Influences: Plastician
Croydon-born Chris Reed, aka Plastician, is the man you go to if you want to shed some light on what was happening in the UK underground at the turn of the century.
Shying away from the anthemic pop side of things, there was a strain of UK Garage that started to warp into something darker. Something reflecting the grubby side of London. Plastician (then recording as Plasticman before Richie fucking Hawtin stuck his nose in) crystallised this dark 2 step sound, and later became one of the DJs to most successfully bridge the gap between grime and dubstep – his was weighty dancefloor music that also had the requisite energy and structure for MCs to spit over.
Next month he's playing on a heavyweight bill at David Rodigan's Foundation Sessions, repping for grime alongside bass pioneers Zed Bias, Hatcha, Iration Steppas, Randall & Kenny Ken and loads more.
If you've tuned into his Rinse FM show recently then you'll have heard Plastician supporting a youthful Internet-based scene called 'Wave', which I can tell you now is well worth checking out. Right now though for his Influences picks, he's taken things back to the early 2000s. Tracing the development of 2 step into grime and dubstep, from Dem 2 and Reservoir Dogs to Wiley and Skream. Listen below.
Plastician plays David Rodigan's Foundation Sessions at Electric Brixton, 15th October, tickets available here.
This was one of my favourite 2 step tracks, as were a lot of Dem 2’s productions. I love the percussion particularly. When I started out producing grime I used to want to make my tracks have a bit of skip in them like their tracks.