Grooverider
Encyclopedia
Grooverider is a British drum and bass
DJ
.
in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio
through his sets at nightclub nights such as 'Rage'. Grooverider was also on the London pirate radio station
, Phase One, in the mid 1980s. The station also featured Colin Dale, Dave Angel
,RD aka Dj Dodge, Booker T and Fabio. He originally played soul, hip hop and disco but later played house, upon being converted whilst hearing "Mysteries of Love" by Mr. Fingers
.
Fabio and Grooverider began playing house at Mendoza's in Brixton. From there the pair went on to a venue in Barrington Road in Brixton, but it was not until 1991 that they would really make their mark. That year, Grooverider and Fabio took up a residency at the 'Rage' event at the London venue, Heaven. Throughout the 1990s, Grooverider released tracks as Codename John and helped build the reputations of Matrix
and Boymerang
with releases on his own record label
, Prototype. In 1997, Grooverider compiled the album
, Prototype Years which featured the best tracks by various artists who appeared on his label.
His show on BBC Radio 1
(presented in conjunction with Fabio) attracted a devoted audience. Although Grooverider is known primarily as a DJ and radio presenter, he was also a recording artist under his artist name, and the 'Codename John' moniker. Prototype is known for its sporadic releases, which have included drum and bass work by Dillinja
, Drumsound * Bassline Smith
, Ed Rush
, Photek
and Optical
.
As a recording artist, Grooverider has released one album, Mysteries of Funk (Sony 1998), produced in conjunction with Optical, and a number of remix
es including his reworkings of Jonny L
's "Piper" plus Roni Size
/Reprazent
's "Share The Fall". In 2005, he was holding a weekly Sunday session called Grace at the London club, Herbal. Grooverider returned to the BBC Radio 1 drum and bass show with Fabio on the 18 October 2008, and continues to co-present the show weekly on Sundays. Grooverider is a shareholder of the drum and bass forum, Dogs on acid
.
International Airport
for possession of 2.16 grams of cannabis
, hours before a show at 'The Lodge'. He claimed he had forgotten it in a pair of his trousers. On 19 February 2008, he was sentenced to four years imprisonment, to be followed by immediate deportation, but was pardoned ten months into his sentence.
Grooverider had been employed on a freelance basis and was not paid by BBC Radio 1 since November 2007. Four years is the mandatory sentence for drug possession in the United Arab Emirates
. "I must have forgotten the spliff," he said in an interview. "It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted."
On 19 February 2008, Grooverider was sentenced to four years imprisonment. He was pardoned and released on Wednesday 3 September 2008, during the holy month of Ramadan
that traditionally sees the pardoning of select prisoners in UAE. In an interview with BBC
, Grooverider described his experience as "appalling" and described the conditions in which he was placed.
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
.
Biography
Grooverider began his DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio
Fabio (DJ)
Fitzroy Heslop better known by his stage name of Fabio, is a drum and bass DJ and producer from the UK. Fabio has been described as one of the best DJ's of all time. He runs the Creative Source record label.-Biography:...
through his sets at nightclub nights such as 'Rage'. Grooverider was also on the London pirate radio station
UK pirate radio
UK pirate radio was popular in the 1960s and experienced another surge of interest in the 1980s. There are currently an estimated 150 pirate radio stations in the UK...
, Phase One, in the mid 1980s. The station also featured Colin Dale, Dave Angel
Dave Angel
David Angelico Nicholas Gooden , better known as Dave Angel, is an English techno musician.-Early years:Angel was born in Chelsea, London in 1966. He is the son of a London-based jazz musician, and the elder brother of rapper Monie Love...
,RD aka Dj Dodge, Booker T and Fabio. He originally played soul, hip hop and disco but later played house, upon being converted whilst hearing "Mysteries of Love" by Mr. Fingers
Larry Heard
Larry Heard is a Memphis, Tennessee-based musician widely known for the Chicago-based house music he produced during the mid-1980s and continues to produce today. He was leader of the influential group Fingers Inc. and has recorded solo under various names, most notably Mr...
.
Fabio and Grooverider began playing house at Mendoza's in Brixton. From there the pair went on to a venue in Barrington Road in Brixton, but it was not until 1991 that they would really make their mark. That year, Grooverider and Fabio took up a residency at the 'Rage' event at the London venue, Heaven. Throughout the 1990s, Grooverider released tracks as Codename John and helped build the reputations of Matrix
Matrix (artist)
Jamie Quinn, better known as Matrix, is a London based drum and bass producer and DJ.He started his musical career as one half of drum and bass duo Turbosound, who signed to DJ SS's F Project Records label, an offshoot of Formation Records....
and Boymerang
Boymerang
Boymerang is a DnB project of Graham Sutton, leading light of post-rock band Bark Psychosis. Sutton released one album as Boymerang, the well-received Balance of the Force, a blend of techy intricately programmed DnB and subtle melodies....
with releases on his own record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Prototype. In 1997, Grooverider compiled the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Prototype Years which featured the best tracks by various artists who appeared on his label.
His show on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
(presented in conjunction with Fabio) attracted a devoted audience. Although Grooverider is known primarily as a DJ and radio presenter, he was also a recording artist under his artist name, and the 'Codename John' moniker. Prototype is known for its sporadic releases, which have included drum and bass work by Dillinja
Dillinja
Dillinja, is an English drum and bass DJ, record producer and entrepreneur.-History:...
, Drumsound * Bassline Smith
Drumsound & Bassline Smith
Drumsound & Bassline Smith are a British electronic production group from Derby, consisting of Andrew Wright, Benjamin Wiggett and Simon 'Bassline' Smith. Their record label is , which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2009...
, Ed Rush
Ed Rush
Ed Rush is the recording name of Ben Settle; a prominent jungle/techstep/neurofunk DJ, who often produces tracks in collaboration with Optical. Hailing from west London, he came to prominence with the release of the track Bludclot Artattack in 1993...
, Photek
Photek
Photek is Rupert Parkes , a Los Angeles-based British record producer and DJ. He joined the drum and bass scene relatively early , and is still one of its most respected players...
and Optical
Optical (artist)
Matt Quinn, better known as Optical, is a drum and bass producer and DJ from England.He is best known for his work with Ed Rush, fellow head of the Virus Recordings label, and as a pioneer of the techstep and neurofunk sound...
.
As a recording artist, Grooverider has released one album, Mysteries of Funk (Sony 1998), produced in conjunction with Optical, and a number of remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es including his reworkings of Jonny L
Jonny L
Jonny L, real name John Lisners, is a British drum and bass producer. He has also released music under the alias of Mr. L.-Biography:...
's "Piper" plus Roni Size
Roni Size
Roni Size is a British record producer and DJ, who came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and leader of Reprazent, a drum and bass collective...
/Reprazent
Reprazent
Reprazent is a British drum and bass act formed by Roni Size. Their debut album New Forms won the Mercury Music Prize in 1997. Their follow-up album In The Mode featured artists including Rahzel, Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine and Method Man.Roni Size resurrected Reprazent in 2008...
's "Share The Fall". In 2005, he was holding a weekly Sunday session called Grace at the London club, Herbal. Grooverider returned to the BBC Radio 1 drum and bass show with Fabio on the 18 October 2008, and continues to co-present the show weekly on Sundays. Grooverider is a shareholder of the drum and bass forum, Dogs on acid
Dogs On Acid
Dogs On Acid , is a UK-based electronic music website, established in 2001.-History:Dogs On Acid began life as a community on Bad Company's website, bcrecordings.com, back in 2000. One of the group's members, Dan Fresh, intended the community to be a place to discuss up-and-coming releases, mixes...
.
Arrest
On 24 November 2007, Grooverider was arrested at DubaiDubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
International Airport
Dubai International Airport
Dubai International Airport is an international airport serving Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates. It is a major aviation hub in the Middle East, and is the main airport of Dubai. It is situated in the Al Garhoud district, southeast of Dubai...
for possession of 2.16 grams of cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, hours before a show at 'The Lodge'. He claimed he had forgotten it in a pair of his trousers. On 19 February 2008, he was sentenced to four years imprisonment, to be followed by immediate deportation, but was pardoned ten months into his sentence.
Grooverider had been employed on a freelance basis and was not paid by BBC Radio 1 since November 2007. Four years is the mandatory sentence for drug possession in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. "I must have forgotten the spliff," he said in an interview. "It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted."
On 19 February 2008, Grooverider was sentenced to four years imprisonment. He was pardoned and released on Wednesday 3 September 2008, during the holy month of Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
that traditionally sees the pardoning of select prisoners in UAE. In an interview with BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Grooverider described his experience as "appalling" and described the conditions in which he was placed.
Selected discography
- Mysteries Of Funk - UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#50 - FabricLive.06
- Grooverider Presents: The Prototype YearsGrooverider Presents: The Prototype YearsGrooverider Presents: The Prototype Years is a 1997 drum and bass compilation album by DJ Grooverider on his label, Prototype Recordings.-Track listing:#Codename John - Dreams of Heaven#John B - Secrets#Optical - Grey Odyssey#Matrix - Mute...