Jungle and drum and bass pioneer DJ Randall has passed away, his representatives have confirmed. The cause of death remains undisclosed at the time of writing.
The British DJ and record producer, whose voice regularly featured on radio stations Rinse FM and Rave FM, played a major role in transforming British rave culture into the hardcore drum and bass sounds that have come to define dance floors from the ’90s.
DJ Randall became a prominent figure in the UK rave scene at Living Dream in 1990, an event attended by 10,000 people in East London where he played a three-hour set, as DJ Colin Faver did not show up.
Since then, DJ Randall, real name Randall McNeil, often referred to as “the godfather of breakbeat”, continued to perform at raves and cement a legacy as one of the most reputed and recognisable figures in the UK scene. He forged close links with record label Reinforced Records, as well as DJ and record producer Goldie.
Although he was best known for his work as a DJ, Randall McNeil was also a prominent record producer. He developed a close relationship with Andy C, co-founder of independent label RAM Records, and in 1994, produced the celebrated Jungle track Sound Control with Andy C.
DJ Randall’s prominence did not wane in the 21st century. In recent years, he has been commissioned by Drum&BassArena, Dreamscape, and Ministry of Sound, and he has performed all over the globe, including in North America, Asia, and Australia.
He played live as recently as this year, including at Drum and Bass Classics in April.
