The Month ahead: Drum & Bass in London

Image: Jason Turner 

As you read this, chances are you’ll have just finished staring forlornly out the window at a rain-soaked, wind-swept landscape and begun pondering why a shade of such miserable grey had been invented and affixed to the sky. Look away. Look away now, as I’m here to tell you about the plethora of London-based drum & bass events you can throw yourself into over November, as you wait for Christmas to rear its head. 

November 8th see’s Vauxhall's Hidden hosted by Fractured Foundation, headlined by Germany’s Neosignal – a band that describes themselves as being on a ‘sound journey through a psychedelic tsunami’, which sounds heaps more fun than the storm’s we’ve been battered by recently. Accompanying cavalry includes MEFJUS, who brings his unique brand of d&b, downtempo and dubstep from the Alps to our ears, with his track ‘Leakproof’ (below) proving there is nothing wrong with flipping the traditional d&b formula. 

The infamous Fire is getting its hooks into the d&b scene this month, with November 8th’s Basslaced serving up Calibre, D Bridge, Doc Scott, Klute and Marcus Intalex. Another area that’s got its ear to the floor is Brixton, which boasts Fridays at the White Horse – a weekly instalment of Brazilian d&b, for those that like a Latino twist. Brixton Jamm also offers an offshore twist, with New Zealand’s foremost beat producers State of Mind and TREi leading proceedings. Now I’m no qualified expert on d&b from the other side of the globe, but State of Mind’s track ‘Sun King’ (below) is pretty tasty. 

If you don’t want your good Saturday night vibes to end, head to the Horse & Groom from 8pm on Sundays for Jamais Vu – the perfect way to wind down your weekend, with a few hours of liquid d&b. It’s free if you register and put yourselves on guestlist too, so there’s really no excuse, is there?

Chase & Status’ first London arena date, at the O2 on November 16th, promises to be a night to remember. The duo are the beatmaster equivalents of the Vikings, invading the charts like they’re on a mission to save us from musical drudgery (minus the pillaging of course. Latest single Count on Me, featuring Moko, is an absolute stormer, and with their O2 date being the last on their arena tour, the night promises to be one of the best of 2013.

The same night sees an old skool and drum and bass face off at Union all in the name of charity, with Silent Code the headline action on the deebee tip.

Golden Ticket

We're back at Fire for the Golden ticket on the 22nd and your ears will be greeted by Nu:Logic, DC Breaks and Hamilton, with IGT (which stands for In Good Taste, naturally) continuing Vauxhall’s surprising trend of offering sublime upfront d&b. The grooves on offer are of a decidely liquid variety, ensuring that the feelgood vibes will be in the full force.

Nu:Logic - FABRICLIVE Promo Mix by Fabric on Mixcloud

Nu:Logic's What I've always waited for has been an iPod staple for much of 2013, and as the short promotional mix they created for FabricLIVE ()above) demonstrates, endemic of the kind of rolling grooves that they and Hopsital Records have been so good at. see you down the front.

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