Celebrating 30 Years of V Recordings

Bryan Gee and Jumpin Jack Frost founded V Recordings in 1993. It’s the product of a long friendship that was born out of the love of music. Byran Gee grew up in Gloucester. Jumpin Jack Frost is Brixton born and bred. Their paths eventually crossed in Brixton, after Bryan’s passion for music led him there.

Their personal stories reveal that the music changed their lives. It transformed them from a life of street crime to the birth of one of drum and bass’ most prolific record labels.

Bryan Gee

Drum and Bass DJ Bryan Gee smiling

Bryan Gee grew up in Cheltenham in a close Jamaican community surrounded by sound system culture, where he caught the DJ bug at an early age. As a teenager, he began becoming involved with the local sound system Challenger and his natural flair for the music led him to become its selector. 

Reggae was his first love.

Gee’s love for music eventually led him to Brixton in the early 80s. He cultivated a close friendship with another DJ. They introduced him to jazz-funk. This sparked his interest in different genres of music.

Music has been somewhat of a lifesaver for Gee. 

Life in Brixton in the 80s was a far cry from the Brixton we see today. A high unemployment rate, racial tensions, and poor relations between the police and black community were prevalent. Gee describes his life in Brixton before music was leading him to all the wrong places. Before the music, Gee spent 2 years in prison for an attempted street robbery. Despite these initial difficulties, Bryan was able to turn his life around and find a music career.

In the wake of his release from prison, Gee decided to relaunch his sound system. When he started playing wherever he could get gigs, he called the sound system Kleer FM, and he jumped straight into the mix. His DJ skills soon led him to DJ for parties and pirate radio stations around the area. Gee’s knowledge of the scene led him to a job at Outer Rhythm, a Rhythm King offshoot that launched artists such as Leftfield and Moby’s careers.

It was after leaving this job Gee decided to follow his heart and start his record label. Bryan Gee, the legendary label boss behind V Recordings, has a genuine passion for drum and bass music which shines through his distinctive wide grin. 

Jumpin Jack Frost

UK Drum And Bass Events_DJ Jumping Jack Frost

Frost grew up in Brixton. He was influenced by Soul, Funk, Reggae, and Foundation hip-hop. These genres would later form the basis of jungle music, for which Frost would become renowned. In his youth, Frost worked as a box boy for the local Frontline Sound. Eventually, he became a mic man. This all happened in the seventies and eighties, when sound systems were on the rise in the UK.

In his interview with DJ Ron on London Something, Frost recalls that he’d had enough of the street life he’d been living in Brixton. Frost started hanging out in the infamous Africa Centre in Brixton. Listening to and garnering an appreciation for different genres of music as well as seeing a different way to live. It was here where the likes of Jazzy B and Trevor Nelson had a positive influence on Frost, he stopped misbehaving and started to mature. 

“They saw a lot of potential in me. I saw a different kind of black person, someone who could be respected through other means. And I wanted to be that person.”

Frost describes the night that he met Gee as a pivotal moment in his life. Aged around 17 or 18, Frost was intrigued to see another black man with the same music tastes as him. They had a conversation after Gee’s set where Gee offered to teach Frost how to play a radio show. They went on to form a partnership that led them to DJ together on pirate radio station Quest FM, then to their station, Passion FM, in Brixton. Frost credits Gee for the career he has today: 

“If it wasn’t for Bryan, I don’t think I would be sitting here today. He knows that. I told him, I love him. I love him man like a brother. He’s like my big brother”

With rave culture exploding across the UK, Frost quickly became a popular headliner. The next step up for him was joining the influential Dynamix music agency, turning him into an international deejay.

Leviticus Burial (1994)

In 1994, under the alias Leviticus, Jumpin Jack Frost released “Burial” on the V Recordings sub-label Philly Blunt. The track samples a classic 70s rare groove track called Mademoiselle by Foxy (1978). 

Creating a timeless classic requires an equally legendary production team. As the production credits show it was a true collaborative effort. The album was recorded at Dillinja’s studio, engineered by Dillinja alongside Optical, and mixed by DJ SS. Frost’s sister Yolanda provided the vocals for the B-side of the album. 

V Recordings

When V Recordings was formed in 1993, Byran Gee says didn’t have massive plans for it. He told Killa Kella in an interview:

“We never started this label with a big plan. Me and Frost, we never sat down with spreadsheets and thought that in five years this is where we’ll be and what we’d achieve. We just did this because we love music”

These two DJs, influenced by sound system culture, had an ear for finding good talent and records for their label.In 1993, the artists who worked with V Recordings in the Jungle Drum and Bass scene were just starting out. Now, in 2024, we can look back and see that V Recordings has collaborated with many important names.  They signed Roni Size, Krust, Die, and Suv, who formed Reprazent and went on to win Mercury award for their debut album “New forms”.  Dillinja, Ray Keith, Ed Rush & Optical, and Adam F also had early releases on V Recordings.

Over 30 years on V Recordings are still at the forefront of the drum and bass scene and continue to work with up-and-coming artists. As Gee told UKF:

“​​I love my history but it’s time to show people a new face and a new sound. I love the old stuff and the legacy of men like Roni and Krust and Marky and Dillinja but I want the new people to get the support because I feel they can stand up in terms of quality and musicality.” 

We will be joining the V Recordings to celebrate their monumental achievement of 30 years at Sub89 Reading on 24th February.

Sources:

  1. Big, Bad & Heavy – Jumping Jack Frost (Mini Documentary):  https://youtu.be/GfbWFVJ5Bv8?si=88Vn1X7IhP4SDOd-
  2. Brian Gee Bio: https [web page]://www.vrecordings.com/artist/bryan-gee
  3. Brixton Riots 1981: What happened in 40 years ago in London? [BBC Article]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/50035769
  4. Bryan Gee Interview w/ Killa Kela (part 1): https://youtu.be/1SPWUFpYMZ0?si=S-F0UwhvpuOjdSug
  5. Bryan Gee: “Stop asking me about the history, ask me about the future!” [UKF Interview]: https://ukf.com/words/bryan-gee-stop-asking-me-about-the-history-ask-me-about-the-future/15351
  6. Jumpin Jack Frost Bio [web page]: https://www.vrecordings.com/artist/jumpin-jack-frost
  7. Jumpin Jack Frost Interview on London Something: https://youtu.be/x9nubcuMNYY?si=F8N30NHW36o_D-4v
  8. New forms album [web page]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Forms