Optical
Matt Quinn's recordings as Optical skirt the atmospheric side of neuro-funk drum'n'bass, the paranoid musings of a handful of industrial-strength British producers like Ed Rush, Source Direct and Quinn's brother Jamie, who records as Matrix. Jamie and Matt began releasing singles on their own Metro Records from a West London base, with Matrix's "Double Vision" alongside Optical's "Shining" as the label's opening shots. Optical recorded for a half-dozen other imprints as well, including Goldie's Metalheadz and Grooverider's Prototype. The producer's two contributions to those labels (respectively, "To Shape the Future" and "Grey Odyssey") raised his profile considerably after gaining re-release on CD compilations -- Goldie's Platinum Breakz II and Grooverider's The Prototype Years. He had already earned a reputation as one of the most hotly tipped producers of 1997 when another classic single for Prototype, "Moving 808s," hit big late that year.
By 1998, Quinn had been tapped to contribute his engineering expertise to two of the most hyped jungle LPs of the year -- Goldie's SaturnzReturn (replacing Rob Playford) and Grooverider's Mysteries of Funk. He also earned co-production credits on Dom & Roland's Industry, and continued to release single after single of intense, Predator-styled drum'n'bass. After forming his own label, Virus, with No-U-Turn Records don Ed Rush, he was co-billed with Rush on a five-LP set titled Wormhole, the first full-length to actually carry Optical's name.
© John Bush /TiVo
Discography
21 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Quadrant 6 / Concrete Shoes
Drum & Bass - Released by Moving Shadow on 19 May 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Virus Vaults: Unreleased / Classics 1996-2005
Drum & Bass - Released by Virus Recordings on 31 Oct 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Quadrant 6 (Fierce Remix) / Rage Roll
Drum & Bass - Released by Moving Shadow on 29 Dec 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Travel the Galaxy
Drum & Bass - Released by Virus Recordings on 11 May 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
20YearsOfOptical, Vol. 1
Chill-out - Released by Virus Recordings on 16 Sep 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
20YearsOfOptical, Vol. 2
Chill-out - Released by Virus Recordings on 14 Oct 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lifespan / Crisis
Drum & Bass - Released by Virus Recordings on 1 May 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Original Doctor Shade
Drum & Bass - Released by Virus Recordings on 26 May 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Chameleon
Drum & Bass - Released by Virus Recordings on 23 Oct 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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To Shape the Future
Drum & Bass - Released by Metalheadz on 28 Apr 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Crackball / Ride the Beast
Ed Rush & Optical, Ed Rush, Optical
Electronic - Released by Run DNB on 29 May 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Reece / Sick Note (Ill. Skillz Remix)
Drum & Bass - Released by Virus Recordings on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
To Shape the Future (2017 Remaster)
Drum & Bass - Released by Metalheadz on 22 Sep 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kung-Foo
Drum & Bass - Released by Virus Recordings on 7 Mar 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cut Throat Flow
Drum & Bass - Released by Bear Necessities on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Your Love
House - Released by Paradise Project Records on 12 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
It's Only Love
House - Released by Paradise Project Records on 12 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo