Robert Miles

An Italian DJ/producer who created one of the big dance anthems of the late 1990s, Robert Miles' trancey house beats, classical piano lines and love of American soul created an ambient, experimental, electro sound that was catchy and hypnotic enough to cross over into the mainstream pop charts. Born into an army family stationed in Switzerland, Roberto Concina began Dj-ing at house clubs in Italy in the late 1980s and ran his own pirate radio station and recording studio before his debut single Children became a huge worldwide success in 1996. The track's chilled-out, laid back melodies spread via word of mouth from the dance underground to European radio and gradually sold over 5 million copies and topped the charts in twelve countries. Miles won the Brit Award for Best International Male Newcomer, and album Dreamland (1996) and follow-up single Fable both reached Number 7 in the UK charts as the DJ became one of dance music's hottest stars of the time. More hits came with One And One (featuring Maria Naylor) and Freedom, and Sister Sledge vocalist Kathy Sledge appeared on his more synth-pop sounding second album 23am (1997); but Miles' later works Miles Gurtu (2004) and Th1rt3en (2011) experimented with jazz, electronica and prog rock and didn't have the same crossover appeal.