Future Grooves: DJ Zinc

Back in the Dubstep Dossier days, a frequent theme was former drum and bass producers who started producing dubstep. However, no D'n'B producer has reached higher heights before abandoning the genre than DJ Zinc.


DJ Zinc, aka Londer East Ender Benjamin Pettit, has been a force in the electronic music scene since 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter." By 2007, however, he found the drum and bass scene stagnant and decided to forge a new path for himself. Zinc's output since has been a bass-heavy blend of fidget, house, funky and dubstep that he provocatively calls crack house.

The finest example of his current style is the party starter "Wile Out," a track that guarantees that a crowd will do just that. Between the funky riddim, oscillating bassline, and Ms. Dynamite's singing/toasting, "Wile Out" is a big track. In a similar vein, Zinc teams up with Benga and Ms. Dynamite on the wobbly "My DJ."

Zinc has released two volumes entitled Crack House, with the latest dropping last week. Volume 2 contains nine peak hour massives. The hypnotic bass of "Nexx" was harnessed by DJ Benzi on Donnis' "Shawwty" on his latest Get Right Radio mixtape. "Old Flame" proves that old habits die hard, as Zinc gives the track a very early-90s rave feel.

The track to listen for in U Hall and on dancefloors across the country, however, is "Gimme the Camera," which features Angela Hunte (of Magnetic Man's "I Need Air"). The bass is a little too saw-toothed and wobbly for the song to be electro, even if the "gimme the camera and let me videotape ya" hook is right out of the electro-house playbook.

Zinc may be done with drum and bass, but he's just getting started with crack house. And this sound is addictive.