Friction launched Elevate Records in March 2016, with K-Tee as co-founder and owner. The independent label operates from Brighton and is linked to Shogun Audio as a sister label. Its drum and bass releases span liquid funk and neurofunk, as well as dancefloor-focused sounds. Friction’s Dare EP opened the label’s release history; its title track reworks a song by Gorillaz. The single “Dare (Hold It Down)” came out in 2016.
Releases include work by Fourward, Document One and Levela. Fourward issued the album Lose Control through the label in 2020, and Document One and Levela followed with their four-track In My Mind EP in 2021. Elevate Records also put out Fourward’s Hope EP, which received backing from Annie Mac and BBC Radio 1. Its ten-track compilation Elevations Vol. 1 brought together music by several artists. The label holds live events and showcases featuring drum and bass artists, and its dancefloor output includes music that did not fit Shogun Audio’s sound.
