Terry Leonard, better known as DJ Hatcha or simply Hatcha, is a South London producer and DJ notable for his seminal work in the musical genre

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

. He is divorced from defected DJ Sam Divine. He had a regular show on the prominent pirate radio station

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 pop ...

in the early 2000s, before bringing dubstep to a wider audience with his regular show on mainstream radio station

Kiss FM Kiss FM, Kiss Radio or variants may refer to: Asia-Oceania * Various Kiss FM-branded stations in the Philippines ** 95.1 Kiss FM, Lucena, Quezon ** 102.3 Kiss FM, Tagbilaran, Bohol * Kiss92 FM, Singapore * KISS 969, Sri Lanka * Kiss Radio Taiwan ...

Biography

Leonard was the head buyer of the Big Apple record shop in Croydon, South London, which he ran alongside Arthur Smith (a.k.a. Artwork of

Magnetic Man Magnetic Man is an English electronic music project from London, consisting of dubstep producers and DJs Benga, Skream and Artwork (previously known as Menta). The trio first met in the late 1990s at the Big Apple Records store in Croydon. ...

) and John Kennedy. A movement within 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 ...

scene by the name of "dark garage" was taking place at the start of the 2000s, and producers at the forefront of it such as

El-B Lewis Beadle, professionally known as El-B, is an English record producer, songwriter and DJ. He was an original member of the UK Garage duo Groove Chronicles, and is commonly seen as one of the pioneers of the dubstep Dubstep is a genre o ...

and Horsepower Productions were regulars at the shop, which had become a meeting point within the scene. At the time Leonard was an influential DJ on various

pirate radio stations Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...

and a resident at the club ''FWD>>'', where a strain of dark garage that was more stripped down and bass heavy was gaining popularity. Oliver Jones (

Skream Oliver Dene Jones (born 1 June 1986), known as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream was an early and influential exponent of the dubstep genre. After producing several singles, he released his first full-len ...

), got in touch with Leonard through his brother (producer Hijak), and started working in the shop during the weekends. Leonard played him dark garage sounds, which sparked Jones's interest in producing music. Through working in the shop he met Adegbenga Adejumo (

Benga Benga may refer to: Ethnonym * Benga people, an indigenous ethnic group of Equatorial Guinea * Benga language, spoke by the Benga people * Benga music, a genre of music originating in Kenya Places Romania * ''Benga'', the old name of Mo ...

), another young producer who was making tunes using his PlayStation gaming console. The two exchanged music and were developing their style under the mentor-ship of Leonard, who had also started to bring

dubplate A dubplate is an acetate disc usually of 10 inches diameter, traditionally used by Recording studio, studios to test recordings prior to Audio mastering, mastering for the subsequent pressing of a vinyl record, but pioneered by reggae Reggae sound ...

s of the tunes Jones and Adejumo were making into his DJ-sets. His sets at FWD>> and on Rinse FM were very influential in forming dubstep, partially thanks to the exclusive music he got from the young producers, as well as that provided by shop regulars Mala, Coki and Loefah (the former two known as duo

Digital Mystikz Digital Mystikz are a dubstep production duo consisting of Mala (born Mark Lawrence), and Coki (born Dean Harris, 26 August 1980) from the South London suburb of Norwood. Along with Loefah and SGT Pokes, who make up the group ASBO (All Soundbwoy ...

Discography

Selected singles/EPs

* Bashment (Self released, 2001) * Dub Express (

Tempa Tempa is a garage and dubstep music label founded in 2000 by Neil Jolliffe, who also coined the term "dubstep" in 2002. The label, along with Big Apple, and parent label Ammunition, was part of the formation of dubstep as a genre. A key member ...

, 2003) * Special 4 track EP w/ Benny Ill (Tempa, 2003) * 10 Tons Heavy w/

(

Planet Mu Planet Mu is an eclectic English electronic music record label created and run by Mike Paradinas. The label started out as a subsidiary of Virgin Records then Paradinas set up the label independent of Virgin. After releasing intelligent dance ...

, 2006) * Just A Rift / Chillz (Eight:FX, 2008) * Dirtee Tek / Dark Claps (Special Branch, 2010)

Compilations/mixes

* Dubstep Allstars Vol. 1 (Tempa, 2004) * Dubstep Allstars Vol. 4 w/ Youngsta (Tempa, 2006)

References

External links

* Dubstep musicians Year of birth missing (living people) Living people DJs from London Planet Mu artists {{UK-musician-stub