Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.
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because he was one of my first signings. I always talk about Roni Size and them, but he was before that. There's more, there's Moby Oh yeah, this is all the same time. Working at Rhythm King, just before jungle and you know anything that was slamming I would bring back to Rhythm King and that was how we did the deal with RNS and the Moby thing was the same, we just heard it big in the clubs, I brought it back to rhythm King and said you know what "This is a hot track, let's see where it goes" and they signed it. Go? Yeah, Go! And then we got the number one! And then I was going to sign "The Bouncer" you know "Your names not down and you're not coming in" but they said it was a silly tune and then XL signed it and it got to number one. They said you know what, we're going to give you your own label so I got my own label, The White Label and had a few releases on there but things changed and our office was one of the first to get axed. But it was cool because at that same time, i was listening to demos from these guys from Bristol. Not really doing anything but just lis- tening. Because at that time we were doing club promotions too, sending out promos and they used to give me acetates and give them to Fabio and Grooverider... Did you start mixing them? Yeah I was DJing. At that time when Rage was going on, there was a club called Step- pers in Brixton, it's now called 414, it's still there and I was resident there and every week at 4am when Rage finished, you'd have the headstrong, the don't wanna go to sleep crew and they'd all come down to Brixton at about 5am. The lane would be lit up with cars and everyone would come to Steppas and I was warming up for Fabio & Grooverid- er who would come down a bit later after Rage. I had the music but no-one really knew me. I was just trying to make my name. And in that club, there was this guy called Danny Jungle. And to me that's where I first heard the term jungle. I remember being at Step- pas and when a tune was bad, people would just shout it out, the MC was called Danny Jungle. You used to hear there basslines and they had that kind of African vibe to it and I've never been to the jungle but you used to really feel like you were there. That's what you would say "Jungle!" be- cause the tune gave off that vibe. FOr me, that's where it came from. For me, when I thought that jungle had really arrived was when LTJ Bukem made the track, Demons Theme. You listen to the tune and it's like the birds are singing and you can hear the crickets. I listened to that tune, I close my eyes and it's like you're in the jungle. Although you've been there from the very beginning, it sounds like that jungle time had a special place in your heart Yeah, I'm happy but then I know that jungle has never gone nowhere. Week in, week out, I see people like Kenny Ken, Remark, Nicky Blackmarket, they've been doing their thing. I'm glad when you get big cats like Chase and Status and Shy FX making jungle music, it puts a spotlight back on it but it never wen't nowhere. There's been soldiers keep- ing it moving, packed every week, Jungle Mania, Jungle Splash. Don't be saying to them, Jungle is back, they'll say where' you been. What's your style? I just try to play from the heart. I try to play music that's got soul. Even if it's hard, I like to feel some soul, some funk, some rhythm. I play like i'm still playing my soundsystem, I try to give that vibe off from soundbwoy days. 25 years, let's run through a few moments. So tell me about the Brazil connection, be- cause you brought that to the forefront too. Well first we had the Bristol connection with Roni and Krust and people started calling V the Bristol sound which was cool and then we started a club in the West End, Move- ment at Bar Rumba every Thursday night. Patife from Brazil came over and checked out the club and said he wanted to do a night in Brazil and call it Movement. All we knew about Brazil was Pele and coffee. So we went out to Brazil, they prepared a night for me to play. It was just like Bar Rumba and there's a DJ on the decks and he's busting up the place, he's smiling, he's cutting it up, tight mixes, fist pumping. Things that we didn't do back then, we were just serious, giving off that serious look. Nicky Blackmar- ket would've been the only one smiling back then. We had to fight to get respect, last thing we wanted to do was jump but I saw this DJ doing it and the crowd were vibing off it. I've never been anywhere outside the UK as the headliner and see the resident tearing down the place like that and I said to myself you know what my A Game is going to have to come out tonight. He had the mixing and the skills but I had the tunes and I owned it like I was supposed to but I was thinking man, if you give this guy tunes, it's all over! That was Marky. We brought him back to England and he played Bar Rhumba an when everyone saw what I saw, it was all over. The closest we got was Hype, doing a bit of scratching but this guy is turning the tables upside down! He just blew everyone's mind. The door was open for Brazilian drum and bass. Marky came with the skills, the scratch- ing and the vibe but Patife had this serious Brazilian drum and bass with a samba vibe. It was sexy drum and bass which really opened up the door for a bigger audience. It was sexy and soulful and nice. Beautiful samples and vocals. Movement changed a lot of people's lives. Yeah I still get people telling me it was their first experience of drum and bass. Every- body wanted to play at Movement, Pendu- lum, Andy C, even Todd Terry wanted to play at Movement, S.P.Y, he started his DJing career, at the bar. You've got to give him credit because when he first came to Lon- don he was just like Carlos. My son Jordan, Alix Perez and S.P.Y used to play funk and alternative stuff in the second room and just worked his way up and look where he is now, looks at S.P.Y now, look at Alix Perez now. Having all these people come into my frame, has made my life special. If these guys weren't around I couldn't be shouting about 25 years of V. I owe them because they've made V rich. It's a special label because if all the icons who have blessed it. I feel like it's a Motown and that' big talk you know but when I look at V, Dillinja, Marky, ROni Size so for me, it is the Motown of drum and bass. Do You think you got the respect you de- serve? I don't really care. I want the music to get the respect. For me it's just about the music. There's so any things I've done that I'm happy I've done. I'm so happy that I went to Bristol and met Roni. Brazil is probably one of my proudest things because for them, it opened the door, It makes me feel good to be a part of something that's made so many people happy and made so many careers. I try to think about what's next. You've' constantly come up with new brands to keep pushing boundaries. What is it about you that helps you do that? You've just got to keep it moving, man. Frost is there and he's influential. He comes with some cool ideas. You can't forget Frost be- cause he's very instrumental in all this. Philly blunt was his idea, I just release the music, sign the music. A lot of the creative ideas, that's Frost. It's testament to you both as artists that you're promoting this together 25 years later. Yeah, you know time goes fast! Every now and again yo think wow! You know how you know time is going fast is when you have a friend and they have a child and the next time you see them the child is big and that's how you realise how time is flying. But in this music thing, you don't have time, you just keep looking forward, moving forward. What's big for the next 25 years. Oooo I'm not thinking that far ahead yet but we've got some great music, some great artists and we're just looking for the next phase of artists. What's good about it now is that I've learnt so much, I'm ready. I've got such a good team around me, we're in a really good place to move forward. Good team, good label manager. We went through a time where it was hard work but as soon as you're getting new music, it's fun again. I'm checking my inbox and I've got new tunes and when it's bad it's 8 in the morning and I'm hearing sick music and my day is great already! I'm just thinking about playing it and I'm excited. I'm getting new ideas for the label, new merchandise, new tour nights and everything. It's a great time, You've got some bangers ready for IBiza. Yeah i haven't been out there for a few years so I'm looking forward to it. Sunbeatz is for some of the younger heads you know. This one is for the young kids, the future. These are important these kids, you've got to keep them and bring them through. Tell me about some of the bigger parties... Going on tour with Roni in America. The Keepin it Sweet tour. That was a time when drum and bass was popping Method Man, Redman all wanted to get involved. We had a coach an drove through the whole of America in about a month, it was fun, just being on the road, proper rock and roll. Girls, drugs, jus everything. What you do on the road when you're young, tour was a bag of fun but i don't want to go into too much de- tail, I could get into trouble. I don't think the Rolling Stones had nothing on us you know! We had fun. I mean Frost was there! There was no-one who could party like DJ die. Rolling Stones had nothing on us you know! You've got a big night coming up at the Steelyard. Yeah this is the spot now, the new hotspot. We;ve been doing 25 years of V all around the world and this is the official London party so we saved the best till last. We've got a very special guest, he's one of the biggest artists V has ever had, Mercury award winner without getting myself into big trouble, we've got Dillinja and Dillinja was a kid who grew up round the corner from me. He would always call me and Frost when he was coming through with ideas. I'm so happy to see him go from that kid from round the corner to a monster of drum and bass. Patife, Serum - he's the next bad boy on the block, made some of the baddest tunes. Hes signed to Hospital now as King of the Rollers but he still does stuff with V. It's going to be a big party, it's a wicked club. It's a sick venue, we can't wait for it! Venue is sick soundsystem is sick,we're going to be throwing it down. There's going to be some big sets, big tunes because it's V. This is the official London party so we saved the best till last. DRUM & BASS " YOU CAN'T FORGET FROST BECAUSE HE'S VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN ALL THIS. " 47 2018 / ISSUE 111 follow @vforever