Boro
Drum & Bass
Signal kingpin and general ambassador of all things dancefloor the talented Mr. Boro has many strings to his bow. Boro is a deserved fans favourite for anyone who has visited Signal as he always delivers razor tight sets filled with technical wizardary.
Not shy to a spot of turnablism you should always expect the unexpected when Boro puts the his 1st plate on the platter. It is this collection of abilities that have led to bookings in London and Austria as well as regular sets at Bristol events such Phixation, Richochet and the hugley popular Rukus.
Boro's ability to fill a dancefloor and keep it filled have led to many considering him to be one of Bristols finest Drum & Bass DJ's. Drum & Bass is one of many musical loves of the Boro and he can also be found blending hip hop, ska and 2-tone especially at his new Tuesday night residency at E-shed with the Lean People.
If that wasn't enough Boro also designs all of Signals flyers and created the website you are reading now.
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23DJ
Drum & Bass
The myth that it is impossible to make waves in drum and bass through DJing alone has been emphatically put to the sword in recent years – by a certain 23dj. Contrary to the opinion of many, this is a scene that allows for a surprising amount of moving and shaking, even from those who represent merely a modest portion of its bass-fuelled history. The dancefloor supports all its soldiers, and this is indeed a fine example…
After less than four years of being a slave to a pair of Technics, the young upstart has pushed his distinctive brand of creative mixing into corners of the globe he never envisaged possible whilst still a wide-eyed raver at Lunarcy, Meltdown, Legends and the famous south-coast nights of years gone by.
After leaving Brighton for Cardiff in 2002 – towards end of d&b’s unforgettable golden patch in 2000/2001 – the experience of hours and hours of raving and listening to mixtapes finally transferred to the DJ box. A wise move. Cardiff was a city absolutely buzzing on d&b at that time: High Contrast’s debut album was almost out, and the fledgling superstar was to be found spinning at nights all over town, anchoring the scene with both commitment and style. The young Lincoln Barrett was pure inspiration, and 23dj soon found himself involved with One Mission – Cardiff University’s longstanding dance night – putting on d&b and hip-hop nights, and plying his trade as resident DJ.
The arrival of 2004 saw things step up a gear – in a sizeable fashion. After producing a string of mixtapes, 23dj won a DJ competition for Revolt, a new night beginning in Cardiff’s town centre, and so bagged his second residency, eventually playing alongside Aphrodite, Ray Keith and Pendulum among others. If this was already dream-come-true territory, then it was about to get even better. Nicky Blackmarket, a personal hero, played Revolt in May 2004, and promptly asked to come straight back – and his return saw a one-off back-to-back set with 23dj take place. An unforgettable occasion. And if the story had ended there, it would have been more than enough…
In 2005 the roof truly got set on fire… 23dj was astounded to be offered a residency at Bulletproof, Cardiff’s largest and longest-running d&b night. Playing alongside the likes of Mampi Swift and DJ Friction, and having MC Skibadee chat over one unforgettable set were highlights of the incredible time which followed – a time which eventually saw international exposure appear out of nowhere.
Out of a field of over 2000 entries worldwide, 23dj’s mix The After Hours Mix was chosen as the winning entry in Knowledge Magazine’s mixtape competition. The prize was the opportunity to mix the Knowledge front-cover CD for the November issue of the magazine, and included a trip down to Knowledge HQ in London for a photoshoot, interview, and to collect a stack of exclusive vinyl – with which to create the cover CD mix. An utterly overwhelmed 23dj duly created the mix, appeared in a double-page spread interview in the same issue, and was lucky enough to receive worldwide exposure and feedback for his efforts in the ensuing months.
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Rapture
Drum & Bass
Rapture a signal resident from day one has been listening to drum & bass from the tender age of ten. Raised in Reading he started his DJ adventure in 1998 and established himself as a resident at the legendary Bassheads @ Matrix by 2001.
Since moving to Bristol he has also had sets at the events such as Monkey Knife Fight, Penguin Dance and the innovative Noir. Rapture always plays a deep set full of dub and drumfunk cuts and his early influences from labels such as Good Looking, Metalheadz and Moving Shadow can be felt everytime the needle hits the wax.
Not content with simply playing drum & bass, Rapture can often be found spinning classic soul, funk & jazz and the odd creme egg.
Sconeboy
Hip Hop
Rory falloon aka Dj sconeboy has always been surrounded by music; both parents are musicians in some way and also both brothers are actively gigging and teaching music. He played piano from around the age of 9 and also took up saxophone and bass guitar later in his teenage years....
Dj'ing came as the next step; an avid fan of hiphop and more importantly (at the time) the world of scratch djs and turntablism, he bought a technics 1200 and a mixer, and learned how to, firstly, scratch. beat matching came natural as the most important thing is to have a grasp of music; he demonstrated this from an early age. his first (and only for the moment) appearance on wax was on DJ 2Talls 'the rise' EP, where he and 10 or so other DJs, including uk DMC champion dj blakey and bristol born timestretch, traded 16 bars of cuts across a 6 minute scratch marathon! Before moving to university he managed to purchase another technics 1200, and so dj sconeboy was born
His musical taste? good hiphop. reading the crowd, playing what is needed, but always good hiphop. Signal is his first proper residency, two years and still going strong. Rory has recently been invited to play at the “hiphopkemp” festival in the Czech Republic, and in bristol, at the thekla, the carling academy, timbuk2, and a number of other smaller bars. Native is next on the list, a club sconeboy is really looking forward to playing.
You can always catch sconeboy in room2 every signal, and other clubs too
Akesie
Drum & Bass
First and foremost a raver with a love of jungle deep-rooted in the good old days, mc akesie has seen the music develop for better and worse over the last 6 years and is looking forward to watching it evolve further over many more to come. 20 years young, he is a proud bristolian with a passion for his hometown that rivals his love for music (amongst other things that will stay unmentioned).
Having come along way since the days of scribbling down bars on school books, he can now claim to have preformed alongside many of the top names in drum&bass, working with some of the best promotions the southwest has to offer (Signal top of that list naturally!).
First introduced to the sounds of drum&bass at the age of 14, akesie instantly fell in love with the music and the whole underground culture surrounding it. He got his grubby little mitts on a pair of decks at 16 and started writing rhymes at the same time. Despite initially having an equal enthusiasm for djing and mcing, it soon became clear mcing was where his talent lied. It wasn’t long before his lyrical skills projected him from bedroom to stage in Nov 2004 with his first booking (Overload @ Thekla), and the transition was complete a few months later in Mar 05 when he secured his first residency (Elements @ ClubUK), Idle time and a hunger for the spotlight led akesie to set-up the Highgrade Promotion which had a massively successful launch night at the Thekla, Bristol in July 05.
It was the very same month when he seized on an opportunity Signal were creating for up’n’comers. After a brief spell on the mic at one of their monthly nights at Timbuk2 he was able to make a lasting impression, so much so that he was presented with the first ever residency to be given away since the operation started in Oct 04. The innovative concept and consistently high standard of Signal events has made it an institution in Bristol that he is proud to be a part of.
Using this platform akesie has managed to establish himself as one of the hottest and hardest working talents in the south west, securing further residencies in Plymouth (Unleashed 06) and Exeter (Rinseout 06), with bookings as far a field as Birmingham, Swansea, and Oxford to name a few. He showcases his talents alongside partners in crime DJ Reevzy and MC Texas every Tuesday 7-9 on grandtheftaudio.co.uk, and continues to work on his game everyday, making hay whilst the sun shines and never dwelling on the bad times.
1 love to everyone who has supported me from the beginning. I feel truly privileged to have been able to live my dream thus far and meet so many inspiring people along the way. Long may it continue…
Messy MC
Drum & Bass
I’m a 24yr old mc/vocalist from E.London originally but currently living in both Bristol and Norwich. I first got into Drum N Bass at the age of 14 listening to olf LTJ Bukem tapes from Dreamscapes and a few early progression session LP’s. When I got to university (In Norwich) I teamed up with a number of other heads and started hooking up for mixes and smokes. I then coupled my love for Drum n Bass with my love for UK hip-hop and started writing ciphers and verses. I then started to take this a lot more seriously and really tired to work on my melody and originality.
I was doing a small residency at a weekly night in Norwich called Base:Beatz which is where I met Scheme from Bounce records. Scheme and LSB (my current flat-mate at that time) then decided to put on a bigger Friday night party at the famous Waterfront venue this was to be known as BOUNCE.
Things then started to move really quickly for me as BOUNCE gave me the platform to show my worth to many of the scenes DJ’s, Producers and MC’s as well as other promoters. I then started to work well with a few of these ‘heads’ and have continued to work alongside some of them on a regular basis.
I draw my influences from the whole spectrum of music; havin love for artists such as Lianne Carol, Roots Manuva, Broke n £nglish, Steeley Dan, Plan B, Sway, Dan, Full Cycle, Kaly DubRonice, Calibre, Fabio, High Contrast, Logistics, Radio Head, Portishead, Billie Holiday, DJ Yoda, Nightmares on wax, DJ Shadow, Tracy Chapman, SP:MC, Dialated Peoples, Blackalicious and many others.
I have recently started working the studio vox more and more, working on bits with Kubiks, Lomax, Malfoy, Logistics (hip-hop & DnB), LSB and The EZ Rollerz. Messy has also joined the EZ Rollers live tour working with a full piece live band. (lookout for nationwide and worldwide bookings next year). Also, lookout for the forthcoming mixtape sessions inspired by a recent set at Signal with Alix Perez and Myself.
Reach
Drum & Bass
I first heard drum n bass in 1998 listening to friend’s tapes and found I buzzed off it, much more than garage, which people were feeling most at the time. I started raving soon after on a regular basis, all over London, especially places like Bagleys, the Astoria and the Mass.
I started to tune into pirates, mainly Flight and Kool, which were predominantly focused on MC’s as a result I began to pick up my own ideas for rhymes. A few of my mates had decks but as is the way when you meet up in a group everyone wants a mix, so it was long getting a piece of the action. As a result I decided to start chatting and got started by pocketing a shit mic from the media department at college. After a few years I realised that because drum is so fast, MCing to this music is about flow and when to use and hold your tongue.
In 2001 I moved to Bristol and soon after took up a residency at a heavy night called Freefall, playing alongside headline DJ’s for a couple of years.
These days it’s all about Signal, always keeping things fresh and covering all the angles in DnB, which suits me well. So big up all the Signal squad moving things in the right direction.
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