Redlight: "Ten Tracks That Made Me Love Rebellion"

This is a stone cold killer. This is a tune that's for the heads. When I first heard it, I was blown away. It still sounds like something from the future. I still wonder how the fuck they made it, because I've been trying to make tunes like that for years and I still cant manage it! I always think about this one when I'm about to hit the studio.

I grew up just outside of Bristol and, because I was the same height at 13 years old as I am now, I was lucky enough to be able to sneak into raves. We'd get pirate tapes from London and listen to them before going to the clubs; nights like Sky Juice in Bristol. Going raving at 13 was probably my downfall to be honest; education fell my the wayside for me. Music became my education.

The JB - 'Back 2 Life' (The Dedication) (Back 2 Basics, 1995)

This one is another milestone in growing up; so many R&B, ragga and hip hop records have been woven into the tapestry of dance music over the years, and Soul II Soul really encapsulate that for me. This was the music that really fused together British and West Indian culture for me.

DJ Krust - 'Soul In Motion' (Full Cycle Records, 1997)

DJ Die - 'Autumn' (V Recordings, 1994)

Krust and Die were my mentors when I was growing up. They really helped me a lot in my late teens and early 20s, and I've always looked up to them. I mean, I grew up in the same city as them, Krust let me live in his house and go in the studio with him when I was young – they taught me a lot about how life, and how to make music. Soul In Motion is an epic track. When everyone else was making jumped up drum 'n' bass, Krust came through with a goddamn ten minute movie score. That's why he inspired me so much because hes always going against the grain. He was a big enough character, with enough respect and prestige, to pull those moves and have people follow him - even though they'd never heard anything like it before. 

Someone once told me that when it comes to making music, being too far into the future can end up feeling like being stuck in the past, in a funny way. You can make something so of its own, and so forward-looking, that no one else will understand it - and it doesn't get appreciated in the moment. I don't believe that myself, but I think there's a fine line between capturing the moment when people are ready for the next step up, but sometimes you can be unlucky if its not executed the right way – or liked, and not respected. Krust and Die were the ones for me. They knew how to tread that line.

Sonic Youth - 'White Cross' (SST Records, 1987)

I could have easily picked a Nirvana track to sum up this period of my life, but Sonic' Youth's White Cross is really special for me. I used to skate a lot when I was a kid and I used to watch a lot of skate videos of course too, and they taught me a lot about music. When I was 11 I had a video called Streets of Fire, and the first track on the video was 'White Cross'. Skate videos used to teach me a lot about American punk and hardcore. A lot of it wasn't great, but some of it was wicked, and paired with my love of skateboarding and the aesthetic of those videos, it all married so well. It's still so evocative for me.  

Da Boss - 'Deeper' (Def Jam, 1993)

I brought a New York mixtape from a record shop in Bristol, and one was by a guy called DJ Starchild. This track was on there, and I used to listen to it constantly on my Walkman all through school. I only found out who it was years later. Rick Rubin produced it: that's why there's a few lines in it that are similar to Red Hot Chili Peppers - 'Under The Bridge'. I don't know what happened to Da Boss, but she made the most angry, nasty, gangsta rap. I loved that shit. That raw, rebellious shit.

Ghostface Killah - 'Camay' (Epic, 1996)