EZ Rollers
E-Z Rollers are one of the most distinctive acts to emerge from the golden era of British jungle and drum & bass. Built around East Anglian producers Jay Hurren and Alex Banks, the project developed a sound that was difficult to pigeonhole, combining intricate breakbeats with jazz, funk, hip hop, soul and live instrumentation. Their music could be smooth and atmospheric one moment, hard-edged and rolling the next, creating a style that became synonymous with the more musical side of the Moving Shadow catalogue.
The story of E-Z Rollers actually begins before the name itself. Hurren and Banks were already active in the East Anglian music scene during the 1980s, involved with rare groove, funk and hip hop before the arrival of rave transformed British club culture. Both were DJs and promoters, and both began experimenting with electronic production as hardcore started taking over the country’s dancefloors.
Their paths into jungle developed through several different aliases. Jay Hurren was working as JMJ, later appearing as JMJ & Richie, while Alex Banks became part of Hyper-On Experience alongside Danny Williamson, better known as Flytronix. Those projects produced some highly regarded early breakbeat and hardcore records, including ‘Lords Of The Null Lines’ and ‘Thunder Grip’ under Hyper-On Experience, while JMJ & Richie released music through Moving Shadow and the wider Good Looking Records network.
Those early productions are important because they reveal that E-Z Rollers did not arrive fully formed. Hurren and Banks had already spent years experimenting with the relationship between breakbeats, melody and atmosphere before they began recording together under their best-known name.
The first E-Z Rollers release appeared on Moving Shadow in August 1994, with the Rolled Into One / Believe 12-inch. The original ‘Rolled Into One’ was a lengthy, atmospheric piece of early jungle, while the record’s subsequent remixes brought in Foul Play and Droppin’ Science.
That relationship with Moving Shadow would become central to their career. Rob Playford’s label provided an ideal home for E-Z Rollers’ increasingly sophisticated productions, allowing them to develop without being forced into a rigid commercial formula.
The arrival of vocalist Kelly Richards added another dimension. After meeting Richards at one of their gigs, Hurren and Banks incorporated her into the E-Z Rollers project. Her vocals became an important part of the act’s identity, particularly on tracks where the duo moved away from purely instrumental jungle towards more song-oriented arrangements.
The first major statement of this developing sound came with ** Dimensions Of Sound **, released by Moving Shadow in 1996. The album was an unusually ambitious document of where jungle could go. Instead of relying exclusively on dark basslines and rapid-fire breaks, E-Z Rollers explored chilled atmospheres, jazz textures, Indian instrumentation and soulful melodies while retaining the rhythmic propulsion of drum & bass. Moving Shadow’s original release credits confirm Hurren and Banks as the core producers, with Richards contributing vocals to several tracks.
The album included several of the tracks that would become closely associated with their name, including ‘The Morning After’, ‘Blow’, ‘Jazz Talkin’’, ‘Vintage Moments’, ‘Joy’ and the original ‘Rolled Into One’. The album also featured a Photek remix of ‘Rolled Into One’, bringing together two of the most respected production camps of the era.
E-Z Rollers were already showing that drum and bass could be sophisticated without becoming passive. Their records had warmth and musical detail, but the drums remained engineered for the dancefloor. That balance became one of their defining characteristics.
Their next phase pushed that idea further. The late ’90s saw a succession of singles including ‘Retro’, ‘Synesthesia’, ‘Tough At The Top’ and ‘Weekend World’, gradually moving their sound towards funkier grooves and more elaborate arrangements. The tracks remained recognisably rooted in drum & bass.
Then came ‘Walk This Land’.
Originally recorded in 1996, the track eventually became one of the biggest crossover moments in E-Z Rollers’ career. Its appearance on the soundtrack to Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in 1998 exposed the group to an audience far beyond the drum & bass underground.
When the track was subsequently issued as a single in 1999, it reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart, giving E-Z Rollers their biggest chart success.
The Lock, Stock connection was particularly significant because it placed a sophisticated piece of drum & bass alongside the film’s mixture of rock, soul, funk and hip hop. E-Z Rollers suddenly had a record that could make sense to people who might never have entered a drum & bass club.
The group’s relationship with popular culture didn’t end there. ‘Short Change’ became the menu theme for Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto 2, while ‘Soundclash’ and ‘Retro’ appeared in Codemasters’ TOCA 2 Touring Cars. Their music also appeared in other games, including Rollcage, helping embed the E-Z Rollers sound into the rapidly expanding world of late-’90s video-game culture.
For a generation discovering electronic music through PlayStation, PC and arcade culture, these appearances were often an introduction to drum & bass without the listener necessarily realising it.
In 1998, E-Z Rollers released their second studio album, ** Weekend World **. Where Dimensions Of Sound had explored the atmospheric and jazzier possibilities of their sound, the new album had a tougher, funkier personality. Tracks such as ‘Soundclash’, ‘Tough At The Top’, ‘Nightfall’, ‘Movin’ On’ and ‘Walk This Land’ showed the duo becoming increasingly comfortable with vocal arrangements, live-sounding instrumentation and heavyweight breaks.
The album arrived at a fascinating moment for drum & bass. The music was becoming more technically sophisticated, but the scene was also splintering into an increasing number of styles. E-Z Rollers occupied an unusual position within that landscape: their records could appeal to listeners interested in intelligent or atmospheric drum & bass, while still containing enough punch and funk to work in tougher club environments.
Their musical range was also evident through Drumfunk Hooliganz, the 1998 Moving Shadow compilation project associated with the E-Z Rollers. Rather than simply functioning as another artist album, it presented a broader musical vision, incorporating work from E-Z Rollers alongside other producers and highlighting their interest in detailed breakbeat production. The release included E-Z Rollers tracks such as ‘Brass Function’ and ‘Moving Target’, with live instrumentation including brass, electric piano and guitar.
This was one of the areas where E-Z Rollers stood apart. They weren’t just manipulating samples to make jungle records; they were interested in the texture and character of the instruments themselves.
That approach continued into the early 2000s. ** Titles Of The Unexpected ** arrived through Moving Shadow in 2003, bringing together drum & bass, hip hop, funk and more experimental production. The project reflected an act increasingly interested in album construction rather than simply producing a sequence of club singles.
The same period saw E-Z Rollers establishing Intercom Recordings, giving them greater control over their releases and allowing the project to move beyond its long association with Moving Shadow. Releases including Lickable Beats and later Conductor demonstrated that their musical curiosity had not diminished as the drum & bass landscape changed around them.
Their production work also extended beyond their own records. E-Z Rollers remixed artists including Omni Trio, while their own tracks were reworked by producers such as Photek, Origin Unknown, Marky & XRS, Calyx and Dom & Roland. These remix exchanges underline how highly regarded their production was among their peers.
The E-Z Rollers sound was particularly influential on producers interested in the musical possibilities of drum & bass. Their use of jazz harmony, funk instrumentation and detailed break manipulation provided an alternative to the increasingly dominant harder styles of the period.
The act’s catalogue continued through the 2000s with releases including ** Conductor ** in 2007, while the E-Z Rollers name remained closely connected with the Moving Shadow heritage that had established them in the first place. Conductor was released through Intercom in June 2007.
Their influence has also survived through the renewed interest in classic jungle and ’90s drum & bass. Tracks from the E-Z Rollers catalogue continue to appear in mixes, compilations and DJ sets, while Dimensions Of Sound and Weekend World remain important reference points for listeners exploring the more musical side of the era.
The group’s work has also gained a second life through modern streaming platforms, where tracks such as ‘Walk This Land’, ‘Short Change’, ‘Tough At The Top’, ‘Retro’ and ‘Rolled Into One’ remain among their most recognised recordings.
They seamlessly took the restless energy of the rave era and combine it with the sophistication of jazz, the looseness of funk, the attitude of hip hop and the songwriting instincts of soul. The result was a body of work that helped broaden the definition of what drum & bass could be.
From the first Rolled Into One 12-inch on Moving Shadow, through Dimensions Of Sound, Weekend World, Titles Of The Unexpected and Conductor, E-Z Rollers have maintained one of the most individual voices in British bass music.
They didn’t simply make “intelligent” drum & bass.
They made musical drum & bass that still hit hard.
Essential Tracks & Releases:
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Rolled Into One
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Rolled Into One (Photek Remix)
🎧 E-Z Rollers – The Morning After
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Retro
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Tough At The Top
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Walk This Land
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Soundclash
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Short Change
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Weekend World
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Jazz Talkin’
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Vintage Moments
🎧 E-Z Rollers – Brass Function
Jazz. Funk. Breakbeats. Rave energy. E-Z Rollers helped prove that jungle and drum & bass could be sophisticated, soulful and cinematic without ever losing their connection to the dancefloor and more than 30 years after their first release, their music still rolls with a style all of its own.
