Jackhamma aka James Ritchie was born on 26th December, 1979 in Münster, Germany. James’ preference for electronic music began as early as the late Eighties. To begin with this included a wide choice of different electronic styles. After a visit to Münster’s legendary Cosmic Club (today, the Fusion Club) in 1996, James began frequenting a variety of different clubs in Germany and England. During this period, James gained his first experiences mixing records with school-friends. In early 2000, as visits to the Fusion Club became more frequent, he met DJ Heiko Peisker - formerly ’Junior Pushix’. Inspired by Peisker’s hard underground-techno, James finally procured his own turntables and mixer in 2001. At around the same time, James met HardtraX. Together, they began to produce their own music. Within a short time, the two began performing at several locations in Germany under the heading HardtraX vs. Jackhamma. By the end of 2003 they started their own label Dark Force Recordings. The label’s first record Evil Frequencies (DFR001) was released in December 2003. The record’s hard-hitting, uncompromising, underground sound, foreshadowed perfectly what was yet to come.