Michael Petrie, known as Hive, played guitar in Washington, D.C. band Backlash before moving to Los Angeles in 1992. He then turned to drum-and-bass and hip-hop production, later becoming associated with San Francisco and establishing Hive as a drum-and-bass project. Petrie founded Violence Recordings and was involved in forming Celestial Recordings.
Hive’s 1997 album Working With Sound came out on Petrie’s Mandala Recordings imprint. The 1998 album Devious Methods followed through London Recordings, with “Ultrasonic Sound” also appearing on The Matrix soundtrack CD. In 2002, Hive released the mix album Bedlam, an 18-track set issued by Rockwell.
Hive’s later singles included “The Plague / Resolution” on Renegade Hardware in 2003 and “Fear and Loathing”, a 2003 release with Tejada on Commercial Suicide. In 2005, Hive worked with Friction and Nu Balance on the single “Extended Playaz R1” for True Playaz, and with Dom and Gridlok on “Moodswings / Chaos Theory” for Dom & Roland Productions. The 2007 single “Nothing’s Sacred / Dresden” appeared on Violence Recordings.
