Dubstep pioneer Maddslinky – also well known under his Zed Bias alias - has signed to Tru Thoughts to release his new album, ‘Make A Change’. The first single to be lifted from the record is “Special” featuring Omar, out 13th September on 12” vinyl with a bonus remixes CD. Omar’s 20 year career at the forefront of British soul has seen him collaborate with Stevie Wonder (who declared himself a fan on hearing Omar’s debut, “There’s Nothing Like This”, in 1992) and other greats including MOBO winner Estelle, Angie Stone, Common, Rodney P and Erykah Badu to name a few. “Special” is a perfect marriage of his immense vocal talent and charisma with the cutting edge production of Manchester-based beatsmith Maddslinky. A full colour 12” sleeve housing a 5 track vinyl EP and a 10 track bonus CD, this single release package also boasts a new track co-written with Mr Scruff plus an all-star clutch of remixes from MJ Cole, Toddla T, At Jazz, Chimpo and Simbad (the latter two also bringing tasty dub versions to the party). The original instrumental and Omar’s a cappella are also included on the CD, as is the video for “Special”, which you can check on YouTube now – it’s currently gathering almost a thousand hits per day. The ‘Make A Change’ album will follow on 25th October, featuring collaborations with Skream, Mr Scruff, Tawiah, Jenna G, Omar, Nile Sugar, Ghost 1 and Mighty Moe. Maddslinky will be guesting on Ras Kwame (BBC Radio 1/1xtra) in July, and upfront tastemaker promos of the new material have already had regular heavy support from Benji B (1xtra), Gilles Peterson (Radio 1), Alex Nut (Rinse FM), Mary Anne Hobbs (Radio 1), Toddla T (Radio 1) and more. On the same day as the new album, Tru Thoughts will also be making available Maddslinky’s seminal but underground ‘Make Your Peace', which was originally released in 2003, playing a key role in the creation of dubstep. Set to bring this important record into the limelight, the rerelease sports new artwork and incisive sleeve notes by Martin Clark aka Blackdown, with quotes from Skream citing the album as a major influence on him. Always moving with (or ahead of) the times, breaking boundaries and filling dancefloors, the man behind the Maddslinky moniker has had a string of recent successes under various aliases; in particular, his Zed Bias productions have been supported by BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe, Annie Mac and Pete Tong. He hit the UK Top 40 in 2000 with the single “Neighbourhood”, now widely regarded as one of the all time classic UK garage tracks - so much so that with the recent resurgence in the 2-step sound in the UK club scene it was re-released last year with a remix from Roska that fully redefined its importance to a younger generation of clubbers. The ‘Make A Change’ and ‘Make Your Peace’ albums will be out on 25th October.