E-Z Rollers

Jay Hurren and Alex Banks shaped the smooth two-step sound that characterized Moving Shadow Records in the late 1990s through their E-Z Rollers releases, having first explored hardcore breakbeats earlier in the decade under the names JMJ & Richie and Hyper On Experience. Both artists had roots in the mid-1980s rare-groove and hip-hop community of their native East Anglia, where they promoted events and worked as DJs before shifting toward house music in the wake of the rave movement. During the early 1990s Banks focused increasingly on studio production at home while Hurren kept performing live sets, most often under the JMJ moniker.

After an introduction to jungle figurehead L.T.J Bukem, the pair began releasing material independently—Banks as Hyper On Experience and Hurren as JMJ & Richie plus the Parallel World solo outlet. Their tracks on Rob Playford’s Moving Shadow label and Bukem’s Good Looking imprint, including “Montana” and “Universal Horn” under JMJ & Richie, “Thunder Grip” and “Lords of the Null Lines” as Hyper On Experience, and “Second Encounta” together with “The Rhodes Tune” as Flytronix, helped establish the blueprint for fluid drum’n’bass that combined jazz-inflected textures with brisk rhythms suited to club play.

Following an encounter with vocalist Kelly Richards at one of their shows, Hurren and Banks formed E-Z Rollers as a trio. The group’s first album, Weekend World, surfaced in mid-1996 and was succeeded by further Moving Shadow singles plus another full-length Weekend World. Hurren and Banks have also supplied production work for Foul Play and Peshay.