Nicky Blackmarket

Nicky Blackmarket

Nicky Blackmarket is a London-born DJ, producer and record-store figure associated with the early development of drum and bass and jungle in the United Kingdom. Born in 1967, he begins DJing in London in the early 1980s, when he is playing electro at youth clubs and developing a style shaped by improvisation and variety.

Career

Blackmarket works with his long-time collaborator Clarky and mixes a wide range of dance music at house parties and on radio station Friends FM, which is run by Mad B. He joins Blackmarket Records in 1990, and in 1992 he sets up a separate downstairs department for the breakbeat-driven sound that becomes known as drum and bass. His early influences include his mother’s background in the jazz scene.

By the mid-1990s, he is presenting a regular show on Pulse FM and performing at Roller Express, helping to push hardcore alongside the emerging jungle and drum and bass scenes. He later moves into production and makes his first record, Spam EP, followed by remixes and releases on his own label Gyroscope, including work with Ray Keith.

Labels, releases and partnerships

As the jungle scene grows, Blackmarket forms a noted partnership with the late Stevie Hyper D, a combination that becomes closely associated with the era. He also starts the label Kartoonz, which includes the track “Two Degrees”. Blackmarket Records serves as an important community focus in a period before the internet becomes central to scene-building.

Continued role in the scene

Blackmarket remains active as a DJ and continues to work in his shop in London’s D’Arblay Street. He is also involved in supporting new artists, organisers and ideas, and is known for backing fresh talent while keeping his emphasis on DJ performance rather than repetition.