The Global Phenomenon of D&B with Matrix & Futurebound

Photo: Matrix & Futurebound

Hitting up London's flagship superclub, Ministry of Sound, this Saturday is the might of the drum & bass world, as Drum&BassArena celebrate their 18th year in the business, and like the best 18th birthday parties, expect grandiose amounts of excess, hedonism, and in this case, a banging drum & bass soundtrack.

The likes of Viper Records mainstays Brookes Brothers, Dutch dark and tech pioneers Black Sun Empire, scene stalwarts Fabio & Grooverider, DC Breaks, Rene LaVice and A.M.C will all be getting stuck into the Ministry of Sound skankers. Although there's one double team we're particularly exited about witnessing - Liverpool and London based duo Matrix & Futurebound.

With two UK chart top 30 and one top 10 release already under their belts, Matrix & Futurebound have established themselves as one of the dominant forces of modern drum & bass, with an unsurpassed ear for beats, bass and melody that has earned them a legion of fans that can't get enough of their ruthless, catchy, at times euphoric take on drum n bass.

We caught up with the Bass Music Awards nominees (Best Producers) to find out more.

Hi guys, thanks for joining us! Where have we caught you today?

We've just arrived home from another hectic weekend of DJing! Last night we played at the Decade of Viper tour in Geneva, which was amazing.

You’re headlining Drum&BassArena’s 18th birthday show in London at Ministry of Sound - got any exclusives ready to drop at the event?

Yeah we're looking forward to the show at this legendary venue and to celebrate Drum&BassArena's 18th year in the game. No doubt it’s going to be banging in there and we’re excited to road test a few new M+F exclusives fresh out the studio!

We’ve also got a load of exclusives from the forthcoming 'Decade of Viper' album including brand new tracks from The Prototypes (listen to their record 'Don't Let Me Go' below), Tali & Trei, Inside Info & Prolix and many more.

What do you think it is about Drum&BassArena that has kept them at the forefront of drum & bass for 18 years?

We’ve got so much respect for the Drum&BassArena team. They’ve supported everyone, from grass roots producers through to the key players of the scene. To be headlining their 18thBirthday show is fantastic for us. 

It's fair to say would drum n bass wouldn’t be as big globally if it wasn’t for Drum&BassArena showcasing what we were doing in the UK to the four corners of the globe.

And it's probably the fact that the guys who run it are massive fans of the music which keeps them at the forefront. They have a passion for it and you simply can't fake that.

We've seen huge successes within drum n bass recently with Sigma reaching the top spot in the charts more than once- what do you think the next 18years will hold for the genre, and where would you like to see it go?

Obviously we hope to see it grow even bigger than it is today and we honestly believe it will. But with everything there are always bad patches and every genre experiences them. D&B experienced it a couple of times as well but the togetherness of our scene made us work harder and that’s crucial.

D&B is a global phenomenon and no festival on the planet is complete without it.

'Control' recently surpassed 1 million plays on Soundcloud. Big up! Did you ever expect such a huge reaction to the tune?

When we made 'Control', we just did the same thing we always do when we go in the studio - just make some music that we enjoy listening to ourselves. We knew Max Marshall had done an amazing job on the vocals but you just never know how your music will be received so to see it become a top 10 hit was really amazing for us. 

What are the biggest shifts you’ve seen in the genre over the past 18 years?

Radio has made a huge difference to D&B and with the likes of Radio1 etc supporting our genre during daytime hours it opens up the music to a huge amount of people. We’ve never seen the scene as healthy as it is at the minute.

Which acts do you see as the 'new breed' of artists who could push the genre into territories never seen before?

The Prototypes, Metrik, InsideInfo, Mefjus, have been around for a little bit now but they’re the stand out producers who are exciting and can carry the baton in the years to come.

The production skills are bang on the money in every department from each of these acts.

What’s coming up for you guys for the rest of the year?

We’re knee deep in production right at this minute trying to nail as many new tracks as possible before the year's out. We nearly have our new single wrapped up so we’re excited about that.

Also looking forward to dropping the new 'Decade of Viper' album in November.

Final shout outs? 

We’re so excited to have been invited to play at this great event and once again thanks to the Drum&BassArena team for supporting us and our labels over the years! See you on the Dancefloor.

Get your tickets the the Drum&BassArena 18th birthday party here.

Tickets are no longer available for this event