WEEKLY SALUTE #32 – KASRA

One of Drum & Bass’s modern day visionaries, having founded and operated the universally respected Critical Music since 2002, Kasra has had a glittering career spanning 2 decades, working alongside almost every dnb artist worth their salt down the years, in a management capacity.

Outside of his management role at Critical, he’s known mainly for his collaborative efforts with the likes of Enei & Foreign Concept, amongst others.

In recent times Critical has grown to become one of the biggest labels in dnb, signing artists such as Mefjus, Enei, Emperor, Sam Binga, Ivy Lab, on an exclusive basis.

www.facebook.com/kasracriticalmusic

www.twitter.com/kasracritical
www.soundcloud.com/kasra-critical


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WEEKLY SALUTE #31 – EMPEROR

Bristol resident Emperor is one of the new breed of artists currently shaping the future of D&B with his boundary pushing productions.

His debut 2016 album Dispositions propelled him up to become certified D&B royalty by way of it’s huge success – his very distinctive style has earned him cult status and undeniable respect amongst his peers. He has released on some of the scene’s most exciting labels including Neodigital & Symmetry, however he has released almost exclusively with Critical since his 2013 ‘Begin EP’.

The latest project to feature Emperor is the collaborative EP between himself and the highly revered ‘Mefjus’ named ‘Sanity Check EP’. You can check the tracks on the player below!

www.facebook.com/EmperorDNB/
www.twitter.com/EmperorDNB
www.soundcloud.com/the_emperor


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WEEKLY SALUTE #30 – BRISTOL DRUM & BASS EVENTS

Born out of the success of a number of event brands that focus primarily on modern UK soundsystem culture – ‘Bristol Drum & Bass Events’ has grown to become an authority on cutting edge D&B events in Bristol.

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A ship primarily steered by experienced promoter Justin ‘Fash’, the organisation has been putting on some of the best label parties that Bristol has ever seen in recent years. Working alongside some of the scene’s top labels such as Dispatch Recordings, Virus, Shogun Audio & Neosignal, to deliver label focussed lineups and downright unbridled Drum & Bass shenanigans – most notably to regular Dispatch parties at the Black Swan, which i personally believe to be some of the best D&B events in the UK.

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The next event on the radar for Fash and his crew is the next Dispatch Recordings label party, DLR’s ’Dreamland’ Album Launch at Blue Mountain. Featuring Icicle, Marcus Intalex, DLR, Zero T, DBR UK, Kyrist, Onset, MC Fokus + residents (Flyer above).

You can catch a full and uncut interview with ‘Fash’, of ‘Bristol Drum & Bass Events’, this coming Saturday 5th November on the Infidelity Records show on UJIMA 98fm – he’ll also be bringing label stalwart DLR with him for an interview.

If you can’t catch it live on 98FM Bristol or online at Tunein.com, then you’ll be able to hear it on the podcast version of the show, which will be available to download the following week from the Infidelity Records soundcloud.

You can listen back to the radio show archive at the Infidelity Records soundcloud.

www.bristoldrumandbassevents.co.uk
www.facebook.com/bristoldrumandbassevents


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WEEKLY SALUTE #29 – ENEI

Enei is Russia’s premier D&B export. Hailing from Saint Petersburg, Western Russia, he has almost a decade of strong releases across his extensive back cat – including 2 critically acclaimed LP’s on Critical Recordings.

Since 2011 he has released almost exclusively with the Critical, after a spate of singles with the likes of Icarus, Blackout Music, Citrus, Fokuz and more.

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A goto producer for a whole bunch of the scene’s biggest names, his seminal anthems ‘Runnin ft. Georgia Yates’, ‘Circles ft. Sam Wills’ & Liberation, are sure to go down in D&B folk law as some of the most recognisably-brilliant rolling tracks of the 21st century.

His latest offering is a 4 track EP featuring remixes by Break, Signal, Fre4knc & Current Value, of tracks of his most recent LP ‘Rituals’.

www.soundcloud.com/enei
www.facebook.com/eneiofficial


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WEEKLY SALUTE #28 – CURRENT VALUE

Current Value executed probably the the most successful transition from the more obscure sounds of harder edged D&B, when in 2015 he traded ‘pots & pans’ for modern day Tech/Neurofunk.

Having been a staple on harder edged labels such as Tech Freak, Position Chrome, Subsistenz, Barcode, PRSPCT & many more since the late 90’s – his EP as part of Critical’s Binary series in 2015, certainly took many an avid D&B connoisseur by complete surprise. He soon after went on to sign material to Blackout Music, Invisible, Bad Taste, Cyberfunk, Trendkill & the major-backed RAM Records – all before putting out his 10th (YES TENTH!!) studio LP, Biocellulose, on Critical in 2016 – the pinnacle of a staggering back catalogue that spans 3 decades.

Work rate aside, the quality of CV’s output only continues to improve, as he begins to take on the mantle of being the one of the top producers in the game right now.

Listen below to examples of some of his new & older material, side by side.

www.soundcloud.com/tim-e-aka-current-value
www.facebook.com/currentvalue/
www.youtube.com/user/CurrentValueMusic


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WEEKLY SALUTE #27 – SERUM

One of the most original producers to have emanated from D&B in the last decade, Serum has built a reputation as a go to guy for the tastier Jungle – DNB crossover styles. A genuine stalwart for labels such as Dread, Philly Blunt, V Recordings & Run Tingz Recordings for his solo work, as well as regular collaborations with Bladerunner – a name that he became almost synonymous with at one point – and more recently with the prolific Voltage.

You can check out tracks from both of those collaborative partnerships below, one of which – Snake Fist VIP, is available as a free download from soundcloud.

https://soundcloud.com/serum
https://www.facebook.com/serumdnb
https://twitter.com/serumdnb


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