During one especially successful period, the crew managed to throw a party every week for an entire year.

 

By 1998, Ritchie moved to Nottingham with what little studio kit hed had in Sheffield, joined the To ka Project studio and began to put together the drop label whilst producing closely with Riley, who was already involved with To ka Project, his collaboration with Steve Walker and Jason Cowley..

 

Inland knights Volume 1 marked the launch of Drop Music; an independent outlet devoted to the production of quality house. The flourishing label has released material under various mediums, including EPs, singles and continuous-mix CDs. The Drop Music catalogue now has 32 releases to its credit, and is renowned in the dance music community for the quality and consistency of its work. Adopting various guises to showcase different aspects of their sound, including Party Criminals, In House Alterations, Grand Theft Audio and Big Audio Spidermite, Inland Knights have been responsible for most of the Drop catalogue.

 

Their blend of jazz and funk, dynamic percussion and vocal hooks has been instrumental in catapulting the Inland Knights to international popularity. Their DJ sets are a fusion encompassing most styles of house, from dubby deep house, disco and garage to four-to-the-floor tech house.

 

As enthusiastic about DJing as studio production Ritchie and Riley have maintained a relentless international touring agenda since their collaboration began. Their schedule has included visits to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, in addition to Singapore, Malaysia, Turkey, Chili,, the U.S.,and Russia as well as all over Europe.

 

Their global jaunts have included stops at venues ranging from tiny hole-in-the-wall bars and nightclubs to world-famous, large-scale events including "Amnesia" in Ibiza; "Dance Valley" in Holland; "Fabric" and "The End" in London; and "Back 2 Basics" in Leeds.

 

Under the Inland Knights moniker the pair have been fruitful, releasing tracks on labels such as Ralph Lawsons famed 20:20 Vision imprint, Panhandle Records, Vista, Siesta, Sunflower, NRK, Low Pressings, double down and many more. Their original work has not gone
unnoticed by their fellow artists; their tracks have been licensed to notable compilations such as the "Global Underground" series and Miguel Migs "Nite Life" mixes. The duo are rapidly becoming a very sought-after remix team. Some of their credits include Faithless "Mohammed Ali," Onionz and Tonys "Everywhere You Are," Floris "Shake It," and Danos "Horny Hustle."

 

"Creative Spaces," Inland Knights and Drop Musics highly anticipated first full-length album, was released in 2001 to widespread critical praise for its funky jams and deep, grooving melodies. For the CD version of the album, the pair opted to create a live mix rather than simply re-releasing the vinyl in another medium. Resisting the temptation to use a computer to digitally master their mix, they simply released a live mix with no editing.

 

Towards the end of 2004 and into 2005 , Inland knights have been busy in the studio with notable remixes for the likes of Tango recordings, as well as remixes for up and coming label Blockhead records, and MobileTrax(a label run by smokescreen buddy Steve Lee of the Littlemen). Early 2005 will see the pair release a major compilation on N.R.K called Family Duals which will showcase some of the Knights back-catalouge as well as licensing current tracks from the cream of the house community. As well as this project Inland Knights will be concentrating on new material for Drop with two new E.Ps scheduled for the end of the year, as well as regular dj slots at the weekends.

 

Despite their success as producers,and over seven years of releases under their belts, they refuse to withdraw into the studio and will continue to DJ and tour extensively. Riley notes they are always looking to balance their performance and production schedules. "If you start to do too much of one," he says, "You start to miss the other."