Activa

Robert Davies, performing as Activa, has been one of the most consistent producers in the harder, more technical end of trance since 2003. Coming up through Cardiff's club scene in the early 2000s, he honed his classical-influenced melodic instincts on early productions before settling into the 138 BPM tech-uplifting register that has defined his catalogue across the past two decades. His releases have appeared on the biggest labels in the genre — Paul van Dyk's Vandit Records, Perfecto, Black Hole, Armada, Anjunabeats — before he found a long-term editorial home at UK independent Discover Records. Davies launched his own Borderline Music imprint in 2010 to release a more uniquely curated, higher-quality strand of trance music, and in February 2011 he took over as head of A&R at Discover Records — filling the very large shoes of John Askew, who had defined the label through the late-2000s tech-trance peak. Tracks including "I Won't Stop" (2008), "Slap" (2010), "Touched" (2011), "Halo" (2013), and "Twisted" (2014) made Activa a regular at Subculture nights, FSOE shows, and the international tech-trance circuit alongside Will Atkinson, Simon Patterson, Sean Tyas, and John O'Callaghan. Beyond original releases, Activa is a sought-after remixer, with reworks for Bryan Kearney, John O'Callaghan, Simon Patterson, and a wide spread of the Discover and Subculture rosters. His VII collaboration with Simon Patterson sits at the centre of the modern psy-tech aesthetic, and his continued A&R work at Discover plus his Borderline Music output mean he wears a producer-and-curator dual identity that few of his peers maintain at this length of career. Activa remains one of the most reliable touring names in the harder trance space.