Benjamin Pettit (born 12 March 1972), better known as DJ Zinc, is a British DJ and

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. Zinc first became known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop/

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

fusion, notably one of the pioneering jump-up anthems of its time. He went on to produce

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...

and more recently

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

Biography

Zinc's career as a DJ and producer stretches the steady evolution of

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

from its

roots through

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Sm ...

and hip hop-styled

hardstep Hardstep is a subgenre of drum and bass which emerged in 1994. It is characterised by a gritty production style that consists of an inner-city feel. The breaks are less choppy than oldschool jungle, and have faster and harder simple electronic m ...

and beyond. In 1991, he began his radio show with then partner DJ Swift on London's Impact FM. He continued to DJ with Swift onto Eruption FM and later solo on

Rinse FM Rinse FM is a London-based community radio station, licensed for "young people living and/or working within the central, east and south London areas". It plays garage, grime, dubstep, house, jungle, UK funky and other dance music genres popula ...

since it gained a license. He continued to DJ on a regular basis, and was one of the first drum and bass producers to score a hit in the

2-step garage 2-step garage, or simply 2-step, is a genre of electronic music and a subgenre of UK garage.''A transcription of this article is availablhere as a PDF file.'' One of the primary characteristics of the 2-step sound – the term being coined to de ...

market courtesy of his 1999 single "

138 Trek "138 Trek" is a song by DJ Zinc, released as a single in 2000. The song peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the UK Dance Singles Chart. DJ Zinc was one of the first drum and bass producers to score a chart hit within the ...

", which reached No. 27 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in November 2000. His productions have been relatively popular outside the drum and bass scene, most notably in the

breaks Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to: Time off from duties * Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties * Break (work), time off during a shift/recess ** Coffee break, a short mid-morning rest ...

genre under the pseudonym Jammin. Zinc produced and DJ'd as part of the Ganja Kru and True Playaz collectives, often in association with

DJ Hype Kevin Ford (born 1968), better known as DJ Hype, is a British jungle and drum and bass producer and DJ. Biography Hype first became involved in music as a teenager in 1982, assisting PJ and Smiley with their sound system Heatwave in East ...

from 1996 to 2002. He ran the Bingo Beats record label, which released both drum and bass and breaks records from 2002 to 2008. He has been known to release records under the alias of Dope Skillz, Jammin and Jelly Jams plus others. In 2001, Zinc released a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

of his own productions called ''Beats by Design'' which included "138 Trek". By August 2004, he released his second album, ''Faster'', a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

of sorts. The album, as the name suggests, ups the

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

little-by-little for each song. The title track and album opener, epitomises this and is a grimy crawl through bass and beat that speeds up from 40 bpm into the early 100s by its end. In 2007, Zinc stopped making and playing drum and bass, citing "disenchantment with the scene". He started producing again in 2009 with a fusion of

deep house Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ( ...

funky house Funky house is a subgenre of house music that uses disco and funk samples, a funk-inspired bass line or a strong soul influence, combined with drum breaks that draw inspiration from 1970s and 1980s funk records. The use of disco strings are als ...

and fidget house, which he believed did not fit into any of these subgenres. He later named his new sound "crack house". In October 2009, DJ Zinc released ''Crack House EP'' encompassing his new sound of the crack house genre. A follow up to this EP, ''Crack House Vol. 2'' was released in July 2010. In November 2009, DJ Zinc created a 2-hour mix for broadcasting on BBC Radio1s.'' Mix''.2022s and 2021s .

Discography

Albums and EPs

Compilation albums

Singles

* "

" (2000) – UK No. 27 * "Casino Royale" (DJ Zinc) / "Dead A's" (

) (2001) – UK No. 58 † * "Reachout" / "Pranksters" (2002) – UK No. 73 * "Fair Fight" / "As We Do" (2002) – UK No. 72 * "Ska" / "Fruitella" (2004) – UK No. 54 * "Steppin' Sones" / "South Pacific" (DJ Zinc) (2004) – UK No. 62 * "Drive by Car" (feat. Eksman) (2004) – UK No. 66 ‡ * "Kinda Funky/Go DJ" (as Jammin) (2004) – UK No. 80 * "Creeper" (feat.

Dynamite MC Dynamite MC (born Dominic Smith, 7 October 1973) is an English rapper and MC. He originally gained prominence in jungle/ drum and bass, working with Roni Size & Reprazent, but has also released hip hop material. Career He started his MCing ...

) (2005) * "Ghost Train" (with

Dave Spoon Simon Neale (born 20 January 1977 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England), known by his stage names Shadow Child and Dave Spoon, is an English radio DJ and dance music producer. He's also part of the duo Avec alongside Doorly. He was part of the lin ...

) (2009) * " Wile Out" (feat.

Ms. Dynamite Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Early years She was born Niomi Arleen Mc ...

) (2010) – UK No. 38 * "Goin In'" (DJ Zinc feat. States of Emotion) / "Reload" (DJ Zinc feat.

P Money Paris Moore-Williams (born 8 April 1989), better known by his stage name P Money, is a British grime MC, rapper and songwriter from New Cross, South East London, who is also active in the drum and bass scene. He is best known for his live pe ...

) (2012) * "Only for Tonight" (feat.

Sasha Keable Sasha Keable (born 27 February 1994) is a British singer and songwriter of Colombian descent from South London, England. In 2013, she collaborated with Disclosure on the single " Voices" and toured with the duo around the UK. In 2014, she suppor ...

) (2013) – UK No. 83 * "Show Me" (feat.

Sneaky Sound System Sneaky Sound System is an Australian dance music group formed in late 2001 by Angus McDonald on guitar, MC Double D (Daimon Downey) on vocoder and vocals, Damien Hesse (DJ) and Nick Broadhurst on saxophone. They were joined in 2004 by Connie M ...

) (2014) – UK No. 167 † – credited as 'DJ Zinc /

' ‡ – credited as 'DJ Zinc featuring Eksman'

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zinc, DJ Breakbeat musicians English drum and bass musicians English DJs English record producers Living people English house musicians Electronic dance music DJs UK garage musicians 1972 births