Joker

In 2007, with the underground in the midst of grime exploding nationwide and dubstep beginning to show new possibilities for UK bass music, a then 16-year old Joker was making his first contribution to the scene he’d later go on to define. Since the release of his debut record, the Kapsize EP, he’s been swept along by a wave of hype and excitement that hasn’t allowed him much chance to catch his breath.
From a young age, Joker was DJing at clubs in and around his hometown of Bristol – “I was eighteen for a long time,” he once wryly remarked in an interview – it was in these environments that Joker developed a hunger to make music. His first moment of recognition came when a hero of his, Plastician, responded favourably to being cold mailed the track ‘Gully Brook Lane’ and began dropping it into his live sets. This provided the catalyst for Joker to start taking his music making more seriously, and against the backdrop of Bristol’s rich musical heritage he was well placed to thrive.
Further encouragement followed when one of the city’s dubstep pioneers, Rob Ellis AKA Pinch, booked him to DJ at his club night and subsequently agreed to put out his debut record on the Earwax imprint. Naming the debut EP after his late-cousin, Kapsize was a tribute he’s maintained with the founding of his own label of the same name.