Richard Hale, known as Mista Trick, is a Bristol-based DJ and producer whose music brings vintage swing and vaudeville influences together with drum and bass, electro swing and jazz. Hale began learning to mix after a schoolmate challenged him to do it, practising on belt-drive decks until he could beat-match records. He helped develop Swing & Bass, the label and club night, and now manages both the night and its spin-off label. His releases have appeared on Virgin, Spearhead Records, Sony and Freshly Squeezed, as well as Ragtime Records and Pashmount Music.
Remixing has been a substantial part of Hale’s work, with credits for Jamie Berry, Sam & The Womp and Molotov Jukebox. He also reworked “Mucky Weekend” for Dub Pistols and Electro Swing Circus, and collaborated with Sam & The Womp on the track “Balkan Bass”. His 2020 release Mista Trick Discography brings together remixes, bootlegs and mixes, including treatments of Koffee’s “Toast”, Caravan Palace’s “Midnight” and Dr Meaker’s “Wanna Feel Love”.
In 2017, Mista Trick introduced a seven-piece live band featuring vocals from Elle & The Pocket Belles and rapper Gambit Ace. Hale also created Under the Hill festival and served as its artistic director; he has curated Little Pharma at Boomtown. His 2021 album You, released through Freshly Squeezed Music as a collaboration with the Mista Trick Collective, features Kathika, Elle & The Pocket Belles, Jackson Mathod, Ashley Slater, Tenisha Edwards and Blackout JA. “Do What You Do”, featuring Kathika, was the album’s first single, followed by “About to Blow” and “Drive”.
In 2024, Hale released the single “Taking A Bath (Splish Splash)” with Spencer Ramsay. The following year brought the single “Let’s Go (Mista Trick Remix)” with Jazzotron and “Get A Rep” with Too Many T’s. In 2026, Mista Trick Collective joined him on the single “Fire EP”, and he released the single “Brazilian Soul” on Swing & Bass.