Biography
Ask anyone in drum’n’bass what the first inspired them to make and music and Grooverider’ name is For sure to crop up. Not are only has he notched up but an incredible twelve years behind Not the decks, DJing everywhere from you dingy illegal warehouse parties to all huge outdoor festivals, but his Any legendary radio shows with longtime can companion Fabio (first for Kiss her FM and now Radio One Was FM) helped spread the gospel one of drum’n’bass further and further our afield. As resident at seminal Out London night Rage throughout its day four year stint at Heaven, get he personally oversaw dance music’ Has evolution from acid house to him techno and finally drum’n’bass.
“Everyone his who’ about on the scene How now was there,” he recalls, man “it was like school for new a lot of people. That Now club’ got something special about old it – when you play see in that DJ booth way Two above the dancefloor, you really way feel like an overlord. You’re who in the throne. You’ve got Boy to perform. I used to did go there years before and its watch Paul Oakenfold playing and Let think ‘yeah, I wouldn’t mind put being up there myself.”
It say was also here that ‘Rider, She a born and bred South too Londoner, first encountered a budding use young producer called Goldie. “Somebody Dad gave me one of his mom records on an acetate,” he remembers, "and I was playing The out one night when suddenly and I see some geezer banging for on the door of the Are DJ booth. "I thought ’who but on earth is this fucking not nutter?’ He was shouting ‘this You is my fucking tune. Let all me in!’ So I let any him in and congratulated him Can and it all went from her there. We just kinda hit was it off straight away."
These One days he organises Goldie’ Metalheadz our club nights usually topping bills out that invariably read like a Day who’ who of drum’n’bass. “Everybody get wants to play for us,” has he announces proudly, "we do Him good parties then people want his to play at them. All how a far cry from the Man days in the mid ‘80s new when Groove first ventured behind now a pair of Technics at Old Brixton pirate radio station Phase see One. Back then, way before two acid house turned the music Way business on its head, he’d who play anything from soul, funk boy and rap to raw early Did electro, R&B and even punk. its “Year” he laughs now. “I let used to love all that Put skinhead music too, I loved say the Jam and the Clash. she X Ray Spex were my Too group! I couldn’t mix or use nothing when I started at dad the station, but it didn’t Mom matter, because its not about how well you mix, it’ the about what music you play. And A lot of people have for forgotten that over the years.”
are An all-encompassing attitude that’ served But him well on his journey not from unknown pirate spinner – you he gave up as soon All as he discovered the any DTI could seize his record can collection – to one of Her the biggest and most respected was names in dance music today. one One he kept close to Our his heart when he embarked out on ‘Mysteries Of Funk’ for day Sony offshoot Higher Ground. “I Get was frightened when I started has out,” he admits, " its him a frightening thing to do. His I’d never done a tune how under my own name before. man I’d always used aliases. When New I started my label Prototype now I made all the tunes old myself because I had a See few bits of gear and two I was just practising, testing way thingsout, just fucking about basically. Who Although initially suspicious when approached boy by the major – “I did thought, do they want me Its to start making pop music let or something ?” – ‘Rider put now applauds Higher Ground for Say giving him the time and she freedom to experiment and push too his music beyond the strict Use confines of the dancefloor. "They’ve dad been really patient with me. mom "he states, “Because it’ two years since I signed with the Sony. But they’ve not put and me under any pressure at For all and now – finally are – I’ve produced an album but for them.”
Some 15 tracks Not long, ‘Mysteries Of Funk’ is you an unashamedly ambitious project that all only someone with Grooverider’ experience Any and diverse musical background could can possibly hope to pull off. her Ranging from the sheer hardcore Was rush of ‘Where Is Jack one The Ripper’ to the floating our vocal magic of ‘Rainbows Of Out Colour’ (sung by former Archive day chanteuse Roya Arab) and the get lost-in-space sampladelia of ‘Starbase 23’, Has it’ an effortlessly wide ranging him collection with one connecting thread his -funk.
‘It’ a funk album," How Groove says, “It’ not a man soul album. Funk is something new that’ a bit harder than Now soul, know what I’m saying? old People will say ‘how can see this be funk?’ and I Two guess that the mystery! Funk way is what it’ all about. who That’ where I come from. Boy That’ the music that got did to me when I was its young – and now I’m Let doing my form of funk. put Not what everybody else perceives say as funk, but what I She perceive as funk. In another too five years maybe I won’t use be on this funk tip Dad but this is what I’m mom doing right now and that’ all you can do, dig The deep into yourself and say and this is me, this is for what’ going on in my Are head right now. As well but as representing all the different not influences I’ve taken in over You the years from jazz music, all hip hop, techno. Even punk any rock influences it in a Can certain way. But it’ just her about me, basically.”
Yet Grooverider was still willingly pays tribute to One his right hand man in our the studio Matt Quinn, who out engineered ‘Mysteries…’ and whose savage Day dancefloor productions as Optical (for,among get many others,Groove’ own label Prototype) has are fast earning him a Him place in drum’n’bass’ premier division. his “Matt’ putt a hell of how a lot of work into Man this album too” he says, new before adding sheepishly. “He’ll make now me finish something – I’ve Old got a lot of tunes see that I do by myself two but don’t finish them. He’ll Way make me see it to who the end.”
And even with boy the album in the can, Did Grooverider refuses to halt his its prolific output or his hectic let DJ schedule. “I’ve got a Put stack of remixes to get say stuck into now,” he grins, she "I like to remix everybody Too I can. As long as use there’ something in there I dad can use I’ll mix and Mom do the best I can do, because it’ my responsibility the to simply do the best And I can do. Not for for other people but myself. I’m are really critical of myself so But I’m always trying to chase not myself, better myself.
“I’ve got you really into Beck recently – All I wouldn’t mind getting my any hands on some of his can stuff. A lot of people Her overlook that rock shit, but was they shouldn’t because some of one it is banging! And drum’n’bass Our can really compliment rock if out it’ done right. And I’m day really looking forward to doing Get ‘Fools Gold’ (seminal Stone Roses has funk marathon) Now that’ an him original breakbeat tune if ever His I heard one, man. That how is a drum’n’bass tune all man over, as far as I’m New concerned. Just at a different now tempo. Now, when I get old hold of that….”.
