Rocky started DJing in the mid 80s playing hip-hop, jazz, soul and funk. He hooked up with Diesel in 87 and did the first Rocky and Diesel gig at Barbarellas, West London. They started to make music with Ashley Beedle in 92 and made their first X-Press 2 record, Muzik Express.
A string of club hits followed along with starting the band Ballistic Brothers. In 2001, they wrote the X-Press 2 album Muzikizum that included Lazy with David Byrne! They released a second, third and finally, a fourth album in 2012, The House of X-Press 2.
Around 2012, Rocky’s love of all things soul was reignited. Since then, he has had regular bookings at lots of soulful gigs and several appearances at the Ibiza Soul Week and Modcast events. He is still DJing regularly with Diesel as X-Press 2 and working on new music.
We thought it’d be fun to do a little Q&A with Rocky so here goes:
BEST MOVIE SCENE EVER
“When ET’s heart starts flashing again from inside that tank. Tears. Every single time!”
ONE OF YOUR MOST LOVED SOUNDTRACKS
“Pretty much anything that Ennio Morricone’s ever done. Just a genius. Saw him conducting on a birthday tour he did some years back. Utterly mesmerising.”
LAST SUPPER
“Something spicy, maybe Indian. A big ol’ spread with loads of veggie side dishes and breads, and beers. Loads of freezing cold IPA’s. A bit fizzy, so you can burp and make room for more grub!”
GUILTY PLEASURE
“Cinnamon buns.”
WHAT DO YOU LOVE TO COOK?
“Loads of bits really. Although if pushed I think it’d have to be Indian. I got the Dishoom book a while back. I love all that 24 hour/2 day prep stuff.”
So that concludes our Q&A with Rocky – now let’s get to the music 🎶
As part of our monthly guest DJ sets on #Mixcloud #Soundcloud and next in the line-up to continue our monthly sessions is Rocky who will be kicking us off with this…
FROM THE ATTIC TO THE BASEMENT – FEBRUARY 23 – BY ROCKY
“A dig through the boxes of tunes and racks of vinyl that have followed me through life. From soulful funkiness through disco to house.”
Have a listen, like and follow. Oh, and please share these beautiful vibes.
