Grooverider

Ask anyone in drum’n’bass what first inspired them to make music and Grooverider’s name is sure to crop up. Not only has he notched up an incredible twelve years behind the decks, DJing everywhere from dingy illegal warehouse parties to huge outdoor festivals, but his legendary radio shows with longtime companion Fabio (first for Kiss FM and now Radio One FM) helped spread the gospel of drum’n’bass further and further afield. As resident at seminal London night Rage throughout its four year stint at Heaven, he personally oversaw dance music’s evolution from acid house to techno and finally drum’n’bass.

“Everyone who’s about on the scene now was there,” he recalls, “it was like school for a lot of people. That club’s got something special about it – when you play in that DJ booth way above the dancefloor, you really feel like an overlord. You’re in the throne. You’ve got to perform. I used to go there years before and watch Paul Oakenfold playing and think ‘yeah, I wouldn’t mind being up there myself.”

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