Who are ya?
Yorkshire acid house specialist Blawan, aka Jamie Roberts, has caused a stir since arriving in style three years ago with a clutch of percussive, cold acid house tracks. Ultra-cool techno label Hessle picked up his 'Fram/Iddy' tune last year and his career has snowballed since. Inspired by Ben UFO DJing on Rinse FM, Roberts escaped the post university malaise to DJ around the world. Born in Thurnscoe he began his musical life drumming in post-punk bands. Now firmly based in the capital, he sports a true East London look complete with oversized caps and natty facial hair.
Roberts cites The XX and Moderat producer Untold and Hessle label mate Pangae among his influences and their penchants for slower, building groovers is clearly evident in Blawan's style. After escaping early flirtings with more synthetic sounds, Roberts has used his drumming abilities to fine effect and has gained a ferocious live reputation for stinking sets packed with intense bass and carefully nuanced drops.
Since the release of Fram in 2010, he has strung together a collection of hits on a plethora of trendy labels including Belgian techno label R&S, Hessle and Hinge Finger. His Bohla EP was snapped up by London's DJs while Getting Me Down, which features an exhilarating R&B diva sample, was named Resident Advisor's best single of 2011. He has scooped a number of prestigious sets including Manchester's Warehouse Project and collaborated with fellow hardware specialists The Analogue Cops and Pariah.
"Perhaps the highlight so far of the UK underground’s recent fascination with acid house, you wouldn’t need to be told that to figure it out from his tunes. Built from rambunctious, elastic rhythm tracks that whip, snap, and crash in all directions, they always land in a wonderfully satisfying thud even if not always in the exact place you’d expect pretty much sums it up." - Fact Magazine
