DJ Zinc

Benjamin Pettit,^[1] better known by his stage name DJ Zinc, is a DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc first became known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop/jungle fusion. He went on to produce drum and bass, breakbeat and more recently UK garage, house music.^[2]

Biography

Zinc's career as a DJ and producer stretches the steady evolution of hardcore from its house and rave roots through ragga and hip hop-styled hardstep and beyond. In 1991 he began his radio show with then partner dj swift on London's impact fm. He continued to DJ on various pirate radio stations, including Rinse fm while it was a pirate, and has continued since it was awarded a license in 2011^[2]

He continued to DJ on a regular basis, and was one of the first drum and bass producers to score with the 2-step garage market courtesy of his 1999 single, "138 Trek".^[2]

His productions have been relatively popular outside the drum and bass scene, most notably in the breaks genre under the pseudonym Jammin. He reached No. 27 in the UK chart with "138 Trek" in November 2000.

Zinc produced and DJ'd as part of the Ganja Kru and True Playaz collectives, often in association with DJ Hype from 1996 to 2002. He ran the Bingo Beats record label, which released both drum and bass and breaks records from 2002 to 2008. He has been known to release records under the alias of Dope Skillz, Jammin and Jelly Jams plus others.

In 2001, Zinc released a remix compilation album of his own productions called Beats By Design which included "138 Trek". By August 2004, he released his second album, Faster, a concept album of sorts. The album, as the name suggests, ups the tempo little-by-little for each song. The title track and album opener, epitomises this and is a grimy crawl through bass and beat that speeds up from 40bpm into the early 100s by its end.^[3]

In 2007, Zinc stopped making and playing drum and bass, citing "disenchantment with the scene". He started producing again in 2009 with a fusion of deep house, funky house and fidget house, which he believed did not fit into any of these subgenres. He later named his new sound "crack house".^[4]

In October 2009, DJ Zinc released Crack House EP encompassing his new sound of the crack house genre. A follow up to this EP, Crack House Vol. 2 was released in July 2010. In November 2009, DJ Zinc created a 2-hour mix for broadcasting on BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix.

In 2011, Zinc collaborated with A-Trak to release "Stingray", which also has a "crack house" sound.^[5]

Discography

Singles

• "138 Trek" (2000) – UK No. 27
• "Casino Royale" (DJ Zinc) / "Dead A's" (DJ Hype) (2001) – UK No. 58 †
• "Reachout" / "Pranksters" (2002) – UK No. 73
• "Fair Fight" / "As We Do" (2002) – UK No. 72
• "Ska" / "Fruitella" (2004) – UK No. 54
• "Steppin' Sones" / "South Pacific" (DJ Zinc) (2004) – UK No. 62
• "Drive By Car" (feat. Eksman) (2004) – UK No. 66 ‡
• "Creeper" (feat. Dynamite MC) (2005)
• "Ghost Train" (with Dave Spoon) (2009)
• "Wile Out" (feat. Ms. Dynamite) (2010) – UK No. 38
• "Goin In'" (DJ Zinc feat. States of Emotion) / "Reload" (DJ Zinc feat. P Money) (2012)
• "Only for Tonight" (feat. Sasha Keable) (2013) – UK No. 83
• "Show Me" (feat. Sneaky Sound System) (2014) – UK No. 167