Ian Cassar (born 20 February 1966), better known as Req (stylized as REQ), is an English DJ, record producer, and graffiti artist.
Req | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ian Cassar |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | 20 February 1966[1] Brighton, England[1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Labels | |
Career
editIn the words of AllMusic's Sean Cooper, Req began in his native Brighton as "one of the U.K.'s most respected graffiti artists."[1] He began his graffiti work in 1984 after the Beat Street film hyped his sense to the basic tenets of hip hop. Although he was a disc jockey for many years without musical training, Req only began producing music of his own in the mid-1990s when he signed to Skint Records, who issued his earliest releases.[1] As a graffiti artist, he had previously been a member of the largely musical collective Beats International.[2]
His debut album, One, was critically acclaimed by such publications as The Wire and production duo Coldcut.[1] In 2015, Fact ranked the album at number 14 in their list of "The 50 Best Trip-Hop Albums of All Time" and noted "his compositions didn't pander to the popularity of the growing trip-hop scene, instead dwelling in a noisy, near-ambient back room."[3] His follow-up album, Frequency Jams (1998), was made an "Album Pick" on AllMusic.[4] He released Car Paint Scheme in 2000,[5] and Sketchbook in 2002.[6]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit- One (1997)
- Frequency Jams (1998)
- Car Paint Scheme (2000)
- Sketchbook (2002)
Compilation albums
edit- TDK (2019) (with Rob Euroh)
- Tape Transport: 1994-2000 (2019)
EPs
edit- Req's Garden (1995)
- Miracles (1996)
- Fantasy Roc (1996)
- Split Series #7 (1999) (split with Team Doyobi)
- Daily Beats 1 (1999)
- Daily Beats 2 (1999)
- Daily Beats 3 (1999)
- Deqjam (2000) (with Ashley Slater and Steve Argüelles)
- Calypso Dark (2020)
Singles
edit- "Breakin' at the Seams" b/w "Concentrate and Believe" (2000) (with Rob Euroh)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Cooper, Sean. "Req - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ McCready, John. "Beats International are a Pop Group of Their Time (interview in The Face, November 1990)". Rock's Back Pages. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ Twells, John; Fintoni, Laurent (30 July 2015). "The 50 best trip-hop albums of all time". Fact. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- ^ Cooper, Sean. "Req - Frequency Jams". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
- ^ Richardson, Mark (5 May 2006). "Ten Meditations on Repetition in Music, With Soundtrack". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ Richardson, Mark (13 March 2002). "Req: Sketchbook". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 April 2020.