6.
V Recordings – V Classic
[Musically, I started off in] both ragga and jungle, drum & bass. But yeah, jungle’s where it kicked off for me. The reason why I chose the V Classic is that I couldn’t think of any Roni Size albums [to choose], because that’s been my influence. He was the guy for me. He’s one of my favourite producers. I think I learned by just listening to his music. The way he put his music down, it’s crazy.
What was it about the way he produced? Obviously there’s a certain feel to your tracks – the way you tend to bring elements in and out and around each other, there’s this sense of everything being in constant motion – which is very jungly, or very of that approach.
You just said it all in one. That’s what Roni Size was the master of. Him and Andy C, and… [thinks] not Shy FX – Champion reminds me of the modern day Shy FX – though Shy FX was also a big influence.
But Roni Size, he was the abstract king, him and DJ Krust. Roni kept it to the point where he became the star in the end, but Krust was the one that really kicked it all off. And DJ Die, when he did something it was like "Oh my God…" So when Roni Size and Die linked up as Scorpio and made that ‘Li Li’ tune – I love that tune on this CD. And then obviously, not on the CD – ‘Clear Skyz’ by Die, that tune is massive, and Roni Size’s ‘Trust Me’, I still play that to this day in raves. It goes off.
The whole V Recordings label, that’s what I tried to model Aftershock on. When you’d go to the shop, it was very rare you wouldn’t pick up a V record and buy it on sight without even listening to it. That’s what I tried to do with Aftershock. Buy on sight.
I tell him all the time, [V Recordings label boss] ‘Bryan G, do you know how much your label’s influenced me?’ One time, he said to me, [adopts deeper voice] ‘You know what, yeah, obviously you know I discovered Roni Size, but you know I also discovered Moby? I put out his first record.’ And I went "NO!?" Flippin’ hell man, when I look at him playing at all the dances, even though he’s still here, he should be the Dr. Dre of the UK.
