Ed Rush

Last updated

Ed Rush
Ed Rush 2015-11-04.JPG
Ed Rush in 2015
Born
London, England
Other namesBen Dylan
Occupation(s)Musician, DJ, producer
Years active1992–present
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s) Sampler, turntable, drum machine, synthesizer
Labels

Ben Settle, known by the stage name Ed Rush, [1] [ full citation needed ] is a drum and bass producer and DJ. Rush has been releasing records since 1992 primarily with Optical (Matt Quinn), his musical partner since 1997. Along with Optical, he is also the co-founder of the record label Virus Recordings, [2] which releases his records along with other drum and bass acts. He is most associated with the aggressive styles of drum and bass music known as techstep, darkcore and neurofunk.

Contents

Early career

Rush's first releases were a pair of self-released white label 12" singles, the Prince Jammy-sampling "I Wanna Stay in the Jungle" and "Look What They've Done" in late 1992. In early 1993, Rush begun playing on the London pirate radio station Don FM, where he was to first meet future production partner DJ Trace, [3] resulting in the duo releasing the track "Don Bad Man", produced by engineer Nico Sykes. Shortly after, Rush recorded "Bludclot Artattack", which was released on Sykes' No U Turn Records. [4] This release helped to influence the rave scene away from hardcore and into drum and bass. [4] Rush's work grew increasingly uncompromising and dark: writing in the book Energy Flash: a Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture , Simon Reynolds wrote "Ed Rush's No U-Turn tracks 'Gangsta Hardstep' and 'Guncheck' took the explosive energy of hardcore and imploded it, transforming febrile hyperkinesis into molasses thick malaise." [5]

As notoriety grew, Rush continued to collaborate, such as on "The Mutant" with DJ Trace in 1995. Additional releases on Grooverider's Prototype label and Goldie's Metalheadz further helped to establish Rush's reputation as a prominent drum and bass artist. [6] In 1996, Rush and Trace coined the dense, hard style of jungle they were working on as "techstep" [7] which went on to become the dominant style of drum and bass in the late 1990s. [8] Rush's work with Trace and Nico on No U-Turn Records was compiled on the album Torque in 1997.

Together with Audio he forms the duo Killbox. [9]

Collaboration with Optical

In 1995 Rush met Matt Quinn, who worked under the stage name Optical. They met at the Music House, a dubplate mastering company in Islington, London where dubplates would be made for their DJ sets. [10] Rob Playford the owner of the label Moving Shadow gave them space in his Soho office building to allow them to build their own studio. [11] They released their debut single Funktion in 1997, and followed it up in 1998 with their debut album, Wormhole, which has been described as the greatest drum and bass album of all time [6] [12] and introduced the style of drum and bass now known as Neurofunk. [2] In 2000, DJ Craze used their track "Watermelon" in his beat-juggling routine, helping him win his 3rd DMC World Championship. [13] In 2000, they released their second album, The Creeps (Invisible And Deadly!), which broadened their palette by introducing vocals to the mix [14] Their third album, The Original Doctor Shade was released in 2003 and featured a collaboration with turntablist DJs, Scratch Perverts. [14] In 2005, they took part in the 40 Artists, 40 Days project organised by the Tate Gallery in the run up to London's successful bid to win the right to host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. [15] 2006 saw the release of their fourth album Chameleon which saw them using a live band for the first time [16] and three years later followed with Travel the Galaxy. Their track Frontline was use in the soundtrack to the 2008 video game Wipeout HD . [17] In 2014, Ministry of Sound described them as one of the most influential artists in drum and bass. [18]

Their most recent album, No Cure, was released in October 2015. [19] The same year also saw the release of their first headline mix featured as part of the long running Fabriclive series of mix CDs, FabricLive.82. They had a long relationship with the London club Fabric having played at the opening weekend in 1999 [20] and appearing on the first drum and bass mix released by Fabric in 2002 ( FabricLive.06 mixed by Grooverider). [21] 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. [22] In November 2016 agreement was reached to reopen the club. [23]

In addition to many club appearances, Rush and Optical have appeared at festivals, including Glastonbury in 1999 and 2014, [11] and Bestival in 2013. [24]

They have also collaborated and remixed several other artists including: Goldie, [15] Skunk Anansie, [15] Lil' Louis ( French Kiss) [25] and Rudimental featuring John Newman ( Not Giving In ). [26] They themselves have been remixed by other artists such as Pendulum, who remixed their track Bacteria in 2004.

As well as his work with Optical, Rush has also released house music under the name Ben Dylan. [16]

Ed Rush is a play on the phrase "head rush", which was slang in the rave scene for a temporary whiteout caused by too many Es. [5]

Discography

Solo discography

Albums
Singles

With Ed Rush & Optical

Albums
Singles
DJ Mixes

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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 duo Ed Rush and Optical, whose debut album Wormhole 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.

References

  1. ↑ "Ed Rush - Biography".
  2. 1 2 "22 REAL Drum & Bass Pioneers". Complex.com. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Databass - Artist Profiles - Ed Rush & Optical". Databass.co.uk.
  4. 1 2 "RA:Ed Rush". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  5. 1 2 Reynolds, Simon (4 July 2013). Energy Flash. Faber & Faber. ISBN   978-0571289141.
  6. 1 2 "ED RUSH:Information". The DJ List. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  7. ↑ The Popular Music Studies Reader. Routledge. 2006. ISBN   0415307104 . Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "The history of (dark) Drum and Bass". darkdnb.com. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Killbox | Artist | Dark DnB". www.darkdnb.com. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  10. ↑ "Interview with Ed Rush & Optical". DNBPortal.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  11. 1 2 "5 Steps with Ed Rush & Optical". Datatransmission.couk. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "FABRICLIVE.82". FabricLondon. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  13. ↑ Sutton, Matthew. "Watermelon". Dnb365. Matthew Sutton.
  14. 1 2 "Ed Rush & Optical feat. MC Ryme Tyme" . Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 "Ed Rush & Optical 40 Artist, 40 Days". Tate.org. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Ed Rush & Optical still big in the game". DJ Mag. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  17. ↑ "Three Speech » WipEout HD Soundtrack Announced". Three Speech. 26 February 2008. Archived from the original on 20 September 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "These are the masters of Drum & Bass". Ministry of Sound. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  19. ↑ "theartsdesk on Vinyl: Volume 11". The Arts Desk. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  20. ↑ "Hi-Five:Ed Rush & Optical". XLR8R. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  21. ↑ "Insider Interview #008:Ed Rush & Optical". UKF News. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  22. ↑ "Fabric throwing benefit Concert, Art Exhibition". Pitchfork.com. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "Fabric to reopen after deal struck with Islington Council". 21 November 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016– via Evening Standard.
  24. ↑ "Bestival stage times:who's playing when". Gigwise.com. September 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  25. ↑ "Lil' Louis". OriginalHouse.org. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  26. ↑ "Rudimental – 'Not Giving In' ft. John Newman & Alex Clare [Video] + Ed Rush Remix [Track]". Thinksoul25.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  27. 1 2 "Ed Rush & Optical:full official chart history". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
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