- published: 12 Dec 2013
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Skream (born Oliver Dene Jones in West Wickham, Bromley, London on 1 June 1986) is a Dubstep producer based in Croydon. One of Dubstep's first and most prominent producers, he has played an important role in the genre's development. His debut album Skream! was released in 2006, and was followed up by Outside the Box in 2010. Skream is also a member of the Dubstep supergroup Magnetic Man, along with fellow producers Benga and Artwork. The group released their self-titled debut album on 8 October 2010.
In an interview with The Independent (UK) in September 2011, Skream was quoted: "The word Dubstep is being used by a lot of people and there were a lot of people being tagged with the Dubstep brush. They don’t want to be tagged with it and shouldn’t be tagged with it – that’s not what they’re pushing ... When I say ‘UK bass’, it’s what everyone UK is associated with so it would be a lot easier if it was called that."
As a teenager, Jones worked at Big Apple Records, a Croydon-based record store that was at the centre of the early Dubstep scene; even prior to this, Jones had become acquainted with Hatcha, another Dubstep pioneer, because Jones' brother worked on an adjacent floor in Big Apple Records. As a result of this encounter, Hatcha was the first DJ to play Skream dubplates.
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo composed of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.
Ed Simons was born in Herne Hill, South London on 9 June 1970 to a barrister mother and a father who was not around much when Simons was growing up. Simons' two main interests when he was young were aeroplanes and musicals. Simons attended two South London public schools, Alleyn's School and Dulwich College. During his school years, he developed a fondness for rare groove and Hip hop music, having frequented a club called The Mud Club from the age of 14. By the time he left school, his two main musical interests were two Manchester bands, New Order and The Smiths. After finishing school with 11 O levels and three A-levels, he continued on to study history, especially late medieval history, at the University of Manchester.[citation needed]