Lunatic Calm were an English electronic music group formed in 1996. Despite a wide-ranging sound palette, the group was best known for their high impact, industrial-tinged

big beat Big beat is an electronic music genre that usually uses heavy breakbeats and synthesizer-generated loops and patterns – common to acid house/techno. The term has been used by the British music industry to describe music by artists such as the ...

compositions.

History

Formed in 1996 and composed of Simon "sHack" Shackleton and Howard "Howie" Saunders, they released two well received albums, as well as several singles and a wide range of remixes. The two had known each other since an early age, and prior to forming Lunatic Calm, they also played in several bands with

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician who is the vocalist and main songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. ''Rolling Stone'' desc ...

(

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

frontman), namely

Headless Chickens The Headless Chickens was a New Zealand band. Going against the grain of the Dunedin sound that dominated the Flying Nun Records roster at the time, the Headless Chickens made extensive use of electronic instruments in their music. They reco ...

and Flicker Noise.

Metropol (1997)

Their debut album ''Metropol'' was often compared to the works of

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

and other bands, although it ranged from offbeat and psychedelic

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

to heavy turbo-charged

. Record company MCA failed to support the band and they switched their attentions to the American market where they enjoyed a series of successful tours with other groups including Crystal Method. The most notable track from that album, and the one for which the group remains best known, is "Leave You Far Behind". This track has appeared on numerous movie soundtracks including ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

'', ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

'', and ''

Mortal Kombat Annihilation ''Mortal Kombat Annihilation'' is a 1997 American Martial arts film, martial arts fantasy film directed by John R. Leonetti in his List of directorial debuts, directorial debut. Based on the ''Mortal Kombat'' video game franchise, it is the sec ...

'', also including The Crow in 1998–1999. A number of Lunatic Calm's tracks were used on video games, and the group did numerous

remixes A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

for various artists including Bush, DJ Scissorkicks, and

Curve In mathematics, a curve (also called a curved line in older texts) is an object similar to a line, but that does not have to be straight. Intuitively, a curve may be thought of as the trace left by a moving point. This is the definition that ...

. The production equipment included an Atari ST, Akai S1000, Roland SH-101, Roland D-20, Nord Rack, Novation SuperNova II, Novation Bass Station, Alesis Quadraverb, Lexicon Reverb Signal Processor, Gibson and Fender electric guitars and a Mackie 16-channel, 4-Bus Mixer.

Breaking Point (2002) and disbanding

The group's second album, ''Breaking Point'' was released in 2002, after several years of wrangling with record companies, and with little to no promotion. As the album was due to be released, the record label City of Angels went bankrupt. Without label support the band were unable to continue and Lunatic Calm disbanded in 2003. In Simon Shackleton's words: "There was no label support at all, a complete failure to promote or help in any way with either album, so everything we did we did ourselves. After a while, we simply ran out of energy and funds having been burnt badly on both albums."

Aftermath

Simon Shackleton has remained an active and respected figure in electronic and hybrid music, releasing under a range of aliases including Elite Force, Zodiac Cartel, and his own name, Simon Shackleton. A leading pioneer of the Tech-Funk sound—a fusion of

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breaks Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to: Time off from duties * Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties * Break (work), time off during a shift/recess ** Coffee break, a short mid-morning rest ...

, electro, and

Techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

—he ran the influential labels U&A Recordings and Fused & Bruised. His work as Elite Force earned numerous accolades, including multiple Breakspoll Awards and a Beatport Award. Following a successful career as a touring DJ and producer, Shackleton shifted towards a more emotive, cinematic sound under his own name. In 2025, he released the deeply personal album, ''The Shadowmaker'', which explores themes of vulnerability, loss, and human resilience. The album is supported by an immersive live multimedia show that blends film, narrative, and live performance, debuting at the Holiday Theater in Denver. He has also composed music for film, television, advertising, and gaming, and remains a regular performer at

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and other transformational festivals.

Discography

Albums

* '' Metropol'' (1997) * '' Breaking Point'' (2002)

Singles

*"Centista" (1996) *"Leave You Far Behind" (1997) *"Roll the Dice" (1997) *"LC Double '0' Series" (1998) *"One Step" (1999)

Remixes

* The Heads - ''"Don't Take My Kindness for Weakness"'' (1996) * Amen - ''"Vacuum"'' (1996) * Collapsed Lung - ''"Ballad Night"'' (1996) * Hurricane #1 - ''"Chain Reaction"'' (1997) * Black Grape - ''"Get Higher"'' (1997) * Bush - ''"Comedown"'' (1997) *

- ''" Chinese Burn"'' (1997) * Definition of Sound - ''"Outsider"'' (1997) * Elite Force - ''"Cool Like The Man"'' (1997) * Meat Katie - ''"Boned"'' (1997) * Pitchshifter - ''"Genius"'' (1998) * Mankind Liberation Front - ''"Isolated"'' (1999) * DJ Scissorkicks - ''"Clap Yo' Hands"'' (1999) * Earl Hagen - ''"I Spy"'' (2001)

Soundtrack appearances

* '' The Jackal'' (1997) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

'' (1997) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' (V2. Instrumental Mix) * '' Head On'' (1998) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' ESPN X-Games Pro Boarder'' (1998) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

'' (1999) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' (Lunatic vs. Lunatic Rollercoaster Remix) * ''

Twin Dragons ''Twin Dragons'' is a 1992 Hong Kong action cinema, Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark, and starring Jackie Chan in a double role as identical twin brothers separated at birth. The plot of the film is adapted from ...

'' (Theatrical Trailer) (1999) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' Arlington Road'' (1999) - ''"Neon Reprise"'' * '' Need for Speed: High Stakes'' (1999) - ''"Roll the Dice"'' * ''

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'' (1999) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' FIFA 2000'' (1999) - ''"LC001"'' (Neon Ray Mix) * '' La Femme Nikita'': Getting Out of the Reverse (2000) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

'' (2000) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' (V2. Instrumental Mix) * '' The Guilty'' (2000) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

Titan A.E. ''Titan A.E.'' is a 2000 American animated post-apocalyptic science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, and starring Matt Damon, Bill Pullman, John Leguizamo, Nathan Lane, Janeane Garofalo and Drew Ba ...

'' (Trailer) (2000) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' Formula One 2001'' (2001) - ''"Shockwave"'' * '' Jeremy McGrath Supercross World'' (2001) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' Tomcats'' (2001) - ''"Roll the Dice"'' (Fatboy Slim vocal mix) * ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' (Teaser Trailer) (2002) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'': Radio Sunnydale (2003) - ''"Sound of the Revolution"'' * '' Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life'': Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture (2003) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * ''

MotorStorm ''MotorStorm'' is a racing video game series created by Evolution Studios and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, Some instalments were co-developed by BigBig Studios and Virtuos. ''MotorStorm'' are off-road racing games featuring d ...

'' (2007) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"'' * '' Drive'' (2007) - ''"Leave You Far Behind"''

References

External links

Simon Shackleton site
{{Use British English, date=August 2015 English electronic music groups Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Electronic music groups from London MCA Records artists Big beat groups