10 Essential Grooverider Tracks

The 'Rider. Many can lay claim to helping drum & bass rise to where it is now, but many haven't been around as long as Grooverider has. He's been a lo

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Complex Original

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The 'Rider. Many can lay claim to helping drum & bass rise to where it is now, but many haven't been around as long as Grooverider has. He's been a longstanding pioneer within the scene, helping nurture the switch from the hardcore sounds to the jungle and drum & bass sounds that have emerged since. And while many know of Groove as the supreme DJ that he is, he's also been producing for just as long. He spent most of the 1990s releasing tunes on Metalheadz and his Prototype Recordings imprint, culminating with the release of his critically-acclaimed Mysteries of Funk album. He's also been a sought-after remixer, reworking everyone from Bjork to UB40.

While he's not as active as a producer anymore (although he's mentioned getting back into it), it's great to look at what he's done over his career. So much is heaped onto the feats he's achieved while putting the drum & bass scene on his back that his work as an artist can be cast to the side. Let's look at 10 essential Grooverider tracks, hoping that we can get some more new material from him in the near future.

Fabio & Grooverider - "Rage"

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(Perception Records, 1990)

Back before jungle or drum & bass, there was the madcap house and rave days that Fabio and Grooverider were well-immersed in. They used their residencies at London's Rahe club night to experiment on different sounds, with "Rage" sounding like the early beginnings of many styles leaping out from the vinyl.

Codename John - "(Inta) The Anthem"

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(Prototype, 1994)

The percussion on this one is so key. You have to admire the warmness of the subs laying a beautiful bed for all of those drums being laid on this one. Feels very tribal in its approach.

Bjork - "Bachelorette (Grooverider 'Jeep' Remix)"

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(One Little Indian, 1997)

You have to respect Grooverider letting this one build for damn near four minutes, and while the drop doesn't bash you over the head with a meta-bassline or anything, it shows how precision beats and intricate sounds can elevate drum & bass as a scene that's more than just blaring bass and hyper beats. This is a well-crafted machine, subtlely pulling in more bits as the tune progresses.

Codename John - "Structure Of Red"

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(Metalheadz, 1997)

Grooverider representing for Metalheadz on this one. "Structure Of Red" doesn't stray far from the established rhythm, but ultimately that's its charm.

Goldie - "Kemistry (Grooverider VIP Mix)"

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(Razor's Edge, 1997)

Grooverider took one of Goldie's best from the Timeless LP and totally reconstructed the intro, taking hold of the source material and truly turning it into his own monster. One of those tracks that affirmed Grooverider's position as the leader of the darkside.

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Jonny L - "Piper (Grooverider Remix)"

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(XL Recordings, 1997)

Classic. There's a lot that can be said for Grooverider's pulsating rework of Jonny L's "Piper," but all you truly need to know is that this one redefines the idea of "epic" when it comes to drum & bass tunes. How he found the time to weave in some jazzy horns amidst this tech-y sea is a feat many still can't grasp.

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808 State - "Pacific (Groove Jeep Mix)"

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(ZZT, 1998)

Tunes like this should help you understand why he's called the "groove" rider. You have to appreciate how he pieced a number of different vibes, from the twinkle of a piano to the futuristic snarl of a basstone into a rolling melody.

Grooverider - "Imagination (Parts 1 & 2)"

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(Higher Ground, 1998)

Talk about jazz. While Reprazent blended more of the live instrumentation into their music, Grooverider would make tracks that'd sound like some of Miles Davis' more fusion-y albums, laying sharp horns atop some proper electronic beats. This is a sprawling affair, clocking in at over 10 minutes, and damn near DJ's itself.

Grooverider - "Where's Jack The Ripper?"

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(Higher Ground / Protoype, 1999)

Taken from Groove's Mysteries of Funk album, this nine minute roller is one of the darkest tunes on the project. It's also one of the tracks he crafted with Optical, so it has that bionic funk that's so prevalant in Optical's work, but it feels like something Grooverider would sneak into a set, catching people off guard. You have to love how it establishes one groove, then midway through it switches into a different sequence altogether. Perfect.

Rachid - "Charade (Grooverider Remix)"

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(Never Released)

One of the best drum & bass remixes ever, and it will probably never get an official release. Rachid was signed to Universal, and this remix was commissioned, but once his deal fell through, this masterpiece got shelved. Word is that some within the community got dubplate versions of this one, but it was never made available for sale, for shame. There's something about the vocals paired with that jazzy bassline, all wrapped in that deep funk. Makes us wish Grooverider was producing on a regular basis.

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