Know Your Artists #7

dBridge’s bio as sourced from ESP Agency’s Press Kit. Thanks for the great job guys!

A veteran producer and one of the most experienced artists in drum & bass, Darren White aka dBridge is an artist whose multiple transformations and evolutions glide through a staggering list of achievements. Over the course of a long and distinguished career, he has been at the heart of some the most exciting collaborative partnerships drum & bass has ever seen from Future Forces to Bad Company, Club Autonomic and most recently Heart Drive.

dBridge has also devoted a large amount of focus to his label Exit Records. With the Mosaic compilations, multiple ground breaking singles, and artist LPs as he continues to be a mentor to the new breed of producers inspired by his career. As a solo artist, dBridge remains versatile with his own productions for Exit, Metalheadz, Reinforced, Hotflush, and more.

Although his love of music dates back much farther, Darren’s career began in earnest in 1992. He moved to London to make music with and produce for his brother Steve. (Steve himself is a successful solo artist and front-man for the group ‘Spacek’). Catching the buzz of the nascent rave scene along with his brother, he ventured out to club nights, like Roast at the Astoria. He also drew inspiration from the deep dubby tones of the Jah Shaka soundsystem. Darren soon found himself working with UK hardcore group Armshouse Crew. They were the production posse responsible for Lennie De Ice’s proto-jungle anthem ‘We are IE’. Later, he began to master the synths and samplers that were the source of this new sound.

In 1995 he linked with the Trouble on Vinyl camp. He later released his first solo production as dBridge. The ‘Bring Da Flava b/w Keep it Real’. Around this time he met fellow producer Jason Maldini and they formed Future Forces. Their early productions stood apart from rest. They established a new imprint, Renegade Hardware, to cater for the tougher, grittier sounds they were creating. A steady string of releases followed, including the classics ‘Dead by Dawn’ and ‘Triton’.

Combining forces with two equally divisive producers, Fresh and Vegas, the scenedefining Bad Company solidified dBridge’s next chapter. Creating a myriad of anthems that to this day will be heard played (and rewound) any number of times at any D&B night, in any city around the globe (‘Planet Dust,’ ‘Hornet,’ ‘The Nine’), in BC’s 5+ years of working together, they redefined dance -floor Drum and Bass. The notorious supergroup created tracks – and 3 full-length albums – that will remain drum & bass epitomes, tracks that will forever line the chapters of D&B history notes.

In 2003, dBridge opened a new chapter with the first release on his own label Exit Records. ‘Libra b/w The Bride’ was soon followed by more solo outings, across a string of high profile labels. These included Soul:r, Creative Source, Liquid V and Metalheadz. More than just a platform for his own music, Exit Records is the fruition of a lifetime goal for Darren and has developed to encompass styles beyond strictly drum & bass. Exit Records is a label that is constantly providing music with integrity and longevity. Strictest quality control with every release is their second name. Since 2014, Exit Records has become a fully independent label, providing their own pressing and distribution.

As for DJing, dBridge is now proven to be one of the most important and innovative DJ’s. He hosted a monthly residency at Rinse FM; a series called ‘The Aptitude Show”, and in clubs has been headlining popular Exit Records nights around the UK and Europe, as well as regular sets at Fabric, breaking new ground by playing at Berlin’s home for techno, the legendary Berghain club and securing a bimonthly Berlin residency at Watergate, ….and of course not forgetting his tours of clubs and festivals around the world, including Japan, the USA, Australia & New Zealand. He has forged a relationship with Red Bull Music Academy, lecturing and teaching for them in both Tokyo and Seattle. For the last 5 years, Exit Records’ musical direction and artist stable has become the main focus for dBridge’s DJ sets.

Since 2014, dBridge has teamed up with Kid Drama and released the Heart Drive podcasts, reminiscent of the Autonomic layers. He has seen a release on Ninja Tune in the form of a remix for Machine Drum. There were further releases on his new subsidiary label ‘Pleasure District’. Both under the dBridge moniker as well as the Heart Drive collaboration. His Velvit alias for house and techno has also seen a release, being picked up by Dusky who released an EP on their label 17 steps in 2015.

Constantly exploring the potential and boundaries of drum & bass music and staying several steps ahead of the rest, it seems inevitable that he will eternally remain one of the leading lights in independent underground music.

/written by Andy