AK1200
Encyclopedia
AK1200 is the stage name
of a Florida
-based musician Dave Minner working in the jungle
and drum and bass
genres.
He started DJing in 1989 playing mainly Electro
, and in 1990 he opened a record store in Orlando, Florida
called The Hottie Shop. His early working relationships were with record label
s such as Suburban Base
and Moving Shadow
. He teamed up with DJ Jeffee to publish the U.S.
jungle fanzine
Junglized.
His first production effort was a 1993 remix
of a Suburban Base Records track by Flex and Fats called Somebody and, as this was released on Suburban Base, he became the first U.S. Jungle producer
s to release a track in the U.K.
(the country of origin of Jungle/Drum and Bass). AK1200 was also the first U.S. DJ to play on U.K. pirate radio
, alongside Swift and DJ Zinc
on Format FM.
Throughout the 1990s he tried his hand at just about every variation on the high speed breakbeat
musical idiom and has collaborated with many influential jungle and drum and bass artists including Aphrodite (Artist)
, DJ Dara
, Danny Breaks
, Dieselboy
, and MC Navigator, as well as with hip hop
artists such as A Tribe Called Quest
.
His debut album, SHOOTTOKILL was co-produced with Rob Playford, of Moving Shadow fame. A prominent American artist in the jungle scene, AK1200 has been credited for helping to bring jungle and drum and bass to the forefront in the United States, due to his reputation for impressive live performances and prolific remix
es, as well as for playing for free to help promote the spread of the style.
In 2000 he joined forces with fellow U.S. DJs Dieselboy and DJ Dara to create Planet of the Drums
crew which toured the U.S. to great acclaim. To date, they are known as the most successful annual EDM tour in North America.
In 2009, Minner launched a new drum & bass label, Big Riddim. In 2010, alongside production partner Bill Hamel, he launched another label, Boombox Audio. AK1200 bookings are available through http://www.circle-management.com circle management. Along with continuing to perform, AK1200 has been doing his part to bring back the surge of the electronic dance scene back to Orlando, FL. Teaming up with Steez Promo, a promotions company based in Baltimore, MD, AK1200 has latched on to the uproar of the Dubstep
movement, booking such acts as Borgore
, Excision, Datsik, Skrillex
, Emalkay
, and more to come in 2011 via a monthly series at Roxy Night Club called "It Gets Hot."
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of a Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
-based musician Dave Minner working in the jungle
Oldschool jungle
Jungle is a genre of electronic music that incorporates influences from genres including breakbeat hardcore, and reggae/dub/dancehall. There is debate as to whether jungle is a separate genre from drum and bass as many use the terms interchangeably...
and drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
genres.
He started DJing in 1989 playing mainly Electro
Electro (music)
Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 drum machines, Moog keytar synthesizers and funk sampling...
, and in 1990 he opened a record store in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
called The Hottie Shop. His early working relationships were with record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s such as Suburban Base
Suburban Base
Suburban Base Records was one of the biggest British jungle/drum and bass record labels based in Romford, Havering, UK. It was established by Dan Donnelly and operated in the UK from 1989 to 1997 and in the United States from 1994 to 1997.- History :...
and Moving Shadow
Moving Shadow
Moving Shadow was a UK-based jungle/drum and bass record label that was started in 1990 by Rob Playford. Alongside such labels as Suburban Base, Formation Records, D-Zone, Reinforced, and Metalheadz, Moving Shadow grew to become one of the best-regarded and longest-lived labels in its genre,...
. He teamed up with DJ Jeffee to publish the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jungle fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
Junglized.
His first production effort was a 1993 remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of a Suburban Base Records track by Flex and Fats called Somebody and, as this was released on Suburban Base, he became the first U.S. Jungle producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s to release a track in the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(the country of origin of Jungle/Drum and Bass). AK1200 was also the first U.S. DJ to play on U.K. pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
, alongside Swift and DJ Zinc
DJ Zinc
Benjamin Pettit, better known by his stage name DJ Zinc, is a drum and bass / breakstep DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc is well known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop / jungle fusion.-Biography:...
on Format FM.
Throughout the 1990s he tried his hand at just about every variation on the high speed breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
musical idiom and has collaborated with many influential jungle and drum and bass artists including Aphrodite (Artist)
Aphrodite (artist)
Aphrodite also known as A Zone or DJ Aphro, is a UK jungle and drum and bass DJ/producer commonly referred to as the "Godfather of Jungle", who works along with Micky Finn on their joint Urban Takeover label...
, DJ Dara
DJ Dara
DJ Dara is an Irish drum and bass DJ operating mainly in North America. He is a member in the D'n'B group known as the Planet of the Drums...
, Danny Breaks
Danny Breaks
Danny Breaks is a British drum and bass DJ, record producer, and record label owner. He is known for his experimental instrumental hip hop production, and early music career as the breakbeat hardcore artist Sonz of a Loop Da Loop Era.Whidett began recording under the alias Sonz of a Loop Da Loop...
, Dieselboy
Dieselboy
Dieselboy is the stage name of Damian Higgins, an American drum and bass DJ, producer, remixer, founder of the Human Imprint music label, and co-founder of its sublabel SubHuman : Human Imprint which launched in September 2010...
, and MC Navigator, as well as with hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artists such as A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
.
His debut album, SHOOTTOKILL was co-produced with Rob Playford, of Moving Shadow fame. A prominent American artist in the jungle scene, AK1200 has been credited for helping to bring jungle and drum and bass to the forefront in the United States, due to his reputation for impressive live performances and prolific remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es, as well as for playing for free to help promote the spread of the style.
In 2000 he joined forces with fellow U.S. DJs Dieselboy and DJ Dara to create Planet of the Drums
Planet of the Drums
Founded during the summer of 2000, the Planet of the Drums is the alliance of four of America's most popular drum and bass DJ's: AK1200 , DJ Dara , Dieselboy , and MC Messinian...
crew which toured the U.S. to great acclaim. To date, they are known as the most successful annual EDM tour in North America.
In 2009, Minner launched a new drum & bass label, Big Riddim. In 2010, alongside production partner Bill Hamel, he launched another label, Boombox Audio. AK1200 bookings are available through http://www.circle-management.com circle management. Along with continuing to perform, AK1200 has been doing his part to bring back the surge of the electronic dance scene back to Orlando, FL. Teaming up with Steez Promo, a promotions company based in Baltimore, MD, AK1200 has latched on to the uproar of the Dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
movement, booking such acts as Borgore
Borgore
Asaf Borger , known professionally as Borgore, is an Israeli dubstep producer and disc jockey . He is the founder of Buygore Records and former drummer of Israeli death metal band Shabira. Known as Gorestep, his music incorporates triplet drum patterns with heavy metal influences. Some songs have...
, Excision, Datsik, Skrillex
Sonny Moore
Sonny John Moore is an American electronic dance music producer who is widely known by his professional name Skrillex. Moore is also a former frontman for the American band From First to Last. In late Autumn of 2007 he embarked on his first tour as a solo artist, the Team Sleep Tour with Team...
, Emalkay
Emalkay
Martin Knowles, better known by his stage name Emalkay, is an English dubstep producer and DJ from Birmingham. He is best known for his 2009 single "When I Look at You", described by Clash as a "monster", which was released on Caspa's Dub Police label. Emalkay released his debut album, Eclipse, in...
, and more to come in 2011 via a monthly series at Roxy Night Club called "It Gets Hot."
Discography
- 1997 Fully Automatic
- 1996 Sub Base Classics
- 1999 Lock & Roll - A Drum & Bass DJ Mix
- 2000 Prepare for Assault
- 2001 Mixed Live - Moonshine Overamerica, San Francisco
- 2002 Shoot to Kill
- 2003 At Close Range
- 2007 Weapons of Tomorrow
- 2008 Autopsy (with Gridlok)