DJ Zinc

Ever since he got his start on London pirate radio in the early ‘90s, DJ Zinc has been an essential part of UK bass culture’s constant evolution. The native Londoner—born Benjamin Pettit in 1972—got his start as a member of jungle’s The Ganja Kru alongside DJ Hype and Pascal, which made their name with 1995’s hip-hop-sampling “Super Sharp Shooter”. Then, as 2-step was taking off, he brought breakbeats into UK garage with solo tracks like 1999’s “138 Trek” and the output of his Jammin alias. By the late 2000s, Zinc had moved from breaks to the wriggly electro-house fusion he dubbed “crack house”, and from there, all roads were open: bassline bangers like 2016’s “Jackal”, vocal anthems like 2017’s “Friday Night”, and even a return to drum 'n' bass with epic rollers like 2021’s “Unshakeable”. What unites it all is Zinc’s loving attention to the low end, and his intuitive grasp of what makes a groove work.