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Borzoni

@borzonidj

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🔊 Owner of @osmosissound
📻 Resident at @moderadio.london and @aajamusic
🎧 DnB/Jungle/140/Garage/Reggae
✍️ UKBM.com

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CLASSIC & NU SCHOOL GRIME MIX

Ahead of a party I'll be playing at, I decided to dig deep into my Rekordbox archive of Grime instrumentals (some of which I was playing on some knackered CDJ 850s in various mould-ridden houses over a decade ago).

Not only do they still give cause goosebumps and flung furniture, but they blend so effortlessly with some of the newer evolutions of the genre (such as offerings from @whitepeachrecords). This shows that, despite technical limitations, original grime tunes are timeless and that new releases still capture the heart of the genre.

As always, link to the Soundcloud in my bio 🔗

📃Tracklist
Wiley - Gangsters (Dubmix)
@spookybizzle & @boylanuk - Low Rider
@commodough - Rikers
@ourmanmusic - Dizzy
@zha.uk - Levels
@gaz_congi_frost - CKY RIP
@ruff_sqwad - Together
@drone_uk - Polar Opposite

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#dj #mix #grime #dubstep #140 by @borzonidj

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6 days ago

DOCUMENTING THE SCENE

In Lauren Martin's @aftershock_book , she talks about how, historically, many producers and DJs in a movement are often too consumed with creating their art that they don't have scope to be able to document the movement within that scene (no matter how ground breaking - like in the example of dubstep). I think, as a producer, this is a beautifully privileged position to be in - creating art and seeing where it goes. Never having to think about what path you or the ecosystem that you're in is taking. It seems like 10-20 years ago, the progression of a genre was so natural and fluid - it would go where it would go.

However, I feel like this has flipped almost completely in todays music climate. Now, producers are expected to record everything they create in the form of social media. They have become the archivers as well as the creators. Whether this extended job description has split their attention and this is the reason why new genres aren't being birthed at the same rate as previous generations - I am not sure. But due to this increased need for recording everything, it does really highlight the stagnation of a lot of areas of bass music and how this echo chamber we've found ourselves in does cause a copy/paste skip of music that all sounds the same.

I think due to all of these pressures applied by social media, and the constant comparison to other artists, it's very easy to just conform to creating whatever is trending. This is why artists need to be more conscious of trying to create something new and niche. We don't have the opportunity to be a monk in their bedroom who only listens to their mates tunes that they burn to a CD for you. We are barraged with everything that everyone else is making and it's a lot easier to just copy the skip heap in front of us.

@loefah talks about how we need to bring back tribalism and, to some degree, I agree. Producers and their mates need to start creating, owning, and beating the heart of a sound that they can fully call their own. This is how music progresses.
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#dj #dubstep #dnb #140 by @borzonidj

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19 days ago

HOW JUNGLE GREW ALONGSIDE NOTTING HILL

Although it may be almost impossible to think about carnival without sound systems, the first 7 years of it's tenure consisted of only the parade that celebrated the carnival's formal 'disciplines' - mas, steelpan, calypso and soca. The carnival director in 1973, Leslie 'Teacher' Palmer, was bluntly motivated to bring Jamaican soundsystem culture to carnival expressing that it was 'the sound of the youth'.

Don Letts described how the sound systems at carnival started out playing soca during it's early years but "then reggae takes over and becomes the dominant sound". In the 1980s, Norman Jay was responsible for bringing funk and soul onto the streets of Notting Hill. Every time the music naturally evolved from the deep tissue of Jamaican sound system culture - rather than throwing away its lineage.

In 1994 (often quoted as the year jungle exploded into the mainstream), a South London family-run sound system called Different Strokes brought the breakbeats and rolling bass to carnival for the first time. Jungle's DNA is itself a direct descendant of reggae which made it fit so naturally into carnival. Sound systems tailored for heavy sub basses and MCs to 'fast chat' over the beats is what they were built to do - they just hadn't done it at this tempo yet.

Notting Hill Carnival was one of the main reasons jungle became more legitimised within pop culture, which was then amplified by pirate radio stations. This trajectory would then be followed, more or less, by the likes of garage, dubstep, and other sound system-related genres.

The persistence of crews like Different Strokes across more than three decades — and the continued presence of jungle royalty like Shy FX at guest slots on foundation-era corners — demonstrates that jungle's relationship with Carnival was never a passing crossover but a permanent addition to the event's sound system ecosystem.

AI was not used to write this post (which I suppose is what ChatGPT would say if it did lol)
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#carnival #soca # jungle #dnb #dubstep #reggae taken in Notting Hill Carnival by @borzonidj

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24 days ago

REGGAE & DUB MIX

A few more videos from my reggae & dub mix that is now available for your listening pleasure on Soundcloud 📯📯📯

I don't often get to play this sort of music out so it was a real gift from the reggae gods that @everybodys_yard had me down to play some wax for them a few months back. My aim is to migrate most of my dub library to vinyl but whilst I was in-between houses (i.e. pretty homeless), the ease of mixing on digis was enough to satisfy the skank inside my soul

📃Tracklist
@alphasteppa - Shaka Satori
@vibronicsdub - Chant Down Babylon
@irationsteppas - Kilimanjaro (@obfsoundsystem Base Camp Remix)
@doperationdrop - Liberation
@dubkasm - Jah Victory (feat. @lucianomessenjah)
@kibir.la.amlak - Do You Know? (feat. Majical)
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#dj #mix #reggae #dub #dubstep #dnb by @borzonidj

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a month ago

RULES OF THE DUB

Honestly one of the easiest (and most fun) tunes I've ever dubbed. I gave up pretty quickly trying to stop the 'spicy controller hands'...

@mungoshifi and @charliepreggae - Rules of the Dance (@kahnbristol Remix)

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#dj #mix #reggae #dub # dubstep # dnb by @borzonidj

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a month ago

GARDEN PARISH

Been taking a lot of inspiration (and vinyl samples) from Burning Spear recently. Hail H.I.M is a particularly pertinent album for me as it was one of the first bits of wax I bought from a back alley resale shop in Edinburgh. It felt like I'd earnt it after spending 15 minutes sifting through Simon & Garfunkel albums to find it.

I tried to capture a sense of ritual and space in the title track - only accompanied by some african percs and minimal bass to simulate a gathering. Felt pretty fitting to name it after Saint Ann's Bay in Jamaica that birthed Burning Spear (as well as Bob Marley and Marcus Garvey).
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#reggae #dj #musicproduction #dubstep #dnb #ableton by @borzonidj

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a month ago

BURNING SPEAR

Burning Spear is widely known as part of the first wave of reggae artists after the sound was changing from Rocksteady in the 1960s. He has since been crowned one of the godfathers of roots reggae and is the reason for Rastafari cementing itself in the UK. As well as being the inspiration for bands like Steel Pulse and Aswad.

Born in the rural coastal town of St Anne's Bay, Jamaica, Winston Rodney swam in the same waters that both Bob Marley and Marcus Garvey had done before him.

His upbringing was pretty typical of Jamaican youths at the time, listening to whatever American radio stations would reach the island carrying James Brown or Curtis Mayfield.

As recording sessions became easier to fund on the island, Rodney began to write and record music shaped by his readings of Marcus Garvey and his philosophy of black self liberation.

After a casual conversation with Bob Marley, he was recommended to head to Coxsonne Dodd, at Studio One, and tell him that Marley had sent him. It was here that he released a series of singles as well as his first and second studio albums - 'Studio One Presents Burning Spear' and 'Rocking Time'.

After his first stint in the Jamaican music industry, he became disillusioned as he was being constantly pressured by labels to reduce his Rastafari message to become more commercial. This disillusionment led him back to being a farmer within Saint Ann and turning his back on the industry.

Just a year later, Winston Rodney started working with Jack Ruby (a local soundsystem operator) who helped him create the seminal reggae song 'Marcus Garvey', followed by the cult classic 'Slavery Days' and eventually the full 'Marcus Garvey' album. This album was a return to Burning Spear's spiritual verses and proved that Rastafari could be introspective and commercially successful.

The influence that Burning Spear has had on my own music is pretty direct, the space and message is something that I can only hope to recreate. But more indirectly, it's difficult to see how soundsystem culture in the UK would be without his early shaping of reggae music.
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#reggae #dub #reggaemusic by @borzonidj

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a month ago

REGGAE & DUB MIX

Here's a few clips from a mix I'd pulled together ahead of the @everybodys_yard Dub Special (that was then lost to my laptop deciding to peel apart like a banana whenever you opened it). The session was so much so big ups @redlionbs5 and the Everybody's Yard team for having me! If you haven't experienced one yet and you live in Bristol then you need to take a long hard look at yourself

I'd selected tunes from my whole library, so a good mix of modern classics as well as more recent releases - some of which I had downloaded over a decade ago and that's something I really didn't need to think about...

I'll be putting the full mix out on Soundcloud later this month so stay 🔒🔒

📃Tracklist
@EGOLESS - Rivers of the Earth
@akae_beka - Heavy Low
@leojamesdub - Speak Back
@pitchblacknz - Transient Transmission
@tmsvmusic - Stinkin' Rich
@dubkasm & @phaeleh_ - Missao
@yakshasounds & @fikiramlak777

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#dj #mix #reggae #dub #dubstep #dnb taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @borzonidj

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a month ago

Yes then people what we saying about Yard this month? We’re back with another reggae and dub special to get you warmed up and ready for some St Paul’s action. And we have a bunch of wicked local selectors coming through and we can’t wait!

Come through on the 19th to the Red Lion, free entry and as always, a slice of open decks to start the night, so if you’ve got some reggae and dub records you’re dying to share and spin, we’d love to hear them! by @borzonidj

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4 months ago

In the early 1960s race relations in Bristol were incredibly fierce and vehement both between people and within legislation. There was a 'colour ban' put in place by Bristol's most popular bus company that mean that Black and Asian could not apply to be drivers, despite a labour shortage. In response, a group of local activists called the Seven Saints of St Pauls, devised a citywide bus boycott that lasted for four months and gained national attention and backing. As a direct result of this, the first non-white bus conductor was employed in Bristol that same year. The boycott can also be linked to the creation of the 1965 Race Relations Act. In the midst of a societal temperament like this, St Pauls Carnival was born.

Originally founded in 1968 by members of the St Pauls community who, many of them, found themselves in the UK after being invited on the Windrush to rebuild the country after a fairly reasonably sized war. The idea was to celebrate the culture that they had taken with them from the Caribbean and, in the words of the 1968 programme, foster 'better understanding, greater respect and increasing harmony' in the community.

From it's humble beginnings, the carnival is now a global showcase of Afro-caribbean culture that celebrates the harmony of so many different histories. The streets effervesce with people flowing to different Sound Systems, music, dance, food, costume and community - St Pauls is a monument to inspiring the masses to connect over all of life's pleasures, and a bottle or two of Magnum.

Many acts have been impassioned by the Sound Systems at St Pauls such as Roni Size, Massive Attack, and (most importantly from a musical heritage stance) me.

St Pauls will always attract an immense crowd and an even more impressive vibe, this is because the nature of music and the arts is that it evolves with the community. But it is important to educate ourselves on the history of the event and the influence that it has had on individuals, communities, cities, countries, music, and thought.
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#stpauls #bristol #dj #reggae #dnb #jungle taken in St Pauls Carnival Bristol by @borzonidj

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a year ago

UK NIGHTLIFE GOING DARK • 16.02.25

Between June 2020 and June 2024, the UK lost 480 nightclubs—that’s two closing every week. The situation is worsening, and without intervention, the future of club culture looks bleak.

Nightclubs have been central to UK nightlife since at least the 1980s, evolving alongside dance music movements. The ‘90s club boom was partly fueled by the crackdown on illegal raves, pushing the underground into licensed venues. This golden era coincided with the rise of jungle, garage, dubstep, and grime, genres that reshaped global music.

That era is fading fast. Skyrocketing energy costs, rent hikes, licensing issues, and post-COVID struggles are strangling clubs, Gen Z now opt for staying inside rather than going out, probably inviting friends to huddle for warmth whilst British Gas burns £20 notes in front of pensioners for fun.

Campaigns like @saveoursceneuk and the @musicvenuetrust have done an incredible job of securing funding for grassroots venues introducing a mandatory ticket levy so Swifties, by law, have to give at least some of their ticket cost to the venues that support local talent.

Government support is crucial, but nightlife itself must evolve to survive today’s world. That’s a separate debate—and I’ve already turned this into a ranty Tumblr post from 2009.

As I mentioned, everyone but oil barons and oligarchs are suffering right now but if you can support the underground by going to grassroots events and buying merch then you should.

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#article #dj #dubstep #ukg #radio #dnb #grime #ukbass #140 #naturebeats by @borzonidj

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2 years ago

LOST IN MUSIC • INNER ECHO • 13.12.24

@inner_echo_music are a duo that fully embody the sound of Bristol. Low-end-centric music that is deeply rooted in soundsystem culture, with influences from techno, breaks, dubstep, and beyond, laces their sonic signature. This unique fusion shines in their latest release, Lost In Music, on @moonshinerec —a modern dub reggae EP that sounds innovative while staying entirely true to its foundational roots.

The motif of traditional dub elements paired with modern clarity and forward-thinking production is immediately evident in the opening track, ‘How I Feel’. Its captivating atmospheres set the tone for the entire album, layering foundational sounds with ethereal textures and heavy bass weight that you can tell would sound just as good in your headphones as it would in a session.

‘Let You Down’ brings a more introspective mood with its shimmering dub chords and arpeggios that is both introspective and immersive.

@donfereggae phenomenal flute in the track ‘Relent’ introduces a beautiful organic tone over focal point with Dom Fe’s flute performance.

The sonic experimentation is rife with ‘Unseen’, as it features some of the most intriguing textures I've heard.

Inner Echo’s Lost In Music is a seamless blend of tradition and innovation that showcases their deep respect for the genre while fearlessly pushing its boundaries.

Out now on Moonshine Recordings

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#dj #dubstep #dub #radio #roots #grime #ukbass #140 #naturebeats taken in Bristol, United Kingdom by @borzonidj

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2 years ago