Roni Size
Electronic · GB · Active since 1969

Roni Size

Organic upright bass meets surgical breakbeats. A masterclass in Bristol-born drum and bass that feels as much like a live jazz club as a warehouse rave.

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Intro

Roni Size represents the sophisticated, organic evolution of the Bristol sound. His music is defined by a unique tension between the raw energy of jungle and the smooth, intellectual depth of jazz. While his peers often leaned into the metallic or the aggressive, Size brought the 'human' element back to the dancefloor, famously utilizing live instrumentation like the upright bass to ground his hyper-kinetic rhythms.

The experience of listening to Roni Size is one of constant forward motion. It is urban music in its truest sense: fast, layered, and deeply rhythmic, yet possessing a soulful warmth that makes it equally suitable for a high-end sound system or a gritty club basement. The production is crisp and surgical, but the grooves feel lived-in and tactile, echoing the blues parties and sound-system culture of his youth.

For those new to his catalog, the Mercury Prize-winning 'New Forms' is the essential starting point. It serves as a bridge between the electronic and the acoustic, proving that drum and bass could be a sophisticated art form without losing its edge. It is the sound of a city moving at 170 beats per minute.

Ryan Owen Granville Williams (born 29 October 1969), better known by his stage name Roni Size, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and frontman of Roni Size & Reprazent, a drum and bass collective. That year they won the Mercury Prize for their debut studio album New Forms.
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Our Catalog3 Albums · 2002 · 2014
Known ForWeighted across the artist's discography. Tap a trait for examples.
Adjacent Artists
RS
Roni Size / Reprazent

Shares drum and bass, trip-hop, jazz fusion (subgenres); urban night, focused work, basement show (atmosphere)

DD
DJ Die

Shares drum and bass, trip-hop (subgenres); restless, mysterious, energetic (moods)

DT
DJ Trax

Shares urban night, focused work, basement show (atmosphere); restless, mysterious, energetic (moods)

JH
James Hardway

Shares drum and bass, nu jazz, trip-hop (subgenres); restless, mysterious, energetic (moods)

KS
KJ Sawka

Shares restless, intense, mysterious (moods); sample based, live recording, analog warmth (production style)

K
Kane

Shares restless, intense, mysterious (moods); urban night, basement show, late night (atmosphere)

Grooverider
Grooverider

Shares drum and bass, trip-hop (subgenres); restless, intense, mysterious (moods)

B
Bailey

Shares urban night, basement show, late night (atmosphere); drum and bass (subgenres)

F
Fixate

Shares restless, intense, mysterious (moods); drum and bass, trip-hop (subgenres)

Plug
Plug

Shares restless, intense, mysterious (moods); urban night, basement show, focused work (atmosphere)

E
Entity

Shares drum and bass, live recording, sample based, urban night (subgenre)

UF
United Future Organization

Shares jazz fusion, trip-hop, nu jazz, spoken word (subgenre)

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