Full Cycle was borne from a great deal of hard work by its founders, Roni Size, Krust and a guy called Chris, as well as DJsDie and Suv and MC Dynamite. They'd all been making music with other people and just having a laugh, which they enjoyed, but they all wanted more. They got together at the same time, with the same notion of doing something serious...... and there's few more serious about their music than these guys. It all really kicked off when Bryan G paid the quartet a visit, suggested a few ideas and put a couple of their tunes out on his label. With that and DJing, they got their first sampler and began making tunes, puttinbg them out on their own label which meant that they reaped any financial rewards for themselves. As their income mounted up, they bought additional studio equipment so they could experiment more and more.
When we arrived, Roni had been confined to the studio for a twenty four hour stretch, never seeing the light of day nor speaking to another soul since the soundproofed door slammed shut behind him, summoning his inspirational and creative juices to flow. What, you may wonder, is he working on? Some hugely important deal that must be completed to an ever approaching deadline? A specially commissioned project for which he has only one day to complete? The reality is that this is nothing out of the ordinary for Roni... but he doesn't care. His music is his work, his work is his life and his life is his music.
Roni has always been into music and when he was young was exposed to the likes of Elvis Presley - a far cry from the material he is producing today. "I remember being in school and the teacher asking what we wanted to be when we grew up and everyone was saying bank manager, train driver.. things like that. But I always said I wanted to be into music and they all thought I meant a pop star or something, but I knew that wasn't what I wanted. They couldn't understand why I was so into music, but I wasn't any good at anything else - apart from computers, I was into computers. I got thrown out of school and that's when I stumbled into the youth centre and it all just kind of started from there." So Roni's childhood dream became a reality and he became an important component of the music industry.
Like many of today's drum & bass gurus, Roni was influenced by all different styles of music; hip hop lending its beats and lyrics, vocals coming from soul inspiration and jazz giving that funky element synonymous with Size releases. In turn, Roni feels that drum & bass has been an influential basis for many other styles of music - hardcore, rave, house, techno, even hip hop. This influence is particularly evident in some of today's' happy hardcore releases, with drum & bass breaks in tunes like Sy and Demo's "Devotion" and "Crazy knowledge" by South coast supremos, Ramos and Marley.
Another original element in all of Roni's tracks is the use of live drums. Although this has only been a fairly recent move due to previously restricted studio space, Roni has always wanted to use a live drum kit. He can play himself, but tends to use external drummers who have talent that really impresses Roni. "It works, man, it's different from jungle. I'm just trying to do something different. The only thing is, now I sound like I'm trying to do something different, I'm a bit worried about putting it out because people might not get it straight away, y'know, they might not understand." This is the problem when you're so upfront and doing something so unique - it some-times does come as a shock to people and it can take a while to be accepted. But Roni has been working hard for the past four years and is not adverse to sticking his neck out to set a precedent while others can only sit back and watch.
One of those accompanying Roni's setting of the standard (which, incidentally, is not something they are striving to do, but just happens), is DJ Krust.
Roni had known of Krust for years through going to the same parties, doing the same kind of things, but their paths never really crossed in a professional sense. Until, that is, they were both looking to d6 the same kind of music project and hooked up.
Krust had been DJing at local parties from the early days but he knew he wanted to push himself further, though in quite what direction, he wasn't sure. Perhaps it was his brother's signing to Virgin that made him realise his vocation. "At the time, I was only 19 and it was kind of weird. It was a laugh really and it was money, but it wasn't serious, wasn't really thought out, it was something that just happened. It's only when it's finished that you actually realise what's going on.... when someone tells you it's over. When you're 19, nothing's really serious, everything's just a laugh. Me and my brother, we started a cycle courier business, that was us. We'd go out every week and do parties and that was the level we were on. We got a chance to make a tune and it was really successful and all of a sudden you got all these record companies behind you, chasing you, wanting to sign you up and it's still not serious. Then someone says 'we'll give you loads of money' and you're walking round town with œ500 in your pocket for the first time in your life and it's still not serious. Then BAM - you haven't done what you're supposed to do, you've been mis-managed and BAM - it's all gone and then it's serious. Then it's all over and you think, 'fucking hell!"'
This doesn't seem like a likely scenario in Full Cycle's case - all the guys have got their heads well and truly screwed on, they're not about to mess any-thing up. They know enough about the business to know what's right for them and what makes good career moves.
The two remaining spokes In Full Cycle's wheel are DJs Die and Suv. Like his counterparts, Suv watched the rave scene develop, from his days as a breakdancer, through hip-hop, house, rave to jungle and drum & bass. He had been DJing for years, free of charge, for a tenner, for a bit of petrol money, but producing was always his real passion, his main aim. The same applies to Die, who as well as producing tracks for himself, lends a hand to his three Full Cycle pals.
The final piece of the jigsaw, the added bonus, the lyrical master, is the highly regarded MC Dynamite. All the crew really rate Dynamite, Suv summing it up. "Dynamite's wicked. He needs to be like that. We need someone who's out front, the spearhead. We're all pretty cool and laid-back and not really that lively - we are in our music - but he brings the liveliness in as a front man." Dynamite has been into the scene for years, when it was simply "rave" - no further categorisation - when he thinks it was running. As an MC, he exploded onto the circuit 3 or 4 years ago, MCing for Bryan G and Jumpin' Jack Frost as well as his Cycle partners. "My voice is my talent. I just use it in any way I can, I just go with it - I'm happy to make melodies with anything." He has added his musical as well as vocal skills to a couple of tunes he's done and promises that there is a lot more to come from him. So will we see him up there alongside the likes of GQ? Dynamite is regarded as the epitome of a top MC and is rated by many as the best. So how come he doesn't seem to play out as much as other MCs? "It's like this. I'm not waiting in the wings, I'm not waiting for anything to happen. I'm just doing my thing and I've been doing it for a few years now. I'm not particularly looking for people to go 'hey hey, it's him, it's him!' and come up to me and stuff. If they know about me, they know about me, if they don't, that's okay. I don't want to be the next anybody, I'm just happy being me. I'm happy for whatever happens and things will happen, but I'm not particularly chasing it thinking 'oh I've got to be like (;Q, why is GQ on this event and not me...'. I'm just concentrating on Dynamite 'cause that's what I do best." And making music is what Full Cycle do best.
As the quality releases came thick and fast, the Full Cycle boys found themselves in the enviable position of receiving a great deal of attention from the majors offering various deals. They signed to Talkin' Loud, a subsidiary of Mercury, who, rather than giving the guys financial incentives gave them the opportunity to do something different with their music. "We were just working hard in the studio making tunes and Dung and they caught wind of it and heard what we were doing and before you knew it we were sitting around having talks." Roni is pleased with the way things have turned out, "It's a good deal! It's a deal to do a project, a project of our choice, a chance to do something different. When we hooked up with Talkin' Loud, it didn't make any sense doing what we were doing already, so we had to sit down and come up with another angle. We didn't have a clue what it was at the time but it developed and developed and became the Reprazent project. It's still developing now; we've got the live show, we're just working it. That's what the deal is. They gave us the opportunity to do what we wanted with the right kind of backing and the right kind of works to help us experiment and do things. This is our first experience of a major label and we've learned so much - we're learning all the time."
They're pretty impressive for people who are still learning. "We just want to make things work, but the income is good... it helps. The experience of being with a major helps you learn about what's going on - the whole publishing side, the set-up, the environment. I always thought it would never happen. I still think that way even though it's there, I'm still working it."
Whatever deal people sign, there's always those who think they'll compromise their producing integrity and get sucked into putting out watered down tracks with a view to crossing over into mainstream territory; Krust doesn't worry that this will happen to them, "It's all good man. You deal with them kind of businesses and you do get a little bit of pressure but we're just doing what we're doing; keeping it real. You enter those kind of things, you kind of got certain obligations to do something for them and then they do something for you. If you can deal with the business, then it's all right. It's always hard work, the best bit about it is that we actually like working. We like doing what we're doing. If you enjoy what you're doing, it's a bonus and to get paid for it is even better."
As they move from project to project, starting the next before they finished the current one, there's never a quiet moment. Despite the deal with Talkin' Loud, they still write for other labels - Mercury have not signed the guys exclusively. V Recordings, Philly Blunt and Dope Dragon all receive the Full Cycle flavour and as Krust explains, "You don't go into the studio with it in your mind to do a track for one label, you just go in there and you work and whatever comes out, comes out."
What comes out is usually wicked defying the rumours that Drum & Bass is dying; this certainly isn't the case for Roni Size and the Full Cycle crew. "It's definitely not dying. It's been around in England for a long time and the sound has developed and developed, the people who are into it are really into it! There's people coming from Japan, America, from countries you haven't even heard of for Drum & Bass and Jungle. Where there's ten people coming off, there's probably ten people coming on board." Roni's travels have taken him to America and all over Europe, where he has often appeared on radio shows. "Sometimes you go to a country to DJ and the next thing you know, you come off the decks, have a few brandies and there's a guy there with a microphone going, 'do you want to do an interview?'. I can't tell you how many of those I've done."
Roni Size finds himself in the One In The Jungle hotseat on August 1st alongside Krust, Die and Suv with Dynamite chatting the lines. All the crew recognise the need for such a show which gives the whole nation the opportunity to experience the Drum & bass vibe. At various points in their careers they have all dabbled in the world of pirate radio, namely Bristol based Galaxy and Dance FM. Roni is desperate for a show. "A lot of the South West people can't pick up the pirates, they've just got One In The Jungle to look forward to, once a week on a Friday. I want a fucking show man!"
Full Cycle is more than just the people who make the records. Becky, the label manager, handles all of their press and PR, fielding countless phone calls from journalists wanting an exclusive. How welcome the Bristol boys find all this media attention is debatable. Roni finds it difficult to talk to people in that certain way so as to make himself understood and get his point across. He just has so many ideas and thoughts flitting about in his head that it is hard to convey them to those outside of experimental world. "Most magazines get it wrong. Most journalists get it wrong and some of them try really hard to understand what I'm trying to say, but they get lost and just put something else." Suv doesn't particularly enjoy the constant press liaisons either, although he does acknowledge that is an essential component of his chosen career. "I don't like none of it. Me, I'm just a normal man. I don't want to be big, I don't want to be at the top. There's nowhere to go after that, so what's the point in rushing to get there?" But he isn't far from there already. Although Size and Krust have the higher profile, Suv and Die are both extremely talented and have always been part of this cycle. However, Roni and Krust were the first to make the break to London, resulting in their names circulating at an earlier stage, enabling them to achieve everything they set out to do. It still amazes Krust. "I've done quite a bit already - more than I ever thought I could've done. Anything that happens after this is a bonus."
But how do they fit everything in? Having lust touched down in the UK following a date in Norway, playing several sets at a Bristol carnival and spending hours in the studio, they must practically sleep on their feet! How much rest do they get? "We don't! We don't sleep - you got to go through training and eat liquid food.." Die recommends ginseng, but Roni's happy with his training. What, you may wonder, is he psyching himself up for? He wants to be the first person to set foot on Mars! "That's going to be the next planet; we've captured it now. What they're going to do now is find out what the soil is and then they're going to grow loads of trees and produce oxygen. It's going to be up and running sooner than you know. They're going to smash it! We'll have a Full Cycle party on Mars!" People on Roni's Mars party would include the talents of Bailey, Ed Rush, Fierce and the crew, No-U-Turn, Bukem, Goldie and Adam F, a line-up that would be sure to impress the little green men. Dynamite is very sceptical about the expedition, which Roni foresees happening early next century and Suv, well he is just grateful for what he has today. "Why are people building spaceships and stuff to try to make life on another planet when we've got this one here? This is ours. What's the point in going somewhere else that's going to have all our stuff and be another Earth? We should be concentrating on looking after the one we ve got so there's something for people to look forward to and grow up in.
With the future of the planet in scientists' latex-gloved hands and the future of the music in Full Cycle's, we look set for an exciting few years. If Roni's ideas become a reality, people are soon going to be DJing from their bedrooms in front of crowds of thousands. Everyone will put on a pair of goggles and they'll be at a rave in their bedroom, with Grooverider appearing out of the wardrobe and Hype lurking in the laundry basket, ready to drop their tunes! Roni's outlook on life is as creative and imaginative as his music and while the rest of the crew may lack his enthusiasm for the unknown, they are certainly not lacking in musical inspiration. As Full Cycle take us into another realm through their music, dedicatIng their lives to their work, sacrificing their rest and play, that age old saying certainly seems to ring true Size may not be everything, but it is certainly a hell of a lot. D
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