CONFIRMED FOR RAW 2010: LD (UK)

Brought up on a diet of rootical reggae blasting through the bedroom floor on a Sunday morning in Peckham, south London, it is of little surprise that the reggae sampling, clashing breakbeats and hyper energy of Jungle - and more recently the half-step grooves of dubstep - would dictate the life path of Leon Day aka LD.

The 24 year-old first heard the sounds that would change everything at the age of nine. Exposed to the sounds of Jungle through various tape packs brought back from raves by his cousin, it was only a matter of time before he was introduced to turntables and mixing records. It was this that inspired him to go to college and take up music technology, yet it was a painting and decorating job that actually got him his first break, leading him through the door of Transition Studios in 2003.

Watching and learning as a vast array of clients from Darren Jay to Jah Shaka and Natasha Bedingfield came through the doors, Leon learnt the art and science of sound mastering under owner Jason Goz's careful mentorship, cutting his teeth on 10" dubplates for dubstep producers and DJ's Distance, N-Type and Digital Mystikz, eventually graduating to 12" dubs and mastering. From this vantage point, he could view the evolution of dubstep through regular exposure to the mutating sounds coming from the constant flow of artists coming to get their dubs cut.

One of the scenes leading artists, Mala (DMZ), heard Leon's first original production ‘Clock Watching' and instantly charted it. Once firmly on the dubstep map, things began to move. With its rifle fire rhythms, filtered key lines and funky bass drop, LD's January 2007 production ‘Swing Dat Skirt' garnered strong support from DJ Chef and N-Type on Rinse FM, once again thrusting LD into the spot light.

It takes a certain calibre of person to get their first dubstep DJ date at the biggest party of 2007. Going back to back with DJ Chef at DMZ 2nd Birthday in London was a baptism of fire: "I had to pull myself together and be like, ‘right this is my chance, I can't miss it'", LD says. "I saw the line up and it made it worse". Playing alongside Kode 9, Skream, Hatcha, Benga and Plastician, LD showed little fear, opening with one of the most insane mixes of the night, still talked about in dubstep chat rooms now. The place erupted, and the rest is history.

LD's sound is his own. Drawing on his roots, you can hear the drum pan sounds of Jamaica resonating throughout, flashes of Soca drums, subtle tribal nuances, and the ghost of Jungle reverberating in the warm, pulsating sub bass. 2009 saw major releases such as ‘Derailment' on 2nd Drop, ‘Jupiter 9' on Bullfrog, a remix on Dub Police and the massive ‘Traumatic Times / Woodblock' on Hyperdub. Surely, more is in store for 2010. LD has made the transition from behind the scenes and into the limelight.

LD is slated for this year's RAW on Arena 5: OHOI! presents Dubstep / Drum'n'Bass.