Metalheadz
| Metalheadz | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Goldie, Kemistry & Storm |
| Genre | Drum and bass |
| Country of origin | England, UK |
| Location | London |
| Official website | www.metalheadz.co.uk/ |
Metalheadz is a drum and bass record label based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1994 by Kemistry & Storm and Goldie.
The name is a reference to the "metal heads" used to cut grooves onto a dubplate, the metal in the dubplates themselves, and also what Goldie has called "freaks like me obsessed with the latest metal acetates". Goldie credits Grooverider with the term.
The Metalheadz logo was based on a design created by Darren Bartlett in 1991. In his autobiography Goldie states that he added the 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." The first use of the logo was on a dubplate Goldie produced for 4hero's Reinforced Records. During a webchat with British Newspaper The Guardian, Goldie admitted that the design was also inspired by Wolverhampton FC's logo.
Goldie released the "Terminator" 12" with Rob Playford and Mark Rutherford under the name of Metal Heads on the Synthetic Hardcore Phonography label in 1992. The group's name became the name of the label, the cover of Terminator also featured a version of the Metalheadz skull logo.
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."
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, Dillinja, Adam F, Grooverider (as Codename John), Doc Scott, Peshay, Alex Reece, Wax Doctor, Source Direct, J Majik, Lemon D, Hidden Agenda, Ed Rush and Optical contributing productions to the imprint.
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