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Plastician | |
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 Plastician | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Chris Reed |
| Also known as | Plasticman |
| Born | 30 October 1982 |
| Origin | Croydon, London, England |
| Genres | Dubstep, grime, breakstep |
| Occupation(s) | DJ, producer |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Terrorythm Recordings, ROAD, Slimzos, Soulja, Trouble & Bass, Owsla |
Chris Reed (born 30 October 1982), also known as Plastician (formerly Plasticman), is an electronic musician from Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon.
Plastician, real name Chris Reed is a DJ from Croydon in South London. He began playing UK garage records in 2000, playing early shows in the local area of Croydon. Reed began to take interest in the darker side of the sound, specialising in sets featuring tracks from the likes of Wookie, Zed Bias, El-B, Groove Chronicles, Steve Gurley and working alongside MCs Tricks & Spellz as part of the "Fearless Crew". They held radio slots on South London's inconsistent pirate station "Desire FM" before moving to 2GFM before the split of Fearless Crew in 2002. It was then that Reed was to begin using the name Plasticman for future works, which he later changed to Plastician due to the similarity to Canadian-British techno artist Richie Hawtin's "Plastikman". [1]
Toward the middle of 2001, Reed had been experimenting with production on FruityLoops. [2] Being based in Croydon, Reed was part of a close-knit community of young producers attempting to make dark garage tracks that would catch the ear of Big Apple Records resident DJ Hatcha so that he could support them on his popular pirate radio show. [3] Other young producers in this circle included Skream and Benga, amongst more experienced heads Artwork / Menta, Benny Ill & Horsepower Productions. By the end of 2001, although Plasticman's tracks were somewhat overlooked by DJ Hatcha, they were however picked up by East London Grime pioneer, DJ Slimzee. Slimzee signed Reed's first 12" release (Venom / Shockwave) to his Slimzos imprint which was released early into 2002.
By 2003, Reed had been supported by DJ Hatcha on tracks such as Hard Graft, which saw his grimy take on the instrumental sound being welcomed by the FWD contingent, leading to releases on Ammunition Promotions' Soulja, and ROAD imprints, a weekly slot on Rinse FM alongside Mark One (MRK1) & Virus Syndicate, and in the summer saw Reed's first appearance at the world-famous FWD event at Plastic People, London. Soon after, Reed had established himself as a FWD favourite and was announced as one of 4 residents at the club in 2004, alongside Dubstep royalty, DJ Hatcha, Youngsta and Rinse FM owner, DJ Geeneus. [4]
In 2006, Reed was offered a slot on BBC Radio 1's "The Residency". This soon turned into "In New DJ's We Trust". This was the tipping point for an ongoing legal struggle which forced him to change his name from Plasticman to Plastician. [5] He spent 18 months on the station before returning to Rinse FM to continue his weekly slot, which he had been continuing under the alias "Blue Stripe" during his time at the BBC. He returned to the airwaves on Rinse FM alongside MC Nomad.
2007 saw the release of "Beg to Differ", Reed's debut LP and his first release under the Plastician moniker. It received critical acclaim, and contains some of Reed's most recognisable works such as "Japan" and "Intensive Snare" with North London MC Skepta of Boy Better Know. [6]
Plastician also played a role in putting together the "Cashmere Agency Presents Mr. Grustle & Tha Russian Dubstep LA Embrace The Renaissance Vol.1 Mixed by Dj Plastician" mixtape that was released in June 2009. The tracks were curated by Plastician and featured Dubstep and Hip Hop collaborations involving Snoop Dogg, Xzibit and more. Plastician is unique in that he is respected as one of the true pioneers of both the Dubstep and Grime genres.
Plastician runs his own record label, Terrorhythm Recordings, formed in 2002. Best known for signing both Om Unit and Joker's first releases as well as releasing Plastician's critically acclaimed Beg to Differ album, it also saw early releases from Macabre Unit, Maniac, Crissy Criss, and Mark One. Moving into more recent times, the label has broadened its sonic palate – as has Plastician. Terrorhythm currently represents some of the most exciting young musicians associated with today's future beats movement, housing artists such as AWE, GANZ, Louis Futon and Krane among others within its ranks; many of whom have been releasing on the label since their debut releases. [7] More recently, Plastician has been exploring the experimental trap offshoot, wave music for which his "Wavepool" mixes have become recognized as the main reference point for the birth of the genre. [8] He has recruited artists representing the wave sound such as Noah B, Sorsari, Deadcrow, Glacci, & Yedgar to release via Terrorhythm and bring the underground internet sound to new ears from 2016 onward.
| Year | No. | Artist | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | TERR001 | Mark One | Fight / Fight (Plasticman Remix) |
| 2004 | TERR002 | Plasticman | Cha EP |
| TERR003 | Value Beats EP | ||
| TERR004 | Macabre Unit | Lift Off EP | |
| 2008 | TERR005 | Joker | Top of the Game EP |
| 2010 | TERR006 | Crissy Criss | Blow Your Head Off / Humans |
| TERR007 | Maniac | Thug / Wreckage | |
| TERR008 | Om Unit | The Corridor EP | |
| 2011 | TERR009 | Psy:am & Stinkahbell | Don't Tell Mum About Ibiza |
| 2012 | TERR010 | Plastician | Straight Outta Croydon EP |
| TERR011 | Stinkahbell & Psy:am | Hot Poo | |
| TERR012 | Stinkahbell | Film Noir EP | |
| 2013 | TERR013 | Mojo | Blues EP |
| TERR014 | AWE | Eagle Soul EP | |
| TERR015 | Alexandre | Dead Silent EP | |
| TERR016 | Anton F | Crimson EP | |
| TERR017 | Louis Futon | Dozing / Plastic | |
| TERR018 | GANZ | Purple Cwtch EP | |
| TERR019 | Curl Up | Missed U EP | |
| 2014 | TERR020 | AWE | Crystals |
| TERR021 | Skit & Tijani | Sweat | |
| TERR022 | Varsity | Grunt / Lingerer Dub | |
| TERR023 | JD. Reid | Maneki Neko EP | |
| TERR024 | Parkinson White & Kyle Cook | Sapphire EP | |
| TERR025 | Deon Custom | Bliss EP | |
| TERR026 | KRNE | Zero Zero One EP | |
| TERR027 | Plastician | Plasticman Remastered | |
| TERR028 | Plasticman Remixed I | ||
| TERR029 | Plasticman Remixed II | ||
| TERR030 | Plasticman Remixed III | ||
| TERR031 | AWE | Griffin | |
| 2015 | TERR032 | Color Plus | Mangata Sequence EP |
| TERR033 | Gunkst | Bodied EP | |
| TERR034 | GANZ | Dino War EP | |
| TERR035 | Anton F | Indigo EP | |
| TERR036 | Mace | Love Songs EP | |
| TERR037 | BeauDamian | Pleione EP | |
| TERR038 | Skuls | Lost Knowledge EP | |
| TERR039 | Plastician | Sorcery | |
| TERR040 | Patrick Brian | 8 Months EP | |
| 2016 | TERR041 | Noah B | Night's Edge EP |
| TERR042 | Mace | Touch Me (2XA Remix) | |
| TERR043 | Plastician | Do What You Feel | |
| TERR044 | Glacci | Lucid EP | |
| TERR045 | ZEKE BEATS | Meltdown EP | |
| TERR046 | Deadcrow | Night Wonder EP | |
| TERR047 | Sosari | Worlds Away EP | |
| TERR048 | Skuls | Transient EP | |
| TERR049 | Terminal EP | ||
| TERR050 | Celaeno | The Celaeno EP | |
| 2017 | TERR051 | ONHELL | Noself EP |
| TERR052 | Klasey Jones | Foreign Buyers Club EP | |
| TERR053 | Deadcrow | Light Trails EP | |
| TERR054 | Patrick Brian | Strings & Squares EP | |
| TERR055 | Various Artists | Plastician Presents - Wavepool 2 | |
| TERR056 | Glacci | Lifeforce LP | |
| TERR057 | Klasey Jones | Eleven LP | |
| TERR059 | Compa | Awow EP | |
| 2018 | TERR058 | Om Unit | The Corridor (Remixes) |
| TERR060 | Flechewave | Kinetics EP | |
| TERR061 | Klasey Jones | Starlight One EP | |
| TERR062 | Plastician | Overdue EP | |
| TERR063 | Boy Racers | Exit Strategy EP | |
| TERR064 | Plastician | Anyway EP | |
| 2019 | TERR065 | Klasey Jones | Blood Money EP |
| TERR066 | Rapture 4D & gl00my | Green Boson EP | |
| TERR067 | Vexxy & Jato | Night Shift / Nylon | |
| TERR068 | Klasey Jones | Arrival EP | |
| TERR069 | ONHELL | Graveyard Shift | |
| TERR070 | Kill Your Self Doubt EP | ||
| TERR071 | Tracksuit Goth | Blacksmith EP | |
| 2020 | TERR072 | Juche & Plastician | eNight (Revisited) |
| TERR073 | Plastician | Deep In The Drives | |
| TERR074 | Mod Sens | Hollow E.P. | |
| TERR075 | Plastician | Process | |
| TERR076 | Various Artists | Plastician Presents - Wavepool 3 | |
| 2021 | TERR077 | Yedgar | Life Cycle E.P. |
Grime is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) that emerged in London in the early 2000s. It developed out of the earlier UK dance style UK garage, and draws influences from jungle, dancehall, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated breakbeats, generally around 140 beats per minute, and often features an aggressive or jagged electronic sound. Emceeing is a significant element of the style, and lyrics often revolve around gritty depictions of urban life.
Paris Joel Moore-Williams, 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 performances as well as for songs such as "Slang Like This", "Anthemic" and "Round the Clock". N.E was the founding member of Lewisham-based grime crew OGz and P Money released one album with the group entitled OGz Season Vol. 1. He also appeared on the sixth edition of highly popular grime DVD Lord of the Mics in a grime clash (battle).
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 beat, grime, and drum and bass. In the United Kingdom, the origins of the genre can be traced back to the growth of the Jamaican sound system party scene in the early 1980s.
Digital Mystikz are a dubstep production duo consisting of Mala, and Coki from the South London suburb of Norwood. Along with Loefah and SGT Pokes, who make up the group ASBO, they operate the DMZ record label and host the influential bimonthly nightclub DMZ, held at the Mass club complex in Brixton, London. BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel was an early supporter of Digital Mystikz, eventually putting them in his annual 2004 top 50 list at number 29. They are among the scene's most famous producers. Their song "Anti War Dub" appeared in the 2006 film Children of Men, although it wasn't included in the soundtrack. In the summer of 2008, Mala was chosen to headline the night portion of the Sónar Festival in Barcelona. In April 2011, Mala travelled to Cuba with Gilles Peterson who was returning to Havana to produce the second installment in the Havana Cultura series. While Peterson recorded new material with local musicians, Mala began work on a new album Mala in Cuba, which was released in September 2012.
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.
Oliver Dene Jones, known professionally as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream has released records on several British record labels, such as Tempa, Tectonic, and Big Apple Records, and has performed throughout Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, and Japan, as well as the UK. Skream is known as an early and influential architect of the dubstep genre.
Steve Goodman, known as Kode9 is a Scottish electronic music artist, DJ, and founder of the Hyperdub record label. He was one of the founding members of the early dubstep scene with his late collaborator The Spaceape. He has released four full-length albums: 2006's Memories of the Future and 2011's Black Sun, Nothing (2015), Escapology and Astro-Darien (2022).
Adegbenga Adejumo, known as Benga, is a British musician from Croydon, known for being a pioneer of dubstep record production. He has been featured on a variety of compilations including Mary Anne Hobbs's Warrior Dubz, Tempa's The Roots of Dubstep and the BBC Radio 1Xtra anniversary mix.
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 popular in the United Kingdom.
DJ Chef, also known as Chefal, is a dubstep DJ from South London. XLR8R has called him "One of U.K. pirate radio’s biggest dubstep DJs". He is an employee of Transition Mastering Studio, which XLR8R called "dubstep’s most renowned acetate-cutting studio." In 2010 Chef, Plastician and P Money represented for London on the BBC Dubstep Soundclash and won.
Moombahton is an electronic dance music genre, derived from house music and reggaeton, that was created by American DJ and producer Dave Nada in Washington, D.C., in 2009. Nada coined the name as a portmanteau of "Moombah" and reggaeton.
John Dadzie, better known by his stage names 12th Planet and Infiltrata, is an American DJ and dubstep producer from Los Angeles.
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. He had a regular show on the prominent pirate radio station Rinse FM in the early 2000s, before bringing dubstep to a wider audience with his regular show on mainstream radio station Kiss FM.
Steven Bishop, known professionally as Oneman, is a DJ and producer from Streatham, London. His background is in pirate radio and he is a regular DJ on Rinse FM.
Darren Jason Dixon, known professionally as D Double E, is a British grime MC, DJ and record producer from Forest Gate, East London. He performs both as a solo artist and as a member of the grime duo Newham Generals.
Dean Fullman, best known by his stage name DJ Slimzee, is an English DJ who currently hosts a show on Rinse FM, returning from his previous show on NTS. He is best known for his show on pirate radio station Rinse FM in the early noughties and its influential role in the development of grime music.
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 and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop and R&B. 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.
Solomon Rose, known professionally as Silkie, is an English dubstep and UK garage producer and DJ from London. He has released several extended plays and albums with Deep Medi Musik and formed the music labels Antisocial Records in 2004 and Bedroom Rat Records in 2023.
Wave is a genre of bass music and a visual art style that emerged in the early 2010s in online communities. It is characterized by atmospheric melodies and harmonies, melodic and heavy bass such as reese, modern trap drums, chopped vocal samples processed with reverb and delay, and arpeggiators. Visually, it incorporates computer-generated imagery and animation, and imagery from video games and cartoons.
Big Apple Records was a record shop and label in Croydon, South London that opened in 1992 and closed in 2004, although the label continued to release music until 2007. It is known for pioneering the sound of dubstep in the early 2000s, with dubstep DJs and producers working in and frequently visiting the shop. The record label was the first to sign Skream and Benga.
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