Alex Reece
b. London, England. One of the pioneers of drum 'n' bass and jungle, Reece's work has consistently demonstrated musical intelligence and dexterity in opposition to the common perception of the limitations of these genres. As a result he became one of the first jungle artists to be signed to a major label, Island Records' subsidiary Blunted, in 1995. They faced considerable competition for his signature, a testament to the impact made by his early recordings for Goldie's Metalheadz label. His musical apprenticeship came as a sound engineer, and with savings of £2,000 from this work he set up his own home studio, using a sequencer and sampler in preference to computer-generated sounds. His first release, "Basic Principles", sold 5,000 copies, and he contributed to several other projects by the Metalheadz collective. Probably his breakthrough release, however, was the scintillating 1995 track, "Pulp Fiction". His debut for Blunted, "Feel The Sunshine", was released in November and reached number 67 in the UK charts. It was re-released early in 1996 with better distribution and reached number 26, selling 40,000 copies. Using clipped, sparse jazz rhythms in a warm, accessible manner, the single's success was attributed to Reece's ability to make drum 'n' bass music more accessible than the more frenetic work of Goldie or Photek, other artists working in similar territory. Another facet to set him apart from such peers was his preference for working in the studio rather than accepting lucrative disc jockeying commissions. His work as a remixer included commissions for Underworld's "Ban Style" for Junior Boy's Own and Neneh Cherry's "Woman" for Virgin Records. His second single for Blunted, "Candles", was released in the summer of 1996 and brought further chart success.
Listen to Alex Reece
at Finetune.
Albums
- (1996) So Far
Top Tracks
- Jazz Master
- Pulp Fiction
- Feel the Sunshine
- Candles
- Pulp Friction
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