This UK trio, comprising Markee Substance (b. Mark Morrison, 1974, Glasgow, Scotland), Darren Decoder (b. Darren Beale, 1974, Bristol, Avon, England) and Sian Evans (b. 1973, South Wales), was formed in Bristol in 1998. Morrison and Beale were key players in the local dance music scene, staging their influential Roughneck Ting drum 'n' bass raves and being founding partners of the city's famous Breakbeat Culture record shop. After a spell in a skate-punk band, Beale released some hardcore singles as Orca and met Morrison at one of the Roughneck Ting events. By the mid-90s, they were releasing tracks such as Markee Substance's "Downright" and "Homeboys" and Darren Decoder's "Circuit Breaker" on their own Breakbeat Culture and Tech Itch labels.
After living an alternative lifestyle in communes as an environmental protestor, vocalist Evans came to Bristol from Wales, specifically to immerse herself in the city's dance culture. She quickly found Substance and Decoder and the trio soon clicked, recording their first tracks in 1998. Their desire to push the boundaries of what was possible in the drum 'n' bass genre saw the trio employing both traditional instruments and modern studio technology. The single, "Hide U", was released in June 2000 on the independent label Moksha, and made an immediate impact on mainstream radio. The follow-up, November's "Catch" was well received on both the breakbeat and drum 'n' bass scenes. Their third single, "Slip + Slide (Suicide)", entered the UK charts in April 2001. After signing a licensing contract with BMG/Arista Records, Moksha released the John Creamer and Stephane K mix of "Hide U". The track was played heavily on UK radio and found favour with club DJs across the dance and pop spectrum, reaching number 6 on the mainstream singles chart in August 2001. Resist, released the following month, was praised for its mixture of breakbeat, drum 'n' bass torch songs and down-tempo melancholia. The band won two awards at UK magazine's The Knowledge Drum 'n' Bass Awards in 2001 - Best Newcomer and Best Single for "Hide U". During late 2001, Kosheen took their live show on tour as support act on Faithless' European tour. Their second album, Kokopelli, was released two years later.
