Dillinja a.k.a Karl Francis is known by Goldie as "
Bass explorer of the nineties" and "the Grand Master"
by Grooverider. Say no more...
Dillinja grew up in south London on a healthy diet of his mums jazz collection. In his teens he started tuning into breakbeats via electro and roots hip-hop. When he
was 16 he built his own sound system, "My thing was bass, I was really into it. I
used to redesign the scoop bins, build those elaborate designs inside them, so that
you'd get a warm deep humming sound."
Karl got into producing back in 1991, he sold off his sound system to buy studio
time, "from then on everything was self-taught, just messing and experimenting
with beats" .His first tune cost him £50 and just five hours. In the early days he
would then get 500 test presses made and make trips toBlackmarket and City
Sounds himself. DJ's Gryan Gee, Fabio, Jumpin Jack Frost and Grooverider soon
got a hold of his style.
He then went on to launch a series of his own labels - Logic, Target, Waveform,
Deadly Vinyl, IQ and the most recent being Valve (coined after the old shaka pre-
amps which used to power reggae sound systems) and Pain - both of which he
has set up with his friend and fellow producer Kevin King .a.k.a Lemon D.
Having released approximately 50 tunes; collaborating with Goldie on Timeless
with "This is Baad" and "Jah the seventh seal", plus releases on Prototype, Philly
Blunt, Ninja Tunes and Mo'Wax, he is now currently working on his debut album for
London Records.
Dillinja is clearly, as Goldie so perfectly describes "The menacingly disturbing silent
killa. What Dillinja doesn't show externally he completely crucifies internally through
his sound."