DJ Die

DJ Die, the stage name of Daniel Kausman, moved from Devon to Bristol in 1985 and became part of the city’s jungle and drum-and-bass scene. Skateboarding helped draw Kausman towards Bristol’s rave culture, where he met Jody Wisternoff and began making records with him. Their early work included recordings as Tru Funk and Sub Love; Kausman began producing with Wisternoff in 1992. His work with Roni Size started after they met in Bristol, and their 1993 track “Agility” came out on V Recordings. Kausman also joined forces with DJ Krust and The Fresh Four.

Kausman co-founded Full Cycle Recordings with Roni Size, Krust and Suv, and became part of the label’s core circle. His Full Cycle tracks include “Jitta Bug”, “Drop Bear” and “Clear Skyz”; for V Recordings, he made “Slide Away”, “Special Treat” and “Autumn”. The 1997 single “Special Treat / Something Special” also appeared on V Recordings. Kausman and Size made “Music Box”, which gave its name to Full Cycle’s first compilation. As a member of Reprazent, the group led by Size, Kausman shared the 1997 Mercury Music Prize win. He also remixed Reprazent’s single “Watching Windows” for Talkin’ Loud.

Alongside Reprazent, Kausman worked with Size and vocalist Leonie Laws in Breakbeat Era, whose music came out through XL Recordings. In 2003, Kausman and DJ Krust formed I-Kamanchi, a project that produced an album of the same name. He later worked with Clipz on the “Cross Collaborations” LP. Kausman launched the Clear Skyz label in 2007, then established Gutterfunk as a multi-genre outlet. He has described Gutterfunk as a home for work spanning hip-hop, R&B and house as well as drum and bass. His aliases include Monoman, Swabe, Scorpio and Kamanchi.

Other collaborations have taken Kausman into footwork-inspired production with Addison Groove and, with Dismantle, into the project DieMantle. He also formed Watch The Ride with Randall and Dismantle. In 2016, he released the single “Holes in the Building” with Rodney P on Tru Thoughts, followed by “Be Right There” with DieMantle and Dismantle on Astrophonica in 2018. His 2025 single “Overwhelmed”, made with Anushka, appeared on BBE Music. In 2026, Gutterfunk released his singles “New Way” and “Rock Steady”.