EXPLODING OUT OF A hazy underground into the mainstream about seven years ago, drum'n'bass scythed through previously held conceptions of dance music. Skittering, jagged beats landed where conventional ones dared not go and were lubricated by flowing, undulating basslines. The result was a thrilling fusion of dancefloor energy with a hip-hop aesthetic, and it was suddenly everywhere. Like a doomed salmon making its final leap upriver against the current, however, it seemed to disappear as quickly as it arrived. DJ Suv was there to oversee the rise and, arguably, the inevitable fall of what once threatened to become the Empire's new groove.
A key player with the famed Reprazent collective, Suv emerged from the rain-swept, British port, Bristol, home to a scene that cultivated the likes of Portishead, Smith & Mighty, Massive Attack and Tricky. People began to wonder what was in Bristol's water when Suv - along with Roni Size and a bunch of talented friends including DJ Krust, DJ Die and MC Dynamite - created their magnificent 1997 jungle opus New Forms. It set a sophisticated benchmark - so much so that no one else could compete with its organic blend of live jazz, electronic wizardry and fierce rhythms.
'It set the standard,' admits Suv. 'It probably will do for years to come. Maybe drum'n'bass will never enjoy anything on that level again.'
Or maybe it will, as a rejuvenated underground appears to be gathering momentum again. Predictably, Suv is at the forefront of the new wave. The 31-year-old DJ released his first solo album in 2001, Desert Rose, that threw a distinctly Latino vibe into the mix to great effect. For Suv, it was just another influence to add to those gained from a varied gene pool and a passion for discovering new sounds. 'My girlfriend's Spanish, and I'd say she's responsible for me taking this direction at the moment,' he says. 'My granddad is from Venezuela, and my dad's from the Caribbean, so I'm a pretty mixed-up guy. My mum's from London, and because of that mix I've always been into different things. The white side of me likes David Bowie, Gary Numan, even Duran Duran. I used to be a mod, you know,' he coughs. How did he get to the world of jungle music? 'It was a natural progression for me. Mods and rude boys were mixing up their music in the early 1980s - all that two-tone ska stuff like The Specials. That was definitely all about the Caribbean influence. It was the first musical connection between blacks and whites in Britain, and it has remained ever since. I went straight to it, I felt like it was me.'
These days he plays the role of the technological troubadour, carrying his laptop around the world and absorbing influences. 'If you don't go out and live then your music becomes dead and mechanical,' Suv says. 'What I'm doing is recording local sounds - not pop music but what that particular country's really about.' Having recently returned from the unchartered drum'n'bass territory of Chile, he now finds himself with a whole new musical approach. 'I was playing down there as well as holding vocal competitions - MC-ing, singing, stuff like that,' Suv says. 'The winner would get to perform live with me onstage, and I found myself doing my own talent scouting.'
For any music to make both an artistic and commercial impact, personality is crucial, and this is something Suv has in deep reserves. There are still naysayers who look down on dance music as faceless, especially in this current climate where rock stars are vehemently making their anti-war stances known.
