DJ Zinc
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DJ Zinc |
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DJ Zinc (real name Benjamin Pettit[1]) is a drum and bass / breakstep DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc is best known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop / jungle fusion.[2]
Biography
Zinc's career as a DJ and producer, stretches the steady evolution of hardcore from its house and rave roots through ragga and hip hop styled hardstep and beyond.[2]
He continued to DJ on a regular basis, and was one of the first drum and bass producers to score with the R&B slanted two step market courtesy of his 1999 single, "138 Trek".[2]
His productions have been relatively popular outside the insulated drum and bass scene, most notably in the breaks genre under the pseudonym Jammin. He reached 27th in the UK chart with 138 Trek in Nov 2000.
DJ Zinc produces and DJs as part of the Ganja Kru and True Playaz collectives, often in association with friend and mentor DJ Hype. He also runs the Bingo Beats record label, which releases both drum and bass and breaks records. He has also been known to release many records under the alias of Dope Skillz.
In 2001, Zinc released a remix compilation album of his own productions called Beats By Design. By August 2004, he released his second album, Faster a concept album of sorts. The album, as the name suggests, ups the tempo little-by-little for each song. The title track, and album opener, epitomises this and is a grimey crawl through bass and beat that speeds up from 40bpm into the early 100's by its end.
Zinc, however, turned his back on Drum & Bass in 2007. Disenchanted by the lack of originality, DJ Zinc told his agent to stop taking bookings for drum'n'bass nights and abandoned the sound he once lived for. He took most of 2008 off to spend time with his young son and figure out how he wanted to move forward in his career, before returning in 2008 to play a hybrid of house sounds. From deep house to funky house to fidget house, he ended up producing something that did not fit into any of these sub-genres. He later named his new sound Crack House.[3]
Aliases
- Dope Skillz
- Jammin'
- Pacific
- Shox
- Tuned Air
- Tyranny
Discography
Singles
- "138 Trek" (2000) - UK #27
- "Casino Royale" / "Dead A's" (2001) - UK #58 †
- "Reachout" (2002) - UK #73
- "Fair Fight" / "As We Do" (2002) - UK #72
- "Ska" (2004) - UK #54
- "Steppin' Sones" / "South Pacific" (2004) - UK #62
- "Drive By Car" / "Ins" (2005) - UK #66 ‡
- "Wile Out" (feat. Ms Dynamite) (2010) - UK #38
† - credited as 'DJ Zinc / DJ Hype'
‡ - credited as 'DJ Zinc featuring Eksman'
Albums
| Title | Release Year | Label | Catalog # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beats By Design (EP) | 2000 | True Playaz | TPR 12 025 CD |
| Crack House (EP) | 2009 | Bingo Beats | ZINCEP001 |
Compilation albums
| Title | Release Year | Label | Catalog # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bingo Beats Volume 2 | 2001 | Bingo Beats | BINGOCD002 |
| Bingo Sessions Volume 1 | 2004 | Bingo Beats | BINGOCD004 |
| Drum & Bass Arena | 2005 | Resist Music | RESISTCD51 |
| Watch The Ride | 2007 | Harmless | HURTCD073 |
References
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 161. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b c "Biography by Sean Cooper". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|ZINC&sql=ignored (help) - ^ McDonnell, John (28 July 2009). "Scene and heard: Crack house". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ Discogs - Other aliases listed on discogs.