RONI SIZE RETURNS TO HIS ROOTS

Beloved DJ and music producer Roni Size talks to Steve Cotton about growing up in Bristol, playing at Bath Racecourse, and why he prefers to stay in the shadows

Roni Size is on good form but then, why wouldn’t he be? The DJ and producer has carved out quite a career for himself despite leaving school without any qualifications, yet going on to win the Mercury Prize with drum n bass group Raprazent, for the album New Forms. And he’s still in high demand; a quick look at his Facebook page shows recent gigs in the US, as well as having played at Bristol’s St Paul’s Carnival in July. He’s headlining at Bath Racecourse on Saturday, August 18, which he’s jokingly dubbed drum n race, in homage to the location. The hot weather has made the ground too firm for the horses so the event will be purely musical, although punters will be able to watch races from the Chepstow course on the big screen. “i think i’ve played at all my dream events all over the world,” says Roni. “i’ve been to places like Mauritius, i’ve been to Reunion island, i’ve been to Puerto Rico, i’ve been to all the best festivals. But Bath is very close to my heart. i go there quite often, it’s a beautiful place. My house is made of Bath stone! it’s got great heritage; it’s got so much there, and yet i’ve still never been to Bath Racecourse. So i’m really looking forward to attending there and we’re going to have a great time.” But it won’t be just drum n bass on the playlist, with Roni saying he responds to the crowd when playing. “For me, it’s about being able to come as a DJ, to express myself, to be able to play classics from maybe the ’90s rave culture – there were some great records there,” he says. “i play for the crowd. i play the room. i’m a drum n bass DJ – and i will play drum n bass, don’t get me twisted – but at the same time, i’ll play a history. The set i’ll play will resonate with the room.” And, by playing in Bath he’ll actually be returning to his roots. “i actually started playing my first DJ sets at a club in Bath called Players,” he reminisced. “i used to go there on a Thursday night when i was about 15 or 16, and go and play all the classics. i used to get paid £15 and my travel expenses - and it’s difficult now to be able to make a career. “Most DJS i know at grassroots level, who are great DJS or great producers, still have daytime jobs. They still have to go out and have to earn money in other ways. They still have families they need to feed, so some people bow out at an early age. They need encouragement. Some of them do the yin and the yang – they do their day job and then they do their passion, the music, and hopefully sometimes they can make a little bit of money from it.” it’s fair to say Roni is both determined and resilient, great qualities which explain his successful career. “i went to school but school never recognised me, so i stopped going,” he explains. “i found a youth centre; the youth centre, rather than telling me what to do, asked me what i wanted to do. They said to go ahead and do what i wanted to do, and they would support me. So they went and bought a drum machine and i learned that, and then i started to teach people. While i was teaching people how to use the equipment, i met some likeminded friends along the way and we all came together with the same ideas, and we worked as a team from the grassroots all the way through to getting signed by an independent and then getting signed by a major record company, and then winning the Mercury Music Prize. “nobody had even heard of the Mercury Music Prize before we won it. People didn’t even know that Portishead had won it. When we won it, people from Bristol were like: ‘What’s he doing on the TV? What’s that award he’s won?’ We were the first dance act, and the first soto-speak urban act, to go on to win the Mercury Prize.” As for Roni Size the man, he likes scuba diving (although he says he won’t go that deep) likes a very eco-friendly form of transport, and says that Glastonbury was his career highlight. As for making himself more high profile – forget it. “People don’t know the face,” he says happily. i’m quite reserved. i kind of pick and choose where i want to be seen. People know the name – my mum made sure of that! i’m not about the fame game. i’m not trying to be famous. i quite like being quite reserved. Like Prince, i like the mystery. “i would never ever class myself as a celebrity – especially turning up on a bike! Celebrity status is only for those who crave celebrity status. i know a lot of celebrities, and i know their outlook is very, very different from mine. i’ve been offered to go on Big Brother, i’ve been offered to do the jungle, i’ve been offered to do Hunted recently. i’ve been offered to do a lot of these programmes, but i don’t think my fans want to see me in that position.”

Roni Size will be playing at bath Racecourse on Saturday, august 18. the line-up includes purist at 3pm, chris Simmonds at 4.15pm, lemar at 6.30pm and Roni Size at 9.45. FOR tickets bathracecourse.co.uk