DJ SS

DJ SS
DJ SS

DJ SS performs at a rave.
Background information
Birth name Leroy Small
Also known as Leon Small
Born 27 August 1970 (1970-08-27) (age 41)
Leicester, England
Genres Electronica
Drum and bass
Occupations Producer
Disc Jockey
Labels Benz-Street

DJ SS (born Leroy Small, 27 August 1970, Leicester, England) is an English drum and bass DJ and record producer. SS is short for Scratchenstein, which is a name he used when he was a hip hop scratch DJ, and a part of the hip hop act, The Formation Five, whose name inspired the name of his record label. Has two children, Parris and Jordan and is married to wife, Tania who runs the artist management agency, UMC (Underground Music Collective). His siblings include Pam, Melanie and Fitzroy.

Originally a breakdancer, DJ Stratchenstein began playing electro music as a teenager in the early 1980s. He then played hip hop and rare groove before turning to producing in 1988 initially acid house, hardcore, breakbeat and finally drum and bass tracks.

SS got his big break DJ'ing at the big British raves of the early 1990s such as Telepathy. Since then he has gone on to DJ world wide. His biggest hit came in 2002 with "The Lighter", reaching number 63 on the UK Singles Chart.[1]

SS is the co-founder and head of the Formation Records label, and has released over 100 tracks using a number of aliases. These include the "Color Series" and the "Country Series", MA3 "Those DJs", the piano-theme-from-Love Story-sampling "Lighter" (the label's biggest hit) plus many popular drum and bass tunes. He has also remixed "No Good (Start the Dance)" by The Prodigy. He has featured on radio shows such as BBC 1Xtra's D&B M1X, on which he put together an hour-long mix of Formation tracks and was interviewed about his career.[2]

The Formation label has become a stable for new drum and bass producers such as John B and Twisted Individual.

References

  1. ^ "DJ SS", Chart Stats, retrieved 9 August 2010
  2. ^ "BBC 1Xtra D&B M1X with Crissy Criss", BBC, 17 June 2010, retrieved 9 August 2010

Further reading

  • Shapiro, Peter (1999) "DJ SS / Formation Records", in Drum 'n' Bass: The Rough Guide, Rough Guides, ISBN 978-1858284330, p. 211-3

External links



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