ROB, SI — Roll One Up / Zebraz

Rob & Si – Roll One Up / Zebraz is a two-track 12-inch from Evasive Records, catalog number EVA009, connecting directly with the formative years of UK Tech House. Originally produced in 2003 at Online Studios in Croydon, London, the record brings together Evasive Records founder Rob Pearson and Simon Copleston, better known as Iteration X, for their first collaboration under the Rob & Si name. Reissued on vinyl in 2025 and subsequently pressed again in 2026, EVA009 remains a concise example of the deep, rolling and stripped-back sound associated with the early South London Tech House movement. The story behind Roll One Up / Zebraz begins with Iteration X’s Timecheck / Liquid Logic, released as EVA008. Following that release, Rob Pearson and Simon Copleston brought their respective production approaches together at Online Studios in Croydon. The resulting collaboration was issued as the ninth EP in the Evasive Records catalogue, making EVA009 an important part of the label’s early sequence and a document of its developing musical identity. A-side “Roll One Up” establishes the record with a tightly controlled Tech House groove. At around 130 BPM, it sits in the classic club range associated with the early-2000s UK sound, using a rolling rhythmic foundation rather than relying on a large melodic hook. The track’s appeal comes from its economy: the groove has enough weight and movement to drive a dancefloor, while the production remains open enough for DJs to blend it into longer sequences. Its stripped-back character gives the rhythm itself the leading role, creating a functional but highly distinctive piece of underground club music. The B-side, “Zebraz”, works from a similarly reduced palette but provides the second half of the record with its own identity. Listed at approximately 129 BPM, it maintains the rolling momentum of the A-side while reinforcing the rawer side of the Evasive aesthetic. Rather than presenting two unrelated tracks, the pairing feels deliberately coherent: both cuts are built around groove, percussion and forward motion, making the record particularly useful when a DJ wants to maintain pressure without moving into a more aggressive peak-time sound. What makes Roll One Up / Zebraz especially interesting today is the historical context in which it was made. Evasive Records emerged from the South London underground at the end of the 1990s and into the early 2000s, a period when Tech House was developing its own identity through stripped-down arrangements, deep basslines, crisp percussion and an increasingly sophisticated approach to DJ-focused production. Evasive’s catalogue became closely associated with that sound, and EVA009 captures the label at precisely this stage of its development. Simon Copleston’s involvement is particularly significant. As Iteration X, he had already delivered Timecheck / Liquid Logic for Evasive, and his production work became an important part of the label’s early catalogue. Evasive has subsequently revisited several of these releases, including the Iteration X record, as part of a programme of reissues intended to make its early catalogue available again. Copleston passed away in 2014, adding a retrospective dimension to the label’s decision to preserve and repress this material. Rob & Si therefore occupies an interesting position within the Evasive catalogue. It is not simply an archival curiosity: the music remains highly functional in a contemporary DJ environment because its construction is based on principles that have aged particularly well. The tracks are groove-led, economical and designed around movement rather than short-lived production trends. This makes the record equally relevant to selectors exploring classic UK Tech House and DJs looking for stripped-back contemporary material with an authentic early-2000s character. For DJs, the strength of EVA009 is its simplicity. “Roll One Up” provides a firm A-side foundation at approximately 130 BPM, while “Zebraz” follows at around 129 BPM, allowing both tracks to sit naturally within a Tech House or deeper house set. Their relatively compact two-track format also gives the record a clear purpose: there is no filler, alternate mix or extended remix package, just two original collaborative cuts designed around the dancefloor. For collectors, the pressing history makes it useful to distinguish the original 2003 production from the later physical editions. The current Evasive Records pressing is a reissue/repress of the early material rather than a newly recorded 2026 production. The 2025 reissue brought EVA009 back into circulation, followed by a 2026 repress listed by specialist retailers as the current edition. The catalogue number remains EVA009 and the original two-track sequence is retained: A1 “Roll One Up” and B1 “Zebraz”. Roll One Up / Zebraz is ultimately a compact piece of UK Tech House history: two tracks created in Croydon in 2003 by Rob Pearson and Simon Copleston, released as the ninth Evasive Records EP and later returned to vinyl for a new generation of selectors. Its deep rolling grooves, restrained arrangements and unmistakably underground character make EVA009 a strong choice for DJs and collectors interested in the foundations of early-2000s South London Tech House and the enduring sound of the Evasive Records catalogue.