DJ Die

DJ Die is Daniel Kausman, a drum and bass artist from north Devon, with a base in Bristol. Born in 1972, he grows up around music through family festival visits in the 1970s and 1980s and through early exposure to his father playing guitar. His first musical interests range from rock and roll, ska, Two Tone and punk to hip hop, which becomes a lasting influence.

Early work and Bristol scene

He moves to Bristol and takes up skateboarding, where he encounters a local scene built around house, hip hop, rare groove and funk at warehouse parties. Around 1988 he begins producing with Jody Wisternoff, later of Way Out West. Together they form Tru-Funk and release 4AM on Three Stripe Records, the label run by Smith and Mighty. They also release two hardcore EPs as Sub-Love and play at early Universe raves. As their paths separate, Die continues DJing at free parties in the southwest.

Work with Roni Size and Full Cycle

In the early 1990s he meets Roni Size on Gloucester Road in Bristol, beginning a long-running partnership. Their first collaboration is AGILITY on V Recordings. Die and Roni, working as Scorpio, then make MUSIC BOX, which leads to the formation of Full Cycle. The label becomes home to Krust, Roni Size, Suv and Die for many years.

His Full Cycle catalogue includes LIVE AND DIRECT, REINCARNATION, CLEAR SKYZ, JITTA BUG and DROP BEAR. He also releases SPECIAL TREAT, SLIDE AWAY and AUTUMN on V Recordings, and works on offshoot labels Dope Dragon and Cronic under aliases including Swabe, Mono Man, D.N.A with Bill Riley, and 3 Way with Roni Size and Krust.

Roni Size / Reprazent and related projects

In 1996 the Full Cycle crew, with Roni Size leading, form Roni Size / Reprazent and record the album New Forms on Talkin’ Loud. The album wins the 1997 Mercury Music Prize. The group tours internationally and appears at venues including New York’s Central Park and on the BBC television programme Later with Jools Holland.

Die continues producing and also remixes tracks by DJ Shadow, Towa Tei, DJ Cam and Pharoahe Monch, including Get the Fuck Up. His remix of Reprazent’s Watching Windows becomes a widely known track. He then records the self-titled album Breakbeat Era with Roni Size and singer-songwriter Leonie Laws on XL Recordings, followed by another world tour.

I Kamanchi, collaborations and later work

He later works with Krust on the album I Kamanchi for Full Cycle. Their partnership begins earlier with the 1998 track Stay for Planet V, followed by other one-off releases for Full Cycle such as Hey DJ. The album also features Lady Miss Kier, Rodney P, Tali and Holly G. Another international tour and live show follow.

In 2005 Die presents and mixes Full Cycle’s Cross Collaborations album, pairing with Photek on Thunder and with Clipz on Mono Rail and later productions including Black Doves, Good Old Days, Climate Change, Work It Out and Number One, featuring Ben Westbeech. He also co-produces Get Closer, Dance for Me, Stop What You’re Doing, In Out and Hang Around with Ben Westbeech, and mixes Westbeech’s debut album Welcome to the Best Years of Your Life on Brownswood Recordings.

Label work and style

Die launches his independent label project Clear Skyz Recordings. His work is rooted in drum and bass and follows a path through jungle, hardcore, hip hop and Bristol’s sound system culture, while also drawing on the wider network of Full Cycle, V Recordings, XL Recordings, Talkin’ Loud and Brownswood Recordings.