TRYING DJ'S LATEST SOUND ON FOR SIZE; TIME RIGHT FOR HIS SMOOTH MIX OF JAZZ, HIP-HOP, RARE GROOVE.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer

For a while, it looked like British producer-performer Goldie would be the one to take the heavily rhythmic jungle-drum 'n' bass genre to the masses.

Then, Goldie veered off into the cosmos with a double album that contained little drum 'n' bass, instead favoring an hourlong orchestral piece that seemed to plod on forever.

Along came Roni Size, the dreadlocked disc jockey and producer from Bristol, England, whose work has been compared to well-received efforts from Portishead, Tricky and Massive Attack. His often thrilling sound has been labeled everything from the new rock to the new jazz to just plain DJ music.

Size's inventive double-album debut, ``New Forms'' (Talkin Loud/Mercury), goes far beyond the digital drums, basic hip-hop rhythms and mediocre rapping that are the hallmarks of much current electronic dance music.

With turntable spinners, keyboard operators, rappers and actual musicians in tow, Size and his seven-member band Reprazent come to the Roxy in West Hollywood tonight and Sunday. Guests include jungle DJs Bryan Gee, Jumping Jack Frost, Raymond Roker and Jun for a long evening of this new music.

``The sound developed from years of messing around with technology, messing about with equipment,'' Size, 28, said last week from the Cleveland stop on his North American tour. ``You don't realize it's unique until someone says it doesn't really sound like anything else.''

Size won Britain's prestigious Mercury Music Prize in 1997, given for the year's most adventurous album, beating out Radiohead, Primal Scream, Suede, Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers and even the Spice Girls.

With the $25,000 prize money, Size - whose Full Cycle imprint is among the top experimental drum 'n' bass labels - established the Basement Project, a studio where he and Reprazent (which includes DJ Krust, vocalist Onallee and MC Dynamite) create music.

Stacy Osbaum, editor of URB, a national bimonthly magazine covering dance and electronic music and culture, said that despite his success, Size is remaining true to his roots.

``First of all, he was a DJ who grew out of reggae sound systems and dub culture and then got immersed in the rave scene and used drum 'n' bass rhythms to reinvent jazz and soul music,'' she said. ``As far as America is concerned, what he's doing is the most innovative drum 'n' bass sound going. The use of a live drummer and bassist on stage makes the music more dynamic, along with computers, programming, turntables and two MCs.''

Osbaum has caught Size in concert three times - in England, France and earlier this month at an URB-sponsored event in Miami, where Reprazent played to 1,200 people ``and everyone was just blown away,'' she said.

Delayed reaction 

Size says his version of future soul wasn't an overnight hit by any means. Industry types in London waited to see how others reacted before they ventured a positive opinion, the musician related.

``It was a case of somebody asking someone else if they liked it and that person saying, `Actually, I do,' and then the first person going, `Well, I do, too,' '' he said. ``People were scared to admit to it at first.''

Size, whose ``New Forms'' album also won the MOBO (Music of Black Origin) award, insists that the close-knit multicultural atmosphere of the isolated port town of Bristol helped in the development of his sound.

``There's no music industry, no official radio, no music press - nothing to distract us,'' he said. ``At the same time, we were hearing so many different forms of music at festivals, parties, street carnivals, on pirate radio stations. Whenever a new tune came out, it was right in your face. It's still like that today. The buzz is on the street.''

That smooth mix of jazz, hip-hop, rare groove and dub surfaces in Size's music, which is rarely repetitive and droning, just two of the adjectives that describe Goldie's ``Saturnz Return'' (London).

In fact, ``New Forms'' lives up to its title, offering fresh variations on jungle-drum 'n' bass themes. Among the most striking tracks is the nine-minute ``Brown Paper Bag,'' featuring a sizzling be-bop-style stand-up bass line and explosive drum patterns. There's nothing ambient about this noise.

The live element

``Now that I'm traveling a lot, I see the interest in this music is growing, and more people are coming out to hear it,'' Size said. ``They're attracted to the live element. Even if they don't know the songs, they're content to feel the bass.''

Asked if it was difficult to duplicate such precise arrangements on stage, Size said the possibility of error was built into the concept.

``It's not hard to duplicate,'' he said. ``A lot of people assume it's hard, but it's really not. As soon as you think it's hard, you're defeating the object. But accidents always play a part.

``The only thing to do is make them part of the show.''

THE FACTS

Who: Roni Size & Reprazent, plus guest disc jockeys.

Where: Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood.

When: 8 tonight and Sunday.

Tickets: Tonight is sold out; $16.50 Sunday.

Information: [phone].

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Photo

PHOTO `You don't realize it's unique until someone says it doesn't really sound like anything else.'

Roni Size