After throwing two successful parties ("Solus" and "Ghost Planet") in 1998 under the name Solus Productions, electronica producers Scott Radke and Dave Olson began HiPass Music out of their own pockets (and out of Radke's home in northeast Minneapolis). The ten-record roster of "weird, dark techno and electro" features work not only by Radke and Olson themselves, but by producers Stewart Walker, Dick Richards, and John Mika, and locals Cisko (a.k.a. Adam Johnson), John Storkamp, and Paul Birken. HiPass's first two records were distributed through Sonic Groove, Watts Music, Syntax, and OMCO companies; their third, though, got a pressing on England's Integrale Muzique. "Now that our label is considered domestic in the U.K.," Radke explains, "we have achieved much more of a foothold in Europe. Integrale is really good about getting the records on all the shelves over there." Without the extra dollars tagged on to the price for the record's import status, HiPass can now compete with other U.K. labels. Locally, Hi-Pass have had their hands in some goofy promotions, such as the parties "Divine Circuitry" and "Twintown Technique" with promoters Pure Pleasure; they also ran their own tent at the crazy raver campout/reunion "Furthur." "Nothing is as cool as cooking pancakes for a couple thousand hungry ravers coming down off their trips the previous night," Radke laughs.