2022: Welcome to the future…

Friday January 14, 7pm – 11pm GMT: we will be rolling out a brand new session of UKF Future Vision featuring four exciting new-generation artists – IYRE, Georgie Riot, NOAH B and Disrupta.

Representing from Sri Lanka to Stateside via UK, each with their own unique style and right on the cusp of an exciting career, you’re probably already acquainted.

If not, here’s your chance as we asked them a few questions about their sound, their inspirations, their goals, their journeys so far and, of course, their love for drum & bass.

IYRE

Destination Sri Lanka, IYRE’s signature soulful sound has been a staple part of the UKF diet since he came out firing out of the doors on Goldfat last year. UKF has been part of IYRE’s diet for a little longer. Alongside heavy metal (he’s bassist and producer in a band called Constellation), it’s been part of his journey into this music.

“UKF is probably where I was exposed to bass music ever since I was introduced to electronic music in 2012,” he tells us. “To this day, UKF acts as a source of inspiration, and getting my music featured on UKF has always been a dream of mine. So happy to have finally realised that dream. UKF has reached far distant lands such as Sri Lanka as well, pretty evident as to how much the brand has contributed towards the globalisation of the dance music culture.”

Inspirations…

I’m inspired by my own creativity for the most part. I always try to push myself in terms of how I want to portray myself as an artist. That being said, I draw a lot of inspiration from ambient and metal music, I try to blend what I hear and enjoy, into the music I produce. I’m a huge Tesseract fan, most of the ambience I’ve used in my productions are hugely inspired by them. Right now, I’m really digging Monty and Brainwork, and shifting towards a minimal roller vibe, a slightly darker shade of music compared to what I released earlier. My father is also a huge inspiration, I’m here thanks to him. He realised that I have a talent and did everything possible for me to receive a comprehensive education in music.

2022 goals…

My primary goal would be to release my debut EP with Goldfat Records. I have a few more singles and collabs on the works as well, trying to finish them and organise my release schedule for the year. I also want to play live as much as I can. Events are relatively hard to come by in Sri Lanka, but I’m going to try my level best to play some D&B here.

Journey so far…

I started producing in 2012, after hearing Get Up by Korn featuring Skrillex, from the album The Path Of Totality. I was immediately hooked to electronic music. I started with dubstep and made the transition to drum and bass in 2016 after listening to Pendulum’s Watercolour. I picked up on it, ran with it and six years later, here we are.

Love for D&B…

Drum and bass felt familiar and relatable. Probably due to the fact that I’m a metalhead, I was able to connect with drum and bass far quicker than with any other genre. In terms of production value, it’s an extremely challenging genre to produce as well, and I love challenges. I still feel the same adrenaline rush I felt in 2016 when I first listened to drum and bass and I don’t think that would ever change. There’s something about the deep, dark basslines, syncopated melodies and crusty breaks….

Georgie Riot

Georgie Riot’s journey so far has been an exciting one. Breaking through during the streaming revolution as the world shut down in 2020, she caught the imagination of the online D&B community with her vivid dancefloor sets and powerful double drops then took her selections to massive festival crowds as the world opened up again last summer. Now levelling up as a producer, Georgie’s musical mission continues. As she revealed in an interview with us last year, it’s a mission that started with heavy influence from her parents… And UKF!

“UKF is really what introduced me to bass music in the first place,” Georgie tells us. “I remember listening to CDs in the car every morning with my mum on the way to school. This is really is where the transition from rock music to dance music started for me! UKF will always have a special place in my heart for that reason.”

Inspirations…

Sub Focus, Dimension, Pendulum, Wilkinson, Kanine, Tsuki and Koven… To name a few!

2022 goals…

My goals for 2022 are to continue to produce music, learn, improve and grow as an artist. My main goal is to release more music! I’m excited to finally get my music out there to receive feedback from fans and peers. Also I would love to play at some big festivals and collaborate with more artists.

Journey so far…

I started learning to produce a year ago in February 2021. This was during lockdown so I had a lot of spare time on my hands! I found initially learning the software very frustrating and I struggled for quite a while. It wasn’t until about April when I started to finally get my head around things a bit.

Love For D&B…

The passion and energy in drum and bass is just unmatched. I’m a very energetic person myself so I love anything with a fast tempo and drums! I used to play the drums when I was younger so I think rhythm is a big part of it! I also grew up listening to trance and hardstyle so I love that a lot of dancefloor drum and bass incorporates musical elements of those genres.

NOAH B

If you’ve explored the experimental electronic regions of Soundcloud any time since the early 2010s then chances are you’ve struck gold on NOAH B’s page. Already an established name in the wave and beat game, his emotional and atmospheric sound has been expanding and revealing more with every upload and release.

Emerging as a producer with paid releases on labels such as Platician’s Terrorhythm and cult platforms like wavemob, he’s lately been revealing more and more of his D&B psyche, including the inspiring Remembering Home on Pilot last year. For New York’s NOAH, UKF has always been part of his own personal explorations…

“10 years ago UKF became one of my gateways for discovering the music and artists that would become some of my main inspirations and motivation for getting into electronic music production,” he tell us. “I used to spend hours just going through the uploads on Youtube finding new music, so for me UKF cemented themselves as an integral part of my formative years as a producer. 10 years later I’m still checking the uploads weekly and continuing to find new music that inspires me. So, it’s really crazy to me how things have come full circle and now I’m able to be a part of that.”

Inspirations…

More often than not, inspiration usually tends to hit me from places that are outside of the music world. Video games, movies, anime, nature and conversations with friends and loved ones are all sources of ideas and influence for me. As far as artists go, some of my biggest inspirations are artists like Burial and Aphex Twin, and more recently I’ve been really inspired by artists like Volant, Netsky, Leotrix and Imanu. But also many of my close producer friends inspire me every day.

2022 goals…

This year my main goals are to release more D&B tunes, potentially with labels like Hospital Records or another release with Pilot Records, but also I want to try experimenting more with other genres. I’d love to go on tour again, hopefully internationally, and maybe open for some of my favourite artists. I would also love to collaborate with more D&B artists and release my first merch collection.

Journey so far…

I’ve been making music since I was around 14 years old. I started off rapping, then taught myself production with the intention of making beats to rap on. As time passed I think I just found production something I felt more clearly expressed the emotions and ideas I wanted to convey through my art. Then in 2010 a good friend of mine showed me Ableton and I decided to focus on making instrumental electronic music. It was around that time that I made a Soundcloud account and started uploading music.

Love for D&B…

I remember in the late 90s into the early 00’s, my older cousin who I spent a lot of my childhood with, was always disappearing to go DJ somewhere. His room was on the 3rd floor in the attic of my aunt’s house and I would constantly hear music booming through the shut door whenever I was over. It all felt very mysterious to me at that time, and eventually out of both curiosity and fascination, I started asking him questions which led to him sharing some of his favourite music with me. I instantly fell in love with the jungle / D&B stuff he showed me. After that I started seeking out more of the music on my own and became really into artists like LTJ Bukem, Photek, Dillinja, Peshay and all the other Metalheadz artists. Being from the US, I had an interesting relationship with the genre because none of my friends growing up understood or had any interest in it. So D&B became this sort of personal hidden gem that I would listen to alone in my room and it always made me feel like I was in another world.

Disrupta

Recently spotted on UKF late last year with his EP In The Distance, Disrupta has been a tour-de-force since emerging in the D&B game in 2019 on labels such as Nuusic, Liondub International, Informal and Born On Road. He’s since appeared on the likes of V, Bingo, Shogun and Hospital but, as he told us in an interview last year, his journey so far has involved a hell of a lot of graft. It’s a journey that goes back to his earliest bass inspirations back to the school yard a decade ago.

“UKF was one of the first channels that introduced me to drum and bass as well as dubstep back in 2011/12 when everyone was pumping it through their Blackberry,” he grins. “Going from that to now releasing an EP with them is just a bit mental for me to process. In my opinion, UKF really is THE platform for promoting the best in drum and bass and building a community of worldwide listeners. Like myself, they provide newer artists a platform to push their music to the right audiences.”

Inspirations…

A lot of different things inspire me to a different degree. I feel like making music and being involved in the industry is far more than just pumping out music and so i think my inspirations cover a broad spectrum. For example, from a marketing perspective I am very inspired by more established musicians who have their branding nailed down and production-wise, I am a big fan of the future drum & bass sound whilst also getting inspired by older jungle and jazzy sounds. I think this comes from listening to a lot of R&B, dancehall and jazz. Having an array of inspirations is good because it allows you to think a bit more outside the box and bring in outside influences.

2022 goals…

2022 is a new start and I’m excited to have a whole year of getting stuck into shows which wasn’t the case during Covid. I really want to just soak up the atmosphere and energy you get from playing out – it is such a good feeling. Aside from doing shows, I want to experiment more with my production and see what direction I may want to explore more (or less).

Journey so far…

I started producing beats as well dabbling in other random genres such as future bass and house in 2015 at age 16. It wasn’t until the start of 2019 that I first started making drum & bass. I feel the knowledge learnt prior to 2019 definitely helped me pick up drum & bass production quickly and allowed me to bring in outside influences into my drum & bass production.

Love for D&B…

My love for drum & bass definitely started from the raves and the energy you feel from that type of music. I think the scene is very unique and quite close-knit which I don’t feel you get from any other genre in my opinion. As I became more focused on the production side of things and started playing out, I really love and appreciate the crowd reactions when you play out one of your own tunes Playing out your own music to people is such an unmatched feeling.

Join us for Future Vision: Friday Jan 14 7pm