Plastician

Christopher Harle Reed (born 30 October 1982), also known as Plastician (formerly Plasticman), is an English electronic musician from Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon.

History Plastician, real name Chris Reed is a DJ from Croydon in South London. He began playing UK garage records in 2000, playing early shows in the local area of Croydon. Reed began to take interest in the darker side of the sound, specialising in sets featuring tracks from the likes of Wookie, Zed Bias, El-B, Groove Chronicles, Steve Gurley and working alongside MCs Tricks & Spellz as part of the "Fearless Crew". They held radio slots on South London's inconsistent pirate station "Desire FM" before moving to 2GFM before the split of Fearless Crew in 2002. It was then that Reed was to begin using the name Plasticman for future works, which he later changed to Plastician due to the similarity to Canadian-British techno artist Richie Hawtin's "Plastikman".

Toward the middle of 2001, Reed had been experimenting with production on FruityLoops. Being based in Croydon, Reed was part of a close-knit community of young producers attempting to make dark garage tracks that would catch the ear of Big Apple Records resident DJ Hatcha so that he could support them on his popular pirate radio show. Other young producers in this circle included Skream and Benga, amongst more experienced heads Artwork / Menta, Benny Ill & Horsepower Productions. By the end of 2001, although Plasticman's tracks were somewhat overlooked by DJ Hatcha, they were however picked up by East London Grime pioneer, DJ Slimzee. Slimzee signed Reed's first 12" release (Venom / Shockwave) to his Slimzos imprint which was released early into 2002.

By 2003, Reed had been supported by DJ Hatcha on tracks such as Hard Graft, which saw his grimy take on the instrumental sound being welcomed by the FWD contingent, leading to releases on Ammunition Promotions' Soulja, and ROAD imprints, a weekly slot on Rinse FM alongside Mark One (MRK1) & Virus Syndicate, and in the summer saw Reed's first appearance at the world-famous FWD event at Plastic People, London. Soon after, Reed had established himself as a FWD favourite and was announced as one of 4 residents at the club in 2004, alongside Dubstep royalty, DJ Hatcha, Youngsta and Rinse FM owner, Geeneus.

In 2006, Reed was offered a slot on BBC Radio 1's "The Residency". This soon turned into "In New DJ's We Trust". This was the tipping point for an ongoing legal struggle which forced him to change his name from Plasticman to Plastician. He spent 18 months on the station before returning to Rinse FM to continue his weekly slot, which he had been continuing under the alias "Blue Stripe" during his time at the BBC. He returned to the airwaves on Rinse FM alongside MC Nomad.

2007 saw the release of "Beg to Differ", Reed's debut LP and his first release under the Plastician moniker. It received critical acclaim, and contains some of Reed's most recognisable works such as "Japan" and "Intensive Snare" with North London MC Skepta of Boy Better Know.

Plastician also played a role in putting together the "Cashmere Agency Presents Mr. Grustle & Tha Russian Dubstep LA Embrace The Renaissance Vol.1 Mixed by Dj Plastician" mixtape that was released in June 2009. The tracks were curated by Plastician and featured Dubstep and Hip Hop collaborations involving Snoop Dogg, Xzibit and more. Plastician is unique in that he is respected as one of the true pioneers of both the Dubstep and Grime genres.

Terrorhythm Recordings Plastician runs his own record label, Terrorhythm Recordings, formed in 2002. The label is known for signing both Om Unit and Joker's first releases as well as releasing Plastician's critically acclaimed Beg to Differ album, it also saw early releases from Macabre Unit, Maniac, Crissy Criss, and Mark One. In recent times, the label has broadened its sonic palate – as has Plastician. Terrorhythm currently represents musicians associated with today's future beats movement, housing artists such as AWE, GANZ, Louis Futon and Krane among others within its ranks; many of whom have been releasing on the label since their debut releases. More recently, Plastician has explored the experimental trap offshoot, wave music for which his "Wavepool" mixes have become recognized as the main reference point for the birth of the genre. He has recruited artists representing the wave sound such as Noah B, Sorsari, Deadcrow, Glacci, & Yedgar to release via Terrorhythm and bring the underground internet sound to new ears from 2016 onward.

Terrorhythm Recordings releases Year No. Artist Title 2003 TERR001 Mark One Fight / Fight (Plasticman Remix) 2004 TERR002 Plasticman Cha EP TERR003 Value Beats EP TERR004 Macabre Unit Lift Off EP 2008 TERR005 Joker Top of the Game EP 2010 TERR006 Crissy Criss Blow Your Head Off / Humans TERR007 Maniac Thug / Wreckage TERR008 Om Unit The Corridor EP 2011 TERR009 Psy:am & Stinkahbell Don't Tell Mum About Ibiza 2012 TERR010 Plastician Straight Outta Croydon EP TERR011 Stinkahbell & Psy:am Hot Poo TERR012 Stinkahbell Film Noir EP 2013 TERR013 Mojo Blues EP TERR014 AWE Eagle Soul EP TERR015 Alexandre Dead Silent EP TERR016 Anton F Crimson EP TERR017 Louis Futon Dozing / Plastic TERR018 GANZ Purple Cwtch EP TERR019 Curl Up Missed U EP 2014 TERR020 AWE Crystals TERR021 Skit & Tijani Sweat TERR022 Varsity Grunt / Lingerer Dub TERR023 JD. Reid Maneki Neko EP TERR024 Parkinson White & Kyle Cook Sapphire EP TERR025 Deon Custom Bliss EP TERR026 KRNE Zero Zero One EP TERR027 Plastician Plasticman Remastered TERR028 Plasticman Remixed I TERR029 Plasticman Remixed II TERR030 Plasticman Remixed III TERR031 AWE Griffin 2015 TERR032 Color Plus Mangata Sequence EP TERR033 Gunkst Bodied EP TERR034 GANZ Dino War EP TERR035 Anton F Indigo EP TERR036 Mace Love Songs EP TERR037 BeauDamian Pleione EP TERR038 Skuls Lost Knowledge EP TERR039 Plastician Sorcery TERR040 Patrick Brian 8 Months EP 2016 TERR041 Noah B Night's Edge EP TERR042 Mace Touch Me (2XA Remix) TERR043 Plastician Do What You Feel TERR044 Glacci Lucid EP TERR045 ZEKE BEATS Meltdown EP TERR046 Deadcrow Night Wonder EP TERR047 Sosari Worlds Away EP TERR048 Skuls Transient EP TERR049 Terminal EP TERR050 Celaeno The Celaeno EP 2017 TERR051 ONHELL Noself EP TERR052 Klasey Jones Foreign Buyers Club EP TERR053 Deadcrow Light Trails EP TERR054 Patrick Brian Strings & Squares EP TERR055 Various Artists Plastician Presents - Wavepool 2 TERR056 Glacci Lifeforce LP TERR057 Klasey Jones Eleven LP TERR059 Compa Awow EP 2018 TERR058 Om Unit The Corridor (Remixes) TERR060 Flechewave Kinetics EP TERR061 Klasey Jones Starlight One EP TERR062 Plastician Overdue EP TERR063 Boy Racers Exit Strategy EP TERR064 Plastician Anyway EP 2019 TERR065 Klasey Jones Blood Money EP TERR066 Rapture 4D & gl00my Green Boson EP TERR067 Vexxy & Jato Night Shift / Nylon TERR068 Klasey Jones Arrival EP TERR069 ONHELL Graveyard Shift TERR070 Kill Your Self Doubt EP TERR071 Tracksuit Goth Blacksmith EP 2020 TERR072 Juche & Plastician eNight (Revisited) TERR073 PlasticianDeep In The Drives TERR074 Mod SensHollow E.P. TERR075 PlasticianProcess TERR076 Various ArtistsPlastician Presents - Wavepool 3 2021 TERR077 Yedgar Life Cycle E.P.