Cyrus Ramsey
06-30-2005, 11:46 PM
A Picture Of Bristol by Roni Size’ is to be broadcast on BBC THREE as part of the BBC’s current landmark series, ‘A Picture Of Britain’. The half hour documentary is an insightful, energetic and very personal portrait of the physical and cultural landscape that has shaped Roni Size and his music. The programme goes behind the scenes with Roni to visit the places from which he draws inspiration for his work and sees him compose an original soundtrack to accompany the film.
Roni Size and his music are inextricably linked to the city of Bristol. Possessing one of the most diverse populations and cultural mixes in Britain, Bristol is Roni’s birthplace, the city in which he grew up, and remains his hometown today. Musically the area has become synonymous with a sound that reflects the city’s multifarious population and which is captured in Roni’s music as that of his local peers, such as; The Wild Bunch, Smith and Mighty, Massive Attack, and Portishead. In the film, Roni also looks at St Paul’s Carnival – an important and significant event which he describes as “A day we celebrated our parents coming to Bristol and out West Indian heritage.”
As a 15 year old, Roni was excluded from school and found himself in Sefton Park’s ‘The Basement’ - a local community scheme. The project taught Roni about sampling, drum machines, mixing and how to manipulate technology to make music. It was this introduction to the world of music that laid the foundations for Roni’s musical career, which saw him go on to win the Mercury Music Prize. True to his roots, Roni gave a chunk of the Mercury Music Prize money back to ‘The Basement’ to ensure its survival and continuing role within the community.
Roni Size remains one of the few true household names of the dance music scene and is still at the forefront and cutting edge of the music he himself pioneered and help create. From his Bristol base Roni continues to make new innovative music, run his own label and studio and tour the world as a live musician and DJ, as well as support and bring through new local talent.
‘A Picture Of Bristol by Roni Size’
Monday 11th July 7.30pm on BBC THREE
Roni Size and his music are inextricably linked to the city of Bristol. Possessing one of the most diverse populations and cultural mixes in Britain, Bristol is Roni’s birthplace, the city in which he grew up, and remains his hometown today. Musically the area has become synonymous with a sound that reflects the city’s multifarious population and which is captured in Roni’s music as that of his local peers, such as; The Wild Bunch, Smith and Mighty, Massive Attack, and Portishead. In the film, Roni also looks at St Paul’s Carnival – an important and significant event which he describes as “A day we celebrated our parents coming to Bristol and out West Indian heritage.”
As a 15 year old, Roni was excluded from school and found himself in Sefton Park’s ‘The Basement’ - a local community scheme. The project taught Roni about sampling, drum machines, mixing and how to manipulate technology to make music. It was this introduction to the world of music that laid the foundations for Roni’s musical career, which saw him go on to win the Mercury Music Prize. True to his roots, Roni gave a chunk of the Mercury Music Prize money back to ‘The Basement’ to ensure its survival and continuing role within the community.
Roni Size remains one of the few true household names of the dance music scene and is still at the forefront and cutting edge of the music he himself pioneered and help create. From his Bristol base Roni continues to make new innovative music, run his own label and studio and tour the world as a live musician and DJ, as well as support and bring through new local talent.
‘A Picture Of Bristol by Roni Size’
Monday 11th July 7.30pm on BBC THREE