30 Years of Metalheadz A Drum and Bass Legacy
2024 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the U.K. drum and bass unit that’s more than just a record label.
Springing from East London’s hardcore rave and reggae scenes at the start of the 1990s, the U.K.’s junglist scene had already begun to evolve by 1994. Originally a mash-up of breakbeats and snatches of Jamaican dancehall MCs’ vocals, jungle hit the mainstream and searched for ways to build on the genre’s frenetic, creative edge.
When jungle and rave production team 4Hero released Rufige Kru’s Darkrider and Killa Muffin 12” singles on their Reinforced label in 1992, they kickstarted the arrival of drum and bass. The figure behind Rufige Kru was Goldie, a 26-year-old graffiti artist, former B-boy, and fellow explorer of junglist themes. Goldie released his Terminator single on the Synthetic Hardcore Phonography imprint the same year, under the name Metalheads.
Goldie’s girlfriend at the time was the late Valerie Olukemi. Nicknamed Kemi, Valerie played alongside Jayne Conneely as the pioneering DJ duo, Kemistry and Storm. Legend has it that after a clubbing session, the three decided to position themselves as the go-to figures in the quest to take jungle forward. Taking their name from Goldie’s Metalheads pseudonym, Metalheadz was born, and the label’s debut release followed soon after — a double-A side 12” single twinning Doc Scott’s V.I.P. Drumz with Goldie’s V.I.P. Riders Ghost, released in 1994.
Metalheadz was much more than a record label, though. Producers like Grooverider, Fabio, and Ray Keith were already pushing breakbeat’s boundaries, and Metalheadz became drum and bass’ focal point. Starting with fliers and posters across London, the Metalheadz distinctive logo of an android skull wearing headphones became a trademark of quality in new music.
In their first year of business, Metalheadz signed a deal with the FFRR (Full Frequency Range Recordings) dance label. FFRR was part of the global PolyGram network, and the partnership gave Metalheadz access to wider distribution and marketing resources. Thirty years later, the Metalheadz team continues to be the standard-bearers for the D&B scene.
In celebration of their thirtieth anniversary, here are ten Metalheadz albums that soundtrack their achievements.
Goldie
Timeless (1995)
Released under the Metalheadz/FFRR partnership, Goldie’s debut solo album folded his signature time-stretching of beats and vocals into nuanced orchestral elements. The set’s Inner City Life track, voiced by soul singer Diane Charlemagne, remains particularly iconic. Yearning and bleak, the track updated Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” urban anthem for the twentieth century.
On release, FFRR’s distributive reach meant the album, which otherwise may have only been picked up by diehard fans, was available in high street record shop chains and independent stores countrywide. Timeless reached number seven in the U.K.’s national albums chart. Metalheadz had gone from an idea amongst friends to the label behind a top-selling album in just one year.
Various
Platinum Breakz (1996)
Picked from Metalheadz’s release schedule to date, the first Platinum Breakz compilation album was a crucial insight into the first wave of D&B. Goldie’s V.I.P. Riders Ghost sits alongside classics like Doc Scott’s “The Unofficial Ghost,” Lemon D’s “In My Life” and formative work from Alex Reece, Peshay, and Dillinja. Jazz, funk, and ambient inflections abound, with several tracks clocking in at over eight minutes. With D&B quickly reaching beyond the usual corners inhabited by underground and urban music movements, Platinum Breakz helped new devotees catch up with the Metalheadz output.
Various
Metalheadz Boxset 1 (1997)
Taking its cue from Public Image Ltd.’s covetous film reel tin format for their 1979 post-punk album, Metal Box, the Metalheadz Boxset 1 arrived in a similarly collectible, limited edition round tin. And, like P.I.L. before them, the Metalheadz team was proud of their experiments in sound, with the box reflecting just how headstrong and otherworldly D&B could sound.
Those who missed out on the original limited dubplate and acetate single versions picked up the box set for tracks like Doc Scott’s “Swarm” and the remix of Optical’s “To Shape the Future.” Metalheadz Boxset 1 contained five LPs, a booklet featuring artist bios, and the branded tin lid.
Commix
Call To Mind (2007)
Having set out as a trio in 2003, Commix had slimmed down to core members Guy Brewer and George Levings by 2007. Commix was never shy about the influence of techno on their production style, and Call To Mind is, in part, an interesting glimpse into techstep, one of D&B’s darker offshoots. While there are other influences therein, it’s the Call To Mind remix album, 2010’s Re: Call To Mind, that elevated the original set into greatness.
Using the original album as a launchpad, Commix handed over their tracks to Underground Resistance, Burial, and Pangaea to do with them what they will. The outcome is a delirious collection of driving, dark techno, blunted downbeat, and neurofunk, with dBridge’s rethreading of “Belleview,” the only overtly D&B-derived track on board.
Om Unit
Inversion (2014)
Jim Coles first showcased his experiments with Chicago footwork as Om Unit for the 2011 Planet Mu Reworkz E.P., and Inversion continued his interest in jigsaw-ing footwork with D&B. Goldie gave Coles access to his collections of samples to help get the album off the ground, and Coles went to town. U.K. rapper Jehst appears on the pre-apocalyptic, jungle-laced track “The War” alongside philosopher Alan Watts, reading from his The Unpreachable Religion lecture. . Inversion is a thunderous album.
Ulterior Motive
The Fourth Wall (2014)
That James Davidson and Greg Hepworth started with 120 demos before settling on the final fourteen that constitute Ulterior Motive’s The Fourth Wall shows their commitment to perfection. The result was a grab-bag of the urban club influences intrinsic to the foundational days of jungle and rave, when MCs freestyled over beats and soulful vocals wove in and out of the mix.
“Tape Pack” is a call back to when hardcore rave club night marathons were recorded and released in DIY-style, multiple cassette boxes. “Chapters” features rappers Meyhem Lauren and Brotherman, and soul singer James Sunderland features on the “Stay” and “Muted” tracks, adding to the album’s metropolitan grit.
Artificial Intelligence
Timeline (2015)
Working as Artificial Intelligence, Timeline was North London pair Zula Warner and Glenn Herweijer’s debut Metalheadz album, and it plugged directly into the roots and sub-genres spawned by the D&B movement. The pair has made music since 2003, and as its name suggests, Timeline narrated the styles A.I.’s have explored. So, there are original junglist leanings alongside smatterings of Chicago house, techno, liquid funk, and soul. Timeline’s underground edge sharpens thanks to appearances from rapper DRS and R&B singer Terri Walker, and co-productions with Dublin beatmaker Steo and the mysterious Dawn Wall team.
Blocks + Escher
Something Blue (2018)
Phil ‘Blocks’ Smith and Will ‘Escher’ Hansen’s first release for Metalheadz was a brace of fidgety, midtempo D&B tracks for their Mood / Razor double A-side single. Four years later, their debut album highlighted their ability to meld jazz influences with their take on D&B. A sprawling, atmospheric set that works as a paeon to the allure of the ocean, Something Blue is fittingly broad in scale and haunting in its nature. Jennifer Hall guests on “Sea,” providing siren vocal swoops over drums that crash and swell like waves on rocks.
Nookie
Improvisions (2023)
Born Gavin Cheung, Nookie is one of the old guard. His 1992 jungle rave track, “The Sound of Music,” is still talked about in hushed tones, and Cheung has experimented in genres from D&B to U.K. garage, Chicago house, and liquid funk ever since.
Bizarrely, given his time as a leader on the D&B scene and pioneering use of live and sampled vocals, Improvisions was Nookie’s debut album for the Metalheadz imprint. The record is a collection of soulful, uplifting D&B, augmented throughout by one of the scene’s favorite singers, Ruth Royall.
SB81
B292 (2024)
Based in Goldie’s hometown of Wolverhampton, Shaun Bateman started producing jungle-flavored tracks in the early 2010s under Nolige after rifling through his cousin’s record collection at age 10. A self-confessed Metalheadz obsessive, during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown Bateman switched lanes and took it back to the source. Thus, under his alternative pseudonym of SB81, the B292 album was Bateman’s celebration of the rawness of nascent D&B – what he called the “pre-1994 Metalheadz sound.” Released as a four-LP album set at twenty-nine tracks, B292 is the Metalheadz label’s longest-ever release. Thirty years from its inception, B292 shows that Metalheadz still leads from the front while respecting the past.
- Simon Coates - discogs.com
