Req

Ian Cassar (born 20 February 1966), better known as Req (stylized as REQ), is an English DJ, record producer, and graffiti artist.

For the botanist abbreviated as Req., see Esprit Requien.
Req
Birth nameIan Cassar
Also known as
  • Req 1
  • DJ Req
Born (1966-02-20) 20 February 1966[1]
Brighton, England[1]
Genres
Occupation(s)
Years active1984–present
Labels

Career

In 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

Studio albums

Compilation albums
  • TDK (2019) (with Rob Euroh)
  • Tape Transport: 1994-2000 (2019)

EPs
  • 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
  • "Breakin' at the Seams" b/w "Concentrate and Believe" (2000) (with Rob Euroh)

References
  1. Cooper, Sean. "Req - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. 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.
  3. Twells, John; Fintoni, Laurent (30 July 2015). "The 50 best trip-hop albums of all time". Fact. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  4. Cooper, Sean. "Req - Frequency Jams". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  5. Richardson, Mark (5 May 2006). "Ten Meditations on Repetition in Music, With Soundtrack". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  6. Richardson, Mark (13 March 2002). "Req: Sketchbook". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
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