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30 Years of Metalheadz

Saturday 21.06. 22:00  - Messe Forum Innsbruck

30 Years of Metalheadz feat. Doc Scott, Dillinja & Loxy

 

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.  Thirty years later, the Metalheadz team continues to be the standard-bearers for the D&B scene.
 

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