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Rocky

 

Rocky Bio

Be it with his X-Press 2 group or when flying solo, Rocky knows how to push all the boundaries.

Rocky started DJ-ing in the mid 80s playing hip-hop, jazz, soul and funk at a local youth club and various birthdays and weddings; he later on moved to performing at clubs in and around London. He hooked up with Diesel in ‘87 and did the first Rocky and Diesel gig at a night called Trance in Barbarellas Greenford in ‘88. They began playing around the time when acid house started to attract more followers, and were carried along with the wave to ultimately achieve residency at London’s Yellow Book in ‘89. They also appeared regularly at Boys Own events and performed remixes for the Farm and other bands of the time.

By ‘92 Rocky and Diesel had joined forces with Ashley Beedle and formed X-Press 2 who burst onto the international club scene with the demented sirens, typewriter-noise percussions and dance floor pyrotechnics of Muzik Express which became an instant worldwide club hit. The three DJs, all from the London suburbs, had each played leading roles in the capital’s cooler, more influential club scenes. A string of club hits followed as well as worldwide acclaim both for their productions and DJ sets. Rocky and Beedle started Ballistic Brothers along with Dave Hill and Uschi Classen moving into jazzier, funkier, more downbeat arenas and further international acclaim.

In ‘96 Rocky and Mark Wilkinson started producing as Problem Kids, writing two albums and several singles for Paper Recordings and Junior Boys Own. This continued until Ashley, Diesel and Rocky decided to give X-Press 2 another go, and in April of 2000 X-Press 2 found themselves back together on the road and in the studio. In 2001 they released the mighty AC/DC, while in 2002 came the singles Muzikizum and Lazy before the lads released their debut album also titled Muzikizum; the album was critically acclaimed and charted at #15 in the national charts while Lazy successfully reached #2.

They went on to develop a dazzling six deck DJ performance that used effects-ridden mic performances from Ashley and CD-players and basic samplers to send crowds wild. “We like a bit of a challenge and it certainly creates something of a potent atmosphere”, says Rocky.

Rocky has been working on X-Press 2 stuff consistently, and in 2006 they produced and released their second album entitled Makeshift Feelgood featuring tracks such as Give It, Don’t Make Me Wait and Light My Soul. The following years saw Rocky and the X-Press 2 work continuously releasing a handful of singles from Opulence/Down The Whole (2010, Skint Records) and Time featuring James Yuill (2010, Skint Records) to the most recent single Tone Head Chemistry/Siren Track (2011, Skint Records) featuring a collaboration with Tim Deluxe. They also found the time to release a compilation album titled Raise Your Hands in 2008, featuring their greatest hits.

Rocky is a man of many talents and whether he chooses to perform solo or with his the X-Press 2, be sure to expect great deliverance and passion.

 

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