Peshay

by John BushAn early protegé of Goldie while the two worked on production at 4 Hero's Reinforced Records during the early '90s, Peshay's style of jungle/drum'n'bass, influenced both by house and the more polished forms of jazz fusion, allies itself both with Goldie and 4 Hero. A breakbeat DJ from early in his career, Peshay debuted on wax with Reinforced in 1993, recording the Protegé EP before joining Goldie's Metalheadz stable and releasing its second single, "Psychosis." He also recorded several twelves with LTJ Bukem's Good Looking Records, including "The Piano Tune" and "19.5." Though hampered by a serious illness which sidelined him during jungle's breakout year of 1995, Peshay returned in 1996, remixing singles from Goldie's Timeless ("Inner City Life" and "Angel") and contributing tracks to the Mo'Wax compilation Headz II. Signed up to Mo'Wax, Peshay released the "Miles from Home" single in mid-1998 and worked on material with Photek's Rupert Parkes. The label's practical dissolution by the following year led to delays for the expected full-length, though by July 1999 Peshay's debut album -- also called Miles from Home -- appeared on the Island Blue label. Following de rigeur for top-flight jungle producers, he also formed his own label, Elementz Records, which released twelves from Decoder and Technical Itch.