Reinforced Records is a British

breakbeat hardcore Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave or oldskool hardcore) is a music genre of the very early 1990s that spawned from the UK rave scene. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In ...

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

, and

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 ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

, first founded in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

4hero 4hero are an electronic music group from Dollis Hill, London, comprising producers Mark "Marc Mac" Clair & Denis "Dego" McFarlane. While the band is often cited as ''4 Hero'' or ''4-Hero'', the name is stylised as ''4hero'' on their albums and ...

and based in

Dollis Hill Dollis Hill is an area in northwest London, which consists of the streets surrounding the 35 hectares (86 acres) Gladstone Park. It is served by a London Underground station, Dollis Hill, on the Jubilee line, providing good links to central L ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Reinforced is one of the groundbreaking record labels of the genre.Reynolds, S. (1998) ''Energy Flash'', Picador, p195-199,

Early history

Reinforced was started in 1989 by Mark "Marc Mac" Clair of

and Gus Lawrence, soon to be joined by Dennis "Dego" McFarlane (also of 4hero) and Ian Bardouille. The first releases were all

productions, including "Mr Kirk's Nightmare", which sold more than 24,000 copies and which truly launched the label. During the height of the rave scene in 1991 and 1992, as with labels such as

Moving Shadow Moving Shadow is an English breakbeat hardcore, jungle and drum and bass record label which was founded in 1990 by Rob Playford. History The label began in 1990, operating from Playford's Stevenage home. Playford had become a focal point for ...

and Suburban Base, it was prolific in its output, releasing singles such as "The Head Hunter" and "Cooking Up Yah Brain" by 4hero, "Feel Real Good", "Oblivion (Head in the Clouds)" and "Rainbow People" by Manix (Marc Mac), "Kingdom of Dub" by Tek 9 (Dego), "Seance" as well as "Atheama" by Nebula II, and "A London Sumtin" by Code 071. Probably the most important connection to be made during this time, though, was that of

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in t ...

, who had been introduced to them by his then girlfriend

DJ Kemistry Valerie Olukemi A "Kemi" Olusanya (13 October 1963 – 25 April 1999), commonly known by her stage name Kemistry, was a leading English drum and bass DJ of the early 1990s, half of duo Kemistry & Storm, and co-founder of the Metalheadz recor ...

. He initially created some design and artwork for the label, and went on to do A&R. He also gained some studio time, which resulted in a two track 12" single (with tracks "Krisp Biscuit" and "Killer Muffin") under the alias Rufige Cru, followed up shortly afterwards by a four track EP ''Darkrider.'' It was around this time, that Goldie also became obsessed with the use of metal acetates known as

dubplate A dubplate is an acetate disc usually of 10 inches diameter, traditionally used by Recording studio, studios to test recordings prior to Audio mastering, mastering for the subsequent pressing of a vinyl record, but pioneered by reggae Reggae sound ...

s to test out new tracks before release. He created a skull label logo specifically for use on Reinforced dubplates, which would eventually become

Metalheadz Metalheadz is a drum and bass record label based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1994 by Kemistry & Storm and Goldie. History Origins Goldie's early experiences of the rave scene, especially the club ''Rage'' had a profound effect on ...

's logo. The ''Darkrider'' EP was amongst a number of releases at this time to explore the

darkcore Darkcore (also referred to as darkside hardcore) is a genre of electronic dance music, considered to be a subgenre of breakbeat hardcore, which came out from the UK rave scene of the early 1990s; this genre in particular emerged from late 19 ...

sound in late 1992/early 1993, alongside "Journey From The Light" by 4hero, "Here Comes The Drumz" by Nasty Habits (

Doc Scott Scott McIlroy (born 1971, Coventry, England), better known as Doc Scott or Nasty Habits, is a British drum and bass DJ and producer. Biography He originally started to DJ at clubs and raves such as Amnesia House and The Eclipse in 1989/1990, ...

) and "Return of Nookie" by Nookie. This period saw Reinforced continually push at the boundaries of the music and incorporating techniques such as 'time-stretching' and 'pitch-shifting', and putting out a long-running series of

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

EPs EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to: Commerce and finance * Earnings per share * Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China * Express Payment System, in the Philippines Education * Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, ...

called the ''Enforcers'' which not only allowed for more experimental music to be put out alongside dancefloor-oriented tracks, but which became increasingly innovative in their design and artwork too.

2nd wave

Into the second half of the 1990s, a new emerging roster of artists such as Sonar Circle, Alpha Omega,

Paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

, and G-Force and Seiji (later to become part of the

Bugz in the Attic Bugz in the Attic is a collective of DJs and producers based in West London, who are prominent in broken beat. The collective includes Orin Walters (Afronaught), Paul Dolby (Seiji), Kaidi Tatham, Daz-I-Kue, Alex Phountzi (Neon Phusion), Cliff S ...

production crew) were increasingly experimenting with ever chopped up drum patterns, which would eventually develop into the

broken beat Broken beat (sometimes referred to as "bruk") is an electronic dance music genre characterized by syncopated beats and tense rhythms, including staggered or punctuated snare beats and/or hand claps. It has been heavily influenced by styles such a ...

genre. The aforementioned artists, and a new generation of producers such as Sonic & Silver, Genotype, Syntax, and Breakage came through to launch what was known as the '2nd wave' into the 2000s.

Today

In recent years, Reinforced have largely been re-releasing back catalogue music, and putting out previously unreleased material and remixes of classic tracks.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control British record labels Drum and bass record labels Breakbeat hardcore Record labels established in 1989

Early history

2nd wave

Today

See also

References

External links