Seiji

Emerging from England in the late '90s, the broken-beat genre is marked by intricately convoluted rhythms that slither among drum 'n' bass, house, nu-jazz, and neo-soul templates like greased eels. West Londoner Paul Dolby (a.k.a. Seiji) is a key figure of the movement, which is gradually gaining American fans. Though he's only 26, Dolby has been making music for a decade. Some may know him as part of soulful house act Bugz in the Attic, or from his 2002 vocal-house solo joint as Homecookin,' Do What You Wanna. As Seiji, Dolby has forged rugged drum 'n' bass tracks for the renowned U.K. label Reinforced. Other projects include Afronaught (with Orin Walters) and Opaque (with Mark De Clive-Lowe). Dance music tastemakers such as Dego McFarlane, Kirk Degiorgio, and Ian O'Brien have chosen Dolby's tracks to appear on excellent comps such as 2000 Black: The Good Good and The Soul of Science. Since the late '90s, Dolby's become a broken-beat linchpin and a hotly tipped remixer (his 2002 collection, Remixes, amply justifies the faith other artists have in his skills). At Nitty Gritty, Seiji is likely to focus on his broken-beat material, but don't expect one-trick monotony from this shape-shifting artist.