Roni Size & Reprazent
Roni Size & Reprazent (stylised as Roni Size / Reprazent) are a British drum and bass group fronted by Roni Size. Their debut album New Forms won the Mercury Music Prize in 1997.[1] Their follow-up album In the Møde featured artists including Rahzel, Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine and Method Man.[2]
Roni Size & Reprazent | |
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The group's frontman Roni Size in 2005 | |
Background information | |
Origin | England, United Kingdom |
Genres | Drum and bass |
Years active | 1996–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | Breakbeat Era |
Members | |
Past members |
The group's music has been described as "meticulously crafted break-beats that, when slowed down, revealed themselves as hip-hop beats".[3] The most popular track, “Brown Paper Bag”, was praised in The Guardian as a “masterpiece: an essay in hyperkinetic pace, it piles up teetering stacks of instrumental layers, their cumulative weight triggering each step in a constant cycle of demolition and reconstruction of its latticework of melody, rhythm and mood".[4]
History
The group's debut studio album, New Forms, was released on 23 June 1997, with singles featuring the vocals of Onallee including "Brown Paper Bag", "Heroes", "Share the Fall" and "Watching Windows". The album went five times platinum,[5], won the Mercury Prize, and Roni Size returned to the studio to concentrate on his output for V and Full Cycle and Dope Dragon.
On 9 October 2000, Roni Size & Reprazent released their follow-up second studio album, In the Møde, released with singles "Who Told You", "Dirty Beats" and "Lucky Pressure".[6]
Roni Size resurrected Reprazent in 2008 with the release of a deluxe edition of New Forms on Universal,[7] but in September 2008 announced his intention to disband the act following a third album.[8]
Reforming the band, complete with original members Dynamite MC, Onallee and the bassist Si John, alongside Yuval Gabay (Soul Coughing), D Product, Jay Wilcox and Pete Josef; Roni Size & Reprazent toured some of the biggest festivals in Europe including Bestival, Glastonbury, Lovebox (festival), Exit and Rock Herk. As a result, they were amongst the nominations for best dance act from the UK Festival Awards.
Members
Current
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Former
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Awards and nominations
Year | Association | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | Mercury Prize | Mercury Album of the Year | New Forms | Won | [9] |
1997 | MOBO Awards | Best Jungle Act | Roni Size & Reprazent | Won | [10] |
Discography
Studio albums
- New Forms (1997)
- In the Møde (2000)
References
- Hegarty, Khalil (13 May 2005). "Independence days". The Age. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- "RA: Roni Size biography". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- Hesmondhalgh, David; Melville, Caspar (2001). "Urban Breakbeat Culture: Repercussions of Hip-Hop in the United Kingdom". Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. pp. 86–110. ISBN 978-0819565020.
- Batey, Angus (21 February 2008). "Roni Size/Reprazent". The Guardian. London, England: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- "Roni Size: Creating New Forms 2 |". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- Bush, John. "In the Møde – Roni Size, Roni Size & Reprazent". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- McDonnell, Evelyn (17 April 2009). "Roni Size and Reprazent bring back their beat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- "Former Mercury Prize winner Roni Size to split up Reprazent". 15 September 2008. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
- "It is Size that counts as Roni wins Mercury prize". The Independent. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- "Roni Size & Reprazent Win 'Best Jungle Act' Acceptance Speech 1997". MOBO Awards. YouTube. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
External links
- Roni Size & Reprazent discography at Discogs