Photek

Though Goldie became the first superstar of jungle, the recordings of Rupert Parkes as Code of Practice, Aquarius, Studio Pressure, the Truper and Sentinel, but most famously as Photek made him an easy pick for the style's most artistic and intelligent producer. Working his way through street-level hardstep (on early productions for Certificate 18 and Street Beats) and airy, sub-aquatic "dolphin" tunes for L.T.J Bukem's Good Looking label, Parkes finally arrived at a sound that pushed the bounds of drum'n'bass from the dancefloor into the realm of breakbeat headspace; unlike most jungle producers, Parkes has never DJed and rarely goes to clubs. His incredibly intricate rhythm programming often requiring weeks of computer preparation and the unmissable aura of paranoid menace on recordings such as "The Hidden Camera" and "UFO" exerted quite an influence on the return of dark-style drum'n'bass during the late '90s.
As a teenager, Parkes listened to electro, techno and hip-hop as well as the more free-form side of jazz and fusion. Thanks to a sampler bought with a £2000 loan from the Trust of the Prince of Wales, he began producing tracks and first appeared on Paul Solomon's Certificate 18 Records with singles as Studio Pressure. He also recorded for Basement (as Sentinel) and Street Beats (the Truper) before initiating a series of 12-inch singles for his own Photek Records, which gave him credentials and led to releases on Goldie's Metalheadz label and L.T.J. Bukem's Good Looking, as well as a remix of the Therapy? single "Loose."
After Parkes had released more than 80 tracks of drum'n'bass on half a dozen labels, he was approached by Virgin and signed to a five-album deal with the label's Science imprint (provided he was allowed to continue recording for other independent labels as well). Parkes' first release on Science was The Hidden Camera EP, which appeared in May 1996. The second Science single "Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu" displayed an increasing interest in applying the lessons of martial arts to his programming (the title is Japanese for "two swords, one technique"). Virgin compiled the latter two releases on 1997's Risc Vs. Reward, then released the debut Photek album Modus Operandi in September 1997. Much-hyped though little-praised, the album was followed by 1998's Form & Function, a compilation including several original Photek Records tracks plus remixes and new tracks. During the next two years, Parkes focused on his new Photek Productions label, and finally released a second LP, Solaris, in 2000.
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::PHOTEK PRODUCTIONS::
Photek Productions was launched in 1994 with a loan from the Prince of Wales Youth Business Trust who awarded Rupert Parkes a loan for his business plan. By this point Parkes was established as an important name in the underground drumnbass scene and was receiving strong support of the main dj's and press. Parkes felt it was the right time to have his own label and inprint. The Photek name is based upon the logo that was created by a designer friend. Till then Parkes only named his label Photek, but did not use the name as an artist name.
Only when the profile of the label grew dramatically Parkes adopted the Photek name for himself and it became the artist name he worked under from then on. With legendary tracks like "the Watermargin" and "Rings around Saturn", the label soon became one of the most established labels around remarkably only releasing Parkes' music, other than an undercover collaboration with protege's Source Direct on "The Physical". In 1996 Parkes and his Photek name were snapped up by Virgin records, but his artist deal allowed him to release a limited amount of singles under another alias on his own label. Parkes created the alias Special Forces under which he has been recording besides the Photek name.
Alongside Special Forces, the label started to release music from other artists like Digital and Peshay. Most recently it signed the technically brilliant Teebee and the long lost pioneer of the scene DJ Crystl. Bringing him back to where he belongs; in the studio making wicked tunes.
Photek Productions now also known as Photek Records, based in London has been very active awaiting a Dieselboy remix of Sidewinder and the first upcoming Photek releases on his own label after several years. Photek records has a very strong presence in the world of drum'n'base, fronting some of the most acclaimed producers in the scene.