Name Roni Size
Occupation Drum & bass legend, Dtl. producer and label owner
From Bristol, England
Tell me more Injecting the sinister jungle of the early 90s with a rejuvenating shot of melodies. jazz loops and live music. Size and his Full Cycle label brought a new sound to an eager and enlightened audience. His profile as a producer rocketed alter Reprazent. the crew formed with label mates DJ Krust. Suv and DJ Die, won the Mercury Music Prize in 1997 with their phenomenal New Forms ER
Nice work. How did he get into all that then? With a generous dollop of irony, it was expulsion from school which set Size on the path to success. After giving up on the national curriculum, he looked for a different kind of classroom in which to learn his trade. Roni walked out the school gates and into a Sefton Park basement project where jotters and protractors were replaced with samplers and drum machines. Size started attending Bristol's infamous sound system parties hosted by the Wild Bunch. whose members included three boys who went on to form Massive Attack and Soul II Seiil's Nellee Hooper.
Sounds like a great wee shindig. Who does he party with these days?
As well as all his 0&8 buddies and his expansive live band. Size has teamed up with some big names Stateside. The services of Method Man. beat‘boxer extraordinaire Rahzel and Zack De La Rocha. rock—rapper front man of Rage Against the Machine, have all been called upon in the career of this versatile Bristol b-boy. With Size‘s irrepressible search for new music and his old penchant for low frequency bass lines. the Bongo Club is sure to take a beating. (Richie Meldrum)
I Roni Size guests at the Bongo Club, Edinburgh, Fri 70 Mar.
30 THE LIST L’ ‘ti Mar filth;
l if N ist PETE TONG
Essential Selection Afterparty at Ocean Terminal. Edinburgh, Fri 10 Mar.
When I told my flatmate l was doing an email interview with Pete Tong, his response was uncompromising. ‘Oh no, he’s rubbish,’ he exclaimed. ‘Oh wait, maybe I’m thinking of Judge Jules. . . ’
Pete Tong certainly isn’t rubbish, although a few years of jobbing mobile disco DJs taking his name in vain as their inspiration and ever-more-monged casualties ringing for “shout outs’ on their way to some all-nighter in Bristol haven’t exactly helped his reputation. Not to mention the Mark Radcliffe-invented double-meaning of his name (Pete Tong = horribly wrong, for those readers unversed in young ’un speak) being hijacked for the title of uninspiring Paul Kaye comedy romp It’s All Gone Pete Tong.
It’s almost enough to make you forget that this man all but invented popular British dance culture. Of course,
ll Cll ll()llSl l l l ClRC) MIND THE GAP Fri 17 Mar, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow
After making a long train journey at the weekend and hearng the ‘.’()l(l(,‘ (it was a posh traini that told p2 ssengers to ‘Mind the Cap' when alighting l couldn't help thinking about new tech-house night Mind the Cap at the Glasgow School of Art. How many other club nights can boast having their name repeated and ingrained in commuters' minds outer and over again on
a daily basis?
Alex Ross. co-promoter of the night. put me out of my n‘isen, ar‘d explained the origin of the name. 'It came from standing at a train station where it's printed everywhere and playing with the phrase in my riiirndf he explains ‘lt's a phrase that can relate to so many things; it's very ambiguous and 1 like that. l like to think it can be related to (I'Lli}i)l".g r»
general. from its beginnings to where we are r‘ow'
Dance royalty l.ke Mr C. Cagedbaby and Rex the Dog have already
dozens of others might dispute that fact, but has there ever been anyone who popularised the Friday/Saturday night ritual as Tongy? Disregarding his previous employment as a producer, A&R man and boss of seminal house label FFRR, his Essential Selection show on Radio One has been a, well, essential pre-club listen since the days that clubbing was still a minority vocation.
‘When I first started working in radio,’ writes the self- confessed ‘music junkie’ from the far-off Mount Olympus where he’s enjoying a skiing holiday, ‘I just wanted to play people some good music of the non-playlist variety, to make them smile and forget the troubles of the day. Not a lot has changed, except I’ve been lucky enough to be there with millions as they start their weekend for nearly 15 years. I still find it exciting or I wouldn’t be doing it. There’s nothing like discovering a great new tune and playing it to the crowd.’
It sounds simple, but 15 years of it takes true dedication. Big shout out to Pete, as the saying goes. (David Pollock)
Phonique
graced the decks and more lllll)i(?f3$l‘.€? names are lined up to play over the -- '_..-
next few months including Tekel from Paris, who are performing il‘.’() this fortnight alongside Syn/issborn DJ producer Phonigue with his trademark blend of electro-house. who will headline the Vic Bar. Fora new night. Ross and (to-promoter Grziha'n Roohe, haze "‘anaged to entice so"‘e major talent. ‘Once =.‘.e were able to comnmrmcate what Mind the Gap .vas about it was fairly easy.’ says Ross. 'Most of our guests have never played in Glasgow so the, quite rightly jumped at the chance.‘ iSandra Marronj