Roni Size

Auckland was treated to a set by the mastermind of Drum and Bass himself last night as the one and only Roni Size rolled into town for a Friday night show at The Studio.

I’ll be honest, I’m only a casual drum n bass fan, with a sketchy idea of the major players in the genre, not a paid up member of the junglist massive, so I’m going to approach this review with the mindset of a casual fan who’s done a smidgen of research beforehand. I will assume that my readers are similar t

The press were in love with drum'n'bass and Reprazent's mix of nagging fragmentary melody and spartan minimalism pointed to endless vistas of music yet to be explored.

Above its innovative textures and rhythms it captured the community spirit behind the scene and was delivered with a refreshing lack of arrogance that could be found in other quarters of the genre.

What seemed like the next dance thing in 1996 - when even Meg Mathews's Sunday Times column gushed about "junglist supremo" Goldie - shuffled back to its niche almost before anyone realised it was just a load of high-velocity juddering.

Where other underground movements have floundered or sunk d ‘n’ b has maintained an ever-youthful exuberance and imagination.

Liverpool, UK