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REACTIVATE IS BACK WITH A NEW CLOTHING RANGE
Drum and Bass | Thursday 14th December 2023 | Nicky
One of the biggest-selling and most revered techno and trance album series, Reactivate, returns with a new collection of branded club wear and lifestyle clothing including iconic tees.
The owners of React Music have joined forces with graphic design and fashion business team David Rich and Khan Tihema, two dads from Brisbane, Australia, to create a brand new e-commerce site to launch their rave-inspired fashion label Synthd Designs.
The clothing company offers dance music lovers the chance to purchase Reactivate merchandise, along with brand new counterculture-inspired designs. Their aim is to inspire a new generation of fans and recapture the nostalgia of the ‘90s and 00s club scene for those that loved and lived it.
Known for its bright cartoon-style underwater artwork and upfront tracklistings,the Reactivate album series pioneered the sound of European techno, trance and the ‘hoover sound’ of hard dance. The albums featured tracks from techno luminaries such as Joey Beltram, Sven Vath, G.T.O and Fierce Ruling Diva, trance artists such as Ferry Corsten, Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, BBE, John ‘00’ Fleming and Blu Peter, hard house artists Tony De Vit and Baby Doc & S-J, as well as the React label’s release of evergreen classic, ‘Age of Love’ Jam & Spoon Watch Out for Stella Mix. Reactivate captured the early sound of Europe’s exploding electronic music scene featuring seminal tracks being played at events such as Berlin’s huge Love Parade, Tresor club, Watergate, Hard Wax, London’s 1st ever afterhours club, Trade, Heaven, Troll, Sherbet, The Gallery, Club UK, Peach, Cream, Gatecrasher, Sundissential, and Gods Kitchen and festivals such as Rezerection and Tribal Gathering.
Reactivate was launched by React Music as the label’s first compilation after scoring an international hit with their first release with timeless classic ‘You Got The Love’ from The Source featuring Candi Staton. The albums were UK chart albums, and the series has released 18 compilations as well as several ‘Best Of Reactivate’ collections, racking up sales of over 1,000,000 copies on vinyl and CD.
React Music was the brainchild of James Horrocks, one of the UK’s unsung A&R heroes having been behind the iconic Rhythm King label that launched the careers of Mark Moore’s S’Express, Bomb The Bass, Baby Ford, Renegade Soundwave, The Beatmasters and Cookie Crew. Its underground offshoot Outer Rhythm was the first platform for Leftfield, Moby and showcased Warp and R&S Records with releases from Aphex Twin, CJ Bolland, Underground Resistance, Jam & Spoon, LFO, and Nightmares On Wax.
From the 90’s, Horrocks and React business partner, Thomas Foley, captured the exploding electronic music scene in all its diverse genres. Hardcore clubbers and music fanatics, the pair set the trends in compilations, and were the first to highlight the sounds typically heard on a big night out, bringing authentic quality music to a wider audience. As serious clubbers React were the first UK label to dance their way round’s Europe unique scenes like Amsterdam, Cologne and Frankfurt, sampling and then showcasing the very cutting-edge sounds they heard on their travels. They were also one of the first labels to head to Ibiza, where they introduced Carl Cox to Space, Ibiza, and hosted parties with Renaissance and Manumission, and had events broadcast live on BBC Radio 1. React showcased dance floor sounds across the genres including early mixed sets from Carl Cox F.A.C.T; Jeff Mills; Laurent Garnier; Dave Clarke and Dave Angel alongside the first Cafe Del Mar chillout albums compiled by the legendary and sadly departed resident, Jose Padilla. React Musicwere also the first label to showcase the sounds of the 90’s UK garage scene with their ‘Twice As Nice’ compilations featuring BBC Radio 2’s DJ Spoony; and their Bonkers hardcore series became the most successful in its genre’s history; as well as releasing 4 volumes of Strictly Rhythm classics; Bora Bora, Ibiza, with DJ Gee; the Drum & Bass Arena series and drum & bass Industry Recordings label, and lo-fi trip hop series, Dope On Plastic. React was also involved in the launch of Sharp Recordings, the label set up by React label manager Stephen React and George Sharp of house DJ/producer duo The Sharp Boys.
In addition to this exciting launch, James Horrocks is writing a blog series with input from Thomas and business partner Gary Gray that delves into the history of the label and its profound influence on the evolution of dance music. This four-part series promises to be an insightful journey for music aficionados, providing a deeper understanding of the label’s rich heritage. Web host Synthd Designs has been created as a platform for the celebration of dance music and a tribute to React and Reactivate and their influence on popular rave and club culture and the DJs and fans who have followed it.
The curated collection of merchandise is here at:
Synthd Designs
David Rich’s journey into the world of dance music began in the late 90s when he immersed himself in the local Brisbane dance music scene. A fixture at countless local raves and club nights he developed a profound appreciation and encyclopaedic knowledge of the genre.
Khan Tihema, not only shared David’s passion for dance music, but was fortunate enough to work as a music journalist for The Courier Mail newspaper in Brisbane for 18 years. He covered music festivals, wrote features and album reviews, and managed to fit in a few part time gigs as a DJ. His day job, however, was as a well-respected graphic designer where he got the opportunity to express himself through front page designs, magazines, and one-off specials while also filming video and designing content for The Courier Mail Website.
The duo met and became friends in the Brisbane rave scene bonding over a love of trance. Inspired by the iconic Reactivate albums, last October, they decided to approach React Music owners, James Horrocks and Gary Gray, with a bold proposition to ‘Reactivate’ the brand by reimagining the legendary trance and techno label for officially licensed merchandise. Not only aimed at the club and rave crowd but appealing to pre or post clubbers as leisure and sportswear, Khan’s innovative design concepts impressed the React team, and the Synthd Designs range was born.
