Req

{{Short description|English DJ, record producer, and graffiti artist}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Req

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| birth_name = Ian Cassar

| alias = {{hlist|Req 1|DJ Req}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1966|02|20}}

| birth_place = Brighton, England

| origin =

| instrument =

| genre = {{hlist|Trip hop|downtempo}}

| occupation = {{hlist|DJ|record producer|graffiti artist}}

| years_active = 1984–present

| label = {{hlist|Skint|Warp}}

| associated_acts =

| website =

}}

Ian Cassar (born 20 February 1966), better known as Req (stylized as REQ), is an English DJ, record producer, and graffiti artist.

Career

In the words of AllMusic's Sean Cooper, Req began in his native Brighton as "one of the U.K.'s most respected graffiti artists."{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/req-mn0000462656/biography|title=Req - Biography|website=AllMusic|first=Sean|last=Cooper|accessdate=12 April 2020}} He began his graffiti work in 1984 after the Beat Street film hyped his sense to the basic tenets of hip hop. Although he was a disc jockey for many years without musical training, Req only began producing music of his own in the mid-1990s when he signed to Skint Records, who issued his earliest releases. As a graffiti artist, he had previously been a member of the largely musical collective Beats International.{{cite web|url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/beats-international-are-a-pop-group-of-their-time|title=Beats International are a Pop Group of Their Time (interview in The Face, November 1990)|website=Rock's Back Pages|first=John|last=McCready|accessdate=9 January 2019}}

His debut album, One, was critically acclaimed by such publications as The Wire and production duo Coldcut. In 2015, Fact ranked the album at number 14 in their list of "The 50 Best Trip-Hop Albums of All Time" and noted "his compositions didn't pander to the popularity of the growing trip-hop scene, instead dwelling in a noisy, near-ambient back room."{{cite web|url=http://www.factmag.com/2015/07/30/50-best-trip-hop-albums/|title=The 50 best trip-hop albums of all time|website=Fact|first1=John|last1=Twells|first2=Laurent|last2=Fintoni|date=30 July 2015|accessdate=30 January 2017}} His follow-up album, Frequency Jams (1998), was made an "Album Pick" on AllMusic.{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/frequency-jams-mw0001022042|title=Req - Frequency Jams|website=AllMusic|first=Sean|last=Cooper|accessdate=31 January 2017}} He released Car Paint Scheme in 2000,{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/resonant-frequency/6327-resonant-frequency-36/|title=Ten Meditations on Repetition in Music, With Soundtrack|website=Pitchfork|first=Mark|last=Richardson|date=5 May 2006|accessdate=12 April 2020}} and Sketchbook in 2002.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6760-sketchbook/|title=Req: Sketchbook|website=Pitchfork|first=Mark|last=Richardson|date=13 March 2002|accessdate=12 April 2020}}