Sam Shackleton was born in
Lancashire, England. He participated in various musical projects throughout the years, playing in
punk bands as a teenager and later performing as part of a
dancehall duo with Earl Fontainelle (a.k.a. Vengeance Tenfold). He first began producing music on a computer in 2003. Around this time, Shackleton was becoming more familiar with
grime and
dubstep through regular visits with Laurie Osborne (aka
Appleblim), Necta Selecta, and Engine Room to
FWD>> club nights. Shackleton's first release was a track entitled "Stalker", released on Mordant Music in 2004. Shackleton was impressed with Appleblim's track "Mystikal Warrior", and it appeared on the first Skull Disco release, a
double A-side with Shackleton's track "I Am Animal" on the flipside. In the same year, Shackleton relocated to
Berlin. In 2010, Shackleton released
Fabric 55, a studio mix based on a previous performance at
Fabric. It was the fourth Fabric release to feature a set entirely made up of the artist's own material. In 2011, Shackleton collaborated with
Pinch on the album
Pinch & Shackleton, released on
Honest Jon's Records. That same year, Shackleton and Vengeance Tenfold were commissioned by SoundUK to create a "Sonic Journey" inspired by sections of two Devon "train lines – part of the main line between Exeter and Totnes, and a section of the Tarka Line between Exeter and Barnstaple." In 2012, Shackleton's third album,
Music for the Quiet Hour / The Drawbar Organ EPs, was released on Woe to the Septic Heart!, once again featuring a collaboration with Vengeance Tenfold providing spoken word vocals. In 2016 his album with singer
Ernesto Tomasini,
Devotional Songs (also released on Honest Jon's), was among the year's best for a large number of specialised press, from
The Wire and
The Quietus to
SentireAscoltare and
Onda Rock. ==Musical style==