Roni Size
Born Ryan Williams to Jamaican immigrants in Bristol's St. Andrews area—same neighborhood that spawned Massive Attack and Tricky. Expelled from school at 16. Learned production at Sefton Park Youth Centre's basement studio where teenagers had access to turntables, samplers, mixing desks. As he told The Student Pocket Guide, "They used to ask me what I wanted to do, and I'd be like 'Music…Music!' So they bought a drum machine, then they bought a four track." The basement room transformed: bits of old carpet scrounged from skips, equipment scavenged and donated. "Before you knew it kids were coming down and asking me how to use the equipment. So the next thing you know I became a tutor, and that was my first job." Co-founded Full Cycle Records with DJ Krust, DJ Die, and Suv, releasing underground jungle through mid-90s. Formed Reprazent in 1997 to perform jungle with live instrumentation—bass, drums, MCs. Debut album *New Forms* won Mercury Prize that year, went five times platinum, achieved mainstream acceptance genre rarely saw. Revived Full Cycle in recent years though new Reprazent material remains unreleased as of his 2017 Skiddle interview.
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Music Box
Early compilation released 1993 showcasing Size's production range and establishing Full Cycle's underground credibility before mainstream breakthrough of *New Forms*. Album captured Bristol's jungle scene at formative moment, with Size co-running Full Cycle with DJ Krust, DJ Die, and Suv. As Size told The Student Pocket Guide about this period, he was learning production at Sefton Park Youth Centre's basement studio, teaching other teenagers how to use equipment while developing his own sound. *Music Box* demonstrated Size's ability to craft tracks that worked both on dancefloor and as home listening, foreshadowing sophistication he'd bring to *New Forms* four years later. For Bristol heads, this was their album—proof their city could compete with London's dominance of jungle scene.