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Crate Diggin’: Fracture tips his top five producers to watch out for

If you’ve been to a drum & bass rave in the last decade, it’s a cert that you’ve heard Fracture’s music before. Releasing records that are equal parts raw and peculiar, his individualist flair has made him a key stalwart within the scene, regularly cited as a favourite among the genre’s biggest artists. The majority of Fracture’s music comes via Astrophonica, the label he runs alongside long-time collaborator Neptune. Championing a bold mix of drum & bass, jungle, and juke, a small pool of producers have built the label’s acclaim, borrowing as much from 90s tech-step as they do modern dancehall. Before he showcases the sound of his label alongside Lewis James and Sully in Room Two this Friday, we caught up with Fracture to get an idea of the music he’s feeling at the moment. In this list, he selects 5 under-the-radar producers that are killing it for him right now.

Your Love Is A Power – Lewis James [Astrophonica]

The man of the moment. Although seemingly new to the scene in terms of releasing records, Lewis has been doing his thing in the audio and sound design world for a long time. This background comes through in his productions which, when mixed with his love of electronic dance music, creates a unique blend of epic dance floor driven bangers. The track I've chosen shows that to great effect and I've been playing it in my DJs sets ever since I signed it. I use it towards the end of my sets to sucker punch the crowd with the amen drop after a chilled and deep section.

Chorro 100's – Braqueberry [Iberian Juke]

I'll admit to not knowing much about this artist but this EP from 2017 on Iberian Juke certainly caught my attention. I love how it uses a footwork palette and aesthetic but is like a full length album track. I also love the 80s reverb which really gives this track a feeling of being played in warehouse. Very unique.

Tengmo Rah – Groves [Exit Records]

Brand new producer out of Canada. What better place to debut than dBridge's Exit Records? He has a very distinct minimal style with a knack for creating hooks from seemingly monotonous basslines. This one in particular plods along but slowly gets more and more infectious. I can confirm we've got something on the way from Groves on Astrophonica. More to follow...

Persistence Of Memory – Forest Drive West [Hidden Hawaii]

A very accomplished producer given the short time he's been releasing. A wonderful lo-fi vibe, but never lo-fi for the sake of it, or because it’s trendy. Totally legit vibes. This track in particular is a massive victory. It's a drum & bass track in 5/4. Writing in 5/4 is hard enough but taking a genre that is written in 4/4 99.9% of the time and seamlessly doing it in a foreign time signature is no easy task. This track does that wonderful thing that good 5/4 can do, it tricks you into thinking its 4/4 and it's only when you really start counting the beats that you notice it's not.

Hello Boss – Proc Fiskal [Cosmic Bridge]

Brand new and straight outta Scotland. Grime palette at 160. Sign me up. He debuted on none other than Hyperdub and followed up with an EP on Om Unit's Cosmic Bridge. Hello Boss displays a moodier, less melodic edge to his production and shows total versatility. Head turning stuff. It’s been some time since you last played for us, what have you been up to recently? Yeah it has been a while, but I'm back and super excited. Otherwise I've been pushing the label as ever, focusing on bringing some newer artists through while still using it as a place for my own productions and experiments. 2017 saw releases from Lewis James and myself plus a full length compilation, Gradients. Can you talk more about the guests you’re bringing for your Room Two showcase? Myself, Lewis James and Sully for 90 minutes. Lewis has been mentioned loads in this piece! Ha! He deserves it though. He's amazing. We used to share a studio and now his studio is the adjacent one. It's great because it means I get to hear everything he's making. He's so talented and knowledgeable about production. Great DJ too. On to Sully. Another very talented producer. Signature icey soundscapes and killer drum programming. DJ wise he likes to draw for the unexpected, which is something I love. He's known most for Jungle, but trust me there's a lot more to his sets than just one genre. Then on to me. Erm, not sure really. Just doing my thing! Come out, see what it's all about. Finally, what’s planned on the horizon for Astrophonica? Next EP is something very, very exciting from someone legit AF that I'm busting to tell you about but can't just quite yet. Let's just say it's foundation business. Blueprint shizzle. Watch this space.
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