Roni started on the path of musical
production when he was thrown out of school aged 16, but music had always
been a part of his life. Roni was born and grew up at ‘the top of the hill’
a.k.a. St Andrew’s, Bristol.
From
the bottom of this hill came the sounds of the 70s blues parties and sound-systems
- the beat infected Roni’s bones.
So, after being expelled he walked straight into Sefton Park basement project,
which allowed youngsters to try their hand on the decks, the mixing desk,
drum machines and samplers.
Here he learned the basics and his brother’s comprehensive collection of
Studio One records gave him material to work with. After setting up a home
studio and buying a sampler, a musical master of production was in the making.
Meeting up with Krust in the early 90s brought two musically compatible
minds together, they faced the same dilemma of having no outlet for their
music they put their energies into their own label.
With the help of Chris Lewis Roni
set up WTP (Where’s The Party At?) record label as part of Circus Warp.
From that Full Cycle and Dope Dragon were established in 1993.
Bryan Gee was an early admirer, holding on to their tapes whilst at work
at RCA recordings. When in 1994 he set up V Recordings, Krust had V001 with
‘Deceivers EP’ and Roni and Die had V002 with their debut release, ‘Agility’.
”We looked at V as the strong brother label, with Full Cycle the sister
following in its footsteps... Over the years the two gelled, people associated
V and Full Cycle together. Through putting a lot of music out on these two
labels we then got noticed by another label, a major - Talkin’ Loud.”
Roni Size and Full Cycle were one of the first to bring the jazzy elements
into the dark jungle of the early 90s.
”We were using more melodies, more jazz orientated loops – sounds that in
London only people like Bukem, or maybe Fabio or Peshay were using. But
they were still using fat Amens where we were just using toned down breaks.”
’It’s a Jazz Thing’ in 1994 sparked
the interest of fellow experimental types James Lavelle and the Mo’ Wax
posse. Roni Size was picked up by Talkin’ Loud and the compilation album
Music Box (a fifty/fifty collaboration with Die) was released in 1996. Their
varying personal influences helped create the unique Full Cycle sound.
“Suv was more dub, Die was more jazz, I was more ragga or bashment and Krust
was definitely more hip-hop but we all had elements of soul and break beat
in us, we all had graffiti stains on our hands, we all rode BMXs or skateboards.
We all came from the same school - the school of the 80s and 90s. We’ve
always tried to incorporate all those elements into our music. If we could
put the sounds from spray can, the sounds from skateboards scraping along
the road and of people falling off BMXs, in one record we would.”
The following year the crew, now officially called ‘Reprazent’, took the
world by storm with their New Forms LP. Winning the Mercury Music Prize
boosted their international status and the world awoke to the sound of Roni
Size and Full Cycle.
The singles from the album all featured the unmistakable vocals of Onalee
whose call for the music in ‘Brown Paper Bag’ is a signal all ravers still
respond to. ‘Heroes’ and ‘Watching Windows’ are also classics.
The album went platinum and, surprised by their new massive fan Roni and
the boys and returned to the studio. ‘It’s Jazzy’ came out on V Recordings
later that same year.
1998 was a year of Dope Dragon tracks. These dance floor smashers were given
an outlet through Dope Dragon but after this year it took a back seat to
Full Cycle.
”The Dragon’s gonna return… trust me,” promises Roni.
In 1999 with Die, Roni produced the Breakbeat Era album featuring vocals from Lennie Laws and in July the following year his Through The Eyes compilation showcased tracks from newcomers D-Product and Surge.
Later that year came the long awaited second project from Reprazent. In the Mode delivered a variety of tracks, some featuring vocals from Dynamite, Onalee and some from collaborations with hip-hop legends Method Man and Zac de la Rocha and beat-box master Rahzel.
In 2001, Roni returned to the studio and started working with Tali who had recently arrived from New Zealand. In this time he also produced Touching Down - released in October 2002. This, his first truly solo album, is 16 brand new dance floor smashers mixed into one hour's set and includes the massive singles Playtime and Sound Advice.
In 2003 Roni put together a live
show reminding the world of his Full Cycle’s presence in the live arena.
It featured some of his new tunes from forthcoming Return To V and remixes
of old classics like ‘Brown Paper Bag’ and ‘Underneath the Moon’.
The “Roni Size & Tali ‘in the mix’ Tour” with Bryan Gee was hosted by
Dynamite MC and Sweet P with extra vocals from a new generation of Full
Cyclists , Hollie Grant and Zaniah.
And the future is just as prolific,
now having been in the game over ten years Roni is a veteran. His latest
release Return to V on V Recordings which features guests such as Beverley
Knight, Rahzel, Jocelyn Brown, Rodney P, Vikter Duplaix and Navigator shows
his production skills never fail to vary and adapt.
Roni has recently returned to DJing and has a hectic worldwide touring schedule
for 2006. He is also recording lots of new material for the return of the
legendary sister label to Full Cycle, Dope Dragon.
Please contact the Crow Point team with any enquiries.
Links in this section include:
Click the following summary for more ...
04 Sept 2006
From the semi-natural ancient woodlands of Coed Wen and Plas Machen to the meadows at Llanmartin and the wet pastures and reen systems of the Levels, Newport has a wealth of habitats and wildlife. You can find out more by meetingNewport's Countryside Team at Crow Point Festival.
One thing you shouldn't miss if you come to the festival by bike is the Newport Wetlands Reserve. The Reserve was created as compensation for the loss of habitat caused by the building of the barrage in Cardiff Bay. Reedbeds, lowland wet grassland, saline lagoons, and saltmarsh have been created over 438.6 ha between Uskmouth and Goldcliff.
04 Sept 2006
After a hearing on Monday 4th September Crow Point Festival has a full licence for the 16th and 17th September. Crow Point is the first large scale event of its sort to get a licence in Newport since the new licensing act was introduced.
The festival organisers are delighted to have received this piece of good news. We would like to remind the public that no cars are allowed on site and that last entrance on both days will be at 7.30pm. For more information on opening times and admission requirements please click here. Enjoy the free festival!!
18 Sept 2006
Over the weekend of Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th September close to 14,000 attended the free attractions in Coronation Park. After a delayed start we saw 5,300 on Saturday and a further 8,500 on Sunday. More information will appear on the website over the next weekend. In the meantime Crow Point organisers would like to thank our team of workers, our sponsors and supporters, our traders and the public of Newport for making this such a great event.
04 Sept 2006
On Saturday 16th September the festival programme includes a late-season produce show. This the first horticultural and produce show in the centre of Newport for many years.
The produce show marks and supports the renewed interest in gardening and healthy eating in the City. The schedule of competition classes, which are aimed at both novice and expert growers, is now available to download by clicking here . For further information contact Sara Walsh on 01633 665989 (evenings) or at saras.garden@ntlworld.com .
31st July 2006
Crow Point will be one of the fundraising events to support Mayor Miqdad Al-Nuaimi's two chosen charities: Growing Space and the Campaign to Restore St Woolos Cathedral.
Crow Point will help these two causes by giving them the excluive rights to collect money at the festival. Please click here for more.
