Born in Buffalo, NY and currently residing in Washington, DC, Ayj (Jay Besch) has been developing and honing his producing skills for more than a decade before dropping his first official releases and album in 2010. As a kid in Florida, he was influenced by early forms of breakbeat in hip hop, electro, and the central Florida bass music scene. He also has a lot of influence from rock legends like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and more contemporary artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Front 242, Ministry, Beck and the White Stripes. His background in electronic music began in 1993, and led to his first set of turntables by 1994. He deejayed parties here and there in Gainesville, FL, playing many different styles and began focusing more and more on breakbeat. His influences in electronic music include the Bassbin Twins, Prodigy, Rabbit in the Moon, the Jedi Knights, Leftfield, Lionrock, Technical Itch, Stanton Warriors, and Aquasky vs. Masterblaster. He began producing in 1998 after moving to Washington, DC with some mentoring by his good friend Shakka, and has been working on tracks ever since. Currently, Ayj appears on the Rakkateer Label, producing breaks, drum n bass, and dubstep, and is also a part of the producing quartet S.M.A.K. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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