by JACK OATMON

British breakbeat outfit Freestylers released their first single, “Drop the Boom,” in 1996, and have since been regularly updating their smooth-flowing beats with touches of drum & bass, hip hop, ragga and plenty more for a bouncy, head-bobbin’ kind of sound that draws listeners from across the board. Matt Cantor, a founding member of the London-based group, has been producing and spinning upbeat, accessible dance music since the late ’80s. In the buffer zone between flights to and from shows, the Mirror got a quick chat in with him about his impending visit, via e-mail.

Mirror: Where is your sound at now, in light of what’s been happening with grime and newer garage beats in the U.K.?

Matt Cantor: Although we do keep our ear to the ground as far as U.K. urban music is concerned, right now we are really just trying to do our own thing, taking in as many influences as possible.

M: Do you have any plans to do another tour with a full band?

MC: The band are out this summer, touring the new album.

M: Freestylers have a pretty eye-catching CV, with a FabricLive disc out, a Glastonbury appearance, plenty of remixes floating around and respectable album sales all over. How has the reception of your music been on this side of the pond? Has it achieved here what it has in Europe?

MC: The first album was pretty successful stateside—we got quite a few tracks on big Hollywood films and toured with Lenny Kravitz, which was pretty cool.

M: You’ve been around long enough to see some changes. What have advancements in mixing, such as CDJs and Internet technology, done for Freestylers?

MC: The Internet thing is great because as soon as friends have finished a hot track, they can get it straight over to me, and I can burn it and play it that night!

M: Vinyl, digital or both?

MC: Both.

With Tony Ezzy, Hussler vs. Corey K and Sarcastic vs. Rhys Taylor at le Showcase on Friday, May 19, 9 p.m., $15

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