England’s Roni Size Reprazent Puts Together a Potent Brew

Forget the definitions and subgenres of deejay, electronic or dance music. Roni Size Reprazent is simply too expansive to be corralled into the confines of a label. Playing its first Los Angeles show on Saturday at the Roxy, the Bristol, England, octet distilled some of the coolest of pop sounds--hip-hop, reggae, dub, soul, punk and jazz--into a potent brew.

The group, which is from the same city that spawned such dance-music leaders as Tricky and Massive Attack, delivered a set that finally dashed the old question of whether this music played live can have the immediate power of rock. Rather than underscoring any limitations, the group’s dreadlocked leader Roni Size highlighted the myriad possibilities of his music.

Coasting from hard-core, breakneck beats to suspended, minimalist notes, Size was a masterful manipulator. Dynamic MC Dynamite and singer Onallee did a fine job of wooing the crowd up front as Size huddled and rocked behind a computer throughout. With “Brown Paper Bag” alone, the collective moved from subtle strings to burbling space sounds to frenetic, hothouse jungle.

It was drum-and-bass with a stop-start pace that seemed to suspend time. With his millennial sound rooted in the best the past has to offer, Size offered a frenetic, soulful show that indicated the future is here now. How does it sound? Intoxicating.