Matt Pook, also known as POoK, is a Brighton-based DJ, producer, promoter and label owner with over three decades of experience behind the decks, beginning his journey in 1991. A key figure in the city’s underground scene for the past 20 years, he is the founder of Brighton’s longest-running techno night, SIZE., and head of Red Giant Recordings.

Through his events, he has introduced some of the most respected names in underground techno to Brighton for the first time, helping shape the city’s sound and reputation. As a producer, his work has been released on established labels including Gain Recordings, Prospect Records, Toast & Jam, Thrust Recordings and Lowering The Tone

Gatekeepers? Pah! This one's for the artists building it themselves.

No labels. No middlemen. No waiting for someone else to say yes. Self-releasing is how a generation of artists are taking back control and this panel pulls together the people doing it, and the people powering it.

Our moderator has spent two decades releasing his own music on his own terms, running his own imprint and carving his own lane in house music. He's joined by a London producer who's just torn up the rulebook to launch his own label and run a hugely successful kickstarter campaign to release his latest album. Plus we have a Brighton techno and breakbeat original who's been running labels, throwing parties and shaping his own scene since the 90s.

Backing them up: two of the sharpest minds in independent distribution. On one side from LabelWorx (the engine behind 4,000+ electronic labels worldwide) whose own path runs deep through D&B. On the other, a senior marketing lead from Redeye Worldwide whose CV spans label management and marketing at Rough Trade, event work with Coachella, and years running campaigns for independent artists across every genre 🎧

Distribution. Strategy. Getting heard. Getting paid. Building something that's actually yours.