Dictionary Definition
dextrous adj : skillful in physical movements;
especially of the hands; "a deft waiter"; "deft fingers massaged
her face"; "dexterous of hand and inventive of mind" [syn: deft, dexterous]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Alternative spellings
Adjective
- Having a high dexterity.
- He is a very dextrous person.
Translations
- French: adroit
Extensive Definition
DJ Dextrous or just plain Dextrous is the stage
name of composer, producer and DJ Errol Francis. Born and bred in
North
London's Stoke
Newington area, at Brooke House Boy's Schoolhe associated with
DJ Hype
as well as Smiley and PJ from the group Shut Up
and Dance, DJed at school discos,
played trumpet in the brass band, and sang in the school
choir.
The beginning
Dextrous took his DJing up a gear when he started
to play at parties and small clubs way back in 1987. At around the
same time he began putting his studio together, based around an
Atari
520STFM, Casio HT3000
keyboard, Casio CZ-101 Synth and Yamaha TX7 Sound Module. Dex
had always been into computers and other "techie" stuff, so the
marriage of music and technology was always going to be a huge
attraction. He released his first record in 1992, on Ruff
Quality Recordings (the sister label of
Shut Up and Dance Records) entitled "Ruffneck
Biznizz" which topped the Kiss FM
House Charts. This track was one of the precursors to the Jungle Scene, with
its sped up breakbeats and reggae/dub
bass-lines.
His labels
He then decided that he wanted to be in more
control of his creative output so started his own label 'King
of the Jungle Records' with Rude Boy
Keith (real name Keith Lawrence), who was working for Shut Up
and Dance at the time, and who also attended Brooke
House School during the time Dextrous, DJ Hype, Smiley and PJ were there. Dex and
Rude Boy Keith also became a DJ and MC double act that travelled
all over the globe, spreading their vibe through Dubplate Specials
and PA-ing their latest recordings. During this time the pair
signed to Suburban
Base to release 'Da
Kings of the Jungle' trilogy. At this time Dextrous was one of
the leading lights within the ever growing Jungle scene, and could
also be tuned into on a Sunday morning playing on Kool FM (94.6
FM), one of the main pirate radio
stations in London.
Never one to keep still, Dex parted company with
the radio station and then subsequently
King of the Jungle Records in 1995. By then he had
already launched two further record labels, Subversive
Recordings (formerly Subliminal
Recordings) and State of the Art Recordings alongside partners
Paul Brown and Jon Stewart. These labels allowed Dex further
creative freedom, the latter being his platform to express his jazz
roots. As a trio Paul, Jon and Dex recorded under the moniker
'Solid State'. Together they created the sound they branded "'Urban
Fusion'". Collectively they have been credited one of the pioneers
of the so called "Liquid Funk"
scene. They coined the phrase "Urban
Fusion" to cover all of the creative influences evident in
their music, encompassing jazz, dub, Detroit techno, garage, funk,
reggae to name but a few. During this time Solid State recorded for
DJ
Fabio's Creative
Source label as well as Renegade Recordings and Alan Mcgee's
Eruption Records (Creation Records' sister label).
Aliases
As well as his work within the Drum and
Bass/Jungle scene Dex has
recorded within many other genres Broken Beats, UK garage,
Nu Jazz,
R'n'B,
Dub
music, Jazz Fusion)
under many aliases:
- Transcendent Minds
- Solid State
- DJ Rus De Tox
- Forbidden Zone
- Fusion Forum
- Retro-Spec
- Da Kings of the Jungle
- Back2Back
- The Regulators
- Tit 4 Tat
- E.F.Jay
He is also credited for his library/production
music he regularly composes for radio and TV.
Awards
Dex has the rare accolade of being the only
producer within the Drum and
Bass scene to have been awarded the prestigious Ivor
Novello Award. He gained this for his soundtrack to the
BAFTA
Award winning documentary Feltham
Sings. He was also nominated for a Royal
Television Society Award for Best Original Music for TV back in
2003.
External links
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Daedalian, adept, adroit, apt, artistic, authoritative, bravura, brilliant, clean, clever, coordinated, crack, crackerjack, cunning, cute, daedal, deft, dexterous, dextromanual, diplomatic, excellent, expert, fancy, good, goodish, graceful, handy, ingenious, magisterial, masterful, masterly, neat, no mean, politic, professional, proficient, quick, quite some, ready, resourceful, right-handed,
skillful, slick, some, statesmanlike, stylish, tactful, the compleat, the
complete, virtuoso,
well-done, workmanlike