Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
All Music Guide:
Among the youngest of the new-school drum'n'bass innovators, John B. has amassed an impressive discography in the short few years he's been producing jungle. With track credits scattered among the cream of the underground crop -- including Formation, New Identity, Shoebox, and Grooverider's Prototype imprint -- John B. has gradually come to the fore as a producer of sharp, tough-to-nail-down tracks that bridge many styles at once, incorporating elements of jazz and funk, electro and techno, and hard- and tech-leaning darkside in brisk, challenging tunes.
Born John B. Williams in London's Maidenhead, he began producing in his early teens. Working from a second-hand studio his father helped him piece together, Williams released a few mostly forgettable techno tracks before widening his scope to include the burgeoning drum'n'bass sound. Collecting a few tunes onto a demo, Williams sent his tracks to a more or less random collection of producers and labels, including Goldie and DJ SS's New Identity label, and received encouragement from both (as well as a licensing deal from SS; his "Jazz Sessions 1" appeared on New Identity's label compilation Jazz and Bass). From there he released the "Sight Beyond"/"Fermat's Theorem" 12" (on New Identity), as well as the "Cooper" single (as IC1 on the 5HQ label). Williams gained a higher profile gig with his appearance on Grooverider's The Prototype Years compilation; "Secrets," one of the triple-pack's many exclusives, was a high point among high points and more than held its own next to killers from the likes of Ed Rush, Dillinja, Boymerang, and Dominic Angus (aka Dom & Roland). "Slamfunk," subsequently released on Formation, was the first single from his debut full-length, Visions, released in early 1998. One year later, Catalyst appeared on his own Beta Recordings.
Wikipedia:
John B (born John Bryn Williams, 1977, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England) is an English DJ and electronic music producer. He is widely recognised for his eccentric clothing and wild hair and his production of several cutting edge drum and bass tracks.
John B ranked #76 in DJ Magazine 's 2010 Top 100 DJs annual poll, announced on 27 October 2010.
Biography
Williams started producing music around the age of 14, and now is the head of drum and bass record label Beta Recordings, together with its more specialist drum and bass sub-labels Nu Electro, Tangent, and Chihuahua. He also has releases on Formation Records, Metalheadz and Planet Mu.
Williams was ranked 1st drum and bass DJ on the 2009 DJMag's top 100. and #92 on the DJ List as of October 3, 2009.
He attended Durham University.
Style
While his trademark sound has evolved through the years, it generally involves female vocals and trance-like synths (a style which has been dubbed "trance and bass", "trancestep" and "futurestep" by listeners). His most recent concentration is an 1980s electroclash influenced fusion of electro and drum and bass, which was dubbed 'electrostep'. At first (around early 2002), this style seemed odd and comical to some in the drum and bass community. However, this move has given John the ability to carry his style of drum and bass forward. He has dabbled in darkstep, jazzstep and various other styles in his time. When he DJs, he is known to spin both drum and bass and electrohouse, sometimes with other genres such as disco and rock, in the same sets.
