Metalheadz is a major

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

record label based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was founded in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Kemistry & Storm Kemistry & Storm were an English drum and bass DJ and recording duo, composed of Kemistry (Valerie Olukemi A "Kemi" Olusanya) and Storm (Jayne Conneely). They were active in the 1990s. Along with Goldie, they founded the Metalheadz label in 1994. ...

and

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

History

Origins

's early experiences of the

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, especially the club ''Rage'' had a profound effect on him. DJ Kemistry introduced him to

4hero 4hero (sometimes referred to as 4 Hero or 4-Hero) are an electronic music group from Dollis Hill, London, comprising producers Mark "Marc Mac" Clair & Denis "Dego" McFarlane. 4hero are known for being pioneers of breakbeat hardcore, jungle/drum ...

Reinforced Records Reinforced Records is a British breakbeat hardcore, jungle, and drum and bass record label, first founded in 1989 by 4hero and based in Dollis Hill, London. Reinforced is one of the groundbreaking record labels of the genre.Reynolds, S. (1998) ...

where he went on to create some design and artwork for them, leading to doing A&R for the label. In his autobiography, Goldie explains how he took a 1991 design created by Darren Bartlett and that he added headphones to the skull design "so that the skull symbolised the head, while the 'phones were music, because music will be here long after we're all dead and gone."Goldie with Gorman, Paul (2002). ''Nine Lives'', p.128-129. Hodder & Stoughton, London. . During a webchat with British newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Goldie stated that the design was also inspired by Wolverhampton FC's logo. Goldie credits

Grooverider Raymond Bingham (born 16 April 1967 in Streatham, London, England), better known as Grooverider, is a British drum and bass DJ. He and DJ partner Fabio are regarded as "originators" of the scene.

with the term "Metalheadz", coined with reference to Goldie becoming increasingly obsessed with the metal acetates known as

dubplates 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 ...

used to test out the latest tunes before release. Metalheadz effectively started out as a "dubplate label" for Reinforced, with the logo first appearing on an acetate for a

Rufige Cru Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is an English music producer, DJ, and actor. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musi ...

track. DJ Storm recalls Kemistry bringing Goldie to London nightclub Rage: "The night Goldie really 'got it', we came back to our flat and he said 'right, I want to make this music, you’ll be the DJs, we’ll have a label and a club, we’ll make some t-shirts'. That was our dream and that dream became the Metalheadz label."

Early years: 1990s

The label's first release was a split 12" single with Doc Scott's "V.I.P. Drumz" backed with Goldie's "V.I.P. Riders Ghost". The accompanying press release stated that Metalheadz aimed to "explore both the roots of Breakbeat and Jungle, and rework it into a new dimension, Drum 'n' Bass." The Metalheadz back catalogue from this era features many major figures from drum and bass, with artists such as

Photek Rupert Parkes (born 6 September 1971), known as Photek, is a Los Angeles-based British electronic music DJ/record producer, and TV and film score composer. Photek was born and raised in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Photek has contributed music ...

Dillinja Karl Nicholas Francis, also known as Dillinja, is a British jungle/drum and bass DJ and record producer. Biography Dillinja is a prolific producer and artist within the jungle and drum and bass scene. Since 1991, Dillinja has produced a number ...

Adam F Adam Fenton (born 8 February 1972), also known as Adam F, is an English record producer and DJ who has worked across various genres. He is also the co-founder of the drum and bass label Breakbeat Kaos along with DJ Fresh. He found initial succe ...

(as Codename John),

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, ...

Peshay Paul Pesce (born 18 December 1970), better known as Peshay, is a British drum and bass and electronic music producer and DJ. Early life Peshay is of British and Italian heritage. His first introduction to music was at an early age through h ...

Alex Reece Alex Reece (born Alexander Reece, from England, West London Borough Ealing is a drum and bass musician. He popularized the use of two-step breaks in drum and bass, and was an influence of the jazzstep sound, a mix of drum and bass and jazz. R ...

Wax Doctor Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low ...

Source Direct Source Direct is an English drum and bass act from St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. Source Direct have released an EP, ''Controlled Developments'' (1997), an album, ''Exorcise the Demons'' (1999), as well as numerous singles, under both the So ...

J Majik J Majik (born James Spratling, Northwood, England) is a drum and bass DJ and producer. He has been active since his early teens in the early 1990s. Biography He released his first track in 1992 (as DJ Dextrous) on the Planet Earth record la ...

Lemon D The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some evi ...

Hidden Agenda Hidden Agenda or Hidden Agendas may refer to: Video games * ''Hidden Agenda'' (1988 video game), a 1988 text-based game * ''Hidden Agenda'' (2017 video game), a thriller video game developed by Supermassive Games for the PlayStation 4 Film * ...

Ed Rush Ben Settle, known by the stage name Ed Rush, is a drum and bass producer and DJ. Rush has been releasing records since 1992 primarily with Optical (Matt Quinn), his musical partner since 1997. Along with Optical, he is also the co-founder of ...

and

Optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

contributing productions to the imprint. In July 1995, the label launched the weekly ''Metalheadz Sunday Sessions'' club night, which achieved legendary status at London's Blue Note club. From 1994 to 1996, the development of Metalheadz was documented by photographer,

Eddie Ochtere Eddie may refer to: *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linux and Mac OS X *Eddie (crater), a crater on Mars *Eddie (given name) *The Eddie, a surfing tournament Arts and entertainment * ''Eddie'' (film), a 1 ...

, who became the official Metalheadz photographer. In September 1995, Metalheadz in conjunction with

FFRR Records FFRR Records (sometimes credited as Full Frequency Range Recordings) is a dance music label founded as a subsidiary of London Records in 1986, with A&R run by the British DJ Pete Tong. Originally a part of London Records' label roster, F ...

released Goldie's critically acclaimed debut album '' Timeless''. In 1996 Metalheadz released the first instalment in the groundbreaking ''Platinum Breakz'' series of compilations, (again in collaboration with

). The first volume was billed as "21st Century Urban Breakbeat Music" and included tracks by 11 artists which had previously appeared on 12" as well as new efforts. The series was hailed by critics as the uniquely futuristic sound of young, multiracial Britain. They showcased a maturing genre of music that displayed the influences of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

and were highly sophisticated and intricately produced, contrary to the image of the music that had been presented by the mass media up to that point. Before their release, drum and bass compilations had been more closely associated with live DJ mix albums of varying quality, and the interest in the ''Platinum Breakz'' series proved instrumental in bringing the scene from its underground origins to the brink of mainstream success (at least in the UK). 1998 saw the release of "Talkin' Headz – The Metalheadz Documentary", a film by

Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1991, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyr ...

. Founding member

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 reco ...

died in a car accident in 1999.

, the

club night Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

, the label and its artists were some of the key elements in drum and bass/jungle's mid-to-late 90s mainstream resurgence.

21st century

In August 2009, the Metalheadz Podcast was first released, with steadily rotating DJs presenting the podcast. In February 2010, Metalheadz beat

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

, the Trojan Soundsystem, and

Digital Mystikz Digital Mystikz are a dubstep production duo consisting of Mala (born Mark Lawrence), and Coki (born Dean Harris, 26 August 1980) from the South London suburb of Norwood. Along with Loefah and SGT Pokes, who make up the group ASBO (All Soundbw ...

in the first

Red Bull Music Academy The Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA) is a world-traveling series of music workshops and festivals that was founded in 1998 by Red Bull GmbH. The main five-week event is held in a different city each year. The public portion of its program is a festiv ...

Culture Clash at the

Camden Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, a circ ...

. In 2012, the label celebrated its 100th release. Label founder

stepped down as director in November 2019. Celebrating 30 years of the label, a tour beginning in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

was announced for October and November 2023. Further dates followed in 2024.

Artists

*Adred *Alex & Stewart Reece *AntTC1 *Artificial Intelligence *Agzilla *Benny L *Blocks & Escher *Detboi *Digital *

*DLR *

*Fanu *Friske *

*Gremlinz *Grey Code *

*HLZ *Ink *Jaise *Jesta *Jubei *Kid Drama *

Lenzman Lenzman (real name Teije van Vliet) is a drum & bass producer from Amsterdam, Netherlands who is signed to Metalheadz. In 2016 he launched his own record label The North Quarter, which, to this day, released music by himself, Redeyes and FD. H ...

*Loxy *Mako *Mikal *NC-17 *

Om Unit Jim Coles (born c. 1980), professionally known as Om Unit, is an English, Bristol-based electronic producer and DJ, known for his work in electronic music and drum and bass. Career Originally producing jungle as a teenager in the 1990s, he then ...

*Onemind *Paradox *

*Phase *

*Quartz * Randall *Resound *SB81 *Scar *Spirit *

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

Total Science Total Science is the stage name of drum and bass producers Jason Greenhalgh and Paul Smith. The pair first met in 1987, both living on Blackbird Leys estate in Oxford, England and brought together through a mutual love of hip hop. Distracte ...

*Ulterior Motive *Zero T

References

External links

Official site
* {{Authority control British record labels Drum and bass record labels Record labels established in 1994