Knowledge 099

38 D-BRIDGE
D-Bridge is a name that can raise an inquisitive eyebrow in a danceﬂ oor – people aren’t going to get it’. It feels great to look
the drum & bass scene. Schooled in the group known as Bad back over the music I’ve put aside for fear of not working, and
Company – a band of producers that revolutionised the sound of feel comfortable with it. In some ways, ‘The Gemini Principle’ is a
underground music – as a solo artist, D-Bridge’s legion of hard- collection of singles but, saying that, I don’t think that they’d work
earned fans enable him to be increasingly diverse. In 2008, his on their own. Hopefully, with the way the album is pieced together,
productions have come to represent some sort of dark, twisted everything will make sense. It has different grooves going on; there’s
Holy Grail in dance music, in that they sound as brilliant on the me singing on there – I just wanted to show my versatility as a
car stereo as they do in a club. producer in all of drum & bass’s forms, at varying tempos from 165
up to 172. I had a vision, but what it is, I can’t put it into words.”
The good news for D-Bridge’s fans is that the man in question’s
debut album is dropping in May. “I’ve decided to pull my ﬁ nger Kmag is sure that D-Bridge’s music will do the talking. “I’m quite
out,” D-Bridge explains to Kmag, “and get on with this album, lucky that I’ve created my own niche where I can do what I want.
called ‘The Gemini Principle’. It’s been a long time coming. I’ve I’ve never been that fussed about sales because I recognise that
been talking about it for nigh-on ﬁ ve years and it’s only recently we’re not selling as much as we were. That’s not the driving force
in 2007 that I’ve felt in a position to get on with it. I’ve just been behind what I do. I just want to put out a good single or a good EP
trying to build up my label – Exit – and get it to a level where I feel and hopefully a good album that people will like. Now I’m more
comfortable releasing an album.” comfortable with what I’m doing, I can let things go and let other
people decide.”
Even the creatively unshackled need to toil in maintaining their
fan base. “In 2006 I didn’t have that many releases. At the end of Obsessive drum & bass fans, of which there are many, might
last year I really wanted to start getting it together; work out what mistakenly think that top artists like D-Bridge have their ﬁ nger
was what; start new tracks and check a lot of old songs that I had on the pulse of every beat in the scene. The truth is that these
done previously and earmarked for an album. I began ‘The Gemini types of producers, spending every day making the music, need
Principle’ in and around October/November 2007. Listening to it a balance, and wouldn’t produce as well if they ate, drank and
now, I think it works.” breathed drum & bass 24/7. “I know what I like – what’s in my box,”
D-Bridge explains. “I’m almost quite blinkered as to what’s going
How much time has D-Bridge spent on producing his debut album? on elsewhere. If I was pressed on the matter of what’s going on
“Every day I worked on it,” he laughs. “From the artwork to mix- in the scene, it’s always going through shifts and I sense a shift
downs; going out and ﬁ nding new samples; putting tracks together.” at the moment where the crowds and their tastes are maturing.
Any dedicated musician will rank putting the ﬁ nishing touches to My sets aren’t going over as many people’s heads as they used to.
their ﬁ rst album as a proud moment, but that doesn’t mean the Everything is really diverse and people are being pushed again.”
process was plain sailing. “My
equipment let me down in some
ways,” D-Bridge recalls. “My
computer wasn’t fast enough; D-BRIDGING JAPAN
I’d have to go to another studio
to get things to a certain stage. I D-Bridge loves Japan. “That place just seems to have a big out there. It’s always something I talk to my distributor about.
would start mixing things down, effect on anyone that goes there. For me, you can see it in my I ask them, ‘Can you make sure that my records get to Japan?’
only to realise that I couldn’t choice of logo, packaging and the way I present my products. Even with this album, on my CD I have an obi strip.”
really achieve what I wanted to You go out to Japan and just see clean design. The placement
on my set-up. But I got round it, is perfect. It’s been a massive inﬂ uence in me. Just going out According to Wikipedia: “An Obi strip is a loop of folded paper
so it’s okay.” and walking around in the city – I could just sit in Starbucks in usually found around the left side or bottom of a Japanese or
Hachiko, Shibuya and watch the famous crossing all day [that Taiwanese LP record, music CD, video game, or book. It features
Making ‘The Gemini Principle’ rolls off Tokyo’s giant Q-Front building]. You soak it up, then go the title and other information, such as price and catalog
wasn’t all that taxing, then? for a walk around the back streets and check out all the record numbers. The name comes from the sashes worn with kimonos
“There weren’t as many stores. The last time I went – October – I noticed that drum & and martial arts uniforms.”
frustrations as I thought there bass wasn’t appearing as much as it used to and that bothered
would be,” D-Bridge recalls. me. Japan is the epicentre of cool – they’ve got everything, “I’ve done that with my album,” D-Bridge reveals, “so I’ve got
“I always envisaged that the catalogued it – it’s there somewhere. And I was wondering, my friends to translate some things into Japanese text. Japan
process of making an album ‘well, do they not think that D&B is cool anymore?’ So, in a way, is a huge influence and I think it will always continue to be. I
would be quite difficult, but ‘The Gemini Principle’ represents my desire to have my product just love it!”
it wasn’t. I think what helped
was that I gave up weed. So
now I’m able to get on with things without mulling unnecessarily Including D-Bridge... “The standards are high, so it’s hard for me
or getting down for no reason, thinking, ‘the work’s not going to say that my own work is good, even if it’s popular,” he reveals.
to happen’ or something like that. Now I can fight through the “I’m really enjoying it, and also the music of the people around me
difficulties much easier.” – Calibre, Survival, Instrumental, Commix, Cern (from New Zealand)
and Burial, for example. In a way, I try not to get too involved with
Is D-Bridge’s debut album a collection of singles or a concept? what’s going on. The scene is so big now that, as much as everyone
“There are two releases,” D-Bridge explains. “The vinyl and the CD. would like to encompass it as drum & bass, it’s almost become like
I always envisaged the CD being a listening experience as a whole house where there are all these different factions, and I’m sure that
and having a decent running order. At the same time I wanted it to someone over in the minimal side has no idea what’s going on in the
have tracks on there that people can play out. I do ﬁ nd that some other side. It does have its sub genres, some of which grow, others
songs aren’t necessarily built for the danceﬂ oor, and I like that shrink, which is just an indication of its size and age.”
– the fact that people might be able to sit down and listen to it
closely. The ﬁ rst one – ‘Seven Year Glitch’ – I started in 2000, and Having just ﬁ nished an album that took a year of hard work,
always envisaged that would be the opener.” D-Bridge could be forgiven for not having any immediate future
plans. “Quite the opposite,” D-Bridge reveals. “I’ve also got a new,
Seven years in the making, the opening gambit of ‘The Gemini limited Aptitude single coming and I’m actually thinking about
Principle’ not only evidences how much personal feeling its creator starting another album! I like the idea of it. I collect records and
has injected into this project, but also D-Bridge’s original streak, sample them, and through this I’ve discovered artists with twenty-
as, quite plainly, no other track in the world bares the name ‘Seven odd albums. I haven’t even done my ﬁ rst. So, rather than putting
Year Glitch’. “I’ve been working with quite a few people over the last out singles, I want to build up a set of albums. Now that my head is
few years, especially Instrumental,” D-Bridge recalls, “and it was clearer from not smoking weed, I’m already starting the next one.”
good to get out of the mindset of, ‘these tracks don’t get played on
K38-39_DBridge.indd 38 23/4/08 13:46:04
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