London’s underground spits out legends the same way it spits out half-finished cans of Red Stripe, fast and without warning. Archie Hamilton is one of those legends in progress. He cut his teeth in sketchy East London afters where the decks were crooked and the floor never stopped shaking. Now he’s playing to crowds that actually know where they are. But the vibe? Still filthy.
Archie went from local secret weapon to global problem without ever selling out. His sound hits like it knows a few bad decisions you’ve made: rough basslines, tripped-out atmospherics, and zero compromise. While everyone else is busy making tech house for influencers, Archie’s too busy building his own lane.
Archie Hamilton didn’t pop out of nowhere with a USB full of heaters and a press kit; he grinded for it. We're talking years deep in London’s rave underworld, dodging daylight and carving out a sound that would eventually help redefine minimal house. One of his earliest homes? FUSE, the East London institution that was a full-blown movement.
Back in the late 2000s, you’d find Archie on the dancefloor at 93 Feet East, wide-eyed and fully locked in. He wasn’t backstage; he was right there with the crowd, living it before spinning it. Fast forward a bit, and the guy goes from punter to player. One random afternoon, while chained to a desk job, he gets the call: “Can you play at FUSE?” That was it. By 2013, he was a resident, holding it down and helping shape the sound of the underground.
But labels weren’t exactly lining up to sign a fresh face with a few unreleased tracks. So Archie took the DIY route. In 2009, he launched a label called Moscow Records. The name born from a record shop mix-up and a weird inheritance from his Russian grandfather. But whatever, it stuck. What started as a scrappy DIY imprint turned into his crash course in the industry. No investors, no shortcuts. It was rough, it was raw, and it laid the foundation for everything that came next. Those early records weren’t just about getting music out; they were about survival. Eventually, they turned into something way bigger.
By 2022, that rough-around-the-edges DIY label, Archie started on a whim had fully leveled up. Moscow Records became MicroHertz, not just a name change, but a whole shift in vision. This was Archie doubling down on what he actually gives a damn about: music that grooves hard and leaves zero room for fluff. MicroHertz isn’t out here chasing streams, it’s curating the kind of stripped-back, high-impact house and minimal techno that DJs hoard like gold.
It’s turned into a go-to outlet for heads who know the difference between filler and fire. Whether it’s a fresh face or a scene heavyweight, if the track fits, it lands. We’re talking Luuk Van Dijk, Ben Rau, Ranger Trucco, all on the same roster as Archie himself. Quality over quantity is the rule, and it shows.
Archie’s taken MicroHertz on the road, doing it the same DIY way he started. No corporate sponsorships, no over-produced fluff, just real parties with real heads. In early 2025, the MicroHertz crew popped off in Santiago, Chile, for their South America debut, and now they’re lining up Bristol, Italy, and France like it’s nothing. These aren’t solo gigs, either. They’re full-squad takeovers. Names you’ve only seen on Beatport tracklists are now onstage together, vibing and turning that digital energy into something real.
It’s a full circle. Archie got his shot from FUSE when no one else was calling, and now he’s doing the same for the next wave. Because in today’s scene, having a banger isn’t enough, you need to play. MicroHertz gives you both. It’s a label, a crew. So, if you’ve got the sound, Archie’s giving you the stage.
So what makes Archie Hamilton’s sound such a weapon on the dancefloor? One word: groove. Not the kind you find in a Spotify playlist titled “Minimal Tech After Brunch”, but the real deal. He was one of the first to put a fresh spin on European minimal house and techno, sliding in those chunky basslines and otherworldly atmospheres that make your brain fog up in the best way. It’s music that breathes, and if you’re not paying attention, it’ll slip past you, but if you are, it’s a total trip.
Here’s the real genius: Archie knows when not to play a note. “Funk and groove come from the space where the notes aren’t, not where the notes are”, he’s said, and he means it. His basslines have gaps that hit harder than most producers' entire arrangements. It’s those micro-pauses, the tension, the restraint, that's what makes your body move. He’s crafting music that lives in the cracks and makes people dance without even realizing why.
And while the internet loves roasting tech house like it’s the punchline to a bad joke, Archie doesn’t care. He doesn’t jump on the hate train. “It’s easy to take shots at a genre”, he told Beatportal, but he remembers when tech house was weird, ruleless, and full of possibility. That’s the version he’s kept alive: no gimmicks, just well-designed club tools that actually do something.
He’s not married to one formula either. Archie’s the kind of guy who’ll sneak a trip-hop sample into a set just to keep you guessing. His 2019 album Archive Fiction is proof, a left-field blend of deep house, DnB, jazz, and whatever else he felt like that week. And it worked. Over the years, his catalog has only gotten deeper. He’s dropped stripped-back bangers on MicroHertz, garagey curveballs on Dansu Discs, and yes, even a full-on vocal house moment with Defected Records.
<Spotify link="https://open.spotify.com/album/0EpdgYxSfEa5apVYsdUk4e?si=renZ45t-TlqRMBydZlcC0w" />
Yeah, you read that right. Mr. Underground went full-circle in 2023 with “Let The Light In”, a glossy, vocal-driven house cut that landed right on the legendary Defected label. Not only that, but he used to intern there as a teenager. So yeah, dropping a track two decades later? That’s a badass victory lap for him.
The last couple of years have been pure combustion for Archie Hamilton, but 2023? That was his full-on takeover. The man didn’t just tour; he owned every booth he touched. Miami Music Week? He closed down the legendary Space Terrace like it was his own private afters. Then came Ibiza, where Archie basically posted up for the season. Circoloco at DC-10, Music On with Marco Carola, Solid Grooves, Jamie Jones' Paradise. You name it.
And don’t even start on the festival run. Sunwaves in Romania (minimal heaven), Caprices in the Swiss Alps, Kappa Futur in Italy, Creamfields in the UK, Awakenings in Amsterdam, the man was everywhere. Each set was a masterclass in groove control, that signature low-end hypnosis only Archie seems to fully dial in. Then, to top it off, he closed the summer with a sold-out all-night-long set in Room 1 of London’s clubbing mecca, fabric.
But for Archie, that one meant more. Ask him about the most meaningful night lately, and he’ll throw it back to that fabric set. Because that wasn’t just a club. That was the club, the first one he ever stepped into as a teenager, where the seed got planted. Fast forward, and now he’s commanding the room for eight hours straight, front to back, with a crowd full of day-ones and true heads.
From London basements to Miami rooftops to sweaty Ibiza sunrise sets, Archie Hamilton’s sound has already made its mark. But lately? That wave’s been crashing into Latin America, and the scene is here for it. Back in early 2020, Archie kicked off his first proper North American tour. Canada, the U.S., and then down to Mexico, where things really clicked. He landed in Guadalajara and Mexico City and immediately clocked what makes Mexican crowds different. They don’t just party, they listen with their whole body.
So yeah, it makes perfect sense that Archie’s rolling basslines and trippy, deep-tech swing are hitting hard across Mexico’s underground. From sweaty warehouse parties in CDMX to sunrise madness in Tulum, his sound fits like it was made for it. There’s a real connection happening, a DJ who lives for the culture, and a crowd that doesn’t need instructions. No language barrier, no translation required. It just works.
Even when the gig calendar shifts, one thing’s clear: Archie’s link with Mexico is growing. He’s already smashed BPM Festival and packed out Bar Americas (one of the country’s most iconic clubs). And from the way he talks, he’s definitely not done. The love is mutual, and the demand is real!
Archie Hamilton’s come-up reads like underground folklore. From crate-digging in Hackney to headlining the world’s most iconic booths, he didn’t jump on a trend. He carved his own lane and stuck to it. While plenty of DJs were chasing hype or recycling the same tired drops, Archie went all in on groovy minimal house when it wasn’t exactly the fast track to fame.
Then came MicroHertz, his label, his playground, his middle finger to the predictable. What started as a DIY imprint quickly became a platform for artists actually pushing something new. While other labels were out here playing it safe, Archie was curating tracks that actually moved dance floors and didn’t sound like everything else out that week.
People call him a disruptor, and yeah, he is. But not in the buzzwordy, “industry game-changer” kind of way. Archie shook things up just by staying locked into what he loves. He trusted his sound, kept things tight in the studio, and let the music speak for itself. He might be global now, but he still talks like someone who’s more hyped about his next studio session than his next flight. That obsession is the engine behind everything.
In a scene overloaded with pyrotechnics, laser shows, and pre-planned drops, Archie keeps it stripped back and real. Just the kind of house and techno that actually does the work. MicroHertz may sound low-frequency, but its impact is massive. It’s helping shape where the underground goes next, without needing to shout about it.
And if you catch him live, you’ll see it. No rockstar posturing. Just Archie vibing harder than half the crowd, locked into the groove, eyes closed, moving like it’s his first night out again. That’s the difference; he’s still in it for that feeling!
Explore More
View All
