DJ Zinc: Drum and Bass Biography, Releases and Upcoming Events

DJ Zinc (real name Benjamin Pettit, born 12 March 1972) is a British DJ, record producer, and a pioneering figure in the drum and bass, breakbeat, and UK garage scenes. He first gained significant recognition for his 1995 track "Super Sharp Shooter", a fusion of hip hop and jungle, which became one of the defining anthems of early drum and bass.

Zinc's musical career spans several genres, starting from the hardcore and house roots through to ragga, hardstep, and beyond. He started his journey in the early 1990s with a radio show alongside DJ Swift on London's Impact FM, before continuing on to Eruption FM and later solo DJ work on Rinse FM after it gained a license.

In 1999, Zinc became one of the first drum and bass producers to successfully break into the 2-step garage market with his single "138 Trek", which reached No. 27 on the UK Singles Chart in November 2000.

Zinc's versatility as a producer extends beyond drum and bass, and he has produced music under various aliases such as Jammin, Dope Skillz, and Jelly Jams, while also contributing to the breaks genre. His collaborative efforts with collectives like Ganja Kru and True Playaz between 1996 and 2002 further established his influence in the electronic music scene.

In 2001, Zinc released Beats by Design, a remix compilation of his own productions that featured "138 Trek". This was followed by the release of his second album, Faster, in 2004, a concept album that gradually increased tempo across its tracks, starting from a crawl at 40bpm and reaching the early 100s by the final track.

In 2007, DJ Zinc stepped away from producing and performing drum and bass, citing disenchantment with the scene. He returned to music production in 2009, exploring deep house, funky house, and fidget house sounds, which he coined as "crack house". He released Crack House EP in October 2009, and its follow-up, Crack House Vol. 2, in July 2010.

Zinc has continued to evolve as an artist, known for his boundary-pushing productions and his contributions to multiple genres of electronic music.