Every artist, every raver, everyone involved in the drum & bass scene has a reason why they love it so much. Laurie Charlesworth explores these reasons in her newest podcast “Why We D&B”. So far, she’s interviewed Bryan Gee, Sweetpea, LSB, Charlotte Haining, Danny Byrd and Bailey. All artists with their own personal “why” and their own story of finding community, building a career, and absolutely loving the music.
Laurie Charlesworth has been a music journalist for more than a decade, and has worked with all of the D&B brands you can imagine. Throughout all of this, there is one common thread: creating communities while doing what she loves. With “Why We D&B” she does this exact thing. She reminds artists and listeners alike why we all love drum & bass, and highlights the wholesome moments of our beloved scene.
We had a chat with Laurie Charlesworth about why she started this podcast, what is coming next, and most importantly, Why She D&B’s.
You recently started your podcast, Why We D&B. Why did you start it?
I’ve always wanted to start my own podcast after working with so many different brands and people. Before starting this podcast, I went through a bit of a rocky time in music and I started to resent it a little bit. I just was bogged down by all the industry stuff. It affected me quite a lot, and I needed to take some time away and actually remind myself why I got into drum & bass in the first place. What was it that pulled me in? I did a lot of reconnecting with the music. Going to small events again and listening to old sets. I wanted to get excited again. It was healthy for me to remind myself why I loved this genre in the first place, and I really saw the benefits in that.
After doing so many different things in music journalism and radio, I wanted to do something that was good and wholesome and nice for the scene. Something that explores and potentially reminds artists of why they’re doing this in a time where the scene has blown up so big, but also has become a bit fractured as well. I wanted to do something positive. I’m happy that that’s how it’s felt through the interviews that I’ve done so far.
Do you notice other people saying, this reminds me why I love doing this? Did you meet that goal?
Yeah, I’m meeting that goal. There have been a few times across the episodes where Danny Byrd and LSB have said it themselves, where they also needed to step away to remind themselves. Bailey said he’s had to do it a few times too. It’s funny because you don’t want to be patronising, you don’t want to assume that people aren’t thinking about their why. So it’s about getting that fine balance of it not really being about the why, but more about, let’s discuss everything. What has brought me a lot of enjoyment is seeing people remember all of the things that make them feel really excited. My aim is still the same, and we’re hitting that concept. It’s lovely to see the artists remembering so many reasons why they’re in the scene now and what actually excites them. It’s brought me things that I wasn’t really expecting.
You said that you had to step away from the scene. What made you fall in love with it again?
I’ve worked in drum & bass, music, and radio for about 14 years now. I love the music. The amount of amazing memories I have from the music, that’s why I did this. I’ve worked really hard to create my career. I never wanted to be a DJ. I never wanted to be a producer. I always wanted to chat to the artists, interview them, speak to them, and do music journalism. I’m not just going to let that slide because of all the industry stuff. So I thought, how can I make myself feel good and contribute in a healthy way, which feeds into me feeling good too? I don’t want to make things just for the sake of it and be in this industry way of thinking. I wanted to do it my way and make it wholesome.
How do you separate yourself from the wider industry when it’s having such a negative impact on you, but you still work in the same spaces?
It’s about being picky. Before, I would say yes to everything and now I would be more selective. Owning my own thing means that I’m in control of that. All of the shoots that we’ve done have been so nice. I want my amazing production assistant Brierley and anyone else working on the shoots to enjoy themselves. I love what I do and I want other people to enjoy what they do too. If I can create a good working environment that’s positive and supportive, then that’s me in the industry doing my bit. I don’t have to then go work for someone else that I don’t like and start moaning about that.. I’m just doing my thing. Hopefully that will attract the people that are on the same wavelength as me.
You mentioned before how the drum & bass scene’s blown up and I feel like it’s becoming less and less about the community. 10 years ago, it was more about the vibe and how you felt when you walked in, you felt included.
I’ve interviewed Logan D, and at the end where people big up people in the scene that are doing good stuff, he bigged up Chase and Status, Mozey, Hedex and Bou. I liked that he did that because it’s true, they’ve made drum & bass so widespread. There’s pros and cons to the scene becoming so massive but ultimately, they’re bringing people in, and then they’re discovering people like Logan D or Sweetpea.There’s a lot to say about the commercialisation of drum & bass, but simultaneously it’s also helping us.
So far, you’ve interviewed Bryan Gee, Sweetpea, Charlotte Haining, LSB, Danny Byrd and Bailey. How do you pick your guests?
I absolutely love all of those artists. They’ve all contributed so much to this scene and they’re all really nice people as well. All of them have been a big part of my journey from a fan perspective and also a personal perspective. I’ve got different connections to them all. I’ve interviewed all of them before and I think rather than talking about accomplishments and accolades, , I like to discuss their motivations and why they do it. I’m really grateful that they trusted me to be able to have those conversations.
It’s all artists that have a proper story.
They’ve all got different stories. Charlotte, so far, is the only one that got into D&B through something that wasn’t raving. She got into D&B through songwriting and she was asked to do top lines for tracks before she started raving. Everyone else went raving first and it was their best thing they did. Bryan Gee and Danny Byrd, both of their motivations for getting into the drum & bass scene were finding community. Danny Byrd said, “I just wanted to be a part of something that I loved. I was an outsider looking in”, and then by the end of it, we were talking about the now and when I asked, what excites you most about your work?, he still answers with, I want to be a part of it. It’s an ongoing theme through all of their lives and careers that they wanted community, friends, or to be a part of something and to see them realise that that’s still what they want now is a really beautiful thing. There’s still that same bubbly person just wanting to be a part of it.
What are some goals you have for the podcast?
I want to make sure it’s representative of the whole scene. Artists from different eras, corners of the scene, sub-genres, countries, cultures, communities. I really want to make sure jump up is represented more too. The jump up community is so solid. So slowly but surely, I will make sure that that happens. I also want to make sure that it has longevity. I don’t want it to be something that fades out. I want to make sure it works for me too. Hence why I’m moving to Zoom whilst I have my first baby.
I love doing my Kool FM show and engaging with listeners. It’s really important to me that there’s a huge community aspect too, and that of course involves the listeners and the ravers. They’re very important to me. I would like to incorporate more things from the people that listen and make sure that it’s interactive and we can continue to create a community. It’s not just about the artists. It’s not us and them, it’s all of us.
Is there anything else that you’re working on at the moment?
Not at the minute, as my first baby is due very, very soon! I’m really happy that I launched this during my first pregnancy. It’s been a really great thing to do throughout. I look forward to getting back into it next year with some different ideas. I’m looking forward to interviewing new people, and just continuing the niceness and my positive contribution to the scene.
My last question is, Why do you D&B?
I just love the music and I love the community. I love what D&B has brought into my life as a young person. Drum & bass gave me a purpose when I was a teenager. It brought me things that I really needed at the time. It gave me a community. It gave me friends. It brought so many positive things into my life, and it gave me an amazing career. I’ve done so many things in my career that I’ve absolutely loved. It not only brings me so much joy listening to it, it has changed my life in ways that I can’t even imagine for so many different reasons. That’s why I D&B.
Follow WWD&B: Instagram / Tik Tok / Youtube / Spotify / Apple
Follow Laurie Charlesworth: Instagram
