Biography
Bristol-born Roni Size ranks among jungle’s most esteemed figures, having supplied tracks to scores of imprints, ensembles, and recordings that range from the lean underground staple “Time Stretch” to the polished Top 20 U.K. pop success “Brown Paper Bag.” Though slower to gain recognition than contemporaries Goldie and LTJ Bukem, his roles as producer, label head, and steadfast underground operator established him as a foundational architect of the emerging style. The commercial breakthrough of his first album, New Forms—a U.K. Top Ten entry that also captured the Mercury Prize—elevated him to wider visibility than any other drum’n’bass creator. Following a lull in the early 2000s, he re-emerged with fresh material, a revised edition of New Forms, and live shows that continued blending electronic and acoustic textures.
The son of Jamaican immigrants, Roni spent his formative years in Bristol’s St. Andrews district—the same neighborhood that nurtured Tricky, Massive Attack, and Smith & Mighty—where local sound systems, house parties, and club nights introduced him to the essentials of hip-hop. After being expelled in his mid-teens and navigating street life until the dangers outweighed the gains, he began experimenting with house and reggae beats toward the close of the 1980s. At the 1990 Glastonbury Festival he connected with label associates DJ Krust, Suv, and DJ Die; the quartet maintained their bond and later founded Full Cycle, Size’s longest-running venture. Initially conceived as a platform for their entry into the fledgling drum’n’bass arena—Krust and his brother Flynn of Flynn & Flora were already collaborating with Smith & Mighty, while Die was releasing hardcore as Sub Love—the label expanded into a collective that issued a consistent stream of 12-inch singles on Full Cycle and Dope Dragon, culminating in the 1995 compilation Music Box.
Frequently emulated, the Full Cycle aesthetic fuses jazz and soul with high-energy rhythms and global influences stretching from Size’s Jamaican heritage through 1950s bop to the Motown catalog. Though the crew operated far from the mainstream before ragga and jump-up dominated turntables, they accumulated several landmark releases, among them Size’s “It’s a Jazz Thing,” Krust’s “Jazz Note,” and Reprazent’s Reasons for Sharing EP, the first Full Cycle project to appear via Gilles Peterson’s major-label outlet Talkin’ Loud. The impact of 1997’s New Forms propelled Size to the forefront of electronica, while Dope Dragon climbed the dubplate ranks with contributions from Selector Owoy, Gang Related, and Mask that earned regular rotation among leading DJs. After a comparatively quiet 1998, Size launched the Breakbeat Era project alongside DJ Die and vocalist Leonie Laws, resulting in the autumn 1999 album Ultra-Obscene. The following year he reconvened Reprazent for In the Møde, which featured guest appearances by Method Man and Rage Against the Machine’s Zack De La Rocha; although the record registered briefly on U.S. charts, it did not achieve significant crossover or expand his audience. Also in 2000, Size compiled the Full Cycle collection Through the Eyes.
Emerging from an extended hiatus, Size delivered the largely solo Touching Down in 2002 and Return to V in 2005, the latter incorporating vocals from Jocelyn Brown, Beverley Knight, and Reprazent’s Dynamite MC; both albums were issued in DJ-mix format. He reworked substantial portions of New Forms and added new tracks for New Forms 2, which appeared in 2008. Size and Reprazent resumed touring, performing at European festivals including Glastonbury and Bestival. A collaboration with William Goodchild and the Emerald Ensemble was captured on Live at Colston Hall, after which New Forms received an expanded reissue marking its twentieth anniversary.
The son of Jamaican immigrants, Roni spent his formative years in Bristol’s St. Andrews district—the same neighborhood that nurtured Tricky, Massive Attack, and Smith & Mighty—where local sound systems, house parties, and club nights introduced him to the essentials of hip-hop. After being expelled in his mid-teens and navigating street life until the dangers outweighed the gains, he began experimenting with house and reggae beats toward the close of the 1980s. At the 1990 Glastonbury Festival he connected with label associates DJ Krust, Suv, and DJ Die; the quartet maintained their bond and later founded Full Cycle, Size’s longest-running venture. Initially conceived as a platform for their entry into the fledgling drum’n’bass arena—Krust and his brother Flynn of Flynn & Flora were already collaborating with Smith & Mighty, while Die was releasing hardcore as Sub Love—the label expanded into a collective that issued a consistent stream of 12-inch singles on Full Cycle and Dope Dragon, culminating in the 1995 compilation Music Box.
Frequently emulated, the Full Cycle aesthetic fuses jazz and soul with high-energy rhythms and global influences stretching from Size’s Jamaican heritage through 1950s bop to the Motown catalog. Though the crew operated far from the mainstream before ragga and jump-up dominated turntables, they accumulated several landmark releases, among them Size’s “It’s a Jazz Thing,” Krust’s “Jazz Note,” and Reprazent’s Reasons for Sharing EP, the first Full Cycle project to appear via Gilles Peterson’s major-label outlet Talkin’ Loud. The impact of 1997’s New Forms propelled Size to the forefront of electronica, while Dope Dragon climbed the dubplate ranks with contributions from Selector Owoy, Gang Related, and Mask that earned regular rotation among leading DJs. After a comparatively quiet 1998, Size launched the Breakbeat Era project alongside DJ Die and vocalist Leonie Laws, resulting in the autumn 1999 album Ultra-Obscene. The following year he reconvened Reprazent for In the Møde, which featured guest appearances by Method Man and Rage Against the Machine’s Zack De La Rocha; although the record registered briefly on U.S. charts, it did not achieve significant crossover or expand his audience. Also in 2000, Size compiled the Full Cycle collection Through the Eyes.
Emerging from an extended hiatus, Size delivered the largely solo Touching Down in 2002 and Return to V in 2005, the latter incorporating vocals from Jocelyn Brown, Beverley Knight, and Reprazent’s Dynamite MC; both albums were issued in DJ-mix format. He reworked substantial portions of New Forms and added new tracks for New Forms 2, which appeared in 2008. Size and Reprazent resumed touring, performing at European festivals including Glastonbury and Bestival. A collaboration with William Goodchild and the Emerald Ensemble was captured on Live at Colston Hall, after which New Forms received an expanded reissue marking its twentieth anniversary.
Albums
Singles
