J Majik

by John BushThough he's one of the youngest members of the Metalheadz stable, Jamie Spratling debuted back in 1992 with tracks recorded for the Planet Earth label. Similar to the other Metalheadz, Majik's 12"s are dark affairs, with some of the best drum'n'bass lines around, though he leavens the brew with jazzy flourishes, like the Spanish guitar prevalent on the flip side of his first single for Metalheadz, "Your Sound." Living in Northwood, England, he began DJing in the early '90s -- while in his early teens -- and recorded "6 Million Ways to Die" in 1992 as DJ Dextrous. Two more singles followed for Planet Earth before the real DJ Dextrous became known to him, after which he turned to the alias J. Majik for his 1994 debut on Metalheadz, "Your Sound." The track was an undeniable classic, and later showed up on the Platinum Breakz compilation. Besides later singles for Metalheadz such as "Jim Kutta" and "Arabian Knights," Majik records for Mo'Wax as well as his own Infra Red label, which released his debut LP, Slow Motion, in mid-1997.