the promoter was so impressed he offered Ikon a residency which is now in its second year. As well as this Ikon has also held a residency at Species in Manchester and has MC'd for some of the larger underground organisations such as Vibealite and Helter Skelter. As well as DJing and MCing Ikon is also Hard Trance editor on the underground dance website - UK-Scene.org.uk, for which he writes reviews on new tunes and events and interviews other DJs, he also helps co-ordinate and promote any events UK-Scene are involved in. He has also recently joined the Vibealite as part of their Internet promotions team. Music Policy Although listing his main influences as being DJs such as Mark EG, M-Zone, Vortex and Sharkey, Ikon's main attribute is his own unique sound hat he has worked hard on creating, fusing many different types dance music, such as Hard Trance, Hard House, Techno, Acid, Prog house into one tough yet uplifting action packed set. Ikon is always on the lookout for a new label, producer or sound in order to enhance his sets and make them stand out from the rest. Ikon also prides himself on being able to react to any situation and adapt to any crowd and keep the dancefloor rocking. Venues Played North @ The Void, Stoke-onTrent (Resident) North @ Lakota, Bristol North @ The Emporium, Leicester Evolution @ The Orange Peel, Rhyl Species @ The Park, Manchester Invasion @ Swallow Falls Detonation @ The Orange Peel, Rhyl Vibealite @ The Street, Skegness Vibealite @ The Eclipse, Accrington Vibealite @ The Old Corn mill, Huddersfield Vibealite @ The Emporium, Leicester Compulsive @ The Orbit, Leeds Know:Fear @ The Pheonix, Manchester Vinyl Frontier @ Club Metz, Stoke-on-Trent Toco @ Bodafon Farm, Llandudno Inspire @ The Buzz Club, Llandudno Enigma @ The old hall, Llandudno Solaris @ Broadway Boulevard, Llandudno The Clinic @ Time, Bangor Rewind @ Stax, Stockport Digital @ Nation, Liverpool Horizon @ Zanzibar, Liverpool Overdose @ Bar Hanna, Liverpool Oblivion @ Club Soho, Leicester L.O.T.D.B @ The Que club, Birmingham Binary @ North, Manchester Digital @ The Orange Peel, Rhyl Incision @ Paradise club, Leeds Fantasy Island NYE 01 @ Fantasy Island Fantasy Island NYE 02 @ Fantasy Island Future Plans Ikon has recently been working hard in the studio and has two tracks and a few re-mixes under his belt which are currently unsigned. Despite achieving so much in such a short space of time Ikon is eager for more. His main aim now is to break into the more mainstream circuit and push his sound to a fresh, new crowd. Having done the rounds and having success in the underground scene Leighton is now ready for a new challenge and at still only 20 years old he is definitely one to look out for in the future.