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Catching Up With Kanine

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Catching Up With Kanine

When you say summer, you say Kanine. Whether you are now thinking about his yearly Summer Essentials mix, or his signature heavy dancefloor sound, they have both become an integral part of the scene since he started breaking through in 2018. Seven years later, Kanine has reinvented himself. “It’s been a big evolution to go from a producer to an all-rounded artist when it comes to production, songwriting and the design side,” he says. 

While he still gives us those big euphoric dancefloor tunes, he’s now also found joy in working together with other producers and songwriters. We’ll be getting a Kanine track every month for the rest of 2025, so something tells us that we’ll get to discover who those producers and songwriters are soon. “During my set at WAH In The City in London, I’m going to be debuting tons of new music,” he can already reveal. 

Sunshine, new tunes, and a lot of daytime parties. We can’t wait for summer!

Hi! How are you doing?

I’m doing great. Summer has finally rolled around and it’s a gloriously warm day in London. This year has been really good so far, I’ve played some amazing shows, released some new music … I’m looking forward to a really big summer as well. 

Talking about the music you’ve released lately… You’ve released ‘Feel The Vibration’ and your remix of ‘On & On’ by Sub Focus. What else is coming?

So much! I feel like I’m at a turning-point with my music and I’m really happy with everything I’m writing at the moment. I’ve definitely experimented a lot, and I’ve landed on a new sound that’s still familiar but also an evolution of what I’ve done before.

Last year, I didn’t release as much music as I would have wanted. I was working on new music the entire time but along with a demanding touring schedule, I didn’t want to rush new tracks and took some time to make sure when they’re ready to release, they sound the best they possibly can. Now I’ve found a better balance between spending time in the studio and time on the road, I feel like I’m in a good place to write my best music – and I’m really loving the process. I think when the music feels good and it’s connecting in the raves, it’s time to double down and get it all out. That’s the plan for the rest of the year. My next single to come out is actually on UKF too. 

Second tune with UKF this year, then! 

Yes, from early on in my career UKF have always been really supportive. They uploaded my music on the YouTube channel pretty early on in my career when I was still breaking through, and then I did a release with them in 2019. That year I also played on the UKF stage at Let It Roll which was a big moment for me. It’s an important platform in drum & bass and dance music, so it’s always cool to be a part of it. This year we released  ‘Feel the Vibration’ on UKF and it did really well, so I’m looking forward to releasing more music with you guys.

You were talking about how in 2019 you were still finding your sound, and how in 2024 you were also experimenting again with your sound. If you look back at 2019 Kanine, how have you evolved as an artist?

Around 2018-2019 was when I first started to break through. I found a sound that sat between dancefloor and jump-up, I didn’t really know what I was doing at the time to be honest but I created my own sound within that space. 

You always want to be looking forward as an artist, so every few years it’s good to reinvent yourself. It’s much more exciting creating something new and not stuck in cycles of making the same thing. You always want to push yourself and really search for new ideas, new textures, sounds, vibes. I love big euphoric music, anything that has a big anthem feel, a musical element, but also a heavier drop to it. That will always be what I love to make the most. The music I’m writing now is definitely an evolution of that but since 2019, I’ve pushed the sound design further and been working on my songwriting too. I love writing lyrics, and I think you can push the genre forward not just in production but in the songwriting too. It’s been a big learning curve to go from just a producer to an all-rounded artist when it comes to production, songwriting as well as the visual side too. All the visual content coming this year I’ve directed myself too which is fun.

Talking about this journey, those connections you’re building… You recently released Volume 7 of your Summer Essentials series, and this has quite the community around it. Did you ever think it would grow out to be this big?

I never expected to keep doing them, but I don’t have a choice now. I think the D&B fans have decided that I have to keep doing them forever, haha! I love making them, they’re really fun. The original idea seven years ago was born out of nostalgia. Remember, when you were younger, you had to burn your favorite songs onto a cd so you could play it in your car. I used to love making loads of different playlists for different situations. Before DJing it was a way for me to share and archive all my favourite songs. Years later with online sets and recorded mixes, I wanted to make a mix so I could put all my favourite summer D&B songs together in one set. I wanted to make that mix when the sun is out – it’s the first thing people want to play on their bluetooth speaker. Over the years it’s definitely developed and now it’s something I really look forward to. It gives me a chance to share a lot of music that I wouldn’t normally be able to play in my DJ sets. It’s nice to share music that inspires me and share what I listen to when I’m not on stage. So many people I meet at shows come up to me and tell me that Summer Essentials got them into drum & bass. 

That’s the biggest compliment you can get!

Exactly. It definitely has created a cult following because for a lot of people, it was their entry point into drum & bass. It’s rewarding converting non-dnb heads to the genre. If you listen to an hour of really summery drum & bass it’s hard not to love it.

Where did you film the latest mix? It looks amazing!

That was in Portugal, after the DnB AllStars festival. It was a short drive from the town so a lot of the crew that was shooting the festival stayed out for another couple days. We managed to bend a couple rules and get the local authorities to let us set up a sound system. It took a lot of hard work from my entire video and production team, so big shout out to them. They’re really great, we pulled it off! There are so many recorded sets nowadays that I thought it was a point of difference to strip it back, to let it all be about the music. I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Talking about summer and beaches… You’ve got a few cool gigs coming up, your next one being WAH In The City on July 6. What do you have planned for us? 

I’m super excited, the last edition of WAH In The City was a legendary day. It’s definitely going to be one of the biggest shows of the year. DJs and ravers alike, I think everyone’s super excited for that one. I’ll be debuting loads of new music on the mainstage in the London sunshine, cannot wait.

There are a lot of day parties during summer, and there are also afterparties in clubs. If you had to choose, would you rather always play day parties, or club nights? 

I do love a daytime rave. There is something special about it, because I feel like drum & bass sounds different in the sun, but I also think nothing beats a huge warehouse with loads of lasers and fire etc. Partying all through the night, that’s how I raved when I was going out every weekend. As much as I love a day party, there’s nothing better than a big rave in a warehouse, with people going crazy. My music fits that environment better as well. 

Loads of cool plans for you, it sounds like! Is there anything else that you want to mention?

Loads of new music, potentially leading up to a bigger project I’ve started to work on. I’ve been in the studio with a lot of different producers and vocalists at the moment, so I think you can expect some pretty unexpected and new collabs coming this year too.  Then in winter, we’re planning a huge headline show in London, which will be my biggest one yet. That’s going to be a massive project and a really big night. I’m super excited to share more about all the upcoming plans so stay tuned.

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