Matt Quinn, known by his stage name Optical, is a British musician, producer and DJ. He is co-founder and owner of Virus Recordings, a widely regarded drum and bass record label. He is best known as one half of

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

duo Ed Rush and Optical (with his long-time musical partner Ed Rush), whose debut album ''

Wormhole A wormhole is a hypothetical structure that connects disparate points in spacetime. It can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate points in spacetime (i.e., different locations, different points in time, or both). Wormholes are base ...

'' has been described as one of the most significant LPs of the drum and bass genre. He is also the brother of Jamie Quinn also known as

Matrix Matrix (: matrices or matrixes) or MATRIX may refer to: Science and mathematics * Matrix (mathematics), a rectangular array of numbers, symbols or expressions * Matrix (logic), part of a formula in prenex normal form * Matrix (biology), the m ...

Early years

Quinn started making music as a teenager, and performing as a DJ on the UK free festival scene with Bedlam,

Spiral Tribe Spiral Tribe is an arts collective and free party Sound system (DJ), sound system formed in 1990. It organised free party, free parties, festivals and raves in the UK and later Europe in the 1990s. Spiral Tribe was involved in the Castlemorton ...

and Techno Travellers Soundsystem including the legendary Castlemorton Common Festival. He had his first releases in 1992 using the name Little Matt, released on Fat Chuna Recordings, and also under his short-lived hardcore jungle alias ''Teknarchi'' in 1993, and later as a

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

producer (under various monikers such as Fly By Wire featured on Carl Cox's F.A.C.T 2 release, and Morpheus). He worked as a

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a sound recording, recording or a Concert, live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization (audio), equalization, Dynamic range ...

and producer from 1992 onwards, (including production credits for the 1994 Jungle anthem "Leviticus - Burial") for several London music studios including Great Asset Studios (Gray's Inn Road, Clerkenwell, London), Pirate Club Studios (Roller Express, Lea Valley), Fokus Records Studios (London) and JAL/Stage1 Studios (London). His breakthrough successes as Optical include "To Shape The Future" 12" published 1997 on Metalheadz, "Grey Odyssey" featured on Grooverider's successful mix album " The Prototype Years", also "Moving 808's" and in collaboration with Ed Rush and Fierce on "Cutslo/Alien Girl" both on Prototype Recordings. Along with his drum and bass musician and DJ career he has worked on many remixes and collaborated as a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, producer,

programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...

and

for other notable artists including Rob Playford's label Moving Shadow for which he was credited on

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is an English music producer, DJ, and actor. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musi ...

's " Saturnz Return" and Grooverider on whose 1998 MOBO Award-winning album " Mysteries of Funk" he was credited as writer and producer. He went on to receive the accolade of 'Best Producer' at the 1998 Muzik Magazine Dance Music Awards in London.

Ed Rush & Optical

In 1995 he first met his main future musical collaborator, another upcoming drum and bass artist ''Ed Rush'' with whom he would form the musical partnership that they are both most known for. Shortly after, Rob Playford gave Optical a small space in his

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

office building to use as his studio, and in this studio the duo recorded and released the first of several 12" singles both as ''Ed Rush & Optical'' and in collaborations with other artists. Having recorded a dozen or so joint recordings in that studio, the duo considered that a lot of their material produced at the time was not fitting the style for labels like Metalheadz, Prototype and other labels they were associated with but that they still wanted to release it, as the music had been played by the two in clubs with a great reaction from those attending. So they decided to start their own imprint Virus Recordings in 1998. The first single release was in early 1998, "The Medicine/ Punchbag" and the first full LP release by the duo on the label was their renowned long-play "

", released the same year, the album that is generally considered one of the defining points in the evolution of the drum and bass genre. The album is recognized as the recording that introduced the sub-genre of drum and bass known today as neurofunk and Optical, as the more technical musician in the duo, is considered by the wider music production community to be one of the genre's original sonic architects. In 2000, DJ Craze used their track "Watermelon" in his beat-juggling routine which helped him win his 3rd DMC World Championship. They released their second album in 2000, The Creeps (Invisible And Deadly!) which broadened their palette by introducing vocals to the mix"Ed Rush & Optical feat. MC Ryme Tyme". Retrieved 1 October 2016. Cite web requires , website= (help) and won best album and best producers at the Knowledge DnB awards."5 Steps with Ed Rush & Optical"
Datatransmission.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2024. Their third album, ''The Original Doctor Shade'' was released in 2003 and featured a collaboration with turntablist DJs,

Scratch Perverts The Scratch Perverts are a collective of Turntablism, turntablist DJs from London, formed in 1996 by Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts and DJ Renegade. World DMC team champions in both 1999 and 2001. Additionally Prime Cuts won 2 consecutive ITF World Sc ...

. In 2005 they took part in the ''40 Artists, 40 Days'' project organised by the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

in the run up to London's successful bid to win the right to host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. 2006 saw the release of their fourth album ''Chameleon'' which saw them using a live band for the first time and three years later followed with ''Travel the Galaxy''. Their track ''Frontline'' was use in the soundtrack to the 2008 video game '' Wipeout HD''. In 2014,

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...

described them as one of the most influential artists in drum and bass. Their most recent album ''No Cure'' was released in October 2015. 2015 also saw the release of their first headline mix on the long running

Fabriclive From November 2001 to November 2018, the London nightclub fabric ran a monthly mix compilation series. Mixed by a variety of emerging and established DJs, the two series were entitled ''fabric'' and ''FABRICLIVE'' respectively. The compilation ...

series of mix CDs, ''FabricLive.82''. They had a long relationship with the London club ''

Fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

'' having played at the opening weekend in 1999 and appearing on the first drum and bass mix released by Fabric in 2002 ('' FabricLive.06'' mixed by Grooverider). Following Islington Council's decision to revoke Fabric's licence in September 2016, Ed Rush & Optical took part in a benefit show to challenge the decision. In November 2016 agreement was made to reopen the club. As well as numerous club appearances they have performed at many well known festivals including

Boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although t ...

(2018/2022/2025) EDC (2011/13/14/15/17), Dour Festival (2006/2015), Nocturnal Wonderland (2001,2011/2019),

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

(1999 and 2014)

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...

in 2013,

Virus recordings

Although the Virus imprint was initially intended for self-publishing the duo's own ''Ed Rush & Optical'' material (a practice that is common in indie and dance music), Virus' subsequent releases have featured many notable drum and bass artists like Fierce,

, Cause 4 Concern, Noisia,

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

Pendulum A pendulum is a device made of a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate i ...

, Ram Trilogy ( Andy C, Shimon, Ant Miles), Audio, Mefjus, The Upbeats, Optiv & BTK, Insideinfo and many others.

Discography

Early works

Singles/EPs

* "Little Matt & Uprock - Techno Travellers EP" Fat Chuna (1992) * "Little Matt & Dark Deas - Give It In" Fat Chuna (1993) * "Durban Poison - Babylon Timewarp (Little Matt's Remix)" Subliminal Records (1993) *"Flashback / You Cannot - Teknarchi" Fokus Recordings (1993) * "Morpheus - Aftermath EP" Blame Technology (1994) * "Morpheus - Transistor EP" Blame Technology (1994) *"Just Another Artist - Rhythm / Lust" Just Another Label (1994) *"Just Another Artist - Good Love / Full Circle" Just Another Label (1994) *"Morpheus vs The Warlock - Disconnected EP" Blame Technology (1995) *"Flute FX / Attitude - Area 39" Bear Necessities (1994) *"Hed F.U.K - Tranquillity / It's A Dope Thing" Bear Necessities (1995) *"Mental Patient / Twisted Brain - Area 39" Bear Necessities (1995) *"Morpheus - Spikey Trance EP" Blame Technology (1995) *"Tuneful / You Cannot - Nut-E-1 & Teknarchi" Bear Necessities (1995) *"Dreaming / Whatever - Area 39" Too'z Up Records (1995) *"Sparkling - Little Matt" React (1995) *"The Planet Spins - Area 39" Bear Necessities (1995) *"Phat & Phuturistic - Little Matt" Jumpin n Pumpin Records (1995) *"Silver Haze - Little Matt" Virgin (1995) *"Cap Columbie - Arteq" Jumpin' & Pumpin' (1996) * "Fly By Wire - Terminus" Blame Technology (1996) *"Photofit - Flying Squad / Burning Waterfall" Narcotix Inc (1996) *"Schar's World - Fly By Wire" Carl Cox F.A.C.T 2 (Worldwide Ultimatum 1997)

As Optical

Albums

* "20 Years of Optical Pt1" Virus Recordings (2016) * "20 Years of Optical Pt2" Virus Recordings (2016)

Singles/EPs

* "No Time / T.H.X." Celluloid Records (1996) * "Cut Throat Flow / Lazy Gun" Bear Necessities (1996) *"Sleepless" React (1996) *"Cryogenisis" React (1997) * "The Shining / Dark Skies" Metro Recordings (1997) *"Grey Odyssey" Prototype (1997) *"Swift Glide" Metalheadz (1997) * "To Shape The Future / Raging Calm" Metalheadz (1997) * "Dom & Optical - Quadrant Six / Concrete Shoes" Moving Shadow (1997) *"Dom & Optical - Quadrant Six Remix/ Rage Roll" Moving Shadow (1997) * "Moving 808's / High Tek Dreams" Prototype Recordings (1997) * "Bounce / The End Pt1" 31 Records (1997) *"Search / The End Pt2" - Fortran (Ed Rush, Optical, Fierce) 31 Records (1998) * "Ed Rush, Optical & Fierce - Cutslo (Lokuste Mix) / Alien Girl" Prototype Recordings (1998) *''"Edtrafiencial"'' No U-Turn (2009) * "Optical Vs Matrix - Data Life / Crossfire" Ad Hoc Recordings (1998) * "Optical & Ryme Tyme / Bad Company" Virus Recordings (1999) *"Rock Baby / Driver - Jagged Edge" (Optical & Rymetyme) V Recordings (2000) *"Electric Music / Kung-Fu" Virus Recordings (2008) *"Infection / Optical & BTK" Dutty Audio (2016)

Optical remixes

* God is God - Laibach (Mute 1996) * Start - NOHA (Noise 1 1997) * Test Anxiety - Toenut (Mute 1997) * Lethal But Steady - Bliss 'n' Tumble (Additive 1997) * To Shape The Future Remix (Metalheadz 1997) * Chemical #1 - Jesus Jones (Food 1997) * Still - Boymerang - Dom & Optical VIP (Prototype Recordings 1997) * Weapon VIP - Optical & Fierce (Virus 1997) * System - Nemesis - Optical & Fierce Remix (Renegade Hardware 1998) * Temper Temper - Goldie (FFRR 1998) * Dub Me Crazy - Boom Boom Satellites (R&S Records 1998) * Bye Bye Lover - The Chemical Pilot (Eruption Records 1998) * Blue Monday - Orgy (F-111 Records 1998) * Rainbows of Colour - Grooverider (Higher Ground/Sony 1998) * Simple Man - Josh Wink (Ovum/Columbia 1998) * Moving Thru Air - Jonny L (XL Recordings 1998) * Secretly - Skunk Anansie (Virgin 1999) * We Enter - Rymetyme (No-U-Turn 1999) * Killa Bees - Usual Suspects - Optical & Fierce Remix (Renegade Hardware 1999) * The Only Ryme That Bites - Mc Tunes vs 808 State (ZTT 1999) * Blanket - Urban Species ft Imogen Heap (Beechwood Music 1999) * Directrix - Divine Styler (Mo Wax 2000) * Sonar - Optical & Trace Remix (Prototype Recordings 2000) * Love Dump - Static X (F-111 Records 2000) * Chemical - Sugizo - Fabio & Optical Remix (Invader Recordings 2000) * Quadrant 6 - Dom & Optical VIP (Moving Shadow 1999) * To Shape The Future Amen VIP (1999) * Solarize - J Majik (Infrared 2001) * Spaced Invader - Hatiras (Breakbeat Science Records 2002) * Smarty Pants - Ed Rush & Optical - Goldtrix & Optical Remix (Virus Recordings 2003)

Production credits

* Burial - Leviticus (Philly Blunt Records 1994) *Baby Gone Bizzerk EP - Bam Bam (Kickin' Records 1995) * Piper - Jonny L - Grooverider Remix (XL Recordings 1997) * Mysteries of Funk - Grooverider (Higher Ground/Prototype Recordings 1998) * Saturn's Return - Goldie (FFRR 1998) * Magnetic - Jonny L (XL Recordings 1998) * El Oslo - Soul Coughing (Warner Bros Records 1998) * Sleepwalk (Temperament) - Matrix (Virus Recordings 1999) * Share The Fall (Grooveriders Jeep Style Mix) - Roni Size/Reprazent (Talkin' Loud 1997) * Dirty Harry (Grooverider Remix) - Adam F (F-Jams 1997) * Bachelorette (Grooverider Remix) - Bjork (One Little Indian 1997) * Charade (Grooverider Remix) - Rachid (Deep Jungle 1998) * Deep End (Grooverider's Deep Mix) - Sirenes (Columbia 1997) * Rockit (Grooverider Remix) - Herbie Hancock (S3 1997) *

James Bond Theme The "James Bond Theme" is the main signature theme music of the List of James Bond films, James Bond films and has been used in every Bond film, starting with ''Dr. No (film), Dr. No'' in 1962. Composed in E minor by Monty Norman, the piece has ...

(Grooverider's Jeep Remix) - Moby (Mute 1997) * Temper Temper (Grooverider Remix) - Goldie (Polygram 1997) * Pacific State (Grooverider Jeep Mix) - 808 State (ZTT 1998) * Believe (Grooverider Remix) - Goldie (FFRR 1998) * B-Boy Stance (Grooverider Remix) - Freestylers (Freskanova 1998) * Pack Jam (Grooverider Remix) - The Jonzun Crew (Tommy Boy 1998) * L-Train (Grooverider Remix) - Shootyz Groove (Reprise Records 1998) * Fools Gold (Grooverider Remix) - Stone Rose's (Virgin 1998) * Blame (Grooverider Jeep Dub) - Everything But The Girl (Virgin 1999) * Rolling (Grooverider Remix) - Soul Coughing (Higher Education 1999) * On The Double - Cypress Hill ft Grooverider (Higher Ground 1999) * Codename John - The Crow (New Identity Records 2000) * Codename John - Be With You (Prototype Recordings 2000)

As Ed Rush & Optical

Albums

*''

'' Virus Recordings (1998) *''The Creeps (Invisible And Deadly!)'' Virus Recordings (2000) *''The Original Doctor Shade'' Virus Recordings (2003) *''Virus Vaults'' Virus Recordings (2005) *''Chameleon'' Virus Recordings (2006) *''Travel the Galaxy'' Virus Recordings (2009) *''No Cure'' Virus Recordings (2015)

Singles

*''Funktion / Naked Lunch'' V Recordings (1997) *''Lifespan / Crisis'' Virus Recordings (1998) *''Medicine / Life Crisis'' Virus Recordings (1998) *''The Medicine / Punchbag'' Virus Recordings (1998) *''Wormhole Album Sampler'' Virus Recordings (1998) *''Zardoz / Satellites'' Virus Recordings (1998) *''Bacteria / Gasmask'' Virus Recordings (1999) *''Watermelon / Sick Note'' Virus Recordings (1999) *''Socom EP'' Virus Recordings (2000) *''KerbKrawler / Capsule'' Virus Recordings (2001) *''Pod'' Virus Recordings in (2001) *''Pacman (Ram Trilogy Remix) / Vessel'' Virus Recordings (2002) *''Innocence / Rehab'' Quarantine Recordings (2002) *''Remixes Vol. 1'' Virus Recordings (2004) (UK #77) *''The Remixes Vol. 2'' Virus Recordings (2004) *''Reece / Sick Note (Illskills Remix)'' Virus Recordings (2005) *''Reece / Taxi Driver'' Virus Recordings (2005) *''Crack Ball / Ride The Beast'' RUN DNB (2010) *''Brain Bucket / Falling Through'' Vision Recordings (2010)

DJ mixes

** Radio 1 Essential Mix (1999) **''Out of the Box'' (2004) **''Virus Vaults'' (2005) **''FabricLive.82'' Fabric (2015)

Ed Rush & Optical remixes

* Watching Windows - Roni Size / Represent (Talkin' Loud 1997) * Mindscan - Ram Trilogy (Ram Records 1999) * Funktion Remix (Planet V/Ultra 1999) * The Shining - Optical - Ed Rush & Optical Remix (Metro 1999) * Bluesy Baby - Ram Jam World (WEA Japan 1999) * Spaced Invader - Hatiras (Canvas 2001) * We Want Your Soul - Adam Freeland (Maximise Profit 2003) * Deadline - Digital (31 Records 2003) * The Message - Cymande - Bootleg (2003) * Beastman - Ram Trilogy (Ram Records 2004) * Lyric On My Lip - Tali (Full Cycle Records 2004) * You Got The Love - Candi Statton (2006) * High Top - Sigma (Viper Recordings 2009) * Split The Atom - Noisia (Division 2010) * Serious - Manufactured Superstars (Magik Muzik 2011) * Evolution - Ram Trilogy (Ram Records 2013)

References

External links

Optical on AllMusic

Optical on SoundCloud

Optical on Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Optical Living people English DJs English drum and bass musicians English record producers DJs from London British electronic dance music DJs Year of birth missing (living people)