Errol Francis, better known as DJ Dextrous, is a British DJ, record producer and songwriter.
Personal life
Dextrous was born and raised in Stoke Newington, London Borough of Hackney, London, England. and they started producing together under a number of aliases including Fusion Forum, producing tracks like "Vintage Keys" and "Summer Mist", on Reinforced Records.
Music labels
Dextrous decided to start 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. Dextrous and Rude Boy Keith also became a DJ and MC double act that travelled far and wide, spreading their sound through dubplate specials and PA-ing their latest recordings. During that time, the pair signed to Suburban Base to release Da Kings of the Jungle trilogy. Dextrous was one of the leading lights within the ever-growing jungle scene, and could also be heard on Sunday mornings playing on Kool FM, one of the main pirate radio stations in London. thumb|DJ Dextrous playing in Switzerland in 2015
Never one to keep still, Dextrous 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, State of the Art Recordings alongside partners Paul Brown and Jon Stewart, and Subversive Recordings (formerly Subliminal Recordings) which featured a number of collaborations with longtime production partner Teebone including "Selectors Roll" which featured on the Suburban Base compilation album, Drum & Bass Selection 3 (The Dub Plate Selection) and Top Gun. These labels allowed Dextrous further creative freedom, the former being his platform to express his jazz roots. As a trio, Paul, Jon and Dex recorded under the moniker Solid State. Collectively, they have been credited as one of the pioneers of the liquid funk scene. thumb|Dextrous playing Rhodes in the studio in 2012 Together they created the sound they branded "urban fusion" to cover all of the creative influences evident in their music, including jazz, dub, Detroit techno, garage, funk and reggae. During this time, Solid State recorded for Fabio's Creative Source label as well as Renegade Recordings and Alan McGee's Eruption Records (Creation Records' sister label). He was also nominated for a Royal Television Society award for "Best Original Music for TV" in the same year.
Discography
Studio albums
- The Ultimate Vibes EP (1995)
Collaborative albums
- Jungle Love / She Wants a 24-7 (with Hyper Man) (1994)
- Legend / Sunny Smiles...(People) (with DJ Matt & Dr. P) (1995)
- Dexterity (with Bad Boy Brass) (1995)