Weekly Salute

WEEKLY SALUTE #7 – CALIBRE

Arguably one of Ireland’s finest dance music exports, Calibre is undeniably Drum & Bass royalty.

With an extensive back catalogue which stretches as far back as 1998 and includes 11 studio albums – more than any other artist in the history of D&B – 11 EPs and countless singles, to say Calibre is underrated in relation to his perceived popularity and stature amongst your average D&B listener, is a massive understatement.

Signature Records, a label which he has owned & run since 2003, has been one of the major outlets for his music down the years, alongside esteemed labels such as C.I.A, Exit Records, Soul:r, Critical & many more.

Calibre is a prime example of an artist’s music doing the talking.

www.facebook.com/calibre-dnb

YOU CAN CATCH THE ‘WEEKLY SALUTE ROUNDUP’ ON THE MONTHLY INFIDELITY RECORDS SHOW, UJIMA 98FM, 2ND APRIL @ 10:00PM – 00:00AM.

Listen to the latest Infidelity Records show here: https://goo.gl/jitWcD

—

BLOGGED BY LAURIE @ SAFETY IN NUMBERS

WEEKLY SALUTE #6 – SCAR

In my eyes, SCAR are one of the most original, contemporary-yet-true to the roots, outfit in Drum & Bass at the moment. Seemingly popping up out of nowhere over the winter of 2013/2014, armed with a bulging backcat of unreleased material that they were ready to unleash on heads far and wide, the super-talented duo of Survival & Script earned almost instant recognition for the intuitive sound they were championing.

Both with commendable reputations preceding them, the duo have really carved a nonconformist nuance into the ‘little black book’ of sub genres, reigniting a side of D&B that had really gone by the wayside this decade. With a strong penchant for true-to-the-craft analogue bass, amen, stepping & rolling breaks, SCAR have tapped into a moody yet somehow smile inducing sound that i believe really resonates with todays heads.

Their strong ties to Dispatch Recordings & Metalheadz head honcho Ant Tc1 have seen them release 5 EP’s over the two labels since November 2014 – as well as numerous singles across them and Horizons Musics – plus a track featured on the seminal ‘Platinum Breakz 4’ on Headz.

The mix below was the first taste of SCAR that the public was treated to, largely unreleased SCAR material at the time.

Certified boundary pushers.

www.facebook.com/scardnb
www.twitter.com/scardnb

YOU CAN CATCH THE ‘WEEKLY SALUTE ROUNDUP’ ON THE MONTHLY INFIDELITY RECORDS SHOW, UJIMA 98FM, 2nd APRIL @ 10:00PM – 00:00AM.

—

BLOGGED BY LAURIE @ SAFETY IN NUMBERS

WEEKLY SALUTE #5 – KYRIST

In an severely male dominated scene, there are not too many fairer-sex producers lighting up drum & bass right now. Whether this is indicative of a lack of interest in learning production skills from girls in general, or an obvious symptom of the gender specific roles we are ‘supposed’ to assume in life, remains to be seen.

One female bucking the trend in D&B at the moment is London based Kirsty Clarke, also known as ‘Kyrist’. Having pricked up the ears of current genre defining labels such Dispatch, Proximity & Dutty Audio, to name just a few, Kyrist has gained herself a strong core following amongst the deeper heads.Kyrist exhibits a diverse range of production skills within the deeper-darker side of our beloved genre. This can be observed by comparing some of her releases. The hard hitting moody roller ‘Lab Rat’, which was the first piece of work I personally came across by Kyrist, is in relative contrast to some of her earlier work, ‘Delusions’ on Broken Audio, which airs more on the steppy halftime side.

With multiple releases across the aforementioned labels over the last few years and an impressive gig list across the UK & Europe, the ‘one to watch’ tag is most certainly applicable in this case.

www.facebook.com/Kyriiist
www.twitter.com/Kyrist_

YOU CAN CATCH THE ‘WEEKLY SALUTE ROUNDUP’ ON THE MONTHLY INFIDELITY RECORDS SHOW, UJIMA 98FM, 5th MARCH @ 10:00PM – 00:00AM.

—

BLOGGED BY LAURIE @ SAFETY IN NUMBERS

WEEKLY SALUTE #4 – IVY LAB

Ivy Lab burst onto the scene in 2013 with their debut single ‘Brat / Afterthought’ on Critical. The London based trio, consisting of Stray, Halogenix & Sabre, have since become known for their soulful rolling sound that can be heard across both their chart topping Critical-released EPs: ‘Missing Persons’ & ‘Twenty Questions’, as well as their Halftime-come-Hiphop-Glitch sound that they’re primarily pushing through their own ’20/20 LDN’ imprint.

Their debut LP ’20/20 Volume One’ was widely well received, with many stating that their penchant for general eclectic artistry is deserved of the profound praise it has come in for.

Each one of the trio have also been extremely busy on a solo level as well over the last 2 years, with releases between them on Metalheadz, Exit Records & more, staking their claim for hardest working production outfit in D&B.

My firm belief is that Ivy Lab has already risen, rather than are rising, to the top of the game – and are set to stay there for the foreseeable future.

https://www.facebook.com/IvyLab
https://twitter.com/IvyLab_
https://www.facebook.com/2020.LDN

You can catch the ‘Weekly Salute Roundup’ on the monthly Infidelity Records show, Ujima 98FM every first Saturday of the month.

—

BLOGGED BY LAURIE @ SAFETY IN NUMBERS

WEEKLY SALUTE #3 – QUADRANT & IRIS

We’re embracing the talents of two of the USA’s finest, where Drum & Bass is concerned, this week.

Quadrant & Iris, hailing from Seattle, Washington, have certainly staked their claim to immortalise the recognition they have recently received. Their debut album ‘206 LP’, released on Klute’s ‘Commerical Suicide’ imprint in October 2015 gained critical acclaim from far reaching corners of the scene for it’s innovative, driving nature. This has also been backed up by the successful ‘Microsleep EP’ on ‘Dispatch Recordings’ in late 2014.

Their latest offering, ‘Scattershot EP’ – which is forthcoming on the Toulouse based ‘Vandal Records’, carries on in the same vein, utilising their now renowned future-rolling sound.

www.facebook.com/QuadrantDnB
www.facebook.com/iris

www.soundcloud.com/quadrant
www.soundcloud.com/irisdnb

—

BLOGGED BY LAURIE @ SAFETY IN NUMBERS

WEEKLY SALUTE #2 – AKOV

This week’s weekly salute goes out to our friend AKOV, who was a special guest on TerraHawk’s February Infidelity Record show on Ujima 98FM.

2015 really was AKOV’s breakthrough year, with his ‘Mantra EP’ storming the D&B charts, even staving off competition from Noisia for Beatport’s number 1 spot, a feat which should most definitely not be underestimated!

In his relatively speedy rise to Drum & Bass notoriety, he has released EP’s on Mindtech Recordings & NeuroFunkGrid, the latter naming his as a ‘NeurofunkGrid Favourite’ in 2014, as well as having a track featured on Drum & Bass Arena’s 18th Birthday Compilation LP.

You can listen to the Akov’s interview (plus some exclusive unreleased material) on the Infidelity Records show HERE.

www.facebook.com/akovmusic
www.soundcloud.com/akovmusic