These days, it has become fashionable among journalists and musicians who are not involved in drum and bass to question—and express their surprise at—the fact that musicians are still recording drum and bass tracks. They are surprised that this music is “still with us” and that it continues to represent something of value. For a long time, there has been a widespread belief that drum and bass has disappeared, that the music is going through a period of stagnation, and a recent statement that it had spent “almost a decade in musical purgatory” left me completely bewildered. I could name countless labels that have never stopped releasing drum and bass tracks for even a single day; my own Exit is no exception. Nor can I recall any respected labels that took a year-long break. If you do not follow the music, that does not mean it no longer exists. Some of us operate outside the context of electronic music, but we have dedicated and grateful fans. We release vinyl records with excellent music. Yes, perhaps these records are not of the kind “printed by hand by virgins in a Berlin attic,” but they are nevertheless worthy of attention. I understand the reason behind all this talk, which is rooted in the helpless and empty statements made by certain people, but the fact that these people continue making them out of their “short-sightedness” openly irritates me.
As with other styles of electronic music, the term drum and bass has become all-encompassing over time. The word is used to describe a multitude of different substyles within the broader genre. Here we have DJ Fresh and Wilkinson’s chart-topping tracks, Loxy’s heavy, tech-influenced, dub-influenced productions, Paradox’s intricate drum work for breakdancers, the pathologically harsh work of Noisia, juke-influenced jungle tracks from Fracture—is that even a word?—Stray’s hip-hop-adjacent productions, Calibre’s soulful compositions, and so on, all the way to the jeweller’s minimalism of the producer known as Bop. This music has far too many branches, which emerged and developed over a long period of time and, as a result, may have nothing in common with one another. The only things that may unite them are the tempo and the shared name—which is probably more important in this case (or is it?).
This is where my dissatisfaction comes from. It gives the impression that people perceive the concept of drum and bass one-dimensionally. I have an understanding of what this music is, but it seems to me that many journalists and producers are trapped in an incredibly foolish stereotype, even though logically they should understand it better. It has nuances, just like other styles, and people can allow for the existence of these nuances—and some people, if they want to, will definitely hear them. Take, for example, the tracks we recorded as Bad Company: we created them together, but comparing what I create now with what my former Bad Company partner, DJ Fresh, makes is just as absurd as comparing the work of Steve Aoki with the work of Jimmy Edgar. Yes, technically we remain within the common category called “electronic music” while working on our tracks. Precisely because of this one-sided view of the situation, which currently dominates the minds of many people, it is becoming harder and harder for me to identify myself as a musician with this movement. And it is frustrating, because I have always considered myself part of the drum and bass movement; as an artist, I identified myself with this music from the very moment it appeared. The narrow-mindedness that arises in people’s minds when “Drum’n’Bass” is mentioned is pushing me even further away from the concept, because I no longer see it as a term that fully reflects my views and aspirations.
But, as you have probably already understood from my previous blog posts, this concept is becoming something else for me.
As a musical movement, drum and bass has already outlived—and will outlive—more than one movement (some of them, remember, were called potential killers of the drum and bass scene), and this music is still being played! Clubs are filling up, and festivals are held year after year. The funny thing is that this music cannot change the state of the world, remaining a much-needed way for people who want to have fun to fill their time, while at the same time being incredibly serious and complex at its core—something that makes some people think: “Fuck, how do they even do that?” Thanks to this, drum and bass is capable of living even longer than its neighbours on the electronic scene. As a genre. In my view, drum and bass has earned its place in the sun. This music has already enriched the listener and has already had an obvious influence on producers. That is without even counting the fact that drum and bass established more than one method and technique in musical technology, much like Techno and House did in their time.
And in conclusion, I will say this: this music has not disappeared and is not going to do so; it has existed for long enough, and over that long period you have already been able to understand that the genre contains its own distinctions. This music has earned respect, so show it some. And stop being such hopeless idiots.
dB
Original: dBridge’s post on the Exit Records blog (exitrecords.tumblr.com), 2014. Translated from the Russian translation by Rustee (Special Request VKontakte community).
