XLR8R Podcast 307: dBridge

Drum & bass doesn't get a ton of attention on XLR8R these days, but certain artists' work is simply too good to ignore. dBridge (a.k.a. Darren White) is one of those artists. The UK producer has been turning out quality tunes since the mid '90s, and was also a member of seminal drum & bass supergroup Bad Company, but these days, he keeps busy as a solo producer. He continues to make drum & bass under the dBridge moniker, but also experiments with the 130-bpm range as Velvit. Somehow, he also finds the time to head up essential drum & bass outpost Exit Records, which remains a must-listen imprint. Next week, dBridge will be issuing the Move Way EP via R&S, a two-track effort that finds him still operating in top form. Given that, we figured that now would be a good time to hear a bit more of the UK veteran's musical vision, so we invited him to put together an exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series.

As expected, the mix has its fair share of drum & bass — it's also worth noting that the vast majority of the tunes have been pulled from the Exit catalog — but the 50-minute session finds dBridge going well beyond the genre he's most often affiliated with. Like many artists working with faster tempos, he's discovered the potent possibilities that arise when footwork and D&B are brought together, and the podcast also includes several forays into half-time, hip-hop-esque rhythms. It's a hectic listen, albeit an orderly one, as dBridge's mixes are precise, to say the least. More importantly, they're compelling, which is why we'll have this mix on repeat throughout the week.

Track list:

01 Beastie Respond "One More Second" (Exit) vs. Instra:mental "Watching You (acapella)"
02 Om Unit & Sam Binga "Triffidz" (Exit)
03 Fracture "Sick Wid It" (Exit)
04 Chimpo & Deesee "Dumb"
05 Chimpo "Haymaker"
06 Stray feat. Fracture "Bounce That" (Exit)
07 Stray "Professor Popper" (Exit)
08 Chimpo & Deesee "Bun It"
09 Kromestar "Purple Cloud" (Nebula)
10 Elek "Want You to Know" (Exit)
11 Stray "Matchsticks" (Exit)
12 Om Unit & Sam Binga "Electribe Riddim" (Exit)
13 Rockwell "*)* [808]" (Exit)
14 Stray "Dropping Bombs" (Exit)
15 Consequence & Fis "Cultural Trauma" (Exit)
16 dBridge & Skeptical "Move Way" (R&S)
17 Marcus Intalex "Gripped" (Exit)
18 Stray "LA Zoom" (Exit)
19 Kid Drama & Om Unit "Grind" (Exit)
20 Kid Drama "One 6 Eight" (Exit)
21 Nitri "Against Our Will (J:Kenzo Remix)" (Horizons)
22 J:Kenzo "One Drop" (Exit)
23 Philth "Nightmare Box (J:Kenzo Remix)"
24 Loxy & Resound "Residual Movement" (Exit)
25 Marcus Intalex "Qwer Key" (Exit)


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