A classically trained pianist and cellist, Middleton worked in the early 1990s with Richard D. James (with whom he shares the same birthdate), co-producing "En-Trance To Exit" on the Analogue Bubblebath EP for Exeter's influential Mighty Force Records. This was followed by his first solo outing, "My Splendid Idea", under the name Schizophrenia for the same label.
Soon after, he teamed up with Mark Pritchard. The pair recorded under a host of pseudonyms, including the popular Reload (featuring experimental techno and ambient music), Global Communication (primarily ambient), and Jedi Knights (electro funk and house music), plus lesser-known aliases Chameleon, Secret Ingredients, and Link & E621. Global Communication's 1994 ambient album 76:14 is widely considered to be a landmark of the genre.
The pair also founded their own record label, Evolution, which is sometimes informally referenced as Evolution (Crewekerne) to differentiate it from other record labels with the same name. A compilation of early Evolution material was released jointly by Evolution and Warp Records in 1995 as The Theory of Evolution. The label name later changed to Universal Language Productions and launched a sublabel, Heard, then became E3 before finally winding down operations. The labels launched early releases from artists such as Matthew Herbert, as well as Middleton & Pritchard under their various guises.
Aside from Schizophrenia, Tom's solo projects include The Modwheel (experimental house music), Cosmos (progressive house music) and AMBA (ambient/classical). , Cosmos's "Take Me With You" was his most successful track. In 2007, Middleton abandoned the AMBA moniker, while still focusing on the ambient genre fusing classical traditions with electronica, featuring orchestral, choral and electro acoustic arrangements. A new EP, Excursions 1 was released on 10 September 2007 while the album Lifetracks was released on Big Chill Recordings on 1 October 2007 under the name Tom Middleton.
Predominantly using the Cosmos and Modwheel monikers (and his own name) Middleton has remixed numerous artists including Kerri Chandler, Orbital, Kylie Minogue, Coldplay, Underworld, Fluke, Super Collider, Prince, Spiller, Model 500, The Beloved, Rob Dougan, Pulp, Leftfield, Saint Etienne (band), Ian Pooley, Dubtribe Sound System, All Saints, Goldfrapp, Lamb, Royksopp, Gotan Project, Amp Fiddler, Mighty Dub Katz and Bebel Gilberto.
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