Roni Size

提到Drum-N-Bass这个在电音中最重要的分类之一就不得不提到Roni Size。来自英国Bristol这位Drum-N-Bass的天王不仅身兼混音师/制作人，还一手创办的最著名的Full CyCle厂牌。早在1997年发行的最具有影响力的专辑《New Forms》已经成为了指标性专辑，深受爵士音乐的影响，在自己的专辑中邀请爵士女歌手参与，更是从真乐器中进行Sample造就了Roni Size独门的Jazzy D'N'B。整体感突出是此碟的一大特点，完全不容许支离破碎的现象产生有如一块璞玉，天然完整无需修饰。这张专辑获得过英国的Mercury音乐大奖，成为电子音乐在流行音乐领域里获得的最高奖项，从而引发出前所未有的电子音乐热潮，Drum-N-Bass这一伟大的舞曲结构也由此走向多元化融合的道路。
Roni Size出生于牙买加，之后迁居到著名的「Trip-Hop之都」英国的布里斯托，这里的音乐氛围深深影响着他。在他16岁的时候就已经辍学回家从此专心研究当地音乐文化中的Hip-Hop，BreakBeat、Soul、Bruse等等，再加上他自身由牙买加带来的独有的黑人民族音乐，Reggae、 DUB等等为他现在的音乐多元化提供了很好的基础。
1991年电子音乐史上最著名的一年，布里斯托的「Trip-Hop铁三角」的一角开始绽露头角，Massive attack发行了第一张Trip-Hop指标性专辑《Blue Line》，同年Roni Size成立了自己的厂牌「Where's The Party」并发行首支单曲「Music Box」从厂牌名就可以看出是准备走舞曲节拍这条路，但在当时Trip-Hop也许流行一时，也许是当时的舞曲已经陷入了一种僵化的方程式，Roni Size的厂牌和单曲并没有受到重视和好评。
沉默了3年在1994年Roni Size开始了他飞跃的一年，三大著名DJ：Die，Krust，Suo，Roni Size合力将原厂牌「Where's The Party」改名为「Full CyCle」于是这个最著名的厂牌由此诞生，之后Full CyCle也设立了以黑暗和试验为主的分厂牌「Dope Drogon」Roni Size也曾经化名为Mask在此分厂牌下发行单曲。也许是不满足当时成立Where's The Party时的低迷，这次该名为Full CyCle后的第一支单曲仍然是Music Box，这次此单曲经过重新编排出奇的受到了欢迎，由此掀起了Roni Size的Drum-N-Bass之风。
Roni Size主导的Full CyCle在当时的影响力被称为「Third Coming of Birstol Sound」（布里斯托之声的第三次来袭）它的风头甚至盖过了由Bryan Gee主导的厂牌。 1997年Roni SizeI联合DJ Die，DJ Krust，DJ Sno，Onalle，MC Dyamite组成了Reprazent，并以Roni Size/Reprazent之名发行了历史上Drum-N-Bass指标专辑"New Forms"成为佳话。之后的专辑《In The Mode》虽然不如《New Form》但众多大牌的加盟为专辑增色不少，如今Roni Size终于以个人的名字发行了专辑《Touching Down》终究让他成为一代Drum-N-Bass的大师。
by Sean Cooper
Bristol native Roni Size is one of the U.K. jungle scenes most respected names, with production credits spanning dozens of labels, projects and releases. Although not as quick to rise to acclaim (either critical or popular) as peers such as Goldie or LTJ Bukem, Sizes influence as a producer, label owner, and committed underground magnate figured him as one of the emerging sounds true pioneers. The breakout success of his debut album New Forms (including Britains prestigious Mercury Award) finally confirmed his stature and vaulted him to a greater degree of popularity than any other drumnbass producer.
Born to Jamaican immigrant parents, Roni grew up in the Bristolean suburb of St. Andrews (home to Tricky, Massive Attack, and Smith & Mighty), where he learned the fundamentals of hip-hop through the areas sounds systems, house parties, and underground clubs. Expelled from school in his mid-teens and running game through his neighborhood until risk became greater than reward, Size started dabbling with house and reggae production in the late 80s. He hooked up with labelmates DJ Krust, Suv, and DJ Die at the 1990 Glastonbury Festival, and the four stayed in contact, eventually forming Sizes longest running musical commitment to date: his own Full Cycle label. Formed simply as an outlet for the fours entree into the nascent drumnbass scene (Krust and brother Flynn [of Flynn & Flora] were already working with Smith & Mighty, while Die was producing hardcore tracks as Sublove), Full Cycle eventually grew into a label group, releasing a steady flow of twelves (on both Full Cycle and Dope Dragon), and a label comp, Music Box, in 1995.
Oft duplicated, the Full Cycle sound is a subtle mix of jazz and soul with jump-up rhythms and worldbeat references spanning from Ronis Jamaican roots to 50s bop and the Motown sound. Although hardly popular in the days before ragga (then jump-up) ruled the decks, the crew now counts a number of classics among their credits, including Sizes Its a Jazz Thing, Krusts Jazz Note, and Reprazents Reasons for Sharing EP, the crews first outing through major-label subsidiary Talkin Loud. The success of 1997s New Forms launched Size to the top of the electronica genre, and the Dope Dragon label continued to rise in the ranks of dubplate hysteria, with tracks from Selector Owoy, Gang Related, and Mask consistently passing muster on most DJs decks. After a relatively silent 1998, Size returned in 1999 with a new project — Breakbeat Era, with DJ Die and vocalist Leonie Laws. The trio released Ultra-Obscene in the fall of that year. In 2000, Size returned to the Reprazent project with In the Møde, boasting sit-ins from Method Man and Rage Against the Machines Zack De La Rocha. It failed to cross over or build his fanbase, and he returned to solo productions with 2002s Touching Down and 2005s Return to V. Size has also mixed a two-disc volume in the Full Cycle mix series Through the Eyes.