Leroy Small (born 27 August 1970 in Leicester, England), better known as DJ SS, is a British
drum and bass
Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...
DJ and record producer.
Biography
SS started out as a
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
and
rare groove DJ in his home-town of
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
, and was originally known as ''Scratchen Stein'' (later shortened to SS).
When the
hardcore scene exploded in the UK in the early 1990s, he and his partner Eidris started promoting their own parties called Total Kaos every Friday in Leicester. They also put on one of the first large indoor parties at
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport Race track, circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, sti ...
in the summer of 1991. It was an amazing success and 6,000 people danced till dawn. Since then he has gone on to DJ worldwide.
SS is the co-founder of the label Formation Records, which has spawned over 30 sub-labels. The label would play a pivotal role for artists and producers such as Tango,
John B
John Bryn Williams (born 1977), known as John B, is an English disc jockey and electronic music producer. He is widely recognised for his eccentric clothing, wild hair, and his production of several cutting edge drum and bass tracks.
John B ...
, and Twisted Individual. The label was particularly prolific from 1991 to 1994, releasing many
breakbeat hardcore and
jungle
jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century.
Etymology
The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...
classics, such as ''The Psycho EP'', the ''Colour Series'', ''Rhythm for Reasons'', ''Breakbeat Pressure'' and in 1995, his and the label's biggest track, the
''Love Story'' theme-sampling "The Lighter". It is a track that has remained incredibly popular and still continues to be played years on.
SS has featured on radio shows such as
BBC 1Xtra's ''D&B M1X'', on which he put together an hour-long mix of Formation tracks and was interviewed about his career.
[BBC 1Xtra D&B M1X with Crissy Criss]
, BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, 17 June 2010, retrieved 9 August 2010
References
Further reading
*Shapiro, Peter (1999) "DJ SS / Formation Records", in ''Drum 'n' Bass: The Rough Guide'', Rough Guides, , pp. 211–3
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ss, Dj
1970 births
Living people
English record producers
Musicians from Leicester
English drum and bass musicians
Jungle musicians
Nightclub owners
Black British DJs
British club DJs
British remixers
British electronic dance music DJs