DJ Oneman

Steve Bishop, known professionally as Oneman, is a DJ and producer from Streatham, London. His background is in pirate radio and he is a regular DJ on Rinse FM.^[1]

Oneman's DJ sets typically blend dubstep, hip hop, grime, UK funky and UK garage. He has released two mix albums with Fabriclive and Rinse FM.

Career

His love of dance music developed as a teenager in South London listening to local pirate stations and early grime shows on Rinse FM.^[2]

Around 2006, Oneman began to make his name in the dubstep scene for his virtuosic vinyl-only mixes, which combined older garage tracks he’d grown up with, with brand new dubstep tracks. At a time when halfstep rhythms were becoming established as the norm within dubstep, Oneman’s approach loosened up his sets, making them fluid and extremely danceable. He was, he says, interested in “trying to [mix] two tracks together to make a whole new track. Because I didn't produce tunes, my whole thing would be if I had two tracks I picked that mixed together really well, I'd use that as a statement mix – you could almost say that was my mix.”

In 2007 he was asked to join Rinse FM, and has become a "figure synonymous with the Rinse FM station and the brand and subculture surrounding it".^[3] Oneman continues his weekly broadcast on Rinse FM every Tuesday: 21:00 – 23:00 GMT.

In 2008, Oneman was the first DJ to appear on the Mary Anne Hobbs BBC Radio 1 show without releasing a record.^[4]

FACT TV featured an interview with DJ Oneman and Toddla T in which the artists discuss Notting Hill Carnival 2012.^[5]

In 2010 Oneman launched a record label, 502 Recordings, whose roster is made up of upcoming producers. It has released productions by Teeth, Jay Weed, Fis -T, and Destro.^[6]

Standard Place is regular event / underground party hosted and DJ'd by Oneman, Jon Rust, DJ Reecha and ASBO. Standard Place began with the four DJ's playing DJ sets for Boiler Room and Fabric (Club). The Standard Place crew concept was then continued to create events taking place across London.^[7]

He has performed live at festivals such as Bestival 2012,^[8] Kraków's 2012 Unsound Festival. He supported SBTRKT at Shepherds Bush Empire in London. Ticketmaster users gave the concert a near 5 star rating.^[9] In a review by 'Give Pop a Chance!' he was an asset to the line up "Luckily Oneman has some big bassy tunes up his sleeve that keep an impatient crowd dancing as the stage is prepared for SBTRKT."^[10] In February and March 2013, Oneman toured the UK and Europe to celebrate his new release 'Solitaire'. Oneman completed his first US tour with a string of North America dates throughout March 2013.^[11] The tour included sets at SXSW along with Jackmaster, Wildarms and Bremnar on the Fader Fort stage.^[12] He toured and played festivals in Europe in the spring and summer 2013, including at O2 Oxford, The Pleasure Principle, Field Day, Bugged Out Weekender, and Sonar Festival where he was dubbed one of FACT magazines' must-see acts.^[13] In April 2014, Oneman announced he would be touring North America in May 2014 alongside LA producer, DJ and Body High label co-founder^[14] Jerome LOL.^[15] In April 2016 it was announced that Oneman and My Nu Leng will be touring across Europe, paying back to back at a string of festivals including, Distortion, Reading & Leeds and Bestival.^[16]

In 2014, Oneman and fellow DJ Jackmaster came together to collaborate on a new live music project under the name 'Can U Dance'. Can U Dance is a live DJ venture proposing back 2 back sets between the two DJ's. In 2014, they played their new show across Europe and joined the summer festival circuit at Field Day, Parklife, Exit, Dour, Dekmantel and Dimensions festival.^[17][18] Can U Dance also recorded a BBC1 Essential Mix live at Glastonbury Festival 2014.

17 May 2016 marked Oneman's 400th show. He celebrated with a four-hour special which featured Bok Bok, Jon Rust, Benton, Scratcha DVA and more.^[19]

In June 2016, it was announced that Oneman would be this summers XOYO resident. The 13 week residency will be held every Friday at XOYO, from July to September.

“this Summer’s residency has been something I’ve been working towards for a while. It gives me the chance to showcase some of my favourite artists and DJs that have influenced me throughout the years and to celebrate my hometown, London, the city that birthed UK Garage, Grime, Funky, Dubstep and more” ^[20]

Reception

Oneman's mixed FabricLive.64 mix album in 2012 received critical response from Pitchfork Media^[21] and Resident Advisor.^[22]

FACT Magazine featured a full review of the Rinse:11 album on 15 March 2010, Journalist Tom Lea stated, "Oneman, in his own, understated way, changed the face of British dance music".

Oneman and Jackmaster were acknowledged as 'Artists of the day' on the Bestival Facebook page in 2012.^[23]

Pitchfork Media rated FabricLive.64 mix album an 8.0 and stated that, "Applauding FabricLive.64 for its potential didacticism, though, would be unjustly ignoring just how much fun it is to listen to, how easily and pleasantly it moves, how Steve Bishop is playing to the rafters and pulling out all the stops when his name alone represents a seal of approval for many".^[24] The album was reviewed by Resident Advisor's Andrew Ryce in August 2012, "Those moments of creative synthesis are Fabriclive 64's saving grace—Oneman might not be a flashy jock, but he's a unique one. He has a way of pulling off the unconventional every single time, whether it's long, extended blends that sound like they shouldn't work or a hard pan from 2010 to 1998".^[25] Fabric went on to applaud Oneman by stating, “There are DJs that are heavily tied to styles, people who go on to become figures synonymous with a certain sound or a particular approach to mixing; and then there are DJ’s DJs – a different breed of people who manage to make the whole process of blending records from disparate genres look (and sound) seamless. Often, it’s not just about beat matching perfectly, it’s as much about capturing a mood and evolving it through your record selections as it is locking on to a consistent rhythm and that’s something that Streatham bred DJ, Steve Bishop, has proven himself to be mightily adept at over the years”.^[26]

Discography

Mix albums

• Rinse:11 (2010)
• FabricLive.64 (2012)
• Solitaire Vol.1 (2013)
• Remixes & Edits (2013)
• Solitaire Vol. 2 (2013)
• Solitaire Vol. 3 (2014)

Promo mixes

• FACT Mix 239: Jamie XX & Oneman (2011).^[27]
• LuckyMe – Ninety Three Mixtape (2011).^[28]

Remixes

• "You Took Your Time" by Mount Kimbie featuring King Krule, with an additional verse from Jeremiah Jae.

References

External links

• Oneman at Rinse FM
• Solitaire, Vol.1 mix download