Optical

Matt Quinn, known by his stage name Optical, is a British musician, producer and DJ. He is co-founder and owner of Virus Recordings, a widely regarded drum and bass record label. He is best known as one half of drum and bass duo Ed Rush and Optical (with his long-time musical partner Ed Rush), whose debut album Wormhole has been described as one of the most significant LPs of the drum and bass genre. He is also the brother of Jamie Quinn also known as Matrix.
==Links to Peel==
Peel discovered Optical in 1997 when he mentioned on his 29 October 1997 show with Steve Lamacq that he recently bought a single from the artist called 'The Shining'. Further material from Optical was played by Peel including his collaboration with Ed Rush.
In 1998, Peel nominated Ed Rush & Optical's 'Slip Thru' single as one of his records of the month for November 1998 (Peel's Record Box) and their album, 'The Original Dr. Shade', as one of his records of the month for June 2003 (Peel's Record Box).
In 2016, Ed Rush & Optical's Virus Recordings company published a statement on Facebook in tribute to John Peel:
"John Peel was the most inspirational figure in the UK DJ/Radio world since time began. He was a living lesson on how to avoid pressure from outside to play commercial crap and just focus on what is making you feel good when you listen to it. These days it's rare that you get to hear real music on the mainstream media channels. They are just pawns in the game of selling you stuff you don't need for profit but profit is driven by demand...so demand more from these guardians of our air-time to fix up! and whatever music you are into...get them to change back to being outlets for our listening pleasure instead of cheap-plastic-elevator-music-quacks!! Grrr!!" 
==Shows Played==
;thumb|220x220px1997
*29 October 1997: The Shining (12" - The Shining / Dark Skies) Metro
*06 November 1997: The Shining (12" - The Shining / Dark Skies) Metro Recordings
*06 November 1997 (BFBS): 'The Shining (12")' (Metro Recordings)
;1998
*22 October 1998 (& Ed Rush): Medicine (Matrix remix) (12") Virus
*11 November 1998 (& Ed Rush): 'Slip Thru (CD-Wormhole)' (Virus Recordings)
*16 November 1998 (BFBS) (& Ed Rush): 'Slip Thru (CD-Wormhole)' (Virus Recordings)
*17 November 1998 (& Ed Rush): Glass Eye (5x12" - Wormhole) Virus
*29 November 1998 (BFBS) (& Ed Rush & Fierce): 'Alien Girl (12")' (Prototype Recordings)
*02 December 1998 (& Ed Rush & Fierce): 'Alien Girl (12")' (Prototype Recordings)
;2001
*12 September 2001 (& Ed Rush): 'Kerb Crawler (CD-The Creeps)' (Virus)
*13 September 2001 (& Ed Rush): 'Kerb Crawler (CD-The Creeps)' (Virus)
;2002
*24 July 2002 (& Ed Rush): Pacman (Ram Trilogy Remix) (12") Virus
;2003
*15 May 2003 (& Ed Rush): Hacksaw (2xCD - The Original Doctor Shade) Virus
*03 June 2003 (& Ed Rush): 'Heads Will Roll (CD-The Original Doctor Shade)' (Virus)
*05 June 2003 (& Ed Rush): '32-8' (LP - The Original Dr. Shade) (Virus)
*12 June 2003 (Radio Eins) (& Ed Rush): 'Heads Will Roll (CD-The Original Doctor Shade)' (Virus)
*19 June 2003 (& Ed Rush): 'Get Ill (CD-The Original Doctor Shade)' (Virus)
*24 June 2003 (& Ed Rush): 'Puerto Rico (CD-The Original Doctor Shade)' (Virus)
*26 June 2003 (Radio Eins) (& Ed Rush): 'Puerto Rico (CD-The Original Doctor Shade)' (Virus)
*June 2003 (FSK) (& Ed Rush): 32/8 (CD - The Original Doctor Shade) Virus
*02 July 2003 (Radio Mafia) (& Ed Rush): 'Puerto Rico (CD-The Original Doctor Shade)' (Virus)
*04 July 2003 (BBC World Service) (& Ed Rush): 'Puerto Rico (CD-The Original Doctor Shade)' (Virus)
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists