Fox Stevenson

Breaking through on Ram's sister label Frequency in 2003, Nick Douwma has proceeded to blaze a trial through drum & bass and beyond. Every inch a live showman as much as he is a DJ and creative producer, his performances are a technical feat comprising many bespoke instruments that no other artist has.

Talk about high expectations. When London drum’n'bass duo, Chase & Status aka Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status) first laid down the tracks that would make up their third studio album, they were faced with a weighty dilemma: how to follow the sizeable footprint left by 2011’s multi platinum selling No More Idols, not to mention their hefty rep as festival headliners? The answer was found with Brand New Machine, an album that brims with surging, dancefloor anthems, dusty trip hop grooves as championed by the likes of Massive Attack and Portishead, and a collection of jungle and garage breakbeats that increase with substance over repeated plays. Meanwhile, brooding ragga harmonies and hip hop samples deliver an updated take on No More Idols’ anthemic, catch-all appeal. The overall vibe? An instantly memorable collection of swaggering cuts tuned to a club setting, hyped summer festivals and arenas alike.

What began as a fun side-project during Pendulum’s Immersion tour, Knife Party has now become one of the most influential electronic acts to have emerged in the last three years. Releasing an EP every year since they emerged as a mysterious, identity-free, act in 2011, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen’s uncompromised free-for-all fusion of genres has inspired waves of new producers. Smelting down the very essence of moombahton, electro, house, bass and EDM, each Knife Party track is instantly distinctive yet wholly unpredictable. FYI – they don’t carry blades and have never stabbed anyone… the name actually comes from a Deftones record.