DJ THREE

Playing a special jungle/drum & bass set...

As Hardcore Techno in all its regional iterations began to define early ’90s global rave culture, DJ Three took the sound of British Hardcore, Jungle Techno, and Breakbeat Techno in his inimitable mixing style to some of the earliest one-off raves in Florida—perhaps most notably, The Raven and Manic raves in Tampa, ones he promoted and played at in late ’91 and early ’92. Eventually, he was playing this sound to crowds of thousands at historic Southeastern raves like Infonet 1 in Orlando and Psychic Energy in Atlanta, but often amongst lineups where he was the only DJ doing so. In spite of his passion for the sound, he slowly found himself with fewer and fewer outlets to play it and frustrated at the lack of access to this exclusively British sound. He explains: “I was already a super eclectic DJ playing House & Techno one night, Breakbeat Hardcore & Jungle Techno the next, and Ambient Electronica weekly. By late ’94, DJs like Diesel Boy, AK 1200, and DJ DB were playing Jungle & Drum N Bass exclusively in the USA, and I’d heard of crews like Pleasure Force in Toronto, but email wasn’t really a thing yet and, by that time, I was already more known and traveling for House & Techno. The music was rapidly evolving into Jungle/Drum N Bass and approaching realms far beyond the tropes of Hardcore Rave, which was very exciting, but opportunities to play it had dwindled significantly by 1994, and as a DJ, it was really deflating not having immediate access to the newest music every week.”

Yet while House & Techno became his predominant sound, DJ Three still collected and supported the music in Florida throughout the ’90s and onward. As a buyer at The Alternative Record Store, he supplied the sound to both new and diehard fans alike. A mid-to-late-’90s club night in Tampa he promoted called Helter Skelter cast a wide net from DJs like J Majik and Optical to Roni Size and Goldie’s first US tours, and live dub legends like Mad Professor. At his own House & Techno gigs, you might find him opening sets with an hour of Drum N Bass or weaving in and out of it in the middle of the night. Occasionally, his known passion for the music would find him playing opening DJ sets for live acts like The Orb and Massive Attack, special guest sets for Drum N Bass crews like Ruffneck Massive and Jungle ’Ting in Miami, and even a lauded guest spot at DJ DB’s Secret Night Of Science night in New York City. Most recently, in the ’20s, DJ Three has been the special guest for the first and second anniversaries of Tampa/St. Pete crew Refuge Nights. Reflecting on the sound in 2026, he says, “It’s a huge part of my musical DNA. You’re more likely to see me in a Reinforced Records shirt than one from a Techno label. To see crews like Refuge Nights carrying the torch where I came up in Florida is amazing, and I’m fully embracing the opportunity to play this sound out again.”