Sprout

From a young age, music always meant more to me than just background noise coming through a radio. I saw and felt how it connected people and broke down barriers, opened up spaces and brought people together. I found myself wanting to experience new music, whether it be my mum’s CD case in the car on long journeys or my dad’s vinyl collection, never being content with what was playing on the radio, I always wanted to collect sounds from anywhere I could. Before I had my own collection, I would steal my dad’s Sony Walkman tape deck and go through all my parents’ old tapes in search of sounds that made me feel. For my 8th birthday, I asked for a Sony Walkman CD player along with Green Day's album "American Idiot" as I had been possessed by the heavy riffs and fast beat. This also meant I could go buy CDs I wanted and swiftly found Gorillaz “Demon Days” and was inspired by the alternative rhythms and drums.

As a young teenager, I took a lot of my music influence from my older sister, who although we don’t see eye to eye on a lot of music now, she did have an eye for Reggae and introduced me to the likes of Natty and Fat Freddy’s Drop who's bouncy basslines really led me on my own journey through reggae and dub. Gentleman's Dub Club, Mungo’s Hi-Fi and O.B.F filled the airwaves surrounding my late teens, and this, of course, led me on to jungle and drum and bass. Nothing before had kept my active mind and body as possessed as the drum patterns in Jungle and the familiar vocals from the Dub scene.

Soon, I found my people. Having always felt different and never really fitting in with any group in school, or growing up always feeling like I was on the edge of a social group, suddenly in the dance I felt comfortable, free and seen. Fast forward 15 years, and I can honestly say that if it wasn't for Drum and Bass music, I don’t know where I would be or who I would be. This scene has brought me friends, family, lovers and my tribe. Nurtured me through the hard times and created and empowered the good. Always being the guy with the aux lead or the guy with the Bluetooth speaker ready to drop everything to bring the vibe up or fill a gap in the airwaves, it only felt right to be able to dive deeper into the music and attempt to create and curate my own sets. Having been a front left warrior for 15 years, it’s now time to start giving back and hopefully help the next generation of ravers find their space and freedom on the dancefloor listening to my sounds. 

The Sprout is the first process of something new; it’s the first step a plant takes, pushing into a new world, taking space for itself. Whether it’s from the seed of a beautiful flower or from the dark, grotty potato you left in the back of your cupboard, the sprout is a sign of change and a new beginning, working from what its predecessors left behind. This is what I want to provide a place to showcase and appreciate what came before, while pushing the scene forward, providing a new space for the next generation to grow. 🌱