Locked On Records is a British record label, concentrating on UK garage and grime music. Founded in 1996 in London by Tarik Nashnush who was working at the record shop Pure Groove at the time, it is a subsidiary of XL Recordings. Among the artists signed to the label are the Streets, Todd Edwards, Zed Bias, Dem 2, Tuff Jam, and Artful Dodger. [1] [2] [3]
Artful Dodger were originally a UK garage duo featuring songwriters and producers Mark Hill and Pete Devereux. They achieved notoriety in the 1990s and early 2000s, releasing seven consecutive singles all of which charted in the United Kingdom Top 20. During this period the then unknown Craig David featured on the track "Re-Rewind". The single launched David's career, landing at #2 in the UK singles chart. Hill and Devereux have won numerous accolades including the 2000 UK Producers of the Year and Ivor Novello recognition for their songwriting.
Born to Do It is the debut studio album by English singer Craig David, released in the United Kingdom on 14 August 2000 by Wildstar Records and in the United States later in 2001 by Atlantic Records. Following exposure from his work with British group Damage, David began performing vocals for garage duo Artful Dodger. During this time, Wildstar Records became aware of David, offering him a development deal before offering an album contract. The recording for the album began in 1999 before David had acquired a record contract, the recording lasted until 2000 and was composed by David himself and Mark Hill.
Mark Leslie Hill is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He rose to fame as one half of the Artful Dodger and co-writer and producer of Craig David's multi-platinum debut studio album, Born to Do It. Since he began releasing music in 1997, Hill has achieved four Ivor Novello Awards, a number one album, two number one singles and over 10 million records sales worldwide.
It's All About the Stragglers is the only studio album by the English garage duo Artful Dodger. It was released on 20 November 2000 by London Records. The album contains eight different vocalists, including Craig David.
2-step garage, or simply 2-step, is a genre of electronic music and a subgenre of UK garage. One of the primary characteristics of the 2-step sound – the term being coined to describe "a general rubric for all kinds of jittery, irregular rhythms that don't conform to garage's traditional four-on-the-floor pulse" – is that the rhythm lacks the kick drum pattern found in many other styles of electronic music with a regular four-on-the-floor beat.
Relentless Records is a record label currently headed by co-founder Shabs Jobanputra. Originally known for UK garage singles such as Artful Dodger's "Re-Rewind" and B-15 Project's "Girls Like Us", Relentless has also published albums by Joss Stone, KT Tunstall, Union of Knives and Cage the Elephant.
"Movin' Too Fast" is a song by UK garage duo Artful Dodger, released on 26 July 1999. The song features Romina Johnson and was included on the duo's debut studio album, It's All About the Stragglers (2000). "Movin' Too Fast" was originally recorded by Johnson as a solo artist and appears on her 1998 debut album, Simply Passion, produced by Rolando Bacci Hardage. The Artful Dodger remix version of the track was first distributed as a white label vinyl release. After it was picked up by DJs, it was licensed to Locked On for mainstream distribution.
Todd Edward Imperatrice, known professionally as Todd Edwards, is an American garage house record producer, DJ and singer from Bloomfield, New Jersey. He began producing primarily for New York's Nervous Records in the 1990s, including under aliases such as the Messenger and the Sample Choir. Edwards' music is known for its influence on the UK garage scene that developed in the United Kingdom in the mid-1990s.
Dave Jones, better known as Zed Bias, is an English electronic musician based in Manchester, who operates within the UK garage/2-step, broken beat and UK funky genres, as a producer and as a DJ. He has also released material under various pseudonyms including Maddslinky and is one half of the duo Phuturistix.
"Has It Come to This?" is a song by English rapper and producer Mike Skinner under the music project the Streets. It was released in October 2001 as the lead single from their debut album Original Pirate Material. The song reached number 18 in the United Kingdom and was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry in December 2019.
"Re-Rewind " is a song by English garage duo Artful Dodger, featuring Craig David on vocals. Released in the United Kingdom on 29 November 1999, the song reached number two, giving both Artful Dodger and David their first chart hit. In his dean's list for the annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice named "Re-Rewind" the fifth-best single of the year.
Jason Chue, better known as Wookie, is a UK garage musician. He scored a UK top 10 hit in 2000 with his song "Battle".
Tuff Jam are a British DJ, music production and remixing duo consisting of Karl 'Tuff Enuff' Brown and Matt 'Jam' Lamont. They began working together in 1993, and were instrumental in developing the UK garage sound. They presented a radio show on London's Kiss 100 from 1997 until 2000.
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 is defined by percussive, shuffled rhythms with syncopated hi-hats, cymbals, and snares, and may include either 4/4 house kick patterns or more irregular "2-step" rhythms. Garage tracks also commonly feature 'chopped up' and time-stretched or pitch-shifted vocal samples complementing the underlying rhythmic structure at a tempo usually around 130 BPM.
The Dreem Teem are a British DJ, music production and remixing trio consisting of DJ Spoony, Mikee B, and Timmi Magic. They formed in 1996 through pirate radio, and were instrumental in developing the UK garage sound. They presented radio shows on Kiss 100 (1997–2000) and BBC Radio 1 (2000–2003).
"Gabriel" is a song by Roy Davis Jr. and Peven Everett.
"Destiny", also titled "Destiny (Sleepless)", is a song by UK garage duo Dem 2. It was released as a single in late 1997 and also in 1998 and reached No. 58 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.
"Anytime" is a song by Nu-Birth, an alias of UK garage duo 187 Lockdown. The song features Janette Sewell on vocals. It was first released in 1996 on Nu Jak Recordings then as an official single in 1997 via XL Recordings/Locked On, reaching No. 48 on the UK Singles Chart. A re-release the following year featuring new mixes peaked seven places higher at No. 41. The 1997 release also reached No. 1 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.
Club Asylum is the name of UK garage musician Jeremy Sylvester. They were originally a duo which consisted of Sylvester and Paul Emanuel. After the duo decided to go their separate ways, Sylvester continued to produce and remix under the Club Asylum moniker as a solo artist, and is still active to the present day.