Hi! Who are you?
Nick: Yooo I’m Nick aka The Prototypes and myself and Benny V both own and run Roadblock Records!
What’s your ethos?
Nick: To release banging dnb from producers that push boundaries and package it differently to the rest
Tell us your origin story…
Nick: Myself and Benny weirdly both became available to work together at exactly the same time…I had a concept for a new label for a while and wanted to bring someone on board to make that a reality. Better than that we decided to start the project as a partnership and after a few meetings Roadblock was born.
Benny V: I have always rated what The Prototypes have been doing and although the music style isn’t exactly the same as what I have been working on I have always loved the raw energy.
Where are you based? Tell us about your local scene…
Nick: I’m based near Brighton and the scene down here is thriving. I feel it gets a bit overlooked when the best places in the UK for raving get mentioned. Brighton was strong when some weren’t and remains strong to this day.
Benny V: I’m born and bred in East London. Will never not appreciate growing up where I did, going to wicked raves every single weekend. A choice of multiple pirates on the airwaves and where I first cut my teeth DJing. Originally at 16 in my local Ice Rink at Lea Valley and then 17 when I started playing at Labyrinth.
Do you have a specific sound or vibe?
Nick: For the label, I think it’s not so much the sound as a sonic production but the sound that creates the vibe and energy in a track. I’ve always known what I like immediately. It’s an internal thing.
Benny V: It is always best not say “This is the sound” because things evolve. The scene. The vibe. Even ourselves. We are staying true to being music with a great energy throughout.
Do you have a regular artist roster?
Nick: Not sure we can release that yet…
Benny V: We have an absolutely brilliant blend of the top-level established acts and have hand-picked some of the rising stars that we believe in
Tell us about your A&R process…
Nick: We both get sent a lot of tunes and so far we’ve been on the same page with everything we’ve signed. I like to sit with the tune for a while and listen/play it in a number of different places before making a choice. It has to work for me day to day as much as in a club environment
Benny V: “What you think of this” has been our motto for the last few months. Throwing tracks to and fro and thrashing out, not just the best, but what fits best too.
What makes you different from other labels?
Benny V: The branding, the eclectic mix of styles and probably the fact that two different people who have worked in the scene for as long as we have, without ever officially crossing paths professionally means we can both draw from a massive pool of talent and experience.
Nick: I think it’s quite rare for two artists this far along to pair up on a project like this and I think our experiences from very different scenarios in career and life will really benefit the shape the label takes in the future
What does it take to run a bass music label in 2024?
Benny V: The game has changed immeasurably over the last few years. Before you got great music, got your artwork done, sent it to the club DJs and bang. Now you have to think of so many other aspects. It’s so unpopular to say for the original dons but the reality is, at this moment in time, the work you do on social media really can propel things. Whether that changes in the future we shall see.
Nick: Gotta be bang on it with the socials obviously. A lot more networking with the vast array of pages available to push the releases. I feel like the music I want for Roadblock has to grab your attention one way or another so it’s about varied campaigns, consistent quality music and a few extra tricks chucked in too.
What have you got coming up that we should look out for?
Nick: My 2nd single came out on Roadblock on Friday April 12. It’s called ‘Don’t Wanta Play’ and features Genesis Elijah.
Benny V: I team up with two exceptionally talented people Exile and Entice MC who I have done a fair amount of work with already, and we have something in the pipeline for Roadblock. I also have releases lined up on Suburban Base, Dance Concept, a liquid remix for Ruff DnB and even got a Hardcore track coming out in the summer which was tonnes of fun to make!
