Ray Keith is a British

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

DJ and record producer. He is one of the genre's most well known producers and DJs and is regarded as one of the pivotal figures in the early jungle/drum and bass scene.

Biography

Ray had an interest for jazz,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and soul music which led him to buy turntables. He began DJing as a teenager in the 1980s around his native Essex and

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. This was before he got his break DJing on the London

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...

and

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

scene. He started working as a recording artist and producer for his own style of music and other genres in 1990. One of his early remixes was a bootleg mix of

Orbital Orbital may refer to: Sciences Chemistry and physics * Atomic orbital * Molecular orbital * Hybrid orbital Astronomy and space flight * Orbit ** Earth orbit Medicine and physiology * Orbit (anatomy), also known as the ''orbital bone'' * Orbito ...

's Chime in 1990, which was then officially released in 1992. He found his niche with

music. He is famed for producing bass heavy yet soulful tunes and has made classics such as the jungle anthems "Terrorist" and "Chopper". Ray set up Dread Recordings in 1994 and has produced numerous albums. He has also remixed

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

, Shades of Rhythm and Moving Shadow. His nephew, Peter O'Grady aka Joy Orbison, is also a DJ and producer. Ray is a keen supporter of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

football team

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Contact'' (UFO, 1999) * ''Vintage Dread'' (Dread Recordings, 2000) * ''Alien Encounter'' (UFO, 2001) * ''Twisted Anger - Mothership'' (Dread Recordings, 2002) * ''Blade Runner - Analog Bass'' (Dread Recordings, 2009) * ''Dread Digital Volume 1'' and ''Volume 2'' (Dread Recordings, 2010) * ''I Am Renegade'' (Dread Recordings, 2012) * ''Ray Keith vs Bladerunner - Dubplate Clash Dub Dread 4'' (Dread Recordings, 2012) * ''The Golden Years: Back to '94'' (Kniteforce Records, 2021)

References

External links

Discogs.com - Ray Keith
English DJs English record producers English drum and bass musicians Club DJs Remixers Living people Electronic dance music DJs Musicians from Essex Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-electronic-musician-stub