Substance

“flips from modern floor fillers to classic joints from the 1990s … similarly impressive as guests Cash Money, De La Soul and Kool Herc”
(INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY)

“truly a demon of the scratch it and see school of mixing … coming to a four deck fiesta near you”
(I.D MAGAZINE)

“combines turntable trickery with club promotion savvy” (SOCIETY MAGAZINE)

“plays his own distinctive blend of hip hop, future funk and atmospheric jazz”
(FLYIN – TV CLUB GUIDE SHOW)

“awesome display of turntable trickery”
(ESCAPADE MAGAZINE)

“a scratch, a cut, a mix and a good knowledge of your record collection goes a long way”
(PRAXIS MAGAZINE)

To read full biog click here.

DJ Roc 1 is a prominent and respected member of the UK's true school movement, first gaining recognition as a beatboxer amongst Birmingham's soul and reggae sound systems during the 1980s. As the British hip hop scene flourished in the late 80s and early 90s Roc turned his attention to crafting his abilities as a DJ, learning the art of moving a crowd and ultimately producing music. During the 90s Roc dj'd for emerging Midlands hip hop groups including Urban South (Nation Records) and Rhyme Time Inc. Roc went on to become an accomplished turntablist and has competed in a numerous competitions and ranked as finalist in 1999 DMC heats.

Roc is perhaps best known today for his role as resident DJ at SUBSTANCE which Roc is proud to describe as "the blueprint to all the current hip hop nights in the city". Throughout his DJ career, Roc has succeeded in creating strong bonds within the international hip hop community and now works giving practical workshops on the art of djing and hip hop culture throughout the UK and overseas. Roc recently toured his educational performance piece, "True School Antics", inspired by Roc's vision and ethos hip hop's elements "need to be maintained and nourished".

Madflow is one of the stalwarts of Birmingham's hip hop community and an integral part of a core group of luminary artists, MCs & DJs from the city including Juice Aleem, Soweto Kinch, Shadowless, Kingstun, MSI & Asylum and, of course, the Substance collective. Tirelessly performing high energy P.A.s , Madflow has entertained crowds across the UK and overseas with his phenomenal beat boxing and MCing skills.

Madflow has released material on Son Records (home to artists such as Huntkilbury Finn and Pitt Man), Big Dada (Roots Manuva / TY / New Flesh) and Different Drummer (Rocker's HiFi / Overproof). However, it is Madflow's dynamic stage presence and quick witted freestyle skills that have made his name as a performer. In his accomplished career, Madfow has toured Europe alongside DJ Vadim and is regularly invited to speak on hip hop culture and coach beatboxing and microphone technique at workshops across the country.

Magoo is perhaps one of the Midlands' most accomplished percussionists, having enjoyed a diverse career of performing and recording. His specialism is in African and South American percussion and he has worked as session musician for the likes of Idjut Boys, Angel Lee, The Capoeira Twins, Disfunction Records, Different Drummer and Guidance.

He is also a key member of several percussion ensembles including Babatunde; a six piece band blending West African, Brazilian and Caribbean rhythms, Del Camino; a six piece Salsa Latin funk band and Orquestra Huracan; a twelve piece traditional Cuban salsa band.

Magoo is known internationally for his role in the Overproof Sound system, which features members of Rockers Hi-Fi (Different Drummer) and G-Corp (Guidance). Magoo also performs at club nights across Europe with residencies at Softly in Barcelona as well as, of course, Substance where his energetic stage presence has become a key feature of the night.

Oversize are Ian Harper (bass) and Ed Lawes (drums). They are the rhythm section of the Substance live band. Their sound is described as 'deliberately fat' with influences ranging from the Roots to Sly and Robbie. Both musicians are multi instrumentalists and started working together as a brass section (trumpet and saxophone) at live shows and recordings for Nigel Clark (ex Dodgy frontman). Their self produced debut recording 'Oversize' (pictured) was released in 2000. In 2003 they performed at the Shambala Festival with an extended line up of guitar (Frank Moon), vocals (Allison Simmons) and MC (Darren Myers)

Ed has since produced an album of solo work ' 14 TRACKS/PIECES ' for Planet Mu records (ZIQ110) and is currently working on his second release. Ian continues to perform live and record with 'Munchbreak' a Birmingham based Hip Hop, Funk and Reggae collective. The debut EP 'MUNCHBREAK' (JIBB001) was released in August 2005 on Jibbering Records.