Formed in Bournemouth in 1995, Aquasky brings together Dave Wallace, Kieron Bailey and Brent Newitt, who met while working in Wallace’s studio during college. The trio began making music together that year and sent a demo to Moving Shadow soon after forming. Three months later, “Dezires / Images” appeared as a single on the label, with Krust remixing it. Aquasky’s early releases also came through Reinforced, and the group went on to record for Good Looking, Hospital and R&S. Its music spans drum and bass and breakbeat, with the trio’s early work rooted in drum and bass.
Aquasky’s first album, Orange Dust, came out on Polydor in 1996 and featured Big Shug and the Scratch Perverts. The group followed it with Bodyshock in 1999 and Aftershock in 2000, both released on Moving Shadow. During that period, Adam Freeland encouraged the trio to make breakbeat and helped introduce its work to that scene. Aquasky ran Passenger, which began in 1997 and was relaunched as a breakbeat label around 2000. The group also established the sister label 777 in 2004.
For its breakbeat work, the trio also used the name Aquasky vs. Masterblaster. The Sureshot EP arrived on Botchit and Scarper in 2000, followed by the 777 EP; the 2002 album Beat The System featured the Ragga Twins. Aquasky’s collaborative album Teamplayers came out through Passenger in 2006 and involved 30 artists, including Elhornet, Tayo, the Drummatic Twins and the Ragga Twins. The members singled out “Teamplayers” as a memorable collaboration, including work with Meat Katie. Other collaborators named by the trio include Kool Keith and Diane Charlemagne.
In 2011, Aquasky released the album Raise the Devil, featuring vocalists including the Ragga Twins, Tenor Fly and Daddy Freddy. The trio also collaborated with PYRAMID, The Engine Earz Experiment and Lee Mortimer on the album. Its work with the Ragga Twins extended to the 2003 single “Dirty Entertainerz” and later Passenger singles: “Bring It on Down / Ready for This” in 2007, “Give It Up (Old Skool Style)” in 2008 and “Living Legends” in 2010.