James Rowbotham, known as DLR, is a Bristol-based drum-and-bass DJ and producer who founded and runs the Bristol label Sofa Sound Bristol. Before pursuing a solo career, he worked with Octane as the duo Octane & DLR; their work included the album Method in the Madness. DLR’s debut solo album, Seeing Sounds, came out through Dispatch Recordings. His music has also appeared on Metalheadz, Symmetry Recordings, Utopia Music and Warm Communications.
DLR released the album Dreamland in 2016 and later put out the EP Your Mind on Metalheadz. His collaborations include work with Hydro, Mako, Villem, Prolix, Break, Survival and Ant TC1. He has also collaborated with Hydro and Spinback as The Sauce, and has been involved in the OneMind project on Metalheadz. Outside drum and bass, Rowbotham makes dub techno under the name Oakm.
His later album Money Till I Got None reflects on the contemporary world and the economics of drum and bass. DLR’s releases have continued to include work for his own label, Sofa Sound Bristol. In 2009, he released Space & Time / Betrayed on Dispatch Recordings with Ant TC1 and Survival. His 2022 releases included Brain Eaters on Souped Up Records and Mob Justice (DLR Remix), made with Foreign Concept and released on Critical Music. In 2023, he released Underprint (DLR Remix) on Vision Recordings. DLR released Dust Collector on Truth Hertz in 2025, followed by From The Inside on Sofa Sound in 2026.
