MC LowQui

LowQui’s journey thorugh breakbeat and drum & bass began back in the days of the UK hardcore scene, when the emerging sounds of jungle introduced a new wave of ragga-influenced toasting and hosting in London’s raves and club nights. Two MCs quickly rose to the forefront and caught LowQui’s attention: the now legendary Stevie Hyper D, famed for his double-time flow, and MCGQ, with his razor-sharp delivery. Combining elements from both and inspired lyrically by the changing face of the city around him, LowQui forged his own style to bring conscious lyrics with maximum effect on the dancefloor. This notion of balance and harmony is at the core of LowQui’s style on the mic and comes from a philosophy embedded in all that he does: no wonder then that the regular London club night he helped to establish back in 2004 is named Essence of Chi.

Covering the whole spectrum of drum and bass, from light to dark and from deep to dancefloor, Essence of Chi was founded on LowQui’s belief in bringing complementing styles together over the course of a club night. The success of their first residencies, at Brixton’s Plan B and the world-famous club Herbal, inspired the Essence of Chi crew to promote larger more ambitious events on their own and in conjunction with well-established names such as Moondance, Ministry of Sound and Renegade Hardware. The crew have since toured across the UK, with MC LowQui appearing alongside residents including Artifical Intelligence, DJ Kane, Sabre, Subterra and Nookie.

In daylight hours, LowQui keeps himself connected to the scene by working on projects for Rocketscience Media and Audio Relief among others. Rocketscience Media are a music marketing and PR company with a massive roster of clients ranging from smaller labels, like Grand Central, Ninja Tune and XL to larger ones, like EMI, Virgin and Island Records. Audio Relief, on the other hand, are a specialist company established to deal with the prevention and relief of symptoms of tinnitus. LowQui has also lent his support to ethical brand The Hemp Trading Company (THTC) and can be seen regularly promoting their range of clothing.

His skills on the mic extend beyond club nights and live arenas and, as such, LowQui’s laid down vocals for studio mixes from DJs ranging from Rohan to Kane. In 2006 he appeared on the Mixed and Dispatched mix CD for Dispatch Records head TC1 and Artificial Intelligence’s ATM magazine cover CD. LowQui also provided vocals for DJ Amaning in a studio mix CD featuring tracks from his label BIOS in 2008.

A versatile MC, LowQui has worked with a diverse range of crews and record labels including Metalheadz, Exit Records, Movement & Liquid V, Drum and Bass Arena, Traffic, Bassbin Records, Widescreen Recordings, Digital Soundboy and Cyberfunk Records. He’s toured all over the world with Metalheadz boss and drum & bass legend Goldie as well as hosting for some of the finest DJs in dubstep including Skream and Benga.

Throughout 2009, LowQui has continued his extensive travels abroad from his new base in Australia and remains Goldie’s first-choice MC. As well as hosting for the likes of Andy C and Fierce when they’ve been passing through, he’s also become a resident for Melbourne-based promoters Polaroid. LowQui has been honing his production skills too, with collaborations alongside Australian producer JPS and South Korea’s J-Path receiving DJ support from the likes of Black Sun Empire and DJ Presha. He’s set to appear at the upcoming PHAT10 festival in New Zealand before embarking on a UK and European tour in Spring 2010.