SS is short for Scratchenstein, which is a name he used when he was a hip hop scratch DJ, and a part of the hip hop act, The Formation Five, whose name inspired the name of his record label. He is represented by UMC Management (Underground Music Collective). .

Originally a breakdancer, DJ Stratchenstein began playing electro music as a teenager in the early 1980s. He then played hip hop and rare groove before turning to producing in 1988 initially acid house, hardcore, breakbeat and finally drum and bass tracks.

SS got his big break DJ’ing at the big British raves of the early 1990s such as Telepathy. Since then he has gone on to DJ world wide.

SS is the co-founder (with Eidris Hassam) and head of the Formation Records label, and has released over 100 tracks using a number of aliases. He also co-owned the 5HQ record shop (previously called Sneakers) in Leicester and ran the Fresh FM pirate station.

The Formation label has become a stable for new drum and bass producers such as John B and Twisted Individual.