John B

Born in Maidenhead, John B, the stage name of John Bryn Williams, began producing music as a teenager. His early releases include the album Visions, issued in 1997, and the single “Up All Night”, which brought his work to Metalheadz. John B has said drum and bass drew him in because it could take in influences from other genres, including jazz. His own music has brought drum and bass together with elements of trance, electro and synth-pop, while his DJ sets have moved between drum and bass, electro, trance and other bass music.

John B founded Beta Recordings as a home for his own productions and a way to support new artists, and owns and runs the label. His releases have also appeared on Moving Shadow, Hospital Records, Planet Mu, Prototype, Spearhead and Viper. The album Catalyst followed in 1999 on Beta Recordings. Alongside drum and bass, Williams has spoken of working with electro, electroclash and electro house. He has also performed under the names IC1, Señor Juan B and Vortex.

His remix work spans artists including Pendulum, Bloc Party, High Contrast, Adam F and DJ Fresh, as well as Howard Jones, Mos Def and Pharoahe Monch. Nicki Minaj sampled his track “Red Sky” on her album Pink Friday. In 2012, the album Light Speed was named Mixmag’s album of the month. John B’s 2016 album Evolve was Beta Recordings’ 50th release. A 2023 single, “Sleep Collector”, paired him with MC Fava on SUNANDBASS Recordings.

In 2025, John B released the album Found In Rave. That year also brought the single “Ventil-8”, made with LaMeduza and released on Metalheadz. His performance dates in 2025 included a set at Paavli Kultuurivabrik in July.