Photek

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Photek

Real Name:
Rupert Matthew Swain Parkes
Profile:
A fixture on the UK jungle scene since the early nineties, Photek a.k.a. Rupert Parkes (born 1972, St Albans, England and associated with Ipswich in the nineties) is best known for his role in developing the "intelligent" drum & bass genre. Over the course of his career as Photek, Parkes has developed a sound that is simultaneously individual, innovative and accessible, earning him much respect and popularity amongst critics and music fans alike. The strength of the sound finds foundation in Photek’s incredibly detailed drum programming, which is then augmented by his sophisticated sense for combining abstract sounds with jazz and classic techno influences.

Recently Parkes has been more and more active in producing music for film, having worked on a number of scoring projects for upcoming features from his new home base in Los Angeles. His dedication to film scoring is evident, and his perfectionist attention to detail and tireless work ethic are quickly leading him to success in Hollywood.
Sites:
photek.fm, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, SoundCloud, YouTube, Wikipedia
Aliases:
Aquarius, Code Of Practice, Parxe, Phaze 1, Rupert Parkes, Special Forces, Studio Pressure, Synthetics, System X, The Sentinel, The Truper
Variations:
Viewing All | Photek
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Artist


Marketplace 6,543 For Sale

Vinyl and CD

Photek Discography

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Albums
Photek Modus Operandi (Album) Science UK 1997 Sell This Version
Photek Form & Function (Album) Science, Virgin Japan 1998 Sell This Version
Photek Solaris (Album) Science, Virgin Japan 2000 Sell This Version
Photek Productions* Form & Function Vol 2 (Album) Sanctuary Records US 2007 Sell This Version
Photek KU:PALM (Album) Photek Productions US 2012 Sell This Version
Photek Need For Speed (EA Games Soundtrack) (Album) Electronic Arts Canada 2016

Singles & EPs
フォーテック* 七人の侍 / 複合 Photek UK 1995 Sell This Version
Photek Natural Born Killa EP (EP) Metalheadz UK 1994 Sell This Version
Photek U.F.O. / Rings Around Saturn (Single) Photek UK 1995 Sell This Version
Dread1 Ray Keith & Photek / Armageddon (2) Ray Keith & Photek / Armageddon (2) - Rinse / Ninas Rinse ‎(12", TP, W/Lbl) Dread Recordings Dread1 UK 1995 Sell This Version
Photek One Nation / Say It Prototype Recordings UK 1996 Sell This Version
Goldie / Photek Goldie / Photek - Still Life / The Rain (Photek Remixes) Razors Edge UK 1996 Sell This Version
Photek T-Raenon Op-ART UK 1996 Sell This Version
Photek The Hidden Camera (Single, Maxi) Science, Virgin UK & US 1996 Sell This Version
ASW 6182 Photek The Third Sequence / Titan ‎(12") Astralwerks ASW 6182 US 1996 Sell This Version
Photek Ni - Ten - Ichi - Ryu (Single) Science UK 1995 Sell This Version
ASW 6202 Photek Risc vs Reward ‎(CD, EP) Astralwerks ASW 6202 US 1997 Sell This Version
Photek Modus Operandi (Single) Science, Virgin UK 1997 Sell This Version
Photek Terminus (Single) Science, Virgin UK 2000 Sell This Version
Photek With Robert Owens Photek With Robert Owens - Mine To Give (Single, Maxi, Comp) Science 2000 Sell This Version
PHOTEKDJ1 Photek Glamourama ‎(12", S/Sided, Promo, W/Lbl) Science PHOTEKDJ1 UK 2000 Sell This Version
none Photek Brown Sugar ‎(Acetate, 12", S/Sided) Photek Productions none UK & Europe 2001 Sell This Version
Photek Feat. Choc Ty & Chiara* Photek Feat. Choc Ty & Chiara* - We Got Heat (Single) 51st State UK 2003 Sell This Version
DJ Die / Photek / DJ Krust* DJ Die / Photek / DJ Krust* - Thunder / Collision Course Full Cycle Records UK 2004 Sell This Version
Fabio & Photek Fabio & Photek - No Joke / Baltimore Photek Productions UK 2004 Sell This Version

Reviews Show All 9 Reviews

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Dna124

Dna124

October 12, 2015
edited 6 months ago
Probably my favourite producer. Tracks like The Seven Samurai, Rings around Saturn, Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu and Modus Operandi are true works of art, in my opinion. Solaris is also a nice album,although I had to get used to his 4 x 4 tracks, the record still has that Photek sound.
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November 10, 2013
@ijustspeak, artists should be able to do what they want. Why else would you bother?
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Mergi

Mergi

February 21, 2013
edited over 3 years ago
Photek has been doing house since '96. Listen to T-Raenon (Version), deep dubby house in '96. It feels like he was influenced by both chicago and detroit already from the beginning.

The sense of direction comment is slightly confusing. The stuff he produces as of now is pretty much reminicent of what he did on Solaris.

The Drum n Bass retake of F&F2 is actually quite tedious and lacks much of his brilliance from his early works. So I think it was and is a good idea to move back to the Solaris phase and refine on that production.
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ijustspeak

ijustspeak

April 3, 2012
I respect Parkes for his works in the past but....
What happened to his Drum & Bass productions? Lately he is only doing House and even Dubstep(?).
Also heard some of his Podcasts, just old played-to-death chicago house.. have i missed something???
Please Photek.. No disrespect, but has moving to L.A fucked up your sense of directions comletely??
Remember where you came from...
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philbarbee

philbarbee

April 13, 2010
Photek is an alien with a good mission. I adore his planet. He is the "most intelligent" soundarchitect in the drum n bass scene.
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soundwaveee

soundwaveee

March 8, 2006
edited over 10 years ago
absolute perfection in drum programming; amazing ear for drum sample selection; proccessing the drums to the limit and beyond; alien soundscapes; dance-not-oriented tracks;

i love it; best drum n bass producer -with goldie´s permission-
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static9

static9

April 3, 2005
edited over 11 years ago
What can be said about Photek. Suprised there's only one comment here.

He is mostly well-known for his groundbreaking drum'n'bass tracks such as 'Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu' and being a key player if not the single person responsible for inventing whats dubbed 'Intelligent' d'n'b - but Photek's talents do not stop here.

He applied his talent to house and produced 'Solaris' and while most d'n'b purists shunned it, it only proved Mr. Parkes had a raw ability to make good music in all forms, which leaded him to produce music for a number of films such as 'The Animatrix', 'The Italian Job' and even 'American Wedding'.

Photek's return to d'n'b in recent times has seen him produce a more harder style ('Baltimore', 'Rinser', 'Age Of Empires') then his previous work, which again has caused dislike from many d'n'b headz who want more of his early style of work, but frankly I appreciate both styles and he's kept his same high production value.

Now he's hooked up with another gift to drum'n'bass - Teebee. They are supposedly working on a collaborative album together, and in fact, at the time of writing the first 12" ('Mercury' / 'Fake ID') is being hammered on dubplate by everyone who's anyone. Monster tunage.

Look out for the 'Ni-Ten-Ichi-Ryu' remix.
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behemoth

behemoth

May 19, 2002
Photek is nothing short of a legend. He has created some of the darkest and technically stunning drum 'n' bass ever made, and tracks like "The Bleeps Tune" and "The Water Margin" will never be forgotten. However, he doesn't make d 'n' b any more, and has moved on to mainly house and a bit of electronica. You wouldn't expect someone that was best known for creating frankly evil-sounding music could create deep, soulful house music, but Mr Rupert Parkes got it right first time. The "Solaris" album came under criticism from some of the drum & bass fraternity, but everyone into house was thoroughly impressed. "Mine To Give" went on to be one of the underground house anthems of the year (with a little help from legendary vocalist Robert Owens). Photek is currently working on some new material. When this will be released is anyone's guess.
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