Roni Size’s whole life has been about building something new from whatever was around him.

From Bristol youthclub parties, through the white heat of rave and the founding moments of jungle and drum’n’bass, to transforming underground electronic music into something that could be played by a live band on the biggest arena and festival stages, he has at each stage created completely afresh - not just a sound or style but an entire methodology of how music can be made. And each time, that new creation has reflected his heritage, his surroundings and the precise moment in which he’s operating.

20-years ago, The Mercury Prize win for his ‘New Forms’ album brought D’n’B to the forefront of dance-music news, making even the rest of the industry – where reactions had up until that point been bemused – sit up and pay attention. For several years thereafter Roni and team were on top of the world, succeeding as solo artists as well as a collective, maintaining underground credibility yet receiving Brit awards and even collaborating with some of the biggest names in hip hop.

2016 was a vintage year for Roni. Live shows included Ram Records’ NYE show at O2 Academy Brixton, a headline show at the BBC 6 Music festival and a summer festival season that began at Love Saves the Day with a curated Full Cycle Stage Takeover for Arcadia Afterburner and included Secret Garden Party, Evolution, Glastonbury, Blissfields, NASS, EDC, Dour, Boomtown, Frequency, Lowlands, Creamfields, SW4, Outlook, and many more. Roni relaunched Full Cycle Records with fellow co-founder, DJ Krust, with the releases drawing praise from The Wire, Dummy, UKF, Mista Jam, 6 Music, Gilles Peterson, Radio 1, 1Xtra, DJ Mag and beyond.

It was in 2017, as we fully appreciated the legacy that Roni has created for drum’n’bass, that the next chapter began. Roni toured his groundbreaking new audio visual live show, a combined live instrument and hardware show that features state of the art production and 3D effect projection mapping celebrating 20 years of New Forms.  Roni took the groundbreaking live show on the road to festivals in the UK and Europe as well as on extensive tours of the US, New Zealand and Australia with no let up as he also DJ’ed at the very best clubs and festivals throughout the globe.

The anniversary re-release of New Forms (on Universal and featuring the live set together with brand new remixes, edits and tracks) garnered huge support across digital and print media as well as on radio.  With premieres from MixMag and Tsugi, rave reviews and coverage by NME, Fact, DJ Mag, Clash and many others along with multiple plays on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1 Xtra, Roni cemented his position at the top of the game.

The man from Bristol showed no signs of slowing down, as he took to the road with UK and European live tours in 2018 and continued to travel to all corners of the globe to play clubs and festivals including Dirtybird Campout, Noisily, Blue Dot, Output, Creamfields and SW4. Roni finished 2018 with a remix for rising star Paris Green on Get Physical and played shows in Europe, the US, Australia, Asia and Brazil as well as appearing on guest spots across BBC Radio and continuing to contribute to charity projects and support the grass roots scene in his home city of Bristol.

2019 continued on a high. Roni worked on huge collab track “Calling” with Rag n Bone Man, which was selected as the “sound of summer” by Sky Sports and broadcast repeatedly across their channels. Roni appeared on BBC TV as well as regularly on radio and had his music chosen by Virgil Abloh to curate the designer’s Off White runway shows. Meanwhile, Roni played the likes of Printworks, Tomorrowland, Eastern Electrics, Fabric, Untold Festival and countless others. Roni ended 2019 as the face of highly-respected music tech brands Waves and Krotos, recognised for his contribution to the industry and his knowledge and skill as a producer.

He continues to be in high demand with the world’s best festivals and events and a run of sold out exclusive headline dates with LTJ Bukem in 2020 has already caught the eye. With brand new Roni music scheduled for February and March ahead of some special announcements coming this year, 2020 looks set to be the best yet...

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Roni Size

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