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DJ Q | |
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| Birth name | Shollen Michael Quarshie |
| Born | 16 August 1985 Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | Bassline, grime |
| Occupation(s) | DJ, radio presenter, producer |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Q Recordings, Party Like Us, Local Action, Butterz |
Shollen Michael Quarshie (born 16 August 1985), [1] [2] known by his stage name DJ Q, is a DJ and record producer from Huddersfield, England. He forms part of the supergroup TQD alongside Flava D and Royal-T.
DJ Q’s musical journey started from a young age at The Nook in Holmfirth, listening to music played by his parents. It was at the age of 12 when 'Q' first got involved with the UK garage scene, buying vinyl and tape packs. When his vinyl collection grew larger Q finally got a pair of record decks in his bedroom. After teaching himself to mix, Q started to get bookings at local parties at the age of 15, before learning to produce music the next year at college. [3]
Q's break on radio came in 2004, when a friend working at BBC Radio 1Xtra informed him that the station were looking for a new DJ on the pulse of the rising bassline scene in the North of England. He submitted a mix CD, and Q eventually became the youngest DJ at 1Xtra, hosting the fortnightly UKG Mix Show. [4]
It was around the same time Q released his first vinyl, "Love Like This (The Reasons)" which was a big hit in the bassline scene. This brought him more bookings at bassline events and as time passed, Q produced more hits such as "Tea Bag", "Dirty" and later "You Wot!", which was signed and released via Ministry of Sound. "You Wot!" made the UK top 50 upon its release in summer 2008, [5] which led to remix work for the likes of Amy Winehouse, Dizzee Rascal, Keri Hilson and Katy B to name a few. [6] [7] [8] [9]
Q continued to host his BBC 1Xtra show – by now a weekly broadcast - throughout his mainstream success, and frequently appeared on sister station BBC Radio 1 for guest mixes, before his departure in 2012 after 8 years at the station. He soon began a new monthly show on Ministry of Sound Radio, presenting the Essential Garage show. [10]
Recent years have seen an increase in new productions from Q, with over 10 digital single and EP releases since 2012 that cross a broad spectrum of dance music. These include "Say to You" (released under the alias Classified), [11] the Sound Boy Connection EP via US label Party Like Us, [12] and three singles from his debut album via Local Action Records. [13]
During his years in the music industry, Q has also played music in countries across the globe and Europe particularly, with sets in places such as Ibiza, Amsterdam, Italy, Russia, Australia and the United States.
TQD (often stylised as t q d or tqd) is a collaborative act that was formed in 2015, comprising Royal-T, DJ Q and Flava D, with the name TQD being an amalgamation of the last letter of each of their names. All three artists were already signed to the Butterz record label and thus all TQD releases have also been released on Butterz. [14] The act play and produce the genres of music that the individuals do (such as UK garage, bassline and grime), however they have released experimental tracks that cross into many other genres.
In 2015, Royal-T and DJ Q were collaborating on their first project together and they asked Flava D if she wanted to join in on the project too. This would then go on to be their debut single "Day and Night", released on Butterz on the 18 April 2015, both digitally and as a limited 500 copy vinyl pressing. [15] This track was released as "Day and Night (Day Mix)", however an alternate mix of the single was also released on the B-side as "Day and Night (Night Mix)". Due to their solo efforts and differences in location however, TQD releases were sparse with their second track titled "Ghosts" being previewed digitally over a year later in 2016 and then being released on their second vinyl release Only One/Ghosts. [16]
The trio gained ample attention due to their releases and increasingly popular live sets and thus began working on an album together. This was formally announced at the beginning of 2017 to be the debut album, ukg and would be released on March 17, 2017. [17] The album contains features from P Money, Swindle and Skilliam and was met with generally positive reviews. Pitchfork called the track "Vibsing Ting" "strange and outstanding" [18] and Mixmag said it consisted of "10 hard-hitting face melters." [19] However, Clash magazine wrote that the album was "disappointingly short" and that "there’s a feeling that t q d aren’t really a case for three heads being better than one." [20] The Bandcamp release of ukg contained three extra tracks that were not present on the vinyl or physical CD releases. [21]
Though they have not made any official releases since their debut album as a trio, each member continues to produce and release music individually and the act still performs shows in many countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, Spain and Japan. [22]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | |||
| "You Wot" | 2008 | 50 | Non-album singles |
| "Over Me" (feat. Louise Williams) | 2011 | — | |
| "Dibby Dibby Sound / Swing" | 2012 | — | |
| "All Junglist" | — | ||
| "Party Time" | 2013 | — | |
| "Say to You" (as Classified) | — | — | |
| "Trust Again" (feat. Louise Williams) | — | Ineffable | |
| "Through the Night" (feat. Louise Williams) | — | Ineffable | |
| "Let the Music Play" (feat. Louise Williams) | — | Ineffable | |
| "Oh My God" (DJ Q vs. Natalie Duncan) | 2015 | — | Non-album single |
Platnum are a British bassline vocal group from Manchester, England, consisting of male vocalist Aaron Evers and female vocalists Mina Poli and Michelle McKenna. The trio are best known for providing the vocals on H "Two" O's 2008 single, "What's It Gonna Be?", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in February 2008. Platnum, who formed around 2004, have worked with DJs Jamie Duggan and Q as well as producers Virgo, H "Two" O and Nastee Boi.
Ed Keeley, better known by his stage name Friction, is a drum and bass producer and DJ from Brighton, England. He runs his own record labels, Shogun Audio & Elevate Records, and has formerly presented a regular overnight show on BBC Radio 1.
Bassline is a music genre closely related to UK garage that originated in South Yorkshire and the West Midlands in the early 2000s. Stylistically it comprises a four-to-the-floor rhythm normally at around 135–142 beats per minute and a strong emphasis on bass, similar to that of its precursor speed garage, with chopped up vocal samples and a pop music aesthetic.
Kissy Sell Out is a British/Canadian DJ, producer, graphic designer, label manager of San City High Records and Stepper Man, part-time astrophysicist and science columnist for Sick Chirpse. Kissy Sell Out gained notability in 2006 for his electro music productions and energetic DJ style. In 2009 Mixmag described him as "one of the most exciting, charismatic and entertaining DJs of the decade".
The Heartless Crew are a UK garage crew from North London. The group has been credited for paving the way for grime music, alongside So Solid Crew and Pay As U Go.
DJ Cameo is an English DJ and former host of "Pirate Sessions", a now-defunct Sunday afternoon grime show on the digital UK radio station BBC 1Xtra. He later hosted the Tuesday night UKG show, but on 4 November 2015 it was announced that he would be replaced by a new DJ called Jamz Supernova who would be playing R&B. The music Cameo produces varies from 2-step vocals, to 4x4, to grime, and sublow. In 2004, Cameo was voted winner of the "Best Newcomer" Award for the garage scene's 2004 Peoples Choice Awards held in London. Cameo also received two back to back awards on behalf of Uptown Records, winner of best record shop.
Drumsound & Bassline Smith are a British electronic music production group, consisting of Andy Wright and Ben Wiggett along with Simon 'Bassline' Smith. They met at one of Derby's club nights in the summer of 1998. Their record label is Technique Recordings, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2019.
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been code named "Network X" during the consultation period. At the time, the station was listed as "1 Xtra BBC" on many electronic programming guides. The station broadcasts from the 8th floor of Broadcasting House, shared with Radio 1 and the Asian Network.
Butterz is an independent record label based in London that specializes in grime music. It was founded by DJs and music producers Elijah and Skilliam. The label helped bring grime instrumentals to the forefront of the electronic music scene, and was ranked 10th in Fact's "The 10 Best Record Labels of 2011".
Ayah Marar is a Jordanian/Bulgarian singer and songwriter based in the UK. She has been featured as a vocalist or writer on music from British artists including Calvin Harris, DJ Fresh, Camo & Krooked, Bassline Smith and Jack Peñate. She has been referred to as the "Queen of Bass" and the "dubstep queen".
Future Perfect is the debut studio album by British production duo Loadstar. The album was released on 26 May 2013 through RAM Records. Loadstar appeared on DJ Target and MistaJam's BBC Radio 1Xtra shows to promote the album. They also hosted an Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1. The album charted at number 168 on the UK Albums Chart and also on the dance and indie charts.
Following My Intuition is the sixth studio album by English singer Craig David. The album was released on 30 September 2016 by Insanity Records and Sony Music and features the likes of Big Narstie, Blonde, Sigala, Hardwell and Kaytranada.
Kwadwo Quentin Kankam, better known by his stage name Novelist, is a British grime MC and record producer from Lewisham in South London. He was a founding member of the Square crew and was nominated for Best Grime Act at the 2014 MOBO Awards. He has been called the "new face of grime" and was described as "the poster child for the first generation of real grime kids" by DJ Logan Sama.
Leon Vynehall is a British artist and producer. He released his second album Rare, Forever on 30 April 2021 via Ninja Tune.
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 jungle, 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.
Robbie Glover is a British singer-songwriter from Leeds, England. In 2006, the BBC reported that he was the first act in history, with no label or management at the time, to achieve two People's Choice number one records. The records spent 12 consecutive weeks in the chart, removing U2 from the chart top, and was voted in by the people across Eastern Europe, of which he also was voted in as the second most popular record of the year.
Robert Dickeson, known by his stage names Apex and Robert Oaks was a British drum and bass music producer and DJ from Kent, England.
Mark Daniel Taylor, professionally known as Royal-T, is a British UK garage, bassline and grime DJ and music producer from Southampton. He is signed to Butterz and Rinse Recordings.
Danielle Anne Louise Gooding, professionally known as Flava D, is an English UK garage, grime and bassline DJ and music producer. She was previously signed to the Butterz record label and is now signed to Hospital Records. She is one third of the supergroup TQD, alongside fellow producers Royal-T and DJ Q.
The Heatwave is a dancehall sound system and production crew from London. They have performed at clubs and festivals worldwide since 2003, and produced and released music since 2004.
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