Simon Patterson

Simon Patterson is one of the most influential figures in the harder, faster, more psychedelic end of trance. Active since the mid-2000s, he came to prominence with releases on Reaction Recordings and his 2008 track "Bulldozer" — a track whose name accurately describes the way it operates on a peak-time dancefloor. Through the late 2000s and early 2010s, Patterson played a key role in establishing what came to be called "psy-tech" or "open-up" trance — a hybrid sound that took the rolling, hammer-rhythm basslines of psytrance and married them to the technical mid-range arrangements and peak-time architecture of tech-trance. Tracks like "F16" (2010) and "Always" with Lucy Pullin (2014) became reference points for the sound, and his 2017 single "Smack" updated the formula for a new generation. His Open Up radio show, launched around 2011, became the central forum for the psy-tech scene, hosting guest mixes from artists like John Askew, Will Atkinson, Sean Tyas, and Activa. The show eventually spun off the Open Up Records imprint and a compilation series. Open Up's distinctive identity — harder, faster, weirder than mainstream uplifting trance — gave a generation of artists and fans a platform. Patterson is also a key collaborator with Activa (their joint VII label is one of the most respected boutique tech-trance imprints), and his work has influenced everyone from Bryan Kearney to younger psy-tech artists. While he is less commercially visible than the Armada-aligned superstars, in the psy-tech and harder-trance community he is regarded as a foundational figure — a producer whose name on a track is itself a recommendation.