30 minutes of DJ Heny G
In our opinion, Malcolm Gustave may be one of the most overlooked DJs and producers from the early days of dubstep through to today, with the sound’s global following. His continued efforts in pushing the underground sound make him one of the true dubstep originators.
Growing up in West London, drawing influence from his musical parents, involved in the pirate radio movement — it was always clear that Malcolm was going to be of great value to musicians in his proximity (and, as it turned out, he was of great value to musicians and music fans all over the world).
Malcolm’s interest in DJing started at a very young age.
He had his first appearance on pirate radio in 1999 at the tender age of 13 (although he’s stated he started even earlier in 1997). His main interest was DJing jungle records he’d purchased with the small spare money he had to his name. Things started rolling for the DJ when he was offered a job in 2002 at Release The Groove in Soho, a venue — much like Croydon’s Big Apple — that was used as a meeting point for many influential (as DJ Heny G would say himself) ‘forward music’ artists.
In an interview with Hedmuk in 2013, he explained the significance of the FWD>> night (and it’s ‘forward music’):
“Man…. I have to say this: those very early experiences at FWD>> changed my life forever. Going to Velvet Rooms before it closed down was an experience, then it moved to Plastic People in 2002. The very first FWD>> at Plastic People was very special to me, I used to work round the corner from Black Market Records and Release The Groove and DJ Youngsta and myself became close friends, so I went down there with him for the very first FWD>> at Plastic People as he’d been booked to play by his sister, Sarah Lockhart. I had just released Silkie’s very first release on an old label of mine, which was called Grimey Beats, and this track was called Dark Square and Youngsta played it on that sound system and I could never forget me running back to his house to tell him that Youngsta — then aged 16 — played it, and I’m sure that’s when I first told Silkie about FWD>>.”
DJ Heny G, as he became known, was personally responsible for drawing legends Silkie and D1 into this newly-formed sound. He introduced D1 to Youngsta, which led to the producer’s Tempa signing.
And by the time Heny G had released Silkie’s Dark Square, he’d met Razor Rekta, who pushed Silkie’s tune on Delight FM. At the age of 16, Heny G was welcomed into the world of (underground) radio. He became involved with React FM, becoming part of the management team. Around that time, in the early 2000s as dubstep was gaining popularity, the young pirate station Rinse FM’s signal didn’t quite reach West London — people struggled to pick it up.
As such, DJs and producers across the city had their own pirate stations. The birth of the legendary Antisocial Entertainment is very much intertwined with the producers’ time with React FM.
Silkie met Razor Rekta, knew Jay 5ive and produced grime with Quest. Their presence and interactions led to a unique sound, which evolved from grime to the signature sound we all know is rooted in the Antisocial Entertainment crew.
And while Heny G was a superb radio DJ, connecting producers and DJs alike across the London airwaves, he also started to gain a following for his own music.
What we can take away from the music of Heny G is — much like Silkie or Quest productions — is the beauty and melodical journey the producer takes the listener on. Most of Heny G’s work is bang in the middle between Silkie and Quest; consisting of beautiful dubby compositions. It balances the rawness of the basslines and drums with jazzy atmospheres — music as comfortable on the radio as it is on the biggest systems across the UK — tunes that would quite happily suit the waiting room for paradise.
Every element in a Heny G production has a proper introduction and changes the perspective of the track completely. A great example of this is his track Charger (released on 3.5 Records in 2010). Because of the critical nature the producer had of his own music, Heny G released his debut album Childhood on his own label Gangsta Boogie Music in 2013 — a body of work that included music from throughout the producer’s career (the first track on the album had been lying around since 2008).
Heny G’s long player takes you on a melodical journey that combines dubstep with lounge, jazz and hiphop: amply able to explain and educate just what ‘Gangsta Boogie’ means.
If it weren’t for DJ Heny G, we’d not be seeing the full spectrum of dubstep music today. It’s that simple. Thanks to Malcolm’s continuing efforts — spanning nearly two decades as both a DJ and later as a producer — Heny G has paved the way for many talented aspects of the dubstep sound. And for that, we are forever thankful. All hail Heny G, a true dubstep originator!
Click to DOWNLOAD (80MB)
Track list:
- Heny G — Delayed Style [Gangsta Boogie Music, 2013]
- Heny G — Hardo Bread [Soul Shakerz, 2011]
- Heny G — 1985 [Free, 2012]
- J:Kenzo — Conqueror (Heny G’s Soul remix) [Soul Shakerz, 2011]
- Heny G — Back In The Day [Free, 2006]
- Heny G — Candy [Gangsta Boogie Music, 2013]
- Heny G — As I Was Saying (Sad Story) [Gangsta Boogie Music, 2013]
- Heny G — Soul Is Born Through Pain [3.5 Records, 2010]
- Heny G — Arena 1 [Gangsta Boogie Music, 2009]
- Heny G — Christopher VIP [Free, 2013]
Heny G
fkof.it/henyg_fb
twitter.com/djhenyg
discogs.com/artist/1613487-DJ-HenyG
Shouts to Chuckman for the mix!
Big love to Dubbacle for the article
After a brief hiatus, 30 minutes of Bass education #23 will follow in two weeks — find the previous mixes here.
