Critical Music

Critical Music is a London drum-and-bass label and event promoter founded by Kasra Mowlavi in a North London flat in 2002; he owns and runs it. Dphie’s “Five Faces / Evolve.2” was the label’s first release. Early output had a deeper underground sound, which shifted towards dancefloor-oriented music after Spectrasoul’s “Alibi (Break remix) / Organiser” in 2009. Mefjus’s debut album, Emulation, arrived in 2014 and marked another stylistic change. The label also launched Binary to develop emerging drum-and-bass artists.

Its events brand, Critical Sound, began in 2010, bringing the label’s music to venues around the UK and Europe. A fabric residency has featured in Critical Sound’s London activity, alongside events at Printworks, Studio 338 and E1. Outside London, it has presented drum and bass at Barcelona’s Sónar festival and taken over Boomtown’s main stage, while events have also been held at Six Trees Bar And Kitchen Manchester. Artists whose tracks the label has released include Calibre and Break.