What is Urban Chemistry about and what do you represent?

We’re about quality Drum&Bass music.  At least that was what Eric and I wanted to achieve straight from the start.  A sense of professionalism in the search for some of the seriously talented artists and high quality music that is out there right now...  and there is a lot of it. Our plan is and has always been to provide a strict format for top quality productions and releases in hopes to expand the genre to new levels and broader audiences.

What are your roots in music and how did you come to set up a dnb label?

Both Eric and I have been DJing Drum&Bass for over 14 years, and have seen its full development into the extremely diverse genre that it is today.  I was traveling for a bit as part of the crew on Lauryn Hill’s tour in 2007, so I was away from the local scene for a bit.  When I got home, we got linked up with Bassdrive radio and immediately got right back to work.  We were getting such quality tunes sent to us for our radio show that we really wanted to develop a way to get some of these fresh names and fresh music back in people’s playlists or CD collections or whatever the normal is these days.  So we re-hatched an old mate’s plan to give Urban Chemistry a new light.  This was the original name of our crew’s attempt at a label early on.  The only problem was we didn’t’ know much then about proper music business.  Fast forward to today, with a degree in Audio Engineering and some hands on professional music business experience we now had the right tools to give Urban Chemistry a new life.

From an outside perspective, the US Drum and Bass scene seems to be progressing nicely, what are your views on this?

Haha.. Why is it that it always seems better on the other side of the pond??   Really though… things are progressing and have been nicely over the last few years here in the States.  Although with the rise of Dubstep here in the US some people think Drum&Bass has taken a back seat, but I think it’s just the opposite.  It only seems that way because many promoters that were doing Drum&Bass shows have jumped the train over to Dubstep, so yeah there’s less shows it seems this past year..  but the love for the scene is still extremely strong.  We found out first hand at our brand new “strictly” Drum&Bass event (United D&B) here in South Florida last month.  It was off the hook, with a proper old school D&B show vibe! So the love is still here, the people just need an outlet for it.  That said.. we have seen rise to some big stars and talent here stateside, and some serious new contenders on the way.  Bassdrive radio is a huge help here in the states as well.  There are some dangerously talented artists involved with the station, and I think with the lack of proper Drum&Bass stations on the radios in the U.S., it gives people a platform to go to and hear the newest material and latest news from all sorts of artists.  Another big factor is the rise in the amount of Electronic Music Festivals and truly massive Drum & Bass shows that keep growing stateside each year.  They really help people to realize how powerful the music is and how widely it’s accepted. 


Can you tell us about some of the music you have released?

We’ve truly been blessed.  From the start we’ve had some brilliantly talented producers supporting the label and sending us music.  Not the usual names in the scene, but some proper new players in the game, and things are growing each day.  With music from all over the globe in the catalog right now from Australia to Japan, UK and back, we’ve been able to get some real flavor and soul integrated with the label from day one.  I can’t layout my favorites because that’s almost like picking your favorite niece or nephew, but some of the fans top choices have been tracks like “Don’t Stand Still” (ATP), “Shorty What’s Good” (Seathasky), “Colorful” (Sigurt), and pretty much every track off of the Standard Gravity LP.

What advice can you give to aspiring producers trying to break into the scene?

At the end of the day quality always beats quantity.  I think as a label owner and a serious Drum&Bass DJ and enthusiast, it’s about taking the time to create some solid, well put together, properly produced music.  Consistency is the key in that.  There are artists that we work with who will send us tunes that I know will be properly constructed before I even hear them..  Whether I like the composition or not.  Then there are others that could be a hit or a miss on production quality, even if I am really digging the tune.  I would definitely say that it’s best to be consistent and take pride in your work. 

What's next for Urban Chemistry?